CONTENTS

LIVE AND LET LIVE .3

GALI AUR GOLI ......5
SHAHEED-E-AASIA..38
IT IS PART OF WAR 74
FORCES LINED UP.........103
ROT ALL OVER......128
DRAMA TIME..151
THEATRE OR CIRCUS .179
SINDH CARD ...208
WIN-WIN MOVE.241
LUTTO TEY PHUTTO .....275
BUSINESS AS USUAL.304
BLACKSMITH NAWAZ 332
ODD COUPLES ...365
DREAM RELATIONS.394
BODY BLOWS..418
TEMPORARY RESPITE 457
ORDER OR SUBMISSION.....480
COMBUSTION POINT ..505
RAY OF HOPE 529
ON TOP BUT IN WOODS ..567
IMRANS TSUNAMI...589
FAILED TO FALL...619
CORRODED IDOLS656
LAW AND LOYALTY.... 687
SIGNS OF LIFE714
CONTEMPT COMPOUNDED ..736
LAST CHANCE759
NOTE 809
WAR WITHIN .810
WAR WITHIN-II .838

WAR WITHIN-III....871
WAR WITHIN-IV....897
WAR WITHIN-V .923
WAR WITHIN-VI.954
WAR WITHIN-VII...986
WAR WITHIN-VIII...1017
WAR WITHIN-IX .1041
WAR WITHIN-X ...1072
WAR WITHIN-XI ..1100
WAR WITHIN-XII 1140
WAR WITHIN-XIII ..1184
WAR WITHIN-XIV ..1237

LIVE AND LET LIVE

The government, which claims to be of the people, by the people and
for the people, ought to be directly responsible for dispensation of justice.
Justice is dispensed by establishing the rule of law in three stages.
In stage one the laws are made by the Parliament while those already
exist are enforced by the Executive. In stage two the laws are applied by the
Judiciary to settle disputes that arise in day-to-day life while the Executive
facilitates the Judiciary in doing that.
In stage three the decisions of the courts are implemented in letter and
spirit by the Executive. It must be noted that while the Parliament and the
Judiciary only act when a situation arises for them to act; whereas the
Executive has to act constantly.
The problems start popping up the moment any of the three
institutions fails to act in time and in right spirit. The problems are
aggravated when making, enforcing or applying laws are deliberately
delayed. And, if court orders are not implemented the independence of
Judiciary is rendered meaningless.
This has happened in Pakistan quite frequently; leaving the masses in
perpetual wait for elusive justice. Parliament, Judiciary and Executive,
instead of functioning smoothly like well-oiled parts of the machine meant
to produce rule of law, have generally caused friction; making lot of
creaking noise and delivering very little.
The friction between Judiciary and Executive touched unprecedented
level in March 2007, when a military dictator was the chief executive; hence
the symbolic name of the collection of these articles Helmet versus Wig.
Musharraf had to make an exit in less than thirty months after his
criminal assault on the Judiciary, but he left his Helmet behind. Zardari,
who is by nature an outlaw, succeeded Musharraf and cherished the
dictatorial gadget left behind by his predecessor; thus the name was retained.
Zardari gave new twists and turns to the Executive-Judiciary tussle in
short period of little more than two years of his rule. He tried to block
reinstatement of the judges he did not like, but could not succeed because of
overwhelming public support for them.
His disdain for the upright judges multiplied when the apex court
struck down NRO, which had allowed him to save his ill-gotten wealth and
facilitated him to reach the highest office of the country. He pitched his aides
3

to defy court verdicts and they also missed no opportunity to ridicule the
judges
The judges could do nothing but digest the blatant defiance and
ridicule of their endeavours for establishing rule of law. The Executive also
made concerted efforts to cause split in the Bench-Bar unity from which the
Judiciary drew strength to act independently. The rift was also caused within
the ranks of Bar and efforts were made to do the same within the bench.
The Executive manoeuvred in concert with political forces (the
Executives-in-waiting) to rein in the Judiciary through 18th Amendment of
the Constitution. In that, and the follow-up 19th Amendment the Parliament
made major inroads in tilting the balance in favour of the Executive by
bringing procedural changes for having the docile judges in future.
Under unrelenting ridicule of the Judiciary by Zardaris aides like
Babar Awan, Faisal Raza Abdi, Fauzia Wahab and many others the
independence of Judiciary was neutralized. The judges dared not punish a
single jiyala for contempt of court which they had been committing quite
frequently and blatantly.
The judges seemed to have reached the conclusion that there was no
wisdom in striving for establishment of rule of law and get insulted in the
process day in and day out. Wisdom lies in doing in the Rome as Roman do;
live and let live.
The Judiciary and the Executive have indeed found a way to peaceful
co-existence, but the people of Pakistan continue to be deprived of justice.
Many of them still hope that Judiciary will show assertiveness and expect
that Parliament and Executive will realize that justice begins at the point
where their vested interests end.
1st January, 2011

GALI AUR GOLI

Like Jack and Jell Nawaz went up the hill, not to bring a pail of water
but, to Muzaffarabad to launch his partys AJK faction. There in the heat of
moment Nawaz criticized MQM. This happened at a time when Zardaris
politics of reconciliation were falling apart.
Nawaz has the knack of ill-timing his acts and statements. His
Muzaffarabad utterance was not the first in this context; previously too he
has been drawing wrath of MQM and others when they were venting their
feelings against PPP. MQM wasted no time in turning its guns towards
PML-N.
What followed afterwards only added more muck into already
muddled political waters in Pakistan. Leaders of the two parties taunted at
each other for having had illicit relations with military dictators. Altaf
invited Nawaz for political malakhra (open debate), which was accepted by
PML-N reluctantly, because it was conscious of the fact that it cannot
compete with MQM in politics of goli aur gali.
Then Chaudhry Nisar tried to answer what Altaf had said about
Nawaz while throwing the challenge of open debate. No sooner he finished
talking to media Haider Abbas and Wasim Akhtar pounced upon Nisar and
his leader. What happened afterwards pleased none, not even the participants
of the contest, except Zardaris aides like Fauzia Wahab.
Fazl left Zardari-led PPP lost and lurking and departed for Saudi
Arabia to seek forgiveness of his past sins and Divine guidance for the
future. Zardari was at his own to scratch his head to find ways to deal with
Altaf Hussain. It appeared that Altaf was determined to teach Zardari few
lessons on politics of his brand.

NEWS
On 20th December, Shahbaz met Gilani to discuss biased treatment
meted out to Punjab in gas load-shedding; Gilani again assured him of fair
treatment. Nisar criticized US pressure for RGST and operation in North
Waziristan. Rehman Malik said politicians ought to seek Foreign Office
permission for meeting diplomats. Powers of Chief Justice to appoint ad hoc
judges will be cut through 19th Amendment. Chief Justice LHC during
hearing of a petition challenging restriction imposed by DHA said no one
can create no-go areas.

Zardari vowed not to allow misuse of blasphemy laws and to continue

to strive for establishing a liberal and pluralistic society. He assured
minorities of ending discrimination against them and planned to constitute
Interfaith Harmony Committees.
Observers noted that Zardari in his letter covered all points raised by
Nawaz but remained silent on NRO. While writing about most points he
indirectly blamed PML-N for the failings. He specially mentioned that
inflation and price hike was primarily due to Punjab government over
spending.
Fazl and Shujaat met and decided to change Chief Minister of
Balochistan. PPP asked PML-Q to join Sindh government and offered two
ministries. Altaf contacted Wasim Sajjad. MQM delegation met Zardari and
Farooq Sattar seemed happy with assurances of Co-Chairman of the PPP.
In his interview to Saleem Safi Musharraf accused brothers in arms of
betrayal not the politicians. He said Chaudhrys were part of decisions about
Lal Masjid and Bugti; Hamid Gul wanted to become prime minister; Nawaz
is dangerous for the country; he had allowed drone surveillance not strikes;
Imran and Achakzai are men of character, but Asfandyar is not man of word.
Next day, Zardari and Gilani discussed political situation. Meeting of
Core Committee of PPP was held with Zardari in chair. Rehman Malik met
Fazl and expected positive outcome. MQM delegation met Pir Pagara in
Karachi and Farooq Sattar met Munawwar Hasan in Lahore.
Azam Swati termed BISP a programme of corruption. Abdul Ghafoor
Haidri said JUI-F has been forced to carry out political suicide bombing, but
it has not yet decided about coalition in Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Raisani called on Fazlur Rahman, who assured him that there would be no
change in Balochistan.
Gilani speaking at the occasion of tabling of 19th Amendment said
Pakistan has not seen such an independent Parliament in its history. Tariq
Butt reported that the proposed 19th Amendment rejected the Supreme Court
observation in its interim order, which said that the Judicial Commissions
nomination to appoint a judge would be final if it recommended the same
name that had earlier been declined by the parliamentary committee. In the
light of this amendment the rejection of a JC recommendation by the
committee would be final and would be considered as end of the matter.
Zardari regime has done the spade work for privatization of Pakistan
Steel Mills. It has directed Privatization Commission for the needful, but

stake-holders have not been taken on board. Observers noted that the PSM
case was once again heading towards the Supreme Court.
Hafeez Shaikh said the government has sought nine months from IMF
on RGST. Salman Taseer alleged that RGST was being opposed for political
gains. Former revenue official gave course-correcting statement before the
Accountability Court; he said Zardari and Benazir did not force to award
contract to SGS. PHC and SHC ordered end to gas shutdown in KPK and
Sindh, respectively. Rallies were held in Faisalabad to protest load-shedding.
On 22nd December, National Assembly passed the 19th Constitutional
Amendment without debating it. Kashmala Tariq was the lone voice which
opposed it and wanted time for discussion. After the session Babar Awan
hinted that Kashmala could be de-seated for voting against the party line.
Central executive committee of JUI-F confirmed the decision of party
leader to quit the coalition government. Almost concurrently with JUI-F
meeting the NAB passed instructions for investigating the land acquisition
for a housing scheme by the ministry headed by Rehmatullah Kakar. Fazlur
Rahman said his party was ready to face vindictive actions of the regime.
Former CPO and SSP were arrested after ATC Rawalpindi chargesheeted them as accused in the murder of Benazir and cancelled their bails.
PPP-backed candidates performed well in Pakistan Bar Council polls by
winning 8 seats out of 11 in Punjab and three out of six in Sindh.
After resisting for about two years, Gilani appointed Justice
Bhagwandas as head of the high-powered Central Selection Board, which
recommends top-level promotions in the civilian bureaucracy. His
appointment was seen as ray of hope for merit-based promotions.
Federal Shariat Court declared Sections 11 and 28 of Protection
Women Act violative Article 203DD of the Constitution, because these
provisions annul the over-riding effect of the Hudood Ordinances VII of
1979. The order would be effective from June 22, 2011 by which date
necessary steps be taken by the federal government.
Senator Iqbal Haider in his analysis of the Haj Scam saw another
scam behind it. He more or less agreed with Hamid Saeeds conspiracy
theory according to which his sectarian rivals were eyeing the Religious
Ministry. Iqbal Haider was of the view that Saudi Arabia was supporting
Hamid Saeeds rivals.
Next day, PPP workers held a rally in Lahore; the shouted pro-Nahid
Khan slogans; blamed the rulers for remembering Benazirs murder only on
7

her anniversary and demanded arrest of Babar Awan and Rehman Malik.
The police officers under investigation named four officers of ISI and MI
who were present at the scene; the investigators decided to question them.
The Supreme Court ordered NAB to probe the scam afresh in which
Sheikh Ayub and his son Mohsin Ayub were implicated in monetary fraud to
force them to transfer land in the names of some influential people,
including former Attorney General, former IG Police, three senators, Iqbal
Tikka and his relatives. The court ordered arrest of culprits without fear and
wanted property worth Rs1.38 billion retrieved.
The Supreme Court while hearing the case of attack on Taxila Church
observed that culprits get acquittals because of weak investigations. Chief
Justice summoned IG Investigation on a short notice to make him know
what his investigators had been doing with a high profile case.
Governor Punjab submitted his reply in blasphemy case of Aasia
Masih and Federation sought time for doing that. Imran Khan criticized the
procedure for appointment of judges in 19th Amendment. Anti-Sharif media
raised hue and cry over Punjab governments decision to allow Justice
Khwaja Sharif retention of house in GOR till completion of his house for
security reasons.
Governor Balochistan met Shujaat, who assured him not to do
anything that would destabilize Balochistan government. Fazlur Rahman
wanted Zardari to sack Gilani for sabotaging his reconciliation policy.
Election Commission declared three degrees fake and ordered registration of
FIR against their holders.
Salman Taseer said those who cant keep track of their governor cant
get hold of terrorists. Gas was to be closed in Punjab for four days as per
new schedule against the agreement reached in Gilani-Shahbaz meeting to
close gas for two days. Seven people, including four policemen and two
workers of PPP were killed in incidents of violence in Karachi.
On 24th December, country-wide protests were held against
governments plan to amend blasphemy law. Imran Khan accused PML-N
for stabbing Judiciary by voting in favour of 19 th Amendment. Pir Pagara
said no one can touch killers of Benazir. Jahangir Badr termed Musharraf as
BBs killer. Abdul Ghafoor Haidri of JUI-F resigned as Senate Chief Whip.
Punjabis felt the chill of democratic revenge when they were hit hard
by gas outages. People across the province protested when in most domestic

consumers could not even cook food. As if this was no enough,

unannounced electricity load-shedding was also restarted.
Ansar Abbasi reported that as the JUI-F has started facing armtwisting by NAB, it has several strong cards to play. It can hit back through
the Council of Islamic Ideology by declaring Article 248 of the Constitution,
which provides immunity to President Zardari, as against Islam. Maulana
Sheerani was not inclined to touch this issue at the time of assuming charge
of Chairman of CII, but he can change his mind to manifest threat of his
party leader, who had said hum nachor kay rakh dein gey (we will squeeze
them hard).
The Supreme Court blasted poor police investigations of terrorism
cases. Justice Ramday said police must correct itself otherwise court would
do so. NAB once again failed to file reply in the court in Sharmila Farooqi
case in which a petitioner had challenged that she could not hold any public
office as she was convicted by a court of law.
On birthday of Quaid-e-Azam the workers of PML-N, PML-Q and
PPP paid befitting tributes to the founder father of Pakistan by disrupting the
proceedings of the function organized in the context in Aiwan-e-Iqbal,
Lahore. The rowdy workers shouted slogans in favour of Nawaz, Pervaiz
Elahi and Zardari. In Sindh, his birthday was overshadowed by the
preparations for death anniversary of Benazir.
Zardari chose opening ceremony of housing scheme for PIA workers
to praise Bhutto legacy, and said he was pursuing the mission of nation
building of ZAB and BB, hardly paying tributes to the founder father of the
country during his speech. He said we are born Pakistanis; not come from
outside. He told political actors that he would live in history and they in
headlines.
The leader of the outsiders Zardari had referred to in his speech,
addressed a mammoth public meeting in held in Bhitshah MQMs chief
urged the people to drag feudal land lords in the streets and get rid of them
to get their rights as Pakistanis. He recounted the often repeated the rights of
common man rhetoric that are considered best to mobilize public support.
Shujaat called on Imran Khan and the host said PML-Q is the only
opposition party. Meeting was motivated by anti-Nawaz sentiment of the
two leaders. The two leaders agreed on seat adjustment, in LG polls vowed
to cooperate on national issues and oppose any move against blasphemy law.

Shahbaz Sharif wanted looted money in Swiss Banks back. Gilani did
not perform opening ceremony of national gamed due to security fears.
Rehman Malik persuaded Fazl to meet Zardari, but Gilani refused to meet
Soomro who was tasked to mediate between JUI-F and Gilani.
Ansar Abbasi reported yet another corruption scandal with Gilani and
Multan connection. Dr Wasim Shamshad, Director Land, CDA allotted
1,000 plots and several agro farms in Islamabab and he happens to be
another appointee of Gilani, the descendent of Gaus-ul-Azam.
On 26th December, speaking at the launching ceremony of AJK
chapter of PML-N Nawaz Sharif sounded irritated over calling him friendly
opposition; resultantly he took on almost everyone. He detested politicians
licking the feet of dictators; criticized MQM for killing 100 persons in
Karachi to avenge murder of Imran Farooq and asked the rulers to mend
their way.
Altaf Hussain promised matching response to Nawaz Sharif; in the
meantime Haider Abbas Rizvi accused PML-N of turning Punjab into a
police state. Imran Khan termed PPP and PML-N alliance as the biggest
threat. Never mind if MQM parts way with government, said Mirza, but
Gilani promised to continue politics of reconciliation.
Fazlur Rahman said his party could join the government if its
demands are met. Zardari pledged to come up to the expectations of the
people while launching Mobile Phone Banking. Tariq Butt reported that
NAB was pursuing low-profile cases and sparing the bigwigs.
On the eve of third anniversary of her murder Kaira promised to
expose her killers. The probe report could be presented in next PPP CEC
meeting. DG FIA who was investigating murder of Benazir was denied
access to original copy of he will, reported Umar Cheema.
Zardari celebrated third anniversary of Benazir by rejoicing over
throwing Musharraf out of Presidency. He recounted his achievements as
his daughters applauded each claim he made from ousting of Musharraf to
restoration of Chief Justice of Pakistan to good governance in Punjab which
was because of the PPP.
Saleh Zaafir observed that Zardaris speech had no message for his
party; it was mere expression of helplessness. He was clueless in his speech
although he had notes before him but the manner in which he spoke has
established yet another time that he could be clever in dealings and bargains

10

but he lacks vision. Saleh listed several points which confirmed his
observation.
Rahimullah Yusufzai wrote that Zardaris speech left Afridis confused
when he confused Baitullah Mehsud with their tribe. It was the first time that
he named Baitullah but his party colleagues have been saying and would
continue to insist that someone else was the mastermind who used TTP for
the murder.
Party workers kept demanding hauling up murderers of Benazir.
Pakistans High Commissioner in London blamed Punjab government for
not probing Benazirs murder. He also accused section of media of helping
dark forces against the government.
Amir Mir reported that Qari Saifullah, who was named by Benazir as
mastermind of October 18 attack on her reception procession in Karachi, has
resurfaced in Punjab. Qari had left Waziristan after he was wounded in drone
attack and after treatment he was placed under house arrest in Chishtian. He
has now been freed.
On the expiry of ten-day deadline for addressing its grievances of
MQM decided to quit federal cabinet and decision on provincial cabinet will
be taken soon. The party will stay on treasury benches to give more time to
the government and not to derail the system. Zardari and Gilani telephoned
Ishrat and assured him to resolve grievances. Ansar Abbasi remarked that
MQM has put Gilani government on ventilator.
FIA raided office of Moonis Elahi in Lahore in connection with NICL
scam. PML-Q said the raid was carried out on the behest of Punjab
government. PML-N said the federal government has done it with a view to
clear Moonis of any involvement in the corruption scam.
IMF gave Pakistan nine month extension on RGST. Verification of
degrees of parliamentarians was halted on instructions of federal education
minister not to follow Supreme Court verdict. PAC took notice of CDA land
scam. LHC was moved for removal of governor over his mysterious foreign
visit.
On 28th December, Fazlur Rahman termed Gilani a threat to
democracy and urged Zardari to act. He criticized Nawaz Sharif for backing
PPP in Centre and blamed him for preventing MQM to take a big decision
by giving untimely statement in Muzaffarabad about 12th May carnage in
Karachi.

11

Altaf Hussain threatened that MQM would sit on opposition benches

if government failed in mending its ways. He also threatened to quit Sindh
government as Sattar sent his resignation to Presidency. Altaf called Nawaz
a by-product of dictatorship and challenged him for public debate.
Altaf telephoned Fazlur Rahman and Shaikh Rashid. Babar
telephoned Shujaat. MQM and PML-N leaders exchanged taunts after Altaf
challenged Nawaz for open public debate. They called each other toddies of
military dictators. PML-N leaders said politics of MQM are based on Goli
aur Gali.
Ghulam Ahmed Bilour and Khurshid Shah talked of government
completing five-year tenure. Zulfikar Mirza offered to quit if MQM so
desired. Babar Awan said concerns of Altaf Hussain are genuine. Rehman
Malik met Ishrat late at night and assured him on behalf of Zardari that all
grievances of MQM would be addressed. Tahir Khalil saw mid-term poll as
the only way out of the prevalent political instability. Pir Pagara forecast
2011 as year of election. Twelve religious parties held protest rally against
proposed amendments in blasphemy laws.
According to a report ten million citizens of Islamic Republic of
Pakistan drink alcohol. If only fifty per cent of the population is adult it
means every eighth person drinks alcohol. The report says ministers drink
openly at functions but hide their glasses when photographers come around.
Musharraf never kept secret his fondness for a drink. Bureaucrats,
politicians, army generals and even families of mullahs drink. The report
seemed correct despite its blowing up here and there.
Next day, the abusive language used by MQM and PML-N while
leveling accusations on each other put even the most vulgar segments of the
society to shame. They dragged the ladies of each others household and
tried to strip them naked in public. Chaudhry Nisar triggered the muck-slide
by pointing out Altafs drinking habit and divorce sought by his wife and
then, Wasim Akhtar and Haider A Rizvi left him wanting in vulgarity when
they questioned the character of daughters of Sharif family.
Rehman Malik called on Fazlur Rehman at breakfast but failed to woo
the Maulana. Fazl met few more political visitors and left for Saudi Arabia.
Zardari disowned the statement of Zulfikar Mirza in which he had accused
MQM of targeted-killings in Karachi. He ordered party leaders not to
criticize coalition partners and he was prepared to take action against Mirza
to please the partner.

12

Rehman Malik was asked to recite Surah-e-Akhlas before the start of

cabinet meeting but he could not recite in correctly in three attempts. The
cabinet decided not to repeal blasphemy law and being mindful of tensions
with JUI-F and MQM, it approved Rs11.5 billion bailout package for ANP
run railways. Such packages are the best mortar to keep the coalition
sticking together.
Imran Khan termed PPP and PML-N as two sides of the same coin (no
heads only tails). He said MQM and PML-N were trying to avert revolution.
Khan asked Nawaz to bring his black money back to Pakistan; Ahsan Iqbal
blamed Iran for disinformation. Zafar Ali Shah challenged the appointment
of four governors in the Supreme Court as fresh appointments were
warranted by 18th Amendment.
During hearing of the Benazir murder case the counsel of CPO termed
JIT inquiry flawed and pointed out some omissions. He said his client had
informed Rehman Malik and Major Imtiaz of the sunroof danger and
Zardari did not allow postmortem of the deceased.
On 30th December, Nawaz Sharif, while addressing party workers on
104th Foundation Day of Muslim League, declared that PML-N wont save a
corrupt government, but it would also not take part in any puppet show. The
corrupt government is saved by those who talk of revolution while sitting as
rulers in a coalition government. He, however, in display of his exuberance
in praising democracy he blamed military for all the misfortunes of Pakistan.
PML-Q held a parallel convention and chose Nankana Sahib as its
venue. Pervaiz Elahi blamed wrong policies of PML-N government for all
the sufferings of Punjab. He said poor were being humiliated in search of
flour and sugar. And, a man was killed and five others wounded in jubilant
firing over his outbursts against PML-N.
Senate passed 19th Amendment without much ado. Gilani announced
Nishan-e-Pakistan for MPs body. Shujaat Hussain refused to speak when he
was asked to do in the Senate in protest of abuses exchanged by leaders of
two major political parties.
Zardari telephoned Nawaz to sympathize with him after verbal
assault of MQM leaders. Guns fell silent on both sides as if all the concerns
of the masses pointed out by MQM have been addressed. Election
Commission ordered registration of cases against two MPs of PML-N over
fake degrees. The Chief Justice expressed his dissatisfaction over
functioning of Anti-Terror Courts and attributed their poor performance to
method of their appointments.
13

Usman Manzoor reported that the main reason behind the assault on
the Transparency International Pakistan by the FIA that has been unfolded
was that secretary interior has been one of the directors of NICL who
facilitated three land deals of the mega scam before leaving the company. Mr
Tappi, Zardaris friend who virtually rules Sindh, made Qaims principal
secretary OSD and appointed man of his choice.
Next day, countrywide protest rallies were held against governments
designs to bring changes in blasphemy law. Prices of POL products were
increased. Act before it is too late, IMF warned the government. Wasim
Akhtar tendered half-hearted apology over his outburst and later in the day
he said he alone was enough to tackle PML-N.
Apprehensions were expressed over changes in JIT probing Benazirs
murder. Supreme Court was moved for disqualification of Rehman Malik
over wrong recitation of verses of Quran. Azam Swati accused FIA of
targeting the witnesses rather than the culprits in NICL and Haj scams. It
was being done on the direction of Rehman Malik.
On 1st January, 2011, Zardari signed the bill of 19 th Amendment and
said political actors have been defeated. He saluted Judiciary for its role in
amendment of the Constitution. Ansar Abbasi reported corruption touched
all time high level of one trillion during last year. Umar Cheema reported
Moonis Elahi was implicated in NICL case after one of his employees gave
statement to that effect. Asma Jahangir wanted abolishing of Shariat Court.
Provinces refused to take over 8,000 employees of ministries being
transferred to under 18th Amendment. Seventy people were wounded in
firing as part of New Year celebrations.

VIEWS
On 21st December, The News commented on Wens visit. China does
not support us merely through altruism or a sense of fair play, it supports us
in part because we supported China in matters such as securing it a
permanent seat in the UN Security Council. It supports us because we fit a
long-term plan for the Chinese development and exploitation of the
resources of central and eastern Africa. A stable and developed Pakistan
would contribute significantly in that it would house the maritime
infrastructure and goods-forwarding facilities that would allow China to get
the best from its African investments. Thus China would want to ensure that
it shook hands with all the political parties with whom it might have to do

14

business in the future; and our political parties with an eye to the next
election would want the Chinese delegation to return home happy that there
were friends to its south. Militarily, we have a decades-long series of joint
development programmes of military hardware of proven mutual benefit,
and the deals we have done with a rising and reliable economic power
such as China can be parlayed into future bargaining chips. Today, Chinas is
the worlds second-largest economy and has just outstripped Japan; it will
outstrip the US in the next five years. Viewed thus, our relationship with
China in the medium to long term is probably going to be the one that sees
us through our current crises and out the other side. The Chinese premier left
us with a saying A good close neighbour is (worth) more than a
distant relative. In which we would find ourselves in wholehearted
agreement.
In second editorial the newspaper wrote about Nawaz-Zardari
correspondence. Well over a month after the PML-N chief wrote him a
letter making suggestions to improve the running of national affairs,
President Asif Ali Zardari has finally found the time to reply to the letter
dated November 10th. It seems obvious why he has chosen to do so now. To
extend a hand of friendship to the PML-N by inviting its leaders to join in
the task of taking the country forward by making difficult decisions. The
precise meaning of this, like a great deal else that the president says, is
somewhat cryptic but the letter itself indicates just how keen the PPP is to
win over allies, and ensure it can remain in power. Various recent events had
put this under some doubt. The tone adopted in the letter is also
reconciliatory. The PML-Ns support has been sought over the GST Bill;
this seems unlikely to come given the clear-cut response from Mian Nawaz
Sharif following the briefing on the proposed tax from the finance minister
at Raiwind. The president has also agreed that the Ehtesab Bill, to which the
PML-N had objected, should be shelved and has, in some detail, explained
policy on public sector enterprises and also the energy sector. It is far from
certain that the presidents words, in his long-delayed missive, will have any
impact as far as a change in the PML-N stance goes. The party has after all
seen promises broken before, and the acrimony in the Punjab will do nothing
to build fondness for the PPP and its leaders.
President Zardari, in his letter, has also made an allusion to those
who seek to divide and rule. In typical fashion he has not been clear as to
exactly who it is he is referring to. It is not clear what inferences Mr Sharif
will draw from this. But we do wish that if he is aware of any kind of
conspiracy afoot, the president would specify who is behind it. The kind of
15

veiled references he makes periodically only add to uncertainty. The length

of time it has taken to draft a response to Mr Sharif also makes one wonder
to what degree Mr Zardari and his team is truly committed to better
governance. They will need to offer evidence of this through action rather
than letters that seem motivated primarily by the governments urgent need
to win over allies, and, as such are unlikely to be persuasive.
In yet another editorial the newspaper talked of Haj Scam. We must
hope that the whole affair will act as a lesson to others. In todays age, when
the courts, the media and citizens are all vigilant, ministers and functionaries
simply cannot get away with dishonesty of the kind seen in the Haj scandal.
Perhaps the fate of Mr Kazmi and others who connived and conspired with
him can persuade those who watch to ensure more honesty in their own
work. There is however, sadly, no guarantee this will happen. We have in the
past too seen arrests being made and officials face trial. It is true this has not
happened often enough. But there also appears to have been only a limited
deterrence effect. Those in power seem to have great faith in their own
invincibility. We must hope that this will begin to change. The active efforts
by the judiciary can help. But we need also to see more efforts by the
government to clean up its act. Action against a single minister is insufficient
when the whole setup is so corrupt, leading to one scam after the other to hit
the headlines.
Next day Muhammad Aslam Khan observed: Federation
functionaries have the tongue in their cheeks to clamour that democracy is
threatened in Pakistan. Wikileaks has thoroughly exposed them as if they are
hanging by a cliff and seeking rescue from the external collaborators. The
democratic irony in the whole issue is that the cliff is of their own making.
The coalition government, thoroughly vulnerable to blackmail by its
allies, has devised a nefarious strategy to gobble up and let others
gobble up too. They, amidst the volleys of mutual barbs, cling to each other
because they are desperately in need of a continuing empire to mop up their
sins.
Saleem Safi wrote: Whatever our political leaders and bureaucrats
did is behind us. The political leaders and bureaucrats are on the same
footing when it comes to their patriotism. Therefore, we should stop the
blame game. We should avoid such blunders in future and compel our
leaders and bureaucrats to work for the interests if this nation. The
parliament should frame a legislation that must bar all parliamentarians,
generals, judges and bureaucrats above BS-18 from buying estates or
properties in foreign land, getting citizenships of foreign countries or staying
16

outside the country for more than a week. The simpleton Saleem enticing
parliamentarians for suicide attack.
The children of these elite should also be banned from getting
education in foreign lands. Those who wish to buy such estates or properties
or educate their children there or get citizenships of foreign countries should
be free to do that, but they must have no standing as to occupy important
positions in government or take part in the politics of Pakistan. This
initiative will tie down the future of the elite with this country and would
compel them to own it wholeheartedly. Individuals who have no faith in
the future of this land, or who do not consider it safe for their children,
have no right to become political leaders, generals, judges or bureaucrats
here to decide our destiny.
On 23rd December, The News wrote about adoption of 19th
Amendment by National Assembly. Following the passage of the bill, the
procedure for appointing judges has been more clearly defined and the
ambiguities smoothed out. In keeping with the nature of parliamentary
democracy, the prime minister gets more symbolic weight rather than
the president who should play the role of a figurehead instead of exercising
power in his own right. The fact that this does not happen in our setup
contributes to the problems within it. The passing of the amendment means
that for now the possibility of a confrontation between institutions may have
been thrust away from the centre of stage. However, the executive should
keep in mind that stability will endure only if it respects constitutional
boundaries and follows court directions. Reports of voices from within the
ruling party suggesting that the courts recommendations be ignored are
disquieting. It is a good sign that they have not prevailed and we hope that
good sense will endure.
Ikram Sehgal opined: Criminals and terrorists seek to evade
detection, arrest and punishment by easily operating across international
borders, taking the advantage of the frequent reluctance of law enforcement
authorities to engage in complicated and expensive transitional
investigations and prosecutions. Can you imagine the potency of such
illegals having the official authority of the state behind their operations?
Much more attention needs to be paid to promoting the rule of law,
combating corruption and improving judicial proceedings in areas where
terrorists have taken refuge. Remedial measures include improving police
capability to locate and disrupt criminal networks. International cooperation
on extradition laws needs strengthening so that criminals cannot avoid arrest
by fleeing the country.
17

Not only is corruption alive and well in Pakistan but the cases,
some suo moto, taken up by the Supreme Court of Pakistan will confirm that
it is flourishing and profiteering. While some of the wrongdoing can be
traced back to Musharrafs military-dominated civilian regime, democracy
was to be the best revenge but it is in fact the best (and the most
convenient) camouflage for indulging in rampant loot and plunder. The
Yusuf Raza Gilani regime has set new records of nepotism and corruption,
every one of the public sector institutions has been beggared almost beyond
redemption by persons boasting democratic credentials.
When people like Adil Gilani of Transparency International Pakistan
(TIP) point out wrong doing, they are targeted with dire threats. Consider
the irony of the accuser being persecuted instead of the accused being
prosecuted. Democratic governments must be careful when giving
recognition to regimes with criminal trappings. Inherent corruption and its
nexus with organized crime is a sure recipe for fomenting terrorism, in fact it
is multiplied in force and proliferates under a democratic cover.
When establishing rule of law becomes the domain of those who live
outside the rule of law, accountability becomes a figment of the imagination.
When criminals function in the name of justice, justice itself becomes a
crime.
Zafar Hilaly gathered some information about Pakistans budding
Kissinger. To support the travel expenses of a Mr Nasir Ali Khan, an
optician turned foreign affairs expert, now Ambassador at Large, probably
takes a hundred fold as much money as it does to support the life of a
common man. And the funny thing is that it takes that much even if the
common man works all year around while the Ambassador at large does no
work at all.
Statistics to this effect were revealed in the National Assembly
yesterday, in response to a question. Apparently in the space of 24 months
Mr Nasir Ali Khan had visited 25 countries, so0me more than once,
spending a total of 156 days outside the country at a cost of 15 million
rupees to the national exchequer. On one trip to the US he stayed abroad on
assignment for as long as 18 days. That, apparently, is a record which is
unequalled by any president, prime minister or foreign minister and one that
will in all probability remain unchallenged.
It would have been interesting if MNA Nighat Saleem, who asked the
question in parliament, would have followed up the governments response
by asking precisely what was the purpose of the Ambassador at Larges
18

mission to Trinidad and Tobago. I must confess that after a sleepless night I
am still unable to think of one unless he was representing the Islamic
Republic at a Reggae fest.
On reading the governments response I rang up some serving and
retired contacts to ask them who exactly this budding Kissinger was any
why was he being shielded from public eye almost as much as our nuclear
assets. Guffaws of laughter greeted my questions. Dont you know? Hes a
bum-chum of Shah Mahmood Qureshi since their school days, said one and
all. Not believing that our foreign minister had assigned this particular
gentleman a spanking new office at the prestigious third floor of the Foreign
Office, and insisted on being accompanied by him on his visits abroad only
because they had played marbles at school, I decided to snoop around. But
snoop as much as I did, I discovered nothing to suggest otherwise.
It then occurred to me that I must be looking in the wrong place and
asked one of the most prominent and widely respected Pakistani journalists
in Islamabad, who is also a columnist for several major international
newspapers, whether he had met our Kissinger or heard him dilate on
foreign affairs and what he thought of him. Except relating he confirmed that
he had met Mr Nasir Ali Khan the rest of what he said is unprintable.
Never having met the Ambassador at Large personally, or heard him
speak, on or off the record, or having read a word that he had written, I cant
swear that it he is as clueless about his new job as is being alleged but, alas,
one feels that he may be. In this regime, as we have discovered to our cost
time and time again, there is simply no criterion to fill a post. Anyone can be
slotted for any job. Appointments are made on the basis of blood relations,
friendship, larceny and what have you. The disdain for qualifications,
experience, aptitude, performance, merit, abounds with the candidates lust
for office, backed by lucre, often proving decisive.
Of the ambassadors at large appointed by thus regime, one used to be
a computer operator at the World Bank; another was a restaurant owner in
Dubai; a third had no fixed vocation and alarmingly no fixed address.
Apparently, there are more of whom one does not hear perhaps because they
violated their bail bonds. Of course, the professions identified are perfectly
re4spectable ones except that they are as far removed from the craft of
diplomacy as this governments concern is for merit
Politicians as a rule dont like their freedom to appoint, and
sometimes anoint who they wish circumscribed by rules or even common
sense Pakistan is one of those rare semi-functional democracies where
19

legally the president/prime minister can go off walking on the hills around
his mansion in Islamabad and return with an ambassador designate in tow.
All he has to do before taking his shower is to sign a note purporting to be
pleased to appoint him as one.
And that, by the looks of it, is how the current duo functions, except
on the occasion when they spotted our peripatetic Ambassador at Large they
were accompanied on their walk by the foreign minister who seems to have
prevailed upon them to let his school chum join his diplomatic forays.
On 25th December, The News commented: Maulana Fazlur Rehman,
after parting ways with the government, has made it clear that he is in an
angry mood. He has called on the president to act against the prime minister
for sabotaging the reconciliation process, and has asked why disciplinary
action cannot be initiated as has been done against ministers. He has also
said that he was not willing to serve as a serf to the PM. The rights and
wrongs of what the JUI-F chief had to say during his thundering speech to
parliament on Thursday and while talking to newsmen outside it can be
debated. Many different perspectives exist on the rights and wrongs of
the president and the PM. But the Maulanas harsh diatribe makes one
thing clear. He and his party are hardly likely to return in haste to the PPP
fold and appear to have decided to say a final farewell. Senior PPP leaders
had said the JUI-F would be persuaded to reverse its decision, but the
Maulana, quite evidently, seems to be in no mood to shake hands and make
up.
He has also spelled out his and his partys hard-line stance on various
issues, and sought an assurance from the PPP that the blasphemy laws will
not be altered. Previously too, the JUI-F had warned against any attempt to
tamper with such provisions. This goes against the stance of some affiliated
with the PPP, including Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and former
information minister Sherry Rehman. Both have spoken out against aspects
of the blasphemy laws, with Sherry Rehman set to move a private members
bill seeking change. There are indications that some within the party may
back such a bill. This divergence of lines between the two parties points to
the dangers of opportunistic alliances. They rarely last. The JUI-F has
already demonstrated that it has every intention of embarrassing the
government on various fronts. For instance, Maulana Fazlur Rehman has
also demanded that drone attacks in the north must stop and India must not
take a permanent seat on the UNSC. Pakistan, realistically speaking, has
limited power to alter either of these situations. But the JUI-Fs presence on

20

the opposition benches will serve to regularly remind the ruling party of
this weakness and thus expose its inadequacies.
Next day, Shaheen Sehbai observed that December 25 was a
momentous day in Sindh and the winners and losers were more than evident.
Hitherto dubbed and considered urban, the MQM of Altaf Hussain went
and struck a knockout blow to the PPP in the heart of Sindh at Bhit
Shah, located east of Hala, west of Tando Adam, south of Nawabshah and
north of Hyderabad.
President Asif Zardari picked the MQMs stronghold to deliver a
speech which conceded more political points than it earned. The key
admission was that he no longer wanted pro-Zardari slogans but wanted to
use the Bhutto name. No more Aik Zardari, sub par bhaari slogan, he said.
Only Jiye Bhutto. For him as well, Zardari has become a taboo, a red
rag.
Altaf Hussain was greeted by Sindhis and others alike in large
numbers and it was because he had gone into a head-on confrontation
with Zardaris cronies, especially Zulfiqar Mirza and company. What a sea
change in politics and attitudes that Sindhis of all the parties are flocking to
the MQM to express their hate and dissent against Mirza and company, who
virtually run the province as warlords. Altaf Hussain said these people will
be dragged on the sands of Sindh and I will save Sindh from these people
who will be jailed and shackled.
Zardari depended on rhetoric, saying: We look at history and not
headlines; We are performers not political actors on TV; We will leave
Pakistan much better than we inherited; all promises to do something in
future, nothing to answer for what he and his people have done in the past
three years. This only shows Zardari is also getting into the election
mode when the slogan of Bhutto may work, Zardari will definitely not.
Altaf Hussain repeatedly asked the question whether the MQM
should quit the PPP coalition and warned that fears of Muhajir-Sindhi riots
were being raised if that decision was taken. But the public meeting
practically showed that both Sindhis and Muhajirs were together and were
raising the same slogans when Altaf Bhai was attacking Zardari and his
friends. The meeting also pledged to stand by the MQM if it was
attacked after quitting the coalition.
Zardari depended on unsound financial announcements to perk
up his audience. He announced all PIA/CAA employees would be
regularized and given a house, something which may have given nightmares
21

to every serious economic institution in and outside the country. His finance
and economic managers would be wondering at the decision-making ability
of the president as PIA is neck deep in trouble, losses and near bankruptcy
and putting such extraordinary baggage on a dying corporation can never be
called prudent financial management.
Altaf Hussain struck hard on burning issues and took positions
which resonate with the masses. He demanded release of Dr Aafia Siddiqi,
said a big no to the RGST, spoke emotionally about handing over the ISI
chief to the US, called for tax on agriculture and feudals, spoke against
runaway inflation, talked of a French Revolution, accused Zardari of
throwing Pakistan to the wolves of the World Bank and IMF.
Zardari talked of his days of imprisonment by Takht-e-Lahore
or by Punjabis, a direct use of the so-called Sindh Card. He spoke about the
achievements of Bhutto, not his own. He spoke about his enemies, some
outsiders and some within his sleeve. Altaf Hussain ended his address with
the slogan of Jiye Pakistan and Jiye Sindh. Zardari ended his speech with
Jiye Bhutto.
The levels of playing fields for both these leaders, sitting as part of a
coalition which is sinking, or doomed to sink no matter how long it is
artificially stretched, are noteworthy. Altaf Bhai appears to have acquired
a much higher moral ground because Zulfiqar Mirza and company have
pulled Zardari and the PPP down to below ground level.
But the level Zardari has set for sticking to some morals in
politics is pathetically sub-surface and almost non-existent. An important
columnist and writer recently remarked that he had never heard the word
corruption in any of Zardaris speeches and addresses. Anti-corruption and
accountability for the present rulers means how to escape and kill both these
dragons.
The unfortunate part of the Pakistani scene is that every player has
been caught in a vicious trap. The establishment clearly is unnerved and
understands that the way the PPP is destroying everything, there would
not be much left to salvage in a short time, but it finds its hands are tied
elsewhere. FATA, PATA and now Balochistan have entangled them deep
enough to look after political robbers.
The opposition, led by Nawaz Sharif, is the most confused lot as
they share power and fear the Army but by ignoring the rapid collapse of
every institution, they are proving that the political system is unable to
correct itself. If the politicians cannot stop the rot, someone will have to do
22

so. By not doing anything, Nawaz Sharif is inviting others to intervene. This
is what he fears but this he probably does not understand
All smaller players have a field day and are making hay till the
sun shines. When the curtain drops, they will look for other avenues and the
current high momentum of cross party talks and dialogues is nothing but to
find out from each other if anyone knows what is happening But Maulana
Fazlur Rehman, Ch Shujaat, Altaf Hussain, Imran Khan and all others,
except Nawaz Sharif, now believe the Zardari freight train has to be stopped.
Only Nawaz has to be convinced and I was surprised when an informed
person recently said Nawaz had been approached by the right quarters
numerous times but he was stuck with the Musharraf phobia.
These quarters see a falling out between the Sharif brothers,
Shahbaz and Nawaz, on many issues but they are clear that if Nawaz does
not come around and leaves no political option to stop the Zardari train, he
would be the one to blame if non-political actors make a definite move.
Shahbaz would then be the good boy for the next set-up and both Zardari
and Nawaz would be treated alike. Some food for thought for both of them!
Excepts from observations made by Aoun Sahi are reproduced. The
separation of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) from the federal
government and MQM taking serious notice of Zulfiqar Mirzas tirade
against itself has livened up the political scenario of the country Some
analysts think that with only seven MNAs, JUI-F is not in a position to
topple the government single-handedly, but if MQM opts for the same in
the coming days, it can create serious hurdles for the PPP government.
The PPP leadership and most of the political analysts are confident that
MQM will not pull out of the coalition.
The activities in the power corridors of Islamabad have increased
a week after the separation of JUI-F from the federal alliance. The political
leadership of all major parties has assured that it will not derail the system,
but some of them have started talking about at least an in-house change
JUI-F is also taking the lead in this regard and is hopeful to create a
consensus among all opposition parties for an in-house change The PPP
leadership on the other hand is more than convinced that an in-house change
is not possible.
Analysts believe that an in-house change is not possible until the
PML-N wants it. It is not ready for this move at present, because PML-N
thinks it will enhance the bargaining power of PML-Q considerably, says
Suhail Warraich, journalist and political commentator. The other factor that
23

is stopping PML-N is that they know that it will pave way for mid-term
elections. In such a situation they will have to bargain with many forces to
come to power. They want the government to complete its term because it
will provide them an opportunity to complete their term after the next
election. PML-N believes it will get enough seats in the next elections to
make its government. Warraich says MQM is not going to leave the
government either.
On 27th December, The News commented on closed-door briefing
given by Finance Minister. Gilani was told at the meeting that the fiscal
deficit could soar to 7.5 per cent of the GDP, against the targeted 4.7 per
cent, by June 30 next year unless urgent measures are taken. With the RGST
rejected, the problem of the government does not seem to quite know what
these measures should be. There has been agreement at the meeting to try
and revive the RGST, but realistically speaking there seems to be only the
most limited prospect of other parties changing their stance on this issue,
given the wave of inflation it would inflict on common people.
The problem of course is that the government has been doing little
to put in place the tight fiscal discipline demanded of it. Borrowing from
the State Bank has continued, despite the IMF prescription that this drop to
zero per cent. The austerity which would be required for this to happen
seems to be something the government is unwilling to impose on itself.
Perhaps the tough talking from the finance minister, who warned that if the
government did not meet the challenges the entire finance team would quit
rather than take the blame for economic failure, will make people in the
government wake up.
Next day, The News commented on rapidly growing strains in
political dispensation in which PPPs coalition partner decided to part their
ways. With political tempers rising, the situation is becoming increasingly
complex. The PPPs focus seems to be on keeping its government safe at all
costs. It is therefore likely to make whatever compromises it sees necessary
to bring the JUI-F back into the fold. Since 1988, the year it was restored
after an 11-year hiatus, our intermittent democracy has been marked by
just this process of deal-making. Power takes precedence over principle,
and over the need to offer people some semblance of governance. Things are
no better this time around; indeed, they may be worse than they appear to be.
It remains to be seen if the president can succeed in cooling passions, as he
is attempting to do. The PPPs own failures and the consequent
disgruntlement of allies make this task harder.

24

The tensions do nothing to create the environment that is required to

run national affairs more smoothly, and this of course means that people will
remain as unhappy and impatient as they are with the prevailing state of
affairs and the difficulties they face as a result of the rapidly worsening
situation. And what hope for change is there for them in this grave political
and economic crisis? Not much. No opposition party has talked in detail
about exactly how a change is to be brought about. Their words are carefully
contrived to give an impression of action being imminent, but there is no
sign of what that action might be beyond colourful political rhetoric. None
of the parties in opposition are offering a manifesto for change, the way in
which they would do things differently or right the innumerable wrongs that
beset governance. All of them are roundly condemning corruption, nepotism,
bad management and all the other.
condemnable aspects of governance
that certainly litter the landscape; but not one has on-the-table a vision for
the future that might grab the public imagination and lead to change
Dr Irfan Zafar from Islamabad wrote: On addressing a public meeting
at the inauguration of the Benazir Bhutto Apna Ghar Housing Scheme,
President Zardari has said, We will live in history, others in the headlines.
Sir, the way the PPP is running the government, it can be safely stated
that it is already moving towards becoming history.
On 29th December, The News commented: The PPP should have its
thinking caps on It is not just the PML-N or the MQM that are unhappy.
The JUI-F has already made its stance known and the loss of its seven seats
add to the strains on the PPP. Maulana Fazlur Rehman has now called for the
resignation of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani. Even from within the ANP
there are voices that question the PPP mode of governance and complain that
the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province is being ignored. In other words, no one
seems happy, and this may have a great deal to do with the governments
inability to offer people what they need. It has also played its cards badly,
and in a coalition that can have grim consequences. All this could yet create
a bigger crisis. A worsening of the situation is hardly something we need
right now. As phone calls go out between Islamabad, Karachi and London,
much will depend on the agreements reached and on whether a coalition
bursting at the seams can still be stitched together.
Raoof Hasan wrote: The presidential broadside only perpetuates
the grave crisis, deepens the lingering doubts about his handling of the
country and the efforts to unfurl the demons behind the murder of Benazir
Bhutto. Strange that these thoughts should be expressed on BBs third death

25

anniversary, but, then, no day would be more appropriate than this to

remember what has been lost in these years.
For one, the sanctity of governance has been lost as the country
has fallen prey to the devilish machinations of a corrupt coterie that is
bent on plundering its resources and denuding it of its wealth and bounties.
Nothing is sacrosanct for this decrepit lot. They only see the goodies and lay
an instant claim to them all as the president, suffering acutely from a deep
disconnect, continues to live in his cocoon, trying to evade the onslaught of
history that would soon overtake him and the members of this abominable
aberration of cronies and sycophants. The mystery cannot lie buried under
heaps of flower petals at Naudero.
Zafar Hilaly observed: Another show of pretence-in-the-making is
the supposed satisfaction by all the players on the Pakistani domestic scene
that democracy is working and that, left to find its way through the shoals, it
will eventually reach its destination, battered and bruised, but somewhat
intact. In fact, the opposite is true. Democracy is not working. From the
corruption index, to crime, to bad governance, everything has gone up. What
has gone down, actually plummeted, is the morale and hope of the people,
faith in their leaders and, more recently and alarmingly, a belief in the
continued existence of this country. Sadly, the present system is not working;
its floundering, although no one is certain what will work.
Some disagree with such a pessimistic depiction of the state we are in
and recall the adage that hope springs eternal in human breast. But thats
hardly a good thing. He who lives on hope will die fasting is what many
here have come to believe. In Pakistan today the tantalizing properties of
hope have no appeal. Its not a case of viewing the glass being half empty or
half full. We dont even have a glass. Moreover, in the end hope must be
satisfied to become worthwhile, and thats doesnt look like happening here,
and few believe that it ever will.
The purpose is not to convey an all is lost message, but rather to
shed the lies and shibboleths by which governments have operated thus far
and which have proved so harmful and self-deluding. To bring about the
change that is so needed, we have to confess what is wrong and bad in
us, to ourselves, rather than hide them in the hope of earning cheap plaudits.
When all is said and done, we owe our friends, and ourselves, the truth.
Next day, The News observed: The MQM and the PML-N, rivals
who have shown little fondness for each other since the late 1990s, are at
each others throats again The rivalry between the two parties is well26

established. However, it is unfortunate that it has broken out once more,

and at this delicate juncture. What we need most of all, given the grave
problems we face, is harmony among all the major political forces in the
state. This does not mean that they need to agree each other on all matters or
share a common ideology. Pakistan is not a totalitarian state for every party
to agree on a single point. But what we can expect is for political parties to
act in more mature and less divisive manner. At least their leaders could
avoid directing jibes at each other, which inflict far wider damage than the
opponents expect.
The PML-N and the MQM would both be well-advised to act
with wisdom and good sense. The interest of the nation should always be
put before their own. Petty point-scoring is not called for at this time. The
central government also has a role to play in this. It is vital that it create an
environment conducive to good government and take other political entities
along with it in this. Any increase in the animosity we see breaking out now
can only lead to a worsening of the all-round crisis in which we are mired.
This would be disaster for the country, for its people and for the process of
democracy we need to preserve.
Ejaz A Khan from Abbottabad wrote: The MQM is a party which has
remained in power for the last 10 to 12 years. The claims of the party having
the ability to change the destiny of the people do not hold water. What is
intriguing is that it never threatens resignations over issues like massive
unemployment, terrible price hikes etc. But only when fingers are pointed at
it for problems in Karachi.
Rashid Orakzai from Quetta urged: It is time the MQM and its
leadership accept their mistakes. Their role in the Musharraf regime is a
reality they cannot hide from. It is also a fact that then MQM has always
sought a role in every government willing to welcome them, which includes
Nawaz, Benazir, Musharraf and now the Zardari regime. Similarly it is also
a fact that Nawaz Sharif was nurtured by Ziaul Haq, but later on he stood his
ground and went ahead withy the decision to test nuclear defence capability.
It is also a reality that the NRO, while giving relief to the corrupt, also gave
similar unconstitutional immunity to over 8,000 criminal cases of many who
were activists of the MQM.
All those who have committed crimes or looted national wealth be
they of any political group or of the civil or khaki bureaucracy, must pay for
their sins. Everybody including Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, Asfandyar Wali,
Chaudhry Shujaat, Altaf Hussain, Maulana Fazal etc must pay their taxes,

27

declare their assets and bring them all back to Pakistan, if they want to play
a role in national politics.
Old man Roedad Khans roedad (tale) always ends with a strong wish
for revolution or change. Today all the symptoms which one had ever met
in history previous to great changes and revolutions exist in Pakistan. Men
and women of Pakistan, now is the hour to claim your rights, your core
values, your stolen money. The cabal that rules this poor country is
degenerate to the very bones and nauseatingly corrupt. We must extirpate it
root and branch. Be prepared to march. It is time to go to the barricades. The
great are great only because we are on our knees. Let us rise.
On 31st December, The News commented: Leaving aside whatever
the political content may have been of the muckraking and mudslinging that
went on over the course of Wednesday afternoon outside parliament, we are
left with an appalling display of unmannerly behaviour by people who
should know better. What sort of example were these people setting, using
language so foul that at least a section of the media had to censor it and
many newspapers couldnt print it? There can be no justification for this
kind of behaviour, no matter how heated the political battle. The threats
to publish evidence in a divorce case heard in a UK court, allegations
regarding the behaviour (read morality) of the female children of a leading
politician, jibes about hair transplants and wigs and alcoholism are the
politics of the gutter. Indeed merely to use the word politics in this context
is to aggrandize and legitimize such behaviour.
Politics is a rough sport, and not for the soft or the fainthearted, and
our politicians are as much used to the rough and tumble of daily political
life as those of any other country. But there are limits to what may be
tolerated by way of political behaviour, and those limits were crossed on
Wednesday. What will be remembered in the mind of the wider public who
saw and heard the whole sordid business played out across every TV channel
in the country is people who have the language of the gutter which they
trade freely among themselves. What has become a matter of public
record cannot be undone. Apologies, if made, will never erase the
impression that we are led by those whose values and standards of public
behaviour few of us, rich or poor, would ever aspire to. Be ashamedbe
very ashamed.
Ayaz Amir opined: As if the antics emanating from the ruling
coalition were not enough Maulana Fazlur Rehman trying out a new line
of indignation and making the prime minister his principal target, for reasons

28

too irrelevant to enumerate here, and the MQM Fuehrer, Altaf Hussain,
blowing hot and cold (we must have done something to deserve him and his
alarming talent for amazing histrionics) we have the bemusing spectacle
of the PML-N and the MQM engaged in an exchange of public insults
that in this winter of multiple shortages we could have done without.
Although my friend Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan could have avoided
saying a few things his tone at least was measured. But the response from
the MQMs Haider Abbas Rizvi and Waseem Akhtar was totally
unrestrained. They said things of which a schoolboy with his senses about
him would have felt ashamed. And they were frothing at the mouth,
playing not so much to any kind of gallery at home but to their distant leader
in London. They simply went too far, and this from the supposed legatees of
the Urdu civilization of Central India.
Whats happened to the art of the elegant insult? Churchill saying
of Attlee that he was a modest man and had much to be modest about
Disraeli asked about the difference between a disaster and a catastrophe and
explaining that if Mr Gladstone (his great political rival) were to fall into the
water and be in danger of drowning that would be a disaster, but if someone
were to pull him out that would be a catastrophe
In the context of Pakistan, Churchillian or Disraelian analogies are
perhaps far-fetched. We are a nation of orators and poets. When we have to
say something we declaim and hold others by the collar to grab and preserve
their attention. Conversation as such is not a sub-continental talent
declamation is. Even so, politics, a grim business most of the time, can do
with a bit of humour and sarcasm. There is no insult imaginable, right down
to questioning someones parentage or casting aspersions on his manhood,
which cannot be conveyed given the right use of words.
The MQM resides in a claustrophobic world of its own. Engaging it
as if it were an equal, which it is not, is hardly a mark of wisdom. The PMLN is a national party, twice having led the country, and waiting in the wings
to lead it once more. If a further response from its side is called for, it should
be dismissive and, with luck, withering. There the matter should rest. The
PML-N does itself no service by stooping to the MQMs level.
As interior minister, Gen Naseerullah Babar did not bandy words
with the MQM. When things got out of hand in Karachi in mid-1995 he
started an operation which ended by breaking the MQMs back. It was
Musharraf whom Gen Wahid Kakar as army chief used to call my
MQM general who helped the MQM back on its feet. In exchange for
29

the MQMs unqualified and indeed blind support the keys of Karachi, so to
speak, were handed over to the MQM. It was not the MQM which crushed
Afaq Ahmeds Haqiqi. The Haqiqis were quarantined and the threat they
posed to Altaf snuffed out by the armys intelligence agencies.
There is a time for action and a time for words. The ANP is playing a
far shrewder game, fighting a turf battle in Karachi with the MQM, using
much the same methods as the MQM has perfected over the years. The
PML-N should be concentrating on building its own base in Karachi.
The time for words will come later
It has all happened very quickly, in fast-forward motion: the
rumblings from the Haj scandal; the public spat between Haj minister,
Hamid Saeed Kazmi, and Maulana Fazlur Rehmans nominee and wealthy
sponsor, Azam Swati; their sacking from the cabinet; the JUI-Fs departure
from the federal cabinet; and the Maulanas assault on Prime Minister
Gilani, asking for his head from President Zardari. And on the edges of these
gathering storm clouds, the exchange of insults between the PML-N and the
MQM, the MQM the clear winner of the vulgarity prize on offer.
It is not so much a question of numbers as of a demystification of the
political order. The political process no longer is in anyones control, not
even in that of our temple of last resort, GHQ and its supposedly
subordinate agencies, the fount of so many of our national sorrows. We are
adrift on the tide of events, with no hand on the rudder and both Zardari and
Gilani etching their names in history as the most helpless of that long line of
tribunes who took it in turns to screw what could have been a fairly worthy
enterprise.
The great danger, or call it the great temptation, in this increasingly
fluid situation is for the revival of the saviour complex in the army, a
sentiment which has already brought the country to grief four times.
Appearances may suggest otherwise, to support PM Gilanis oft-repeated
assertion that the army, and its current chief, will never intervene. But
appearances are of small comfort when the pilots on deck are no good and
the way ahead is dangerous.
Sheeba Ajmal from Peshawar observed: The recent war of words
between the MQM and PML-N has added spice to the ongoing political
drama. The use of undignified language, the humiliating content of speeches,
the absurd expressions on their faces, live on television screens, shows their
level of character and highlights their ugly intentions. We are a nation fooled
by their unholy words of wisdom. We get carried away easily by emotional
30

speeches remaining completely ignorant of whats in store for us. The

underlying irony is that it is none other than us who vote for such people
so it is we who bear the brunt. The ugly tug of war between the two parties
is a slap on the nations face. It is giving the whole world a glimpse of our
dirty politics, making us a laughing stock. Shame on our so-called graduate
politicians! They should be literally thrown out of the assemblies.
Aneela Chandio from Sukkur wrote: Never before have I felt so
disgusted, ashamed and angry as I was on Dec 29 when the sanctity of our
homes was violated by televising the foul-mouthed language of two MNAs
by private TV channels. The leader of the opposition, although remaining
civil, using sugar-coated but biting remarks, should have refrained from
commenting on the private life of a politician, especially if it relates to his
marriage. Politicians should exercise more restraint and tolerance
instead of intruding into the private lives of other politicians, although
in democratic societies people who offer themselves for public political
service are open to scrutiny because they play a vital role in the decisionmaking process. For example, drug or alcohol addicts, or men with a history
of corruption, should have no role to play heading political parties because
they would usher in an era of irresponsible behaviour and obscenity.
The reply by the MQM was also repulsive and broke all
democratic parliamentary norms that any civil society should tolerate.
While the media was only reflecting what was happening, it should have
exercised restraint and refrained from broadcasting such abusive remarks
that could infuriate a whole ethnic community. All limits of decency were
crossed by dragging in daughters and sisters of politicians Even the faade
of the Nazim of Karachi was shattered when he came on a channel to vent
out more poison. It all seems to be a deliberate attempt to incite violence and
alienate the whole population from democratic politics. Fortunately, the
people of Pakistan can see through the designs of those out to harm the
federation. Sanity must prevail, because violence and filthy abuses have no
place in any civilized society.
Sardar Azam from Burewala opined: It was a terrible day in the
parliamentary history of Pakistan. The uncivilized manner in which the
PML-N and MQM legislators behaved made the whole nation ashamed.
Will they apologize to the nation? I doubt if they will. I also request the
media not to cover such uncouth behaviour time and again. I would also like
to urge parliament to pass a resolution condemning this behaviour.

31

A Rashid from Rawalpindi observed: The language used by some

political leaders in response to Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khans diatribe was
highly disgusting, very disturbing, devoid of any morality and extremely
shameful. It is high time for the people of Pakistan to think. If the future of
Pakistan is in the hands of these Leaders, then God have mercy on us.
Dr Muzaffar Iqbal commented: All that Pakistani politicians seem
to be interested in is an unending parade of petty political games. In a
country where no one feels safe, where all the growth indicators have been
going down, and where basic necessities are becoming increasingly scarce,
no one seems to be concerned about any long-term strategy to meet the
power shortfall or to curtail the ever-increasing gap between the rich and the
poor.
It is hard to believe that Pakistan at the end of 2010 is the same
country which witnessed one of the greatest tragedies of its national life in
this same year. It seems no one remembers the floods anymore. The
desperation witnessed during those weeks, the hopelessness of people who
would rush to aid workers, fight over rice and sugar, stronger men would
slap the faces of women and children to get food away from them, people
would pick up grains of sugar from the ground and put them straight into
their mouths. These memories of those days, when the entire nation was
feeling an urgent sense of moral decay, but also a sincere repentance and
hoping for Divine grace, are all gone with the wind.
It is hard to believe that the nation is still filled with the same old
habits of life and its entire political leadership is immersed in yet another
petty affair. As the year 2010 comes to end, one cannot rejoice in any
possible opening filled with hope. Instead, there is this heavy feeling that the
same old pattern of national decay will continue in the New Year, and
perhaps for years to come.
Harris Khalique opined: When we enter 2011, the gravest threat
we face is the debilitating state of our economy. Undoubtedly, we are at
war. It has its own ramifications and makes it difficult, if not impossible, for
us to invite healthy foreign investment. But the real onus lies on the elite of
Pakistan those who have captured it from day one and continue to squeeze
the juice out of its people and resources. We have the feudal who neither
wants to be modernized because it threatens her/his hold on the land nor
wants to be taxed on income from its produce; the urban Mafioso of a trader
and businessman who evades taxation but also indents, imports and
smuggles rather than investing in any industry, big or small; the corrupt and

32

incompetent bureaucracy devoid of any sense of responsibility and public

service; and, a military mindset that continues to see itself as the only force
ensuring the safety of the country without realizing that no nukes and
stockpiles of missiles could save the Soviet Union from crumbling under
economic strain. Poor, unhappy, unsafe and unemployed people find it hard
to survive, let alone dominate others.
It is the responsibility of the PPP-led government to bring us out
of this economic quagmire. It will not be the confused PML-N,
opportunistic JUI-F or the fickle MQM who would bring them down. It will
be the management of economy. They need to spell out a long-term vision
besides showing the ability to document the economy and tax the rich.
Priority for 2011.
On 2nd January, 2011, Dr Farrukh Saleem talked of possibilities
presented by the present political situation. What really is the game plan? In
Game Theory lingo, the PPP, MQM and JUI are all strategic players taking
decisions anticipating the responses to their decisions by other players in
the game with the aim of maximizing their individual gains in a game that
is extremely competitive. To be certain, uncertainty rules supreme as no
player is certain as to what the other players are going to do.
To be sure, the army is also a hyperactive participant in the game
and so are the PML-N, the PML-Q and the ANP. Military strategists tend
to play the game based on a two-player zero-sum game whereby one
players gain must mean the other players loss (in other words, if the total
gains and the total losses of the players are added up, they will amount to
zero). Political strategists play the same game based on a multi-player nonzero-sum game whereby the players have an incentive to cooperate,
resulting in a situation where more than one player benefits.
Heres the hierarchy in our National Assembly: PPP, 127; PML-N,
89; PML-Q, 51; MQM, 25; and ANP, 13. The magic number is 172,
because that is the number of MNAs that form a stable cluster and also the
number that indicates how close a cluster is to wining the game
Heres the numbers game: A cluster required to fulfill the conditions
of Article 95(1) must have at least 69 MNAs, while the MQM-JUI cluster
has 33. Assuming that the MQM-JUI cluster can somehow attract an
additional cluster of 36 MNAs, the new cluster will still be short of 103
MNAs to fulfill the conditions of Article 95(4). Who can then be the gamechanger a player or a cluster that can redefine the game? Who can be the

33

person, the idea or the event that would completely change the parameters
of the current game?
Well, as per the hierarchy in our National Assembly, PML (N) is the
lone game-changer and Nawaz Sharif is the only person who can
redefine the game. Is Nawaz Sharif going to do it? As things stand, the
army and the PML-N are in a state of Nash equilibrium (named after
American mathematician John Nash) whereby each player of the game has
adopted a strategy that they are unlikely to change. Intriguingly, Nawaz
Sharif and Uncle Sam are in the same boat the boat that has PPP in it.
In all probability, Nawaz Sharif will not unilaterally change his
current strategy of supporting the PPP, unless the PML-N can secure a
larger share of the political pie in return for disturbing the Nash equilibrium.
In other words, the PML-N, without additional payoffs, will not bring the
PPP government down and till that happens the MQM and the JUI can
continue generating storms in their respective teacups.

REVIEW
The current political malakhra began with the exit of JUI-F from the
coalition which resulted in Fazl-Gilani confrontation. (The word malakhra
has been used because it is Sindhi version of wrestling which begins with
grip on opponents trousers at the waist.) Zulfikar Mirza added more thrill
to encounters between coalition partners by stating a fact-sheet of MQMs
role in killings in Karachi and that led to resignation of two ministers of that
party.
The party leaders decided to personally indulge in show of force. Altaf
Hussain chose Bhit Shah in the heart of interior Sindh, the power base of
PPP and Zardari chose Karachi, the stronghold of MQM. The choice of sites
for show of force by two major coalition partners was intriguingly
interesting.
The political malakhra between PPP and MQM had just picked up the
tempo, when Nawaz Sharif, like a clown of a circus jumped into the arena
diverting attention of the spectators and the contestants. He disrupted oneon-one contests between PPP and JUI-F and PPP and MQM with his
remarks about MQM and turned the political arena into free-for-all bout.
Does Nawaz give ill-timed statements deliberately or inadvertently;
the political analysts have not yet come to a definite conclusion. But his
every time ill-timed statement has rescued his political rival, Zardari, when
34

he was in trouble. That is what prompts Imran Khan to say ooper sey larai
ander sey bhai bhai (a definition of fixed bout).
Nawaz Sharifs Muzaffarabad outburst against MQM resulted in usual
political galam gloch (taunts and abuses) between the leaders of the two
parties. The most favourite political gali in Pakistan is to call the opponent
as product of a military dictator, or baby of this or that general.
This happens off and on despite the fact that barring few all the
politicians are the products of military dictators one way or the other. For
establishing this fact one does not have to resort to DNA sampling or any
form of genetic tests. Any old lady after a glance at their looks can identify
the similarities in their appearances.
Their character traits reveal as to whose off-springs they are; as they
say in Punjabi peta per poot, peta per ghora; bhota nahein tey thora thora
(like father, like son). From the most eulogized politicians, ZAB to the most
heard politician, Altaf Bhai had and have dictators blood in their veins.
Astonishingly, yet they have no shame in calling others by the names for
which they themselves qualify the most.
If there were doubt in anyones mind about the dictatorial traits of
Pakistani politicians, those should have been removed the unanimous
passage of 18th Constitutional Amendment, wherein even the unelected party
leaders have been empowered to dismiss sitting parliamentarians. This is the
documentary proof of their dictatorial traits inherited from their martial
parentage.
Coming back to the main issue of differences between coalition
partners, the attention from which has been diverted by the mudslinging
between MQM and PML-N, one finds it hard to point out any cogent reason
for the upheaval so created. The analysts fond of conspiracy theories,
however, have come out with some possibilities.
First: It is an engineered crisis that has originated from Presidency
aimed at changing the prime minister. It is not very convincing simply
because as America cannot find a better stooge in Pakistan than Zardari, so
is true for Zardari who cannot find better stooge in PPP than Gilani. Prime
Minister of Pakistan has the distinction of being stooge of a stooge.
Second: It is on the behest of Establishment which has warned the
civilian government to put its act together. Army is referred to as
Establishment to boost curiosity of the listeners. This too defies any logic.
The only act of the Army generals that can be blamed for the current

35

situation is that they have let their nephews to strip each other naked in
public.
Third: It has been prompted by Saudi Arabia or by the US through
Saudis. This could be only partially true but that cannot be substantiated.
There can be no reason for the US to look towards anyone in the presence of
Zardari. Saudi rulers are certainly unhappy with him, but they could only
instruct Maulana, not the Pakistani Khomeini sitting in London.
The fact is that it is a simple case of jumping out of a sinking boat,
especially when they see the high tide of next polls approaching fast. They
will soon grab the same boat because PML-N and Q have thrown in no straw
for them to catch and remain afloat. It also seems quite possible that PML-N
wants the MQM to remain stuck with PPP in the ruling coalition.
Remarks of Chaudhry Nisar about Altaf Hussains taunts at Nawaz
Sharif were within the limits of parliamentary decorum, except when he
mentioned unhappy married life of MQMs chief. The reaction of MQM
leaders wherein they crossed all the limits of decency.
When compared with their reaction to the publication of caricatures of
the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) it can be easily inferred as to whom they
hold in higher esteem. The same, to slightly lesser degree, is true in case of
other parties headed by Zardari, Nawaz, or Asfandyar.
Fuming and frothing by Haider A Rizvi and Wasim Akhtar reflected
the ruthlessness of the MQM with which it has held the largest city of the
country as its hostage. The success of their militant political policy has
encouraged them to now think of holding entire Pakistan as their hostage.
They are not going to give up this policy unless they encounter about which
Zulfikar Mirza has warned them.
Media cannot be exonerated from the dirty role it plays in triggering
and blowing the fire of political tensions and resultant politics of gali aur
goli. In its unrestrained pursuit of breaking news and excel in live coverage
it denies itself the right to separate chaff from grain, extract the news from
an event and censor vulgarity from what it wants to present to its audience.
Media prefers quantity over quality and that is why it offers unlimited time
to the speaker from London.
Amid this muckraking between MQM and PML-N another event
which was much more disgraceful and condemnable than the show of
vulgarity passed relatively unnoticed. In that Rehman Malik was asked to

36

recite Surah-e-Akhlas before the start of cabinet meeting which was called to
discuss the prevalent political situation.
He could not recite the Surah correctly in several attempts. Malik then
showed the written verses to Babar Awan, the Mufti of Fiqah-e-Zardari, who
came to the rescue of Zardaris disciple and declared that the script was
written incorrectly. He responded to the call of duty as law minister and
ordered immediate inquiry find pen or bayonet in the conspiracy.
Does a non-Arabic speaking Muslim really need a script for reciting
one of the last few Surahs of Quran which he memorizes in early days of his
schooling? If he had consulted Shahbaz Bhatti, instead of Babar Awan, his
Christian colleague, would have told him that for recitation of that Surah
you do not require a written script. Bhatti certainly possesses that much
knowledge, after all Zardari has assigned him the task of reforming
blasphemy law.
The most shameful aspect of the entire episode was that no one in the
cabinet showed any sign of regret, remorse or sorrow over their colleagues
failure to recite one of the most commonly recited Surahs in any Muslim
society. The entire cabinet of the Islamic Republic laughed and giggled
when Malik tried again and again. May Allah forgive us; should He?
In the end, one must appreciate Zardari for his self-awareness. By
ordering the party workers not to chant in future the slogan eik Zardari sub
per bhari, Zardari acknowledged that all that he has achieved is because of
Bhutto family. Zardari, despite limitations of his intellect knows that to
become a majawar is far more rewarding than striving hard for life time and
then be buried in the tomb and remembered as a pir. Hence; he approved the
slogan jiye Bhutto and opted to be majawar of Bhutto shrine.
2nd January 2011

37

SHAHEED-E-AASIA
The period of one week under review began with the decision of
MQM to sit on opposition benches in the Parliament. Many thought that it
was unfolding of the much harped about revolution of Altaf Bhai. The period
ended with MQM rolling back the revolution and announcing its return to
treasury benches.
During six-day revolution something happened that overshadowed all
other events of the period. Governor Punjab, Salman Taseer was shot dead
by his own escort, Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri in a market in Islamabad
on 4th January. Enlightened sections of media and the ruling elite forgot all
the problems of masses and focused on threats posed to their security.
Zardari and his aids, however, found an opportunity in the tragedy and
embarked upon availing it to their advantage and to demonize Punjab
government and PML-N. By the end of the week PPP had committed all its
forces for remaining completely oblivious of the dire consequences of such a
confrontation.

NEWS
On 2nd January, MQM decided to sit on Opposition benches. The
decision was linked to price hike and non-removal of its grievances, but it
was more because of the latter. MQM, PML-Q and JUI-F mulled to join
forces. With MQMs decision the Gilani government lost majority, but he
said his government would stay even without any ally. Babar Awan said
Zardari wont ask Prime Minister to take vote of confidence; Zardari
confirmed by saying the government would complete its tenure.
PML-N remained indecisive, but Saleh Zaafir reported that the close
confidants of Nawaz Sharif and senior leaders of PML-N have impressed
upon him to stay away from any move that could infer as a support for the
incumbent administration since it has become sign of corruption
supporting the government would mean flourishing price-hike,
misgoverning, corruption and chaos.
Protests by domestic consumers were held in Lahore over gas outages.
In Rawalpindi, Imran Khan led protest rally against increase in prices of
POL products. The government broke all records of using secret funds in last
three years.

38

Next day, Gilani telephoned and asked for a meeting, he then met
Shahbaz Sharif and before that Sharif brothers discussed the political
situation. Maulana Ghafoor Haidri called on Chaudhry Shujaat. After this
meeting Gilani met Chaudhry brothers, but he failed to secure clearly stated
support from PML-N and Q leaders. Reportedly, Shujaat asked Gilani to
ditch PML-N in Punjab. Zardari announced his support for Gilani and said
his government would complete its tenure.
Dilshad Azeem termed Senate chairman a sitting duck and the
rejuvenated Opposition could start duck-shooting with his scalp. Joint sector
in-charge of MQM and two workers of ANP were among five people killed
in targeted killings in Karachi; two buses and a rickshaw were burnt.
PML-N and MQM protested in National Assembly against increase in
price of petroleum products; MQM and JUI also staged walkout. Rehman
Malik met Ishrat three times in 24 hours. Gas load-shedding paralyzed life in
Punjab. A constitutional petition was filed in the Supreme Court challenging
19th Amendment.
On 4th January, Salman Taseer, Governor of Punjab, was shot dead by
one of his guards at Kohsar Market, Islamabad. After killing him, the guard
Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri placed his weapon on the ground, raised his
arms and surrendered. He confessed that he killed Salman for calling
blasphemy law as black law.
Qadris father, four brothers, all other guards on duty and a former
nazim who had announced head money for Salman were arrested. Gilani
announced three day mourning and Punjab government announced closed
holiday on 5th January. Rehman Malik ordered probe.
Jiyalas rushed to hospital and demanded no post mortem
examination of Salmans dead body. They burnt tyres and blocked traffic in
twin cities. PPP announced two-week mourning. Zardari, Gilani, Ban ki
Moon, British foreign minister and Burney slammed murder of Salman. A
rally in Mansehra celebrated Salmans execution. Leading ulema of Ahle
Sunnat pressed not to offer Taseers funeral prayer.
Nawaz Sharif outlined both a long term demand-agenda along with an
immediate abridged and prioritized version at a press conference after
presiding the meeting of Central Organization Committee of PML-N. He
said his party would like to hear a clear yes or no from PM whether he
wants to implement the agenda given to him in 45 days, or not. He gave
three-day deadline to hear yes or no from Gilani, which was extended to sixday after the murder of Salman Taseer.
39

The nine-point agenda focused on ending corruption and price hike. It

demanded withdrawal of POL price hike; spelling out of mechanism to
control gas and power load-shedding; measures to check inflation;
implementation of Supreme Court decisions, including NRO verdict; thirty
per cent cut in government expenses; reconstitution of Election
Commission; recovery of written-off loans; ensuring security of the country;
strengthening of parliamentary committees and transparent probe into mega
scandals.
Earlier, Raja Riaz had cautioned PML-N about decisions it would take
as these would have repercussions in Punjab. After Nawazs press
conference, Shujaat said his party does not believe in deadline politics. He
suspected that Nawaz would bail out the government.
The bench hearing the case of NAB Amendment Ordinance asked
petitioner to furnish solid evidence. The bench hearing PCO judges case
remarked they supported a man (Musharraf) at the cost of dignity.
Accountability Court-III formally framed charges against former chairman
of CBR, A R Siddiqui for his involvement in the Cotecna corruption case.
Islamabad High Court formally started functioning.
Next day, Salman Taseer was laid to rest with state honour. Shahbaz
and Rana Sana stayed away from Salmans funeral on the advice of PPP
leaders. Religio-political parties were named in FIR. ATC granted one-day
physical remand of Mumtaz Qadri. Lawyers showered flowers on him when
he arrived in the court. Fifteen people were arrested as probe widened. Fifty
lawyers of IHCBA announced to defend Qadri free of cost.
Zardari said Salman was killed to terrorize democratic powers. Babar
Awan said its a political murder in custody. Kaira saw serious lapses in
governors security. Rehman Malik termed it part of a big conspiracy. Naek
and Jamali condemned murder of Salman and PPP activists held protest
rallies in twin cities. Hillary Clinton termed Taseers killing a great loss.
PML-Q decided not to save the sinking boat of PPP government.
Chuadhry Shjaat said his party cant be used for anyones agenda. He asked
PML-N to table no-confidence motion and his party would support. Salem
Saifullah asked PPP to quit corridors of power. Tariq Butt reported that
Nawaz Sharif shied away from demanding fresh elections fearing these
would be rigged by Zardari. Saleh Zaafir reported that opposition wanted
president, not prime minister, removed. Four more parliamentarians faced
legal action over fake degrees.

40

The Supreme Court noted that the date of summary issued from the
PM office and sent to Presidency advising the president to promulgate
National Accountability Ordinance seemed to have been tempered with. The
observation was made when the Attorney General had presented copies of
correspondence. In another case the Court directed that meeting of relatives
of eleven inmates of Adiala Jail that had been taken away by agencies
should be ensured.
On 6th January, The Prime Minister announced reversal of fuel prices
back to December 31 level. The decision was taken in meeting in the
meeting of parliamentary heads presided over by the PM. Transporters also
withdrew increase in fares. LPG prices were increased by Rs5 per kg.
Hillary Clinton termed revision of fuel prices a mistake.
Babar Awan said PPP wont quit Punjab coalition government and
Aitizaz wasnt a candidate for governorship (Awan is). Ansar Abbasi
reported PPP would be thrown out of Punjab government by January 10.
Tariq Butt reported Gilani wont be able to demands of Nawaz because of
opposition from Zardari.
FIA informed the Supreme Court that son of Prime Minister Gilani
was also involved in the Haj scam and accused Rao Shakeel of Rs200
million corruption. The court showed dissatisfaction over the quality of
investigation ordered the 700 Saudi riyals refund to each of 26,000 pilgrims
and if payment not made in one week all accounts of the ministry be frozen.
Azam Swati said Gilani is the most corrupt prime minister.
The bench hearing Accountability Ordinance case questioned the
stance of petitioner, Zafar Ali Shah, observing that Prime minister in his
speech in National Assembly had wanted to transfer powers to Ministry of
Law. AG also refuted petitioners claim that Ordinance was not made public.
ATC gave five day remand of Qadri and ordered his medical
examination after defence counsel complained that his client was tortured
and deprived of food and sleep. Earlier the court had rejected government
notification to shift its venue of terming it illegal.
Nisar warned politicization of Salmans murder would create chaos.
TTPs claim of killing Taseer was dubious, but agencies were exploring links
terror links. PML-N and JUI-F warned government against tampering with
blasphemy law. Najam Sethi joined Geo/Jang Group. Has he come with a
mission or it is a case of change of mind?

41

Next day, Prime Minister was warmly received at Nine Zero where he
paid rich tributes to Altaf Bhai and promised to remove all the reservations
of MQM. He also delayed action on RGST. Raza Haroon reciprocated by
announcing MQMs return to treasury benches, but showed inability to
rejoin the federal cabinet. He narrated the same list as justification for the
return which was read out by Altaf when he had announced MQMs exit
from coalition government. JUI-F, too, seemed to be having second thought
on its exit from ruling coalition as was evident from Haidris statement that
his party would support government steps in national interest.
Reportedly, investigators have established Mumtaz Qadris link to
Kohat-based extremist group. A policeman from security squad of PM was
arrested. Two SPs were questioned for ignoring security agencies reports
about Qadri. Altaf urged unity of moderate forces. Babar Awan sought
explanation from PML-N as to why a layer of PML-N Lawyers Forum
garlanded killer of Salman.
Fauzia Wahab and Shahbaz Masih joined hands in National Assembly
on terming Taseers murder politically motivated and urging moderate forces
to unite against intolerance. She matched Aasia with Dr Aafia and he said all
citizens have equal rights in Pakistan. EU representative condemned killing
of Taseer.
Zardari visited Lahore to condole with the bereaved family where he
said Salman died for great cause. The enlightened lit candles in Lahore and
Islamabad while activists of the Tehrik-e-Nabuwat rallied in Rawalpindi in
support of Mumtaz Qadri. The numbers of candles and activists on streets
showed as to he enjoys the support of the majority.
KPK Assembly passed a resolution urging federal government not to
reform blasphemy law. Religious parties demanded dissolution of body on
blasphemy laws. A bill to ban discussions in TV talk shows was tabled in the
National Assembly, which is expected to be passed during next session of
the assembly. The bill has proposed Rs10 million fine for TV houses and
three-year jail for cable operators if ordered violated.
On 8th January, gas supply to industry and CNG stations was cut in
Punjab for indefinite period; textile industry was worst affected by the
democratic revenge. People, mostly women and children demonstrated in
big cities. Electricity consumers were also exposed to 8-16 hours outrages a
day. Naveed Qamar said next increase in fuel prices would be much bigger.
Zardari interviewed the aspirants for Punjab governorship; the Prime
Minister who is empowered constitutionally to chose and recommend to
42

president remained out of the loop. Asma Jahangir also met Zardari leading a
delegation of SCBA and said afterwards that she wasnt candidate for
governorship.
Chaudhry Nisar said the trademark revolution of MQM is to remain in
the government. Punjab abolished seven departments and two PPP ministers.
PML-Q dissidents vowed to stand by Shahbaz. MQM activist was shot dead
in Karachi and 14 people were injured when a bus was set ablaze by
unknown miscreants.
In compliance with Supreme Court orders, the PM approved Rs16,100
for each Haji out of government exchequer; that meant the looted money
stay with the looters and PMs son is among them. Probe team constituted by
Punjab declared Qadri sole doer of crime.

VIEWS
On 3rd January, 2011, Zafar Hilaly observed: A military takeover
today has become a high stakes game because the judiciary and the
politicians have gone to an extreme length to deter a future coup by
amending the Constitution. This means that if a coup does occur we would
be foolish to think that it cannot in our morbid situation we may have to
kiss good bye to the 1973 Constitution and thats surely a death wish. Hence
the message is clear batten down the hatches and wait it out. Demagogy is
here to stay.
Next day, Ansar Abbasi proposed a list of demands for the PML-N
for helping beleaguered Gilani. He suggested: The setting up of an
independent accountability commission; introduction of a system. Of
parliamentary oversight for all top executive/bureaucratic positions like
chairman of Pak Steel, PIA, OGDCL, etc; independence of Pemra from
government influence to ensure independence of media; de-politicization of
the civilian bureaucracy by securing the terms of key bureaucrats and federal
secretaries; reformation of the Election Commission of Pakistan; autonomy
for the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR); and empowerment of the
parliamentary committees are the key structural and institutional reforms
that the PML-N could push forward in these situations by giving a few
weeks deadline to the beleaguered regime.
Abbasi has indulged in day dreaming by asking PML-N to demand all
this from PPP and by expecting that PPP would concede these. He went on
to mention indecision on the part of PML-N top leaders and then added:

43

The PML-Ns dilemma is that it does neither trust the government nor the
fast emerging MQM-JUI-F-PML-Q opposition trio, which has effectively
rattled the whole political power bases of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party.
However, despite realizing that the system could not run in the present
situation where the prime minister has lost the confidence of the House, the
N-League does not have any strategy up its sleeves to dictate its agenda.
Instead of becoming a decisive force to get the outcome of its choice from
the present political mess, which otherwise has all the potential to get much
worse and go beyond anybodys control in the coming days and weeks, the
N-League has been playing the role of a spectator as yet.
The News commented: What happens in the next few days will be
crucially important in deciding the future course of politics in the
country Will a desperate Mr Gilani, who is holding meetings with Mian
Shahbaz Sharif and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, take the assembly with him,
as he is empowered to do, before a vote of no-confidence is moved in the
342-seat National Assembly? What is to be the future of the president
himself, who will not survive in the absence of a PPP government? He is
hardly a man who can claim to command much respect or trust, so he cannot
hope for a new setup opting to retain him. Other questions are considerably
more intriguing. What, in the first place, compelled Sindh Home Minister Dr
Zulfikar Mirza to deliver the diatribe directed against the MQM, which
triggered the crisis which simmered for some days and has now reached
boiling-point? Surely, he could not have expected that the MQM would not
react. Is there some plot on against the prime minister, whose decisions have
not always gone down well in the Presidency? How much weight is there in
such views now that the president has strongly reaffirmed his confidence in
Mr Gilani and assured him of support in case of any move against him?
Some in Islamabad say the plan is to install a compromise candidate. We still
do not know who all the players are and what games are being played.
It is obvious why this chaotic situation has arisen. Almost three
years of failure to govern have caught up with the ruling party. Since it was
elected in February 2008 the perception of people has been that most things
have deteriorated rapidly. Inflation and their own growing poverty have
emerged as peoples primary concern. Corruption and nepotism have marked
the manner in which the state has been run. Combined with this we have an
energy crisis that has paralyzed industry and made the lives of domestic
utility users unbearably miserable.
Most citizens would agree with the points made by the MQM in
the announcement of its decision to quit: the fuel-price hike; the
44

governments failure to tax agriculturists, the growing taxation burden on the

salaried class and the deteriorating law and order situation. We all know, too,
that promises have not been kept, suicide bombings continue and the unrest
in Balochistan has not been checked. The challenges posed to the
government by events beyond its control, such as floods, are not enough to
justify its failures. The report card shows few passing grades. This will also
have an impact on the outcome of meeting being held. The government
clings by its finger-nails to the edge of a sleep cliff.
Jafer Alam from Karachi wrote: There is something seriously
wrong with our prime minister. First he could not see corruption in the
government and now he cannot see any crisis in the country, not even when
his party does not enjoy majority in parliament anymore!
Mosharraf Zaidi made his observations on the foggy political
situation. By the time Pakistanis fell asleep on Sunday night, having been
serenaded by the hysteria emanating from the MQMs departure from the
national government, a dense fog was busy enveloping itself right around
Islamabad. Mother Nature moves in mysterious ways, and by Monday
morning, the fog was so thick that low visibility was making a mystery of
anything that was more than ten feet away. Rarely does nature reflect the
state of a ration as accurately as Pakistans. The fog affecting national
perspective doesnt just affect short-term visibility; it limits the canvas of the
possibilities for 180 million people. There may be plenty of mystery about
what will happen next in the National Assembly, but there is absolutely none
about what is happening to the larger picture in Pakistan. Slowly but surely,
the accumulated sins of politicians in Pakistan are helping speed up the
cleansing the Pakistani military.
Zaidi discussed how the situation reached this point, in which he
mostly blamed the military, and the concluded: All of this should be vitally
important in making sense of the fog that surrounds politics in Pakistan. But
it should be important for the right reasons. No country should have a
national discourse that is constantly bad mouthing its military and
intelligence agencies. Yet the constant efforts of the military, both deliberate
and unintentional, to dominate the Pakistani narrative are, quite plainly,
dangerous.
Democracies have power struggles, hung parliaments, fractured
politics and votes of no-confidence all the time. Luckily, Gen Kayanis
sense of security and his method means that few people are talking

45

about an outright takeover of power. This is all the more reason for
Pakistanis to proceed with caution.
While frolicking in an orgy of condemnations of the incompetence of
elected politicians, from the corrupt PPP, to the thuggish MQM, to the
sinister PML-N, we might consider biting our lips, once in a while. The
choice to reject these adjectives-laden parties is a sovereign right of the
people of Pakistan. It must be exercised by the Pakistani people. Spoon-fed
governance from soldiers is a baby formula that weve consumed before. It
has always produced indigestion.
Rahimullah Yusufzai analyzed the cause of MQM-PPP differences
over Karachi and concluded: One doesnt have to agree with everything
Zulfikar Mirza says, though it is true that for the first time someone in
authority has defended the poor Pakhtuns who go to Karachi in search of
livelihood and then become victim of political vendetta. Even the ANP
couldnt have come to the defence of its Pakhtun electorate in a more
effective way
For obvious reasons, the MQM doesnt agree with Zulfikar Mirzas
assertions. There are certain things about the MQM that distinguishes it from
other parties. It is a party of the middle class in which commoners can rise
above the ranks and become ministers. It is secular and anti-feudal and is
consistent in the fight against extremism and militancy. It has suffered due
security operations directed against it. The MQM has also tried to extend its
appeal beyond its core constituency of Mohajirs. One wishes it stopped
using violence to achieve its objectives. And also stopped considering
itself as the master of Karachi to the exclusion of other ethnic groups.
On 6th January, The News commented: Much attention has been
focused in the aftermath of Taseers death on the potential political fallouts.
But the representation of almost all major parties at the funeral indicated that
they were united in shock. The same sombre atmosphere that prevailed at the
funeral was seen elsewhere, with life in Lahore at a standstill. But more
than the political repercussions it is the social ones we need to consider.
In some places rallies were held to celebrate the death. In an extraordinary
display of bad taste, sweets were distributed in Mansehra. Less than 24
hours after Salmaan Taseer died thousands of messages had appeared on a
Facebook page hailing his killer as a hero All this makes us question what
our future is to be and whether our own battle for hearts and minds has
actually been lost.

46

The question also arises if this is not happening because of

mishandling of situations and whether the policies resulting into extremism
and terrorism need a serious review. Should we allow the society to divide
further? Still more grim are the questions concerning security. Malik
Mumtaz Qadri, the Elite Force guard who killed the governor in cold blood,
had been turned down for the Special Branch on security grounds. Yet he
was able to get on duty with the governor. This is now being investigated,
after the damage has been done. Even more hair-raising is the account from
Qadri reported by Geo TV which says he had told his fellow guards of his
plan and asked them not to shoot him after he had killed the governor. They
appear to have complied. We need an urgent inquiry into police affairs. For
the PPP the loss of Taseer is a grave one. An acting governor has been
appointed in Punjab. Developments in the politics of Punjab will now be
closely watched, as will the process of investigating the assassination of
yet another major political leader.
In another editorial the newspaper added: As the nation absorbs the
shock of the death of Salmaan Taseer, the business of politics continues. On
the day he was assassinated there were developments that would have been
headlines had his death not pushed the story to the bottom of the page. The
PML-N has, seemingly, finally decided to get tougher with the PPP but is
not yet prepared to challenge it by moving a vote of no confidence. The
PML-N has announced a nine-point agenda for which it seeks government
compliance, and the agenda comes attached to a 72-hour deadline (amended
in the light of governor Taseers murder by three days to allow proper
respects to be paid.) The other major party in the National Assembly the
PML-Q also held back from the no-confidence line in the dust; and there is
a collective holding of breath and careful scrutiny of positions to see
who is going to blink first.
There does not appear to be the political desire to oust the
government, at least not yet, and space has been created for some high-speed
horse-trading and the extraction of political concessions by the opposition
from a government weakened by the decision of the MQM to sit on the
opposition benches in the Centre. The prime minister has indicated that he
may consider a reversal of the decision to raise petrol prices. Such an
adjustment is a quick fix, and easier to fulfill than getting rid of corrupt
officials, cutting back on government expenditure and appointing
independent members to vacant seats on the election commission. These
latter are rather more difficult to achieve than by the stroke of a pen, and the
PML-N will doubtless have been aware of that when its demands were
47

formulated. Breathing space is provided by a cushion of 45 days which the

government has been given by PML-N to meet its demands which takes us
to February 20. After that, and if the government has failed to comply, the
PML-N is saying it will put the same agenda to other opposition parties to
see if consensus can be arrived at for a challenge to the government.
Whatever happens, the government just saw its wiggle room diminish
significantly, and for the first time in the current crisis change may be
on the horizon.
Kamila Hyat, like all enlightened persons kept pressing for
reforming blasphemy law. The PPP has, by its shameless backtracking
on the blasphemy issue, made a terrible start to 2011. We have not even
heard an adequate explanation from any party member in a position of
responsibility as to why the turnaround came about. The party already lacks
support from an increasingly powerful media and from other institutions. It
must not disenchant those who still back it and understand that at least some
of the problems of governance are created by factors quite beyond its
control.
But this can be no excuse for spineless compromises, or the caving in
under the first wave of pressure. In the past, when put to the test, the
extremists have not proved to be quite as mighty as they pretend. On the
blasphemy issue at least, they need to be taken on fiercely and a strategy
should be developed to take Pakistan to a place in time where hatred and
intolerance is not quite so prominent a trait. A failure on this count would
only expose us to the risk of producing contingent after contingent of
militants baying for blood and pushing us towards still greater disaster.
Another enlightened, Basil Nabi Malik opined: The effect of this
brutal and sinister murder will not simply be confined to the event of the
governors assassination. In fact, it will have a negative impact of creating
in the public a perpetual and suffocating fear while engaging in public
debates, questioning anything that the religious bigots have to say or
analyzing any interpretation that they posit. By killing the governor,
purportedly for his speaking ill of an error-riddled law, the Right-inclined
have essentially tried to shut down any debate which will dilute their
influence, weaken their suffocating hold over Pakistani society and thereby
their monopoly over anything overtly religious
It is clear that the assassination of Salmaan Taseer will have serious
consequences for the general public and peoples freedoms, whether they
realize it or not. His death signifies not only an attack on the freedom of

48

speech enshrined in the Constitution, but also on what is left of Jinnahs

Pakistan. Jinnah would probably have never created this country had he
realized how we would eventually cede power and mortgage our lives to
those who in fact were against the very idea of Pakistan.
Mayed Ali opined: The PPP has the opportunity to make the state
more effective in countering such threats to every Pakistani. Instead, it
seems, the PPP doesnt care about so many Mumtaz Qadris roaming the
countrys streets over anticipated short-term political gains. This short-term
investment surely has long-term losses, something oblivious to the PPP
leadership, perhaps.
Next day, The News commented: The truth regarding political
assassinations rarely emerges in our country. It is already becoming clear
that a great deal of doubt is likely to swirl around the killing of Governor
Salmaan Taseer. Matters are not helped along at all by the rather hasty
statements from political leaders What they seem not to be acknowledging
is the elephant in the room the reality that Taseers murder was the product
of extremism. Further, nobody in the government is saying what it is going
to do to reduce or eradicate extremism, an omission bound to give comfort
and support to those who choose to kill as and when they see fit.
The Punjab government has so far exhibited a great deal of
maturity but it will eventually need to make some comment on the issue
and the key questions that are being raised. Was the gunning down of the
governor truly the act of a fanatic acting on his own? Even if this is the case,
the revelations that Malik Mumtaz Qadri had been declared a security risk
while posted in Rawalpindi due to his extremist views forces us to ask how
he could possibly have been assigned to guard a VIP. The issue is bound to
add to the political tensions. Their presence also means that facts may be
distorted or deliberately provocative statements made. Lack of credibility
adds to the problems, given that the words of leaders are not always
believed.
The fact that as a nation we favour conspiracy theories
complicates matters, with all kinds of emails and SMS messages adding to
a rather widespread sense of confusion. To clear this away we need to get to
the bottom of the matter. This will not be easy. But attempts to gain political
mileage from a tragic event will make it harder still. If there was indeed a
conspiracy that reaches beyond a single man and his distorted view of the
world, we need to know who was involved in hatching it. But this will
happen only if calm is observed, statements that have no real basis avoided

49

and a genuine attempt made to solve the mysteries behind the latest political
assassination to hit us, and add to the difficulties we face in calming a
political sea that grows rougher by the day. Also, the cancer of extremism
must be acknowledged at the highest level and fought as hard as it fights to
dominate all of us. Without this resolve, the chances of us ever being told the
truth, that which has not been distorted to serve political opportunism, are
infinitesimal.
Shafqat Mahmood after devoting major portion of his column in
praise of Salman Taseer concluded: Many of us have been warning about
this for years; that we are in the midst of an educational apartheid,
which is creating deep schisms within society. A Salmaan Taseer and
Mumtaz Qadri are not only divided by wealth or position but by a mindset
that has no congruence. The live in parallel realities and have no common
frame of reference.
This divides the nation more than any other fault line. The
divisions among different ethnicities and suspicions among the provinces are
real. While they manifest themselves in acts of occasional violence among
those living in ethnically-mixed towns, it does not affect everyone. Most
people, because of sheer geography, do not experience each other.
But parallel realities of existence brought about by diverse
curriculums are everywhere; in every town, in every street, indeed, for
those having servants, in every home. If lucky, they coexist but without the
faintest idea what motivates one or the other. When luck runs out, it ends up
in murder, as in the case of Salmaan Taseer.
Where do we go from here? Is there a way to salvage a nation from
the divisions purposely created? Sometimes because of class and wealth and
sometimes deliberately to ensure a fanatical mindset. Each one has served a
purpose so far, but is now coming back to haunt us. How can we go on like
this!
The way forward, if we have the guts to go forward, is to move
quickly towards removing the core basis of this division. No amount of
fire-fighting will stem the rot. A punishment here, a reaction there can at best
contain the raging fires of ignorance. To root it out, we have to focus on
education.
Ayaz Amir opined: Salmaan Taseer did not commit blasphemy
the assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, was not acting out of any malevolence or sense
of personal injury. He was acting not only in good faith but in what can only
be described as the highest manifestation of good faith: according to his
50

Islamic conscience which instructed him that Governor Taseer was a

blasphemer of the Holy Prophet and thus unmistakably deserving of death.
Small wonder then that far from anything like remorse on his face,
the expression he wore in police custody was almost beatific, as if he had
just accomplished a deed worthy of the saints or the holiest of martyrs In
the literal sense he may have been alone. But in the metaphorical or
spiritual sense he was representing a state of mind, a fever of the brain,
which has more and more Pakistanis in its grip. So it is hardly surprising if
there should be people, and not a small number either, looking upon him not
as a killer but a defender of the faith. Of the few text messages I have
received most, to my growing dismay, have spoken of Taseers killing as a
fate he richly deserved. Makes one think, doesnt it?
Ayaz spared some time for the favourite punching bag of liberal
intellectuals and democratic politicians (Ayaz being two-in-one) for
delivering few blows his act of blasphemy law. He coaxed Chief Justice for
undoing the damage and at the same time expressed apprehensions about
his abilities. He also talked of hunger, poverty and other social injustices.
He then referred to circumstances leading to the murder of Salman
and concluded: If Mumtaz Qadri pleads diminished responsibility,
which of course he wont, he will have grounds for doing so. He acted out
his decision against the backdrop of a mood inspired or rather whipped up
by (1) a clergy once again on the march and (2) media pundits who froth at
the mouth when any religious trumpets are to be blown.
In a landscape marked by all kinds of uncertainties, the only
certainty, the one thing constant, is the star of Islam. This is an Islamic land
and will always remain so until the end of time. Why then do we conduct
ourselves as if Islam is in danger? Pakistan may be in danger, Islam is not. If
there is one thing all Muslims, with all their other differences, are agreed on,
it is the finality of the prophet-hood of the Prophet Muhammad. No Muslim
dare question this article of our creed. Why then do sections of the holy
fathers make themselves hoarse over this issue? Like the lady in Hamlet,
they protest too much over a non-issue. Will we ever get real, ever get
out of the world of fantasy and make-believe? If Taseers killing makes us
sit back and think he may not have died in vain. Although to hear some of
the voices we are hearing it is hard to be optimistic on this score.
Dr Najeeb Khaqan from Islamabad observed: The accusation made
by Fauzia Wahab that the murder of Salman Taseer was a well thoughtout conspiracy is highly regrettable, especially in view of the fact that the
51

deceased was being openly threatened by religious groups and the murderer
has already confessed to his crime.
Said Umar Wazir from Abbottabad wrote: The assassination of
Salman Taseer shows the complexity of the situations and the dangers to
democracy as well as to Pakistan. I humbly beseech the government and all
the political and religious parties to settle their differences for the sake of
Pakistan. Their tussle is benefiting the elements which want to
destabilize Pakistan.
On 8th January, The News commented on PPP-MQM reconciliation.
The immediate threat to the PM, who had lost his majority in the lower
house, may have grown more distant but it has not vanished completely. It is
significant that the MQM has opted not to rejoin the cabinet and has acted
only to prevent the fall of Mr Gilanis administration. This indicates that it
may not have complete faith in its ally. The latest arrangement leaves space
for the MQM to criticize government decisions. This should help keep the
PPP on alert. But how well it utilises the second life it has received is yet to
be seen. Many problems of course still remain. These will not disappear with
the prime ministers success at Nine Zero. The economy remains as fragile
as ever, the threat of militancy hovers and it is unlikely that corruption will
be banished given how deeply entrenched it is in the ruling setup. This
means uncertainty and a sense of crisis will continue, even if, for now, the
government can breathe a long sigh of relief.
In another editorial the newspaper wrote: With the whiff of
expediency and an urgent desire to cling to power hanging about the PPP
government, it is worth considering the wider perception of the decision to
reverse the rise in the cost of fuel. The price of a litre of petrol in Pakistan
might not be thought to be of much concern to Hilary Clinton, the icemaiden at the top of US foreign policy. Yet within hours of the
announcement to reverse the deeply unpopular rise, here was Mrs Clinton
banging on something awful about how much of a mistake this was. She
was closely followed by a spokesperson of the IMF architect of much of
our fiscal policy in recent years who said that fuel subsidies were
untargeted and that the bulk of the benefit of subsidies went to the rich rather
than the poor and big business; which is for the most part undeniable. Mark
Toner, one of Mrs Clintons bag-carriers from the State Department chimed
in to say that the increase in prices of fuel was vital for our future financial
stability.

52

We might be forgiven for wondering what all these powerful figures

are doing meddling in our internal politics. Surely it is up to the government
to determine the price of petrol or any other commodity or utility it controls?
Yes and no is the answer to that. Sovereign we may be, but we are also
close to bankruptcy and kept afloat by the IMF among other entities all of
whom we are massively indebted to. The money that buoys us up comes
with conditionalities, the strings that we so resent. One of those
conditionalities is that for the IMF we are obliged to remove subsidies on
fuel which we were progressively doing much to the pain of everybody.
The price rises announced a few days ago were not made on a whim;
they were a part of the process of subsidy reduction that was in turn a part of
our agreement with the IMF. We have now effectively turned back from this,
as we have from the agreement to implement the RGST and for which the
IMF has just granted us a nine-month extension in order that the government
can herd the opposition into a place where it agrees to the revision.
Whatever the short-term political effects of the price reversal may be, in
the long term we are burdened with IMF conditionalities. We may pay
less for our petrol tomorrow for which we may be thankful, but at some
future point the IMF is going to be demanding its pound of flesh.
In yet another editorial the newspaper talked of trial of Salmans
killer. The process of judicial trial and meting out of punishment to those
found guilty is intended to deter persons from crime and also to offer access
to justice to those who suffer grievance. But there is real reason to fear that
the trial of Mumtaz Qadri, the man who shot dead Salmaan Taseer, could be
determined by quite different factors. The chief one among these is fear. The
gathering of a crowd of religious parties activists around the Rawalpindi
Anti-Terrorism Court, prevented the judge from reaching a venue in
Islamabad where police had decided to bring Qadri for the hearing, on
security grounds. While a 5-day remand was granted after Qadri was
brought to the court, government lawyers stayed away, apparently because
they felt threatened. The images of the smiling Qadri being showered with
rose petals can only have added to the sense of intimidation.
We must hope this will not determine the future course of events.
Taseer was gunned down in cold blood. Justice is required to prevent
others following the violent example of Qadri. There is also a need for
good sense. The interior ministers absurd comments that he would himself
shoot dead anyone opposing the blasphemy law makes him hardly any better
than Qadri. As a man in a position of responsibility, he should surely be
speaking for the rule of law, for judicial process and for fair inquiry rather
53

than promoting vigilante justice. The consequences of such justice have been
seen not only in the killing of Taseer but also in what happened in our tribal
areas.
In far too many cases of blasphemy, guilty verdicts have been
meted out because the judges fear for their lives. Some have admitted this
and said they prefer to allow the case to move up to the higher courts rather
than risk death. The presence of extremists in courts adds to the sense of
danger. The government needs to act to ensure this does not happen in the
case of Qadri. Already, apprehension is being expressed about what may
happen as the hearings continue or the time comes for a verdict to be
delivered.
The enlightened kept capitalizing on Salmans murder to demonize
religious segments of society and urging the liberals to join their forces.
Aijaz Zaka Syed urged: Governments, opinion leaders, intellectuals and
religious scholars and leaders in particular have to wake up to this
scourge of extremism before its too late. The Muslims have their issues
and problems, just like any other people or community, and they are capable
of taking care of them without help and intervention from the nuts
celebrating death, thank you very much! Extremist violence in the name of
religion is no longer an issue of idle, drawing room debate.
This is a clear and present danger to all of us. Too many innocents
have died and too much innocent blood has been shed in our name. This is
not us. Blowing up innocent, unsuspecting folks busy in prayers is the
ultimate savagery and crime against the faith, against all faiths. We must act
and act now to stop this dance of death in the name of God; for he will
not forgive us if we remain silent in the face of this outrage. Extremism has
emerged as the biggest threat to Islam and Muslims everywhere. And the
alternative to collective inaction is collective doom.
Farhan Reza urged: The Pakistani state must ultimately take
measures to ensure that no group can encourage the imposition of its will on
Pakistani society in matters of religion. (This is what the enlightened
minority doing presently.) Pakistan already has a system, though it needs a
great deal of improvement, of running the affairs of its society, including
religious affairs. And it is a system in which the religious parties are free to
operate, as they do. If the Pakistani society and state do not take this
decision now, the only result can be anarchy, where one can expect more
Gojras and more Kohsars.

54

Saeed Qureshi also coaxed the enlightened: There are countless

liberal and forward-looking people in Pakistan. But they lack the courage to
come out and counter the obscurantist and reactionary elements. Religious
orthodoxy and conservatism will remain dominant until a mass movement
takes place in Pakistan to reduce the role of over-dogmatic attitudes in their
daily lives and in the affairs of state.
Unless civil society, human right organizations and the progressive
forces are strong enough to put up dogged resistance to the intimidating
dictates and provocative antics of the religious zealots, no single person, not
even someone as outspoken and daring as Salmaan Taseer, is going to
change the stifling atmosphere. One can gauge the powerful influence of the
clerics in Pakistans society from the fact that the impoverished people,
forgetting their own socio-economic sufferings, zealously take part in
processions led by religious leaders and spiritual charlatans.
Zafar Hilaly was of the view that Mr Zardari would be better off to
show some courage. We know that he is not risk-averse. Salmaan Taseers
death has generated a mite of sympathy for the PPP which he could consider
cashing in on. Of course, it is nothing like that which followed Benazir
Bhuttos murder, but frankly he has little else going for him, and time is not
on his side. Mr Zardari may lose now, but there is every chance that he
will be humiliated later. In any case the writing is on the wall. This
government is a lame duck. And there is no light at the end of the tunnel,
only more tunnel. Mr Zardari may as well bite the bullet and call for
elections. If nothing else, he will be doing the country a favour.
The old man Roedad Khan urged for change in his peculiar style.
The total collapse of state machinery in present-day Pakistan reminds
me of the Twilight of the Mughals. The symptoms of social collapse are
progressive declines in standards of conduct, public and private, and the
superiority of centrifugal over centripetal forces. When the administrative
machinery breaks down, law and order is the first casualty. And when
respect for law and authority declines, the devil of force leaps into its place
as the only possible substitute and in the struggle that ensues every standard
of conduct and decency is progressively discarded. Men begin by being
realists and end by being Satanists. Sometimes synthesis takes place from
within; sometimes it is imposed from without. If the original breakdown of
authority is caused by a ferment of ideas, a genuine revolution like the
French may result. If it is simply due to the decrepitude of authority, the
solution is the substitution of a fresh authority, but whether that substitute is

55

external or internal depends upon local circumstances. This is a correct

description of what is happening in Pakistan today and it is scary.

REVIEW
The events in Pakistan follow each other in rapid succession. The
observers are still engrossed in pondering about causes and consequences of
a particular event when they get news of another incident that overshadows
the one already under scrutiny. This is what happened on 4th January, 2011.
The media was eagerly following the political developments triggered
by MQM's exit from federal government, especially the activities of second
and third largest parties in the parliament. Both PML-N and Q were to
finalize their line of action whether to support or not to support the
beleaguered regime of the PPP. Curtain was drawn on these events when the
news of murder of Governor Salman Taseer was broken by electronic media
in the afternoon.
The enlightened TV channels were quick in bestowing the honour of
martyrdom on the man who was no more. Some channels stood head and
shoulder above others in terming him Shaheed, as if he had laid his life
valiantly fighting for the glory of Islam.
The jiyala governor was gunned down by one of his escort, Malik
Mumtaz Hussain Qadri as he was getting into his car in an Islamabad
market. He could not survive because the attacker had emptied full magazine
of his rifle containing thirty bullets. The killer then laid his rifle on ground,
raised his arms and surrendered saying 'I've done my job'.
No sooner the news was flashed on TV screens the jiyalas of twin
cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi rushed to the hospital to which the
wounded governor was evacuated. The entry to hospital was restricted for
security reasons, but jiyalas gate-crashed into hospital shouting slogans of
'Long Live Bhutto'.
Zardari condemned the murder and ordered Rehman Malik, who was
in Karachi negotiating patch-up with MQM, to proceed to Islamabad and
submit report within 24 hours. Qadri had already confessed that he had
killed Salman for calling blasphemy law a black law. However, Rehman
Malik vowed to investigate 'thoroughly', which meant he had come with
specific instructions from his boss.

56

The statements of Qadri and Rehman Malik warrant that the murder
must be viewed in the context of two contrastingly different motives, i.e.
religion-related anger; or political rivalry. The suspected political aspect of
the murder will be discussed little later, but first the one that has been
confessed by the killer.
The motive for Qadri to kill the man for whose protection he was
detailed was quite clear. It was as clear as the motive of Ghazi Ilm Din
Shaheed. Both had acted out of their belief that a Muslim is not a Muslim
until the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is held dearer by him than his blood
relations. He must also not tolerate any insult of the Prophet (PBUH).
Both had acted in circumstances similar to each other. Ghazi Ilm Din
Shaheed had decided to do what he did when Muslims across the Indian
Subcontinent had been angered by the blasphemous act of a Hindu publisher
of Lahore by the name of Rajpal. Qadri, the cop of Elite Force had decided
to do what he did when Muslims across Pakistan were protesting against the
plans of the regime to repeal or 'reform' blasphemy law.
The nature of the offence committed by Rajpal and Salman Taseer
was quite similar as for as exercising right of freedom of expression was
concerned. The only difference was the volume of blasphemous utterance;
Rajpal had published a book and Salman Taseer had uttered only a sentence
with connotation of blasphemy.
Both the men who were killed had hurt feelings of millions of
Muslims by their derogatory remarks; uttered inadvertently or deliberately.
Muslim religious scholars had reacted against both of them with fiery
speeches and by organizing protest rallies. In each case some religious
scholars had issued fatwas for execution of those who had committed
blasphemous acts.
In both cases the honour of doing what they preached ought to be
done in such situations was not earned by the hefty religious scholars but by
rather illiterate young men. Both of them had not only the raw courage to
execute the suspected or established offender but also moral courage to
confess straight away what they had done.
The listing of above similarities is in no way aimed at drawing any
parallel in two incidents nearly three-quarters of a century apart. Drawing of
any parallel is also not sustainable because of the difference in
circumstances that led to occurrence of two incidents.

57

Ilm Din, by modern civilized standards, was a poor, 'illiterate' and

obscurantist, who belonged to Muslim minority and killed a well-to-do,
'educated' and 'enlightened' man of the Hindu majority. Both were subjects
of Christians; the British who had established their Raj in India.
Mumtaz Qadri and Salman Taseer though both Muslims, yet belonged
to two contrastingly different segments of the society that had been created
during Musharraf era, the man who later appointed Salman as Governor.
Qadri belongs to 'obscurantist' class of practicing fundamentalist Muslims
and Salman belonged to 'enlightened' elite that firmly believes in secularism
and restrict Faith to mere verbal expression.
The enlightened elite and foreign-funded human rights activists
comprise a class which would have condemned Ghazi Ilm Din Shaheed as
'terrorist' had he been in Qadris times. Not only that, the enlightened
secularists would have declared Rajpal as martyr of freedom of expression
just as Salman Taseer is being acclaimed.
The debate has already started to justify or condemn actions of the
killer and the killed. The tragedy-stricken nation, however, has been 'blessed'
with two more heroes to 'worship; one by the liberal, secular and
enlightened elite and the other by the 'extremist', 'obscurantist' and 'illiterate
masses. Unfortunately, those v/ho argue for the killed and the killer are all
Muslims, not Hindus or Christians unlike the case of Rajpal.
Salman is being referred to as shaheed by the PPP and other secular
forces, though at best he deserves a qualified title of Shaheed-e-Aasia. The
vast majority of followers of all sects of Islam will quietly remember
Mumtaz Qadri as their hero. Ultimately, there will be only one hero and
there should be no doubt as to who would be that.
Those who have any doubts should have a deeper look at the picture
published by print media showing a young lawyer kissing Qadri when he
arrived in the court in connection with his remand. The man who kissed him
was a graduate of law. That picture denies the enlightened the refuge they
usually seek by calling such a person an illiterate.
This country belongs to this class which is in majority, though it has
been misappropriated fraudulently by the liberal and enlightened ruling
minority. In all fairness, the minority should learn to co-exist with the values
of the majority rather than attempting to force upon them the alien Western
values.

58

But, the enlightened will never comprehend this simple fact. Evil
minds like Babar Awan will not get the point because they are preoccupied
in implicating PPPs political opponents. Awan has sought explanation as to
why a member of PML-N's Lawyers Forum had garlanded Qadri.
They will keep harping that they too are Muslims and love the Holy
Prophet (PBUH). They will never bothering to mention that there are
millions who love or dont love, but what matters is the intensity of the
feelings of both Aashiq-e-Rasool and Shatim-e-Rasool. For the so-called
lovers the religion is nothing more than an oral declaration; no obligations
whatsoever.
They will continue condemning Qadri for his act of taking law into his
hands. They will condemn and punish him for extra-judicial killings. Do
they have slightest idea about the number of people killed extra-judicially
every day, and for much petty reasons too? Will they blame semi-literate
obscurantist mulla for that as well?
They will not accept the stark reality that Salman had hurt the feelings
of hundreds of thousands believers by his unwarranted derogatory remarks
about blasphemy law. Had he not indulged in provocation there would have
been no Kohsar Market, no murder, no Qadri. A normal person in his senses
would have demanded revisiting of the blasphemy law without calling it
black law. By saying what he said he had rendered no service to humanity,
Pakistan, the PPP, or his family and more importantly to himself.
The most unfortunate aspect of the whole episode is that it reflects
degeneration of religious values, beliefs and practices in the country that was
created in the name of Islam where its followers could lead their lives in
accordance with its conjunctions. How sad, today the nation stands divided
on the simple issue of blasphemy.
Salman was son of MD Taseer; the man who had organized reception
of dead body of Ghazi Ilm Din Shaheed and had arranged his funeral after
he was hanged by the British for taking law into his hands and killing a
blasphemer. The manner in which his son has been killed would be of no
source of peace for the spirit of the father Taseer.
It has not happened all of a sudden but because of constant neglect to
educate citizens of Pakistan to acquire correct perception of Islam and thus
facilitate them in leading their lives in accordance with their great religion.
The successive governments left the religious education to charity-run
madressas and paid little attention to it in government-run schools.

59

The last nail was hammered in this context by the foreign-funded

NGOs and westernized intellectuals which project certain human rights
holier than Islamic Hudood. No one had ever dared of talking against
Islamic laws till the sprouting of these weeds all over the landscape of
Islamic Republic.
They indirectly blame Islamic conjunctions for curtailing or restricting
the so-called basic human rights as if Islam is an inhumane religion. To this
end they strengthen their argument by picking up certain social customs
practiced in various regions and equating them with Islam.
Coming back to the debate on blasphemy law, it must be said that TV
channels, especially the TV anchors should avoid discussing this issue like
just another event of current affairs. This is a very sensitive issue to which
millions of Pakistanis have strong emotional attachment A slip of tongue or
lose remark could result in much dire consequences than those faced by
Salman Taseer after he said something that amounted to causing aspersions
on Namoos-e-Risalat.
One must refrain from discussing the issue with inadequate
knowledge. Even the most knowledgeable men in Islamic history hesitated
when it came to talking about the person of the Prophet (PBUH). Iqbal dared
taking liberty while talking to Allah in his famous poem Shikwah, but he
dared not doing the same in case of the Prophet (PBUH).
The reason is very clear. In dialogue between the created and the
Creator, the former can cry loud about his pain like a child would do before
his mother. But, Allah has prohibited the believers to raise their voice in the
presence of the Prophet (PBUH), what to say about talking to or talking
about him.
The avoidance of discussion of religious aspect of the event is now
warranted, because PPP has declared it a political murder. Nevertheless,
some facts related to the issue must be put in correct perspective here, which
have been distorted by casual media debates.
The enlightened minority in Pakistani society has reservations on the
blasphemy law primarily because it was enacted during the era of Zia-ulHaq, never mentioning that it was done through due democratic process of
legislation. Out of these observations, two have been mentioned quite often.
One reservation pertains to 'misuse of this law for settling personal
scores wherein innocent people are falsely implicated. This objection does
not relate to the text of law but to procedural flaws in the system of

60

collecting and producing incriminating evidence before a court of law. But,

that is true for almost all criminal laws.
The question arises then why so much hue and cry specifically over
blasphemy law. It is argued that its because of the severity of punishment
for offences under this law. Here too the point of focus is only on one law
whereas there are several other laws which prescribe death sentence.
These laws with death penalty are widely misused to settle scores of
old enmities. When a person is murdered all male members of the family of
the killer are named in FIR and the first action taken by police is to herd
them all to the lock up. Long time back when son of Akbar Bugti was shot
dead, about a dozen persons were named in the FIR despite the fact that the
deceased had only one bullet wound.
There is more to it than the stated arguments. The urge of rulers to
'reform' blasphemy law is politically motivated. It is not for any human
consideration or desire for dispensation of justice. Salman acted on the
instructions of Zardari, who was trying to please his foreign masters.
Otherwise, no governor has ever gone to a jail to meet a convict no matter
how innocent a convict was.
The real motive behind the campaign against blasphemy law remains
unstated. This campaign is generously funded by foreign donors, not for the
love of Islam or its followers, but with the sinister intention similar to that
behind publishing of blasphemous caricatures; it is to ridicule Islam.
This age-old urge to ridicule Islam has been reinvigorated with the
advent of war on terror, or Bushs holy war in which the Crusaders have
termed our God superior to their God. This discrimination in gods has
polluted the minds of the followers of superior god wherever they are.
In Pakistan, when they see its Muslim rulers extending their begging
bowls for alms towards their brethrens in faith, their feelings of superiority
are strengthened and they tend to take liberties. This is the same tendency
which can be seen in those who identify themselves with West even without
embracing their Faith; they tend to behave differently.
The ridicule, through caricatures or any other means is aimed at
inculcating tolerance in believers of Islam. The tolerance so inculcated is
called acceptance of insult without protest; submission to might of the
strong; or embracing the lowest form of slavery. The point can be
understood clearly when one sees that no such tolerance to freedom of
expression is demonstrated when it comes to Holocaust.

61

The second reservation relates to punishment prescribed in Islam for

an act of blasphemy about which a passing-reference has been made a little
while ago. Some so-called liberal intellectuals and self-acclaimed human
rights activists start their argument by touching the softer cord; saying that
the Prophet (PBUH), who is known as Rehmatul al-Almeen would not have
prescribed the ultimate punishment for an offence against his person. He is
known to have forgiven many after Fatah Makka.
This perception (misperception) is because of lack of knowledge of
the subject. Firstly, any punishment that has been laid down in Islam
(Quraan or Sunnah) has been ordained by Allah. The Prophet (PBUH) may
have wished for that but the final word is that of Allah.
Salman Taseer, too, had wrong perception of the punishment of death
penalty for blasphemous act. Because of incorrect perception, he had
faltered in calling blasphemy law a black law. He reiterated it many times
and even while talking to CNN he claimed that Aasia would be pardoned
soon because there is no death penalty in Islam for blasphemer.
For correct perception of the punishment for blasphemous offence one
has to have in depth knowledge of the subject acquired through guided study
of Quraan and Sunnah. Yet every 'enlightened' Muslim in Pakistan pretends
to be authority on the subject while participating in discussions conducted
by TV channels, which lead to creating more confusion in the minds of
ordinary Muslims.
Many questions lurk in the minds of Pakistanis in the wake of murder
of Salman. Answers to these questions should only be sought from learned
religious scholars, not from or through TV anchors, many of whom have the
reputation to canalize discussions to a predetermined direction to draw
desired conclusion. Some of them do it for certain vested interests or even
monetary rewards.
It is not desirable to discuss the entire list of questions herein;
however, one question with answer to that has been selected and attached as
an Appendix-I to this article. This has been selected from the website Islam
Q&A which provides somewhat adequate information on punishment for
blasphemous act.
In view of the foregoing it is not fair on the part of enlightened elite to
'blame General Zia-ul-Haq for prescribing death penalty for a blasphemer.
The punishment for a blasphemer is as old as the Islamic calendar. However,
that was enacted as the existing blasphemy law during Zia's rule by an
elected legislature.
62

That law prescribed punishment of death penalty or imprisonment for

life. This choice' of punishment was challenged in the Federal Shariat Court
for being un-Islamic. The court upheld the plea and the law was amended
with only one punishment; the death penalty. If the enlightened are as
courageous as they claim to be, they should naoozbillah 'blame' Allah, not
Zia.
Coming to the second angle from which the murder should be viewed
it must be recalled that Qadri had placed his weapon on ground, raised his
arms and said Ive done my job. It meant that he had acted on his own
purely out of his conviction that whatever Salman had said warranted his
execution.
The motives, the acts and confessions of the killed and killers needed
no lengthy probes to establish facts, yet the interior minister had talked of
'thorough' investigation. As already said, he seemed to have come with a
mission assigned to him by his boss lodged in Bilawal House.
Within 24 hours of the murder and a few hours less than that after
Rehman Malik's vow to carry out 'thorough' probe, political twist was given
to the murder. Every Tom, Dick and Harry of PPP, led by its valiant cochairman started calling it a political murder.
When it comes to conspiracy the fertile minds of jiyalas can come out
with thousand and one theories. Soon after Malik's vow, Faisal Raza Abdi,
the close confidant of Zardari demanded an explanation from Punjab
government as to why a religious fanatic was included to escort a liberal
jiyala governor.
Abdi has no desire to ponder that there is no difference in religious or
secular fanaticism. He must have also known that all personnel on VIPrelated duties go through secretly conducted periodic security clearance. But
these security clearances are based on overtly displayed conduct and links of
individuals; these cannot determine as to what is going on in their minds.
In the prevalent turmoil wherein the people have been subjected to
numerous social, economic, ideological and sectarian conflicts the mental
state of individuals has been rendered unstable like mercury. Man, even
under stable environments, remains a dynamic creature, ever-changing for
better of worse.
No assessment of individual's behaviour can foretell as what he would
do tomorrow. Did any one expect that a liberal and secular man like Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto would have banned alcohol and declared Ahmedis as non-

63

Muslim minority? And, he had done for worldly gains which have no
significance when compared with rewards believers expect hereafter.
In any case, Abdi's own colleagues have come out with another
conspiracy theory according to which Qadri had killed Salman in
connivance with entire squad escorting him. If that be true then the escort
that can be trusted for VIP duties can only be provided by Blackwater. What
is the harm in having that after all Zardari's Afghan brother enjoys this
facility in Kabul.
Jiyalas will keep weaving conspiracy theories, but one theory, and an
obvious one, will be ignored by all and sundry because it relates to Salman
and Zardari. One must recall that the day after Aasia Mash was sentenced to
death, Vatican and White House had protested the 'injustice' done to her.
Zardari could not afford let the voices echoing from White House and
Vatican go unheard; blasphemy or no blasphemy offence.
He instructed Salman to 'find facts' about the lady who had been
convicted by a court after a lengthy trial. Salman, like an obedient servant,
rushed to jail and met Aasia. In fact, he had gone there with written mercy
petition addressed to President. He had complied instructions of his boss in
letter and spirit.
He got the mercy petition signed by Aasia short-circuiting the legal
process as the convict had not yet availed her right to appeal in the higher
court. Thereafter, while talking to media, Salman had called the blasphemy
law a black law, which resulted in his murder.
In view or the foregoing it can be said that Zardari has blood of
Salman Taseer on his hands. He risked the life of an obedient jiyala to please
his Western masters by telling him to meet Aasia in jail where out of his
careless attitude he talked loose on a very sensitive issue.
Salman thought that he being a jiyala governor, who enjoyed the fun
of exchanging taunts with his political opponents, could pass remarks about
blasphemy law and escape unscathed. He was drastically wrong in assuming
that he could enjoy a peg of wine, call blasphemy law a black law and yet
remain unharmed.
Will Rehman Malik and his investigators mention this fact in their
report, which has ample corroborating evidence? This will never happen.
Keeping up the tradition of Zardari-led PPP its leaders will ignore the real
culprits and keep pointing fingers at their political opponents.

64

In reply to query by Kamran Khan as to why the PPP had decided to

politicize the murder of Salman, Arid Miami said it appeared that the PPP
leaders have decided to reject demands of PML-N and go for mid-term polls,
if inescapable. They want to capitalize on his murder by turning the tragedy
into an opportunity.
The intention of gaining political mileage from the murder of Salman
seems a possibility. The PPP has been making best use of its assassinated
leaders. Only three years ago Zardari had capitalized on murder of his wife,
and secured the highest office for himself surfing on high wave of sympathy.
Sympathy has been doing wonders in political landscape of the Indian
Subcontinent. Presently, Zardari finds himself losing ground and he would
earnestly desire to sell Selmans blood to salvage his partys political
capital. He is in search of another Qatar League; a negative approach to
get positive results.
After the murder of Benazir he had faced no difficulty in terming QLeague as Qatar League, but in the current scenario that league has the
potential to be in league with his regime. Major threat emanates from PMLN; hence a new Qatar League is in the making.
In addition to demonizing his political opponents Zardari also wants
to undo the damage that has been caused to PPP by his stance against the
existing blasphemy law. But, it largely depends on Qadri; will he stick to his
spontaneous confession or be coerced to have second thoughts which could
meet the requirements of conspiracy theorists.
Politicization of the murder is also needed to de-link it from the issue
of blasphemy law, because without doing that the trial and punishment of
Qadri would be widely resented and strongly protested. The cunning minds
of Zardari and his aides are surely working overtime.
Finally a few words for the liberal, secular and enlightened elite or
whatever title they might like to reserve for themselves. They must
remember that all their grandeur has been because of stroke of luck. With far
and few exceptions it is because that they were born in privileged class of
the society: privileged in financial standings.
It is because of that they eat, drink and dress differently. It is because
of that they are 'educated' differently, so differently that they call themselves
secular and pretend to be liberal and enlightened. Their liberalism should at
least so enlighten them that they could see and accept that others, who are
not so privileged, also have certain rights.

65

Rather than looking at them with disdainful contempt

acknowledge and respect the rights of the majority. While they
lives seeking pleasure in different liberal and secular ways,
concede at least one right to the majority that seeks solace in
Allah, despite being the less privileged.

they must
enjoy their
they must
its faith in

They must not cross others 'path' for their own sake. Being lovers of
democratic system they should know that democracy is the name of
acceptance of tyranny of the majority, not of the minority. Tyranny of the
minority is called dictatorship and the enlightened pretend to despise that.
They must reset their minds which think that a wound caused by a
bullet is more painful than an injury inflicted by tongue. It is because of this
misperception that they cry horse over the wounds caused by bullets, while
remaining completely oblivious of the injuries they inflict with their pens
and tongues
They suffer from the same ailment of which they accuse others; the
ailment in which one believes of being self-righted. No doubt both,
enlightened and obscurantist, suffer from this to a varying degree, but
problem in the case of enlightened is graver as compared to that of
obscurantist.
When a person standing in the light fails to see something, he is not
likely to see it at all and for that he should blame no one. A person standing
in the dark (an illiterate), who can see nothing, is likely to see most things
when light is provided to him. He can justifiably accuse the enlightened
ruling elite of depriving him of that light of literacy for so long.
One may ask as to what is this form of enlightenment in which the
argument starts with rejection of a court verdict? Salman and his boss were
wrong in assuming that the judge of the lower court had wrongly convicted
Aasia. Even if it be true the law had not yet completed its due course, which
ultimately ends at Presidency. Why was there so much hurry to please
Western masters? Certainly, every lit space has blind area right under the
source of the light.
Solution to the problem of enlightened as well as obscurantist lies
in falling back to the source of all solace. In other words in re-embracing
their religion, or revisiting Islam as a literate would like to say it. The
views reproduced in second part of the article reflect that the enlightened
class which prefers to communicate in English needs this journey more than
obscurantist.

66

Dr Muzaffar Iqbal, who can also communicate in English, has a

suggestion for them if they listen (attached as Appendix-II).
9th January, 2011

Appendix-I
To article tiled Shaheed-e-Aasia

Ruling on one who insults the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
Q: I heard on a tape that whoever insults the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) should be executed even if he shows that he has
repented. Should he be killed as a hadd punishment or because of kufr? If his
repentance is sincere, will Allah forgive him or will he go to Hell and his
repentance will be of no avail?
A: Praise be to Allaah. The answer to this question may be given by
addressing the two following issues:
1, The ruling on one who insults the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him)
The scholars are unanimously agreed that a Muslim who insults the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) becomes a kaafir and an
apostate who is to be executed. This consensus was narrated by more than
one of the scholars, such as Imaam Ishaaq ibn Raahawayh, Ibn al-Mundhir,
al-Qaadi Iyaad, al-Khattaabi and others. Al-Saarim al-Maslool, 2/13-16
This ruling is indicated by the Quraan and Sunnah.
In the Quraan it says (interpretation of the meaning):
The hypocrites fear lest a Soorah (chapter of the Quraan) should be
revealed about them, showing them what is in their hearts. Say: (Go ahead
and) mock! But certainly Allaah will bring to light all that you fear.
If you ask them (about this), they declare: We were only talking idly and
joking. Say: Was it at Allaah, and His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses,
lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and His Messenger that you were mocking?
Make no excuse; you disbelieved after you had believed
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[al-Tawbah 9:64-66]
This verse clearly states that mocking Allaah, His verses and His Messenger
constitutes kufr, so that applies even more so to insulting. The verse also
indicates that whoever belittles the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) is also a kaafir, whether he was serious or
joking.
With regard to the Sunnah, Abu Dawood (4362) narrated from Ali that a
Jewish woman used to insult the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and say bad things about him, so a man strangled her until she
died, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ruled that
no blood money was due in this case.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said in al-Saarim al-Maslool (1/162): This
hadeeth is jayyid, and there is a corroborating report in the hadeeth of Ibn
Abbaas which we will quote below.
This hadeeth clearly indicates that it was permissible to kill that woman
because she used to insult the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him).
Abu Dawood (4361) narrated from Ibn Abbaas that a blind man had a freed
concubine (umm walad) who used to insult the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and say bad things about him. He told her not to do
that but she did not stop, and he rebuked her but she did not heed him. One
night, when she started to say bad things about the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and insult him, he took a short sword or
dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it and killed her. The following
morning that was mentioned to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). He called the people together and said, I
adjure by Allah the man who has done this action and I adjure him by my
right over him that he should stand up. The blind man stood up and said, O
Messenger of Allaah, I am the one who did it; she used to insult you and say
bad things about you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her,
but she did not give up her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and
she was kind to me. Last night she began to insult you and say bad things
about you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed
her. Thereupon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: Bear witness, there is no blood money due for her.
(Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 3655)

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It seems that this woman was a kaafir, not a Muslim, for a Muslim could
never do such an evil action. If she was a Muslim she would have become an
apostate by this action, in which case it would not have been permissible for
her master to keep her; in that case it would not have been good enough if he
were to keep her and simply rebuke her.
Al-Nasaai narrated (4071) that Abu Barzah al-Aslami said: A man spoke
harshly to Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq and I said, Shall I kill him? He rebuked me
and said, That is not for anyone after the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). (Saheeh al-Nasaai, 3795)
It may be noted from this that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) had the right to kill whoever insulted him and spoke harshly to
him, and that included both Muslims and kaafirs.
2. The second issue is: if a person who insulted the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) repents, should his repentance be accepted
or not?
The scholars are agreed that if such a person repents sincerely and regrets
what he has done, this repentance will benefit him on the Day of
Resurrection and Allaah will forgive him.
But they differed as to whether his repentance should be accepted in this
world and whether that means he is no longer subject to the sentence of
execution.
Maalik and Ahmad were of the view that it should not be accepted, and that
he should be killed even if he has repented.
They quoted as evidence the Sunnah and proper understanding of the
ahaadeeth:
In the Sunnah, Abu Dawood (2683) narrated that Sad ibn Abi Waqqaas said:
On the Day of the Conquest of Makkah, the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) granted safety to the people except for
four men and two women, and he named them, and Ibn Abi Sarh As for
Ibn Abi Sarh, he hid with Uthmaan ibn Affaan, and when the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called the people to give
their allegiance to him, he brought him to stand before the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He said, O Prophet of
Allaah, accept the allegiance of Abd-Allaah. He raised his head and looked
at him three times, refusing him, then he accepted his allegiance after the
third time. Then he turned to his companions and said: Was there not
among you any smart man who could have got up and killed this person
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when he saw me refusing to give him my hand and accept his allegiance?
They said, We do not know what is in your heart, O Messenger of Allaah.
Why did you not gesture to us with your eyes? He said, It is not befitting
for a Prophet to betray a person with a gesture of his eyes.
(Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 2334)
This clearly indicates that in a case such as this apostate who had insulted
the Prophet (S), it is not obligatory to accept his repentance, rather it is
permissible to kill him even if he comes repentant.
Abd-Allaah ibn Sad was one of those who used to write down the
Revelation, then he apostatized and claimed that he used to add whatever he
wanted to the Revelation. This was a lie and a fabrication against the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and it was a kind of
insult. Then he became Muslim again and was a good Muslim, may Allaah
be pleased with him. Al-Saarim 115.
With regard to proper understanding of the ahaadeeth:
They said that insulting the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) has to do with two rights, the right of Allaah and the right of a human
being. With regard to the right of Allaah, this is obvious, because it is casting
aspersions upon His Message, His Book and His Religion. As for the right of
a human being, this is also obvious, because it is like trying to slander the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by this insult. In a case
which involves both the rights of Allaah and the rights of a human being, the
rights of the human beings are not dropped when the person repents, as in
the case of the punishment for banditry, because if the bandit has killed
someone, that means that he must be executed and crucified. But if he
repents before he is caught, then the right of Allaah over him, that he should
be executed and crucified, no longer applies, but the rights of other humans
with regard to qisaas (retaliatory punishment) still stand. The same applies in
this case. If the one who insulted the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) repents, then the rights of Allaah no longer apply, but there
remains the right of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him), which still stand despite his repentance.
If it is said, Can we not forgive him, because during his lifetime the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forgave many of those who had
insulted him and he did not execute them? The answer is:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) sometimes chose
to forgive those who had insulted him, and sometimes he ordered that they

70

should be executed, if that served a greater purpose. But now his forgiveness
is impossible because he is dead, so the execution of the one who insults him
remains the right of Allaah, His Messenger and the believers, and the one
who deserves to be executed cannot be let off, so the punishment must be
carried out.
Al-Saarim al-Maslool, 2/438
Insulting the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is one of
the worst of forbidden actions, and it constitutes kufr and apostasy from
Islam, according to scholarly consensus, whether done seriously or in jest.
The one who does that is to be executed even if he repents and whether he is
a Muslim or a kaafir. If he repents sincerely and regrets what he has done,
this repentance will benefit him on the Day of Resurrection and Allaah will
forgive him.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) wrote a
valuable book on this matter, entitled al-Saarim al-Maslool ala Shaatim alRasool which every believer should read, especially in these times when a
lot of hypocrites and heretics dare to insult the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) because they see that the Muslims are
careless and feel little protective jealousy towards their religion and their
Prophet, and they do not implement the shari punishment which would
deter these people and their ilk from committing this act of blatant kufr.
And Allaah knows best. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our
Prophet Muhammad and all his family and companions.
Islam Q&A

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Appendix-II
To article tiled Shaheed-e-Aasia

A CONVERSATION WITH PROF NASR

By Dr Muzaffar Iqbal, published in The News Friday, January 07,
2011 (excerpts only)
We walked into his office. He had made the special trip on a Saturday
for this meeting, for which I thanked him, and said: I want to discuss with
you the situation of the Glorious Quran in our times, and specifically the
unprecedented situations that arise as the contemporary world encounters the
Noble Quran. There are some 1.6 billion Muslims now on earth. Only about
twenty per cent of them actually open the Book sent down for their
guidance.
Nasr: It is true that only twenty per cent of the Islamic community is
Arab, but that really has very little to do with it. We are faced with an
unprecedented situation because of other factors. Of course, not even those
fluent in Arabic can simply open a copy of the Quran and begin reading,
with full comprehension of all its layers of deep meaning! And it has always
been like this: throughout Islamic history, after the early expansion and the
Umayyad period, a large part of the Ummah was not Arabic-speaking. The
Persians, the people of the Indian Subcontinent, the Turks, the Chinese, the
Malays, the Africans even in the so-called Middle Ages, the majority of
Muslims did not have Arabic for their mother tongue.
Despite this sociological and linguistic diversity, however, Islam and
Islamic civilization could only survive, in fact, flourish, insofar as the Noble
Quran preserved its centrality. Someone in Sumatra hearing a verse of the
Quran would weep as much as someone in Fez or Cairo, and their physical
location and the language they grew up in were irrelevant to their piety.
There were established channels through which the external and
inward meanings, the message, and even the art of litany of the Quran were
transmitted across the vast reaches of the community of believers, the
ummah. There was a historical infrastructure for the dissemination of the
Quran and its understanding. Those who knew would teach those who did
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not know: people would listen to its transmitted understanding in khutbahs

(sermons), transmit it through literature, through stories..
And then, of course, one should never overlook the very important
aspect of hearing the Quran. Do not forget that the Quran is an oral
revelation; it was not originally a written revelation analogous to Moses
receiving the Ten Commandments inscribed on a tablet on top of Mount
Sinai. The Prophet, upon him be peace, first heard the Quran. This
experience of hearing the Quran is extremely significant. The fact that
people might not understand every sentence is in a sense really irrelevant to
the basic presence of the reality of the Quran in their hearts and minds.
The new situation we are facing, therefore, is not simply the fact that
eighty per cent of contemporary Muslims do not speak or read Arabic. It is
that many of those traditional channels I just described have become
weakened, or even, in some cases, destroyed. This is heightened also by the
introduction of modern education into the Islamic world, as a new so-called
intelligentsia I hate to use this word, because they are not really what we
know as the khawas (the elect), but merely educated people in the modern
Western sense came to the fore. Even people without advanced modern
education began to be trained in another way of thinking, of connecting
subject and predicate, of looking for meaning in sentences other than the
traditional Islamic way, as they approached the Divine revelation and
otherwise as well. These acquired habits of mind were very different from
the way traditional Muslims thought about and looked upon the text of the
Glorious Quran. So our task in the modern world is first of all to recreate, as
much as possible, those channels of the transmission of the authentic
knowledge of the Quran; and, secondly, to redirect the Muslim minds whose
ways of thinking, even unconsciously, have been transformed by the
methods of modern Western education back to the Islamic norm.

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IT IS PART OF WAR
This weeks analysis must begin with appreciation of PML-N leaders
for hitting the bulls-eye in their assessment of the end-result of noora kushti
(fixed bout) between MQM and PPP. Sharif brothers, often referred to as
turnips in these articles, had wisely decided not to participate in putli
tamasha.
What Altaf had said while quitting the coalition government Raza
Haroon repeated the same when he announced MQMs decision to return to
treasury benches. In other words, the revolution was unfolded and then
rolled back for the same reasons. Rana Sana had aptly remarked bhatha
khoron ko bhatha mil gia and that was good enough to take a U-turn.
Altaf Hussains major concern is Zardaris design to wind up local
bodies, through which it has delivered and earned good reputation. It is
missing Mustafa Kamal badly, who had consolidated his partys vote bank to
the extent that it had started looking beyond Karachi and Sindh.
Zardari working in the name of reconciliation has been stalling Local
Bodies polls by making false promises. He has successfully deprived MQM
an avenue of its strength and now plans to revive the old commissioner
system. This is the real cause of rift between MQM and PPP. And, Zardari
has once again seduced MQM by making reconciliatory promises.
The wisdom of PML-N leaders, however, seemed to have exhausted
rather too soon. Nawaz Sharif gave ten-point agenda to act upon and most of
the points were linked to rampant corruption in Gilani government. Only a
few days later, PML-N quietly accepted appointment of a person as
Governor Punjab with a case of corruption and perjury pending against him.
The above mentioned events were very significant in politics of
Pakistan, but these were overshadowed by mourning of Salman Taseers
murder by secular forces and resentment of religious groups over regimes
designs to tamper with blasphemy laws. The weak-hearted, who had been
raising war cries, were literally shaken by a peaceful rally of banner waving
masses.

74

The Pope Benedict gave an irresponsible statement demanding repeal

of blasphemy law that earned more resentment and more protest rallies. As if
Popes attempt at fueling the fire was not enough, the hidden hands
triggered yet another round of targeted-killings in Karachi. The enlightened
analysts, however, ignored the Pope and Karachi and kept cursing mullas.

NEWS
On 9th January, Prime Minister consulted Shujaat, Altaf, Fazl, Pagara,
Sherpao and Orakzai before calling Nawaz to yes, who wanted visible action
on his agenda. Gilani said PML-N would neither disturb PPP government at
Centre nor oust PPP from Punjab government.
Thousands of people rallied against reforms in blasphemy law.
Religious groups thronged main thoroughfare of the city. Munawwar asked
Nawaz and Altaf to clarify their position on the law. Fazl said Taseer himself
responsible for his murder. He vowed to protect blasphemy law at every cost
and defy western powers design to change Islamic laws. New York Times
vowed Taseers liberal voice wont be silenced with his death.
Tahir Khalil reported that according to initial findings by the
investigators Qadri is not a religious fanatic, although he was impressed by
Dawat-e-Islami. He had performed duties with Taseer eight times earlier.
Asghar Dogar reported that inquiry committee found fault with Elite Force
and Punjab Constabulary. Shahbaz demanded judicial probe into Taseers
murder.
PML-Q dissidents vowed to back Shahbaz without seeking any
benefits. Maneka said they they know and are ready for consequences.
Pervaiz Elahi raised hue and cry over his chickens drifting away from him.
He asked Nawaz to give ultimatum to Shahbaz.
Gas supply to all industries and CNG stations in Punjab was once
again stopped completely. Shahbaz was compelled to say that should Punjab
also consider stopping its resources supply to other provinces. The
government repaid Rs12 billion to State Bank; a key IMF condition.
Next day, Nawaz denied giving any ultimatum and announced 4member body to oversee action on his 10-point agenda. He said days of dirty
politics are over and saw no harm in being called friendly opposition for
the sake of countrys prosperity. PTI said PPP and were staging well scripted
drama. Justice Wajihuddin joined PTI.

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Pope Benedict asked Pakistan to repeal blasphemy law; religious

leaders condemn Popes statement. Mumtaz Qadri was sent on 14-day
judicial remand. Aasia Mashs security was beefed up. Punjab Assembly
unanimously condemned Taseers killing. Punjab government was in
quandary whether or not to arrest mentor of Mumtaz Qadri, Mufti
Mohammad Hanif Qureshi Qadri, a Barelvi cleric from Rawalpindi. Mumtaz
said he was convinced by Muftis argument that Salman was worth killing
after what he had said about blasphemy law.
Rehman Malik ordered deletion of Rao Shakils name from ECL. FIA
Karachi gave clean chit to accused persons in NICL scam. The Supreme
Court dismissed Dogars plea for staying contempt proceedings. Prices of
cooking oil and ghee were up by Rs61 per kg.
On 11th January, Gilani spurned Popes call to abrogate blasphemy
law, probably with the same spirit with which he has been condemning
drone attacks. JI protested against Popes statement. Clerics accused Pope of
stoking agitation and they warned Taseers daughter against attacking
Islamic tenets. Altaf Hussain vowed not to allow religious extremists to
exploit the issue of blasphemy law and he demanded end to protests. Bilawal
called Qadri and his supporters the real blasphemers.
After thorough probe the investigators informed the Supreme Court
that bank accounts of Kazmi and Rao Shakil couldnt be traced. Justice
Ramday said he was fed up with FIA probe and Chief Justice said nobody
would be spared if the case was spoiled. The court ordered removal of DG
FIA, but the man seemed to have served the cause of his corrupt bosses. FIA
also cleared Ayaz Niazi in furniture case.
The Supreme Court directed CDA chairman to retrieve within three
days the possession of 80 kanals of prime land grabbed by Leader of the
House, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bukhari and his relatives in Bani Gala. The
court had taken notice of the case after receiving a letter from Imran Khan.
One person was killed during police protesters clash in Bannu over
power outages. Parents of Justice Javed Iqbal of Supreme Court, who had
talked of missing persons yesterday, were killed in Lahore. The cause of
death not yet ascertained. Two more persons who perished in targeted
killings were among seven murdered in Karachi; bringing the tally of
targeted killings this year to ten. Nine accused of Shershah massacre
surrendered voluntarily.
Latif Khosa was appointed as Governor of Punjab. A corruption case
against him is pending in Pakistan Bar Council, which speaks of PPPs
76

sincerity to curb corruption as demanded by Nawaz and promised by Gilani.

Accountability Court, Rawalpindi, removed Zardaris name from the list of
accused in Cotecna case because of constitutional immunity.
The ECP expressed doubt over the eligibility of 298 legislators,
including Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Babar Awan, Kaira, Chaudhry Nisar and
Chaudhry Shujaat. Gilani wanted revival of Muslim glory (by treating the
public funds as maal-e-ghanimat).
Next day, Zardari embarked upon US yatra after taking Nawaz, Altaf,
Asfandyar and Fazl into confidence. Joe Biden was saddened over killing of
Taseer. Babar Awan was reported to be feeling betrayed over appointment of
Governor Punjab. Three ANP activists were among nine killed in Karachi.
The Supreme Court rejected Dogars plea against bench hearing
contempt case. NAB closed case against Defence Minister. Chaudhry Nisar
planned to send notice to ECP over including his name in the list of
parliamentarians with fake degree. He alleged that this has been done by
design to delay action against defaulters by mixing the names of those
holding genuine degrees with fake degree holders.
On 13th January, The Supreme Court ordered Techno Power Plant to
pay money back with mark-up otherwise case will be referred to FIA. Justice
Ramday told the counsel not to tell stories and instead bring the money. The
Chief Justice said loot and plunder in RPPs would not be tolerated. Another
bench issued notices to respondents, including three generals, in railway
land scam.
Gilani formed a committee for dialogue on agenda proposed by PMLN; the members nominated were Raza Rabbani, Babar Awan, Raja Pervaiz,
Hafeez Shaikh and Naveed Qamar. ANP wanted to be on board and asked
PPP to take it into confidence on PML-N ten points.
Latif Khosa was sworn in as Governor Punjab. Observers noted with
curiosity PML-N having no objection to person with a corruption case
pending against him appointed as governor. British home secretary asked
Pakistan to amend blasphemy law. Rehman Malik said there would be no
change and Gilani assured not to allow misuse of blasphemy law.
Reportedly, Zardari wants Karzai-like US security for himself. Karzai,
however, has taken that off. ECC allowed WAPDA to raise Rs20 billion for
Bhasha Dam. Rail fares increased. FBR imposed 3.5 per cent tax on income
of farm produce dealers. Geo TV reporter was among nine people killed in
Karachi.

77

Next day, Obama assured Zardari that his government would find
some new ways to strengthen democratic process and economic reforms in
Pakistan. Hussain Haqqani informed reporters after the meeting that the two
leaders agreed to continue fully cooperate in war against terror. After the
meeting Zardari attended memorial service for late Holbrooke.
Saleh Zaafir reported that Foreign Office was kept in dark about the
meeting after Zardaris all-important get-together with the CIA chief. It has
been speculated that an assurance was sought from the US for further
endorsement of the incumbent political set-up.
Rallies were held across the country to protest Pope Benedicts
statement about blasphemy law. Protesters demanded calling back Pakistani
ambassador from Vatican City and summoning Vatican City ambassador.
Islamabad Bar passed a resolution prohibiting any lawyer to act as
prosecutor in Salman Taseers murder case.
Death toll in targeted-killings in Karachi reached 24 in last 36 hours;
CMs pilot was among those killed. ANP demanded military operation for
de-weaponization of the city and blamed Askari wing of MQM for the
bloodletting. MQM said most of the killed were its workers. Three PPP
workers were also killed. Gilani discussed the situation with Altaf and
Asfandyar on telephone.
The Supreme Court gave another deadline to Techno Energy to refund
the mobilization advance of Rs970 million along with mark-up by January
17 for failing to import machinery for a 150MW rental power station. The
court ordered confiscation of firm owners passport in case of noncompliance.
Attendance issue turned Punjab Assembly into fish market. In all 23
MPs were marked present by proxy. MPs refused to sign the register placed
for the purpose and flouted Speakers ruling thrice during days proceedings.
Two MPS challenged each other for bout outside Assembly Hall.
On 15th January, former naib nazim was among five shot dead in
Karachi. Rehman Malik said there is third hand (as if two were not
enough) behind targeted killings and he vowed to expose that soon. He also
blurted out his favourite statements like nobody will be allowed to destroy
the city peace. Fazl slated government failure to restore peace in Karachi.
PML-N sought Presidents explanation on Agosta scam after a witness
in probe in France named Zardari receiving kickbacks. Shahbaz Sharif said

78

Zardari is an accused in Agosta deal. Fauzia Wahab termed the statement of

witness as campaign against her boss.
After attending the memorial service of Holbrooke Zardari vowed to
utilize all his energies to move Pakistan forward. Talking to The News he
said, I respect the freedom of expression from the bottom of my heart but I
will never bow before the agenda driven vilification campaign in the name
of journalism. Zardari also met CIA chief and telephoned Bush. Bill Gates
had called on him.
Interior Ministry took back Haj scam from FIA chief and handed over
to Police. Chairman FBR, Salman Siddiqui painted gloomy picture of
economy and said no one from abroad would come to save us. He
proposed banning regime from borrowing and extending loans.
PPP and Asma Jahangir supported Shahzad Sheikh won LHCBA
election. Khosa vowed to end politics of confrontation. Shabaz conditionally
agreed to PML-N unification. He asked dictators supporters to seek pardon
from nation and return looted money.

VIEWS
On 9th January, IA Rehman raised the war cry for enlightened forces to
close their ranks. All those who wish to save Pakistan for democracy,
humanism and peace must accept the challenge of changing the popular
concept of the Pakistan state and affording the people possibilities of
purging their concept of Islam of the accretions made by exploiters of belief
for political reasons.
The News commented: There can be few more unedifying sights than
a group of powerful, selfish and greedy politicians busily blaming one
another once they have been accused of wrongdoing. There is not a shred
of doubt that there was massive corruption in the management of this
years Haj, in particular the procurement of and charges for the
accommodation for pilgrims. That the corruption was at the highest level
and involved a network of individuals in at least two countries, there is
equally little or no doubt. Several of those who have been named but
seemingly not shamed are now wearing out yet another set of fingers as they
seek to pin the blame on everybody but themselves. Rushing to join the
ranks of the digitally incompetent is the FIA, which was supposed to be
presenting a report on the Haj scam to the Supreme Court it did, but it was
not the kind of report that the Supreme Court had in mind. The director of

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the FIA has been advised to step down voluntarily by the Supreme Court for
failing to investigate (yet more) senior officials involved in Haj corruption.
The matter has become exceedingly sensitive in part because no
lesser person than the son of our prime minister, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, is
now implicated. This is because of his proximity to one of the leading
accused Zain Sukhaira. It is unwise to assume guilt by association, but two
sitting members of the National Assembly have made allegations of
involvement in this shabby and sordid affair by Abdul Qadir Gilani; and
having been made they must be investigated. The Supreme Court is
attempting to make a path through this forest of fingers, but is hampered by
the increasing efforts of those accused to divert attention from themselves,
with Sen Azam Swati of the Jamiatul Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) on Thursday
accusing Prime Minister Gilani himself of being the most corrupt in our
63-year history.
It is as if what should have been a matter that was swiftly and
efficiently investigated has been reduced to the level of a seedy reality TV
show. The contestants are locked in a house and play out their tawdry lives
under the eye of the camera. Their antics and excesses and indiscretions are
there for all to see and they delight in their visibility and assiduously
cultivate their own cult of personality. Outside, a public starved of
entertainment watches fascinated. Political theatre it may be, but good
governance it is not. And the poor Hajis who were the victims of the scam?
The Supreme Court has ordered that they be paid the equivalent of 700
Saudi Riyals as compensation, and that if payment was not made within the
week the accounts of the religious affairs ministry will be frozen. They will
be lucky indeed if they see their 700 riyals, rather than seeing their payment
delivered as a bag of worn-out fingers.
Dr Farrukh Saleem made a Capital Suggestion. Pakistans problem
number one is that the prices of essential items are going through the roof
(read: inflation). Pakistans problem number two is unemployment. And,
Pakistans problem number three is corruption (Pakistanis have routinely
been picking the above three and in that order in surveys done over the
past decade)
Over the past 33 months of PPPs tenure, the price of onions,
tomatoes, sugar and petrol has gone up by 300 per cent, 180 per cent, 140
per cent and 30 per cent, respectively. On 25th March 2008, the day that Syed
Yousaf Raza Gilani took oath of office, the rate of inflation, as measured by
the officially calculated consumer price index, stood at 14 per cent. By

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December, the same year, the officially calculated CPI had hit a 30-year high
of 25 per cent.
By end-2008, the Federal Bureau of Statistics reported that transport
and communication costs jumped 39.3 per cent with food and beverages
prices up 31.7 per cent. Intriguingly, Pakistan has historically been a low
inflation country. CPI for 1999-00, 2000-01 and 2001-02 was recorded at
3.58 per cent, 4.41 per cent and 3.54 per cent, respectively. To be certain,
inflation is nothing but printing of rupees more rupees higher inflation.
The current inflationary spiral has its roots in fiscal 2007-08, when the
federal governments budgetary deficit skyrocketed from Rs377 billion in
2006-07 to Rs777 billion in 2007-08; a jump of more than 100 per cent in a
year.
The huge hole between government revenue and its stream of
expenditures has to be filled by borrowing hundreds of billions of rupees
from commercial banks, as well as the State Bank of Pakistan. The
government has ingeniously devised a whole host of devices to fill its
ever-ballooning deficit. The government has unfunded debt that includes
Defense Savings Certificates, Bahbood Savings Certificates, Mahana
Amdani Accounts, Khas Deposit Accounts, Special Savings Certificates and
Regular Income Certificates. Then there is floating debt that includes
Treasury Bills and Adhoc Treasury Bills. On top of all that there is
permanent debt that includes prize bonds, Federal Government Bonds,
market loans and Federal Investment Bonds.
This is how the sequence takes the whole country down: A
severely flawed fiscal policy whereby the government spends a trillion
rupees more than it earns. The government then borrows from the banks plus
SBP. Which leads to an explosively expanding money supply, whereby the
SBP prints trillions of rupees. More rupees, higher inflation!
Over the past 33 months, total notes in circulation have gone from
Rs976,000,000,000 to Rs1,516,000,000,000, a 55 per cent increase. Floating
debt has gone from Rs1,637,000,000,000 to Rs2,446,000,000,000, a 49 per
cent increase. Unfunded debt, over the same period, has gone from
Rs,1,020,000,000,000 to Rs1,466,000,000,000, a 44 per cent jump. And, as a
direct consequence, we have the kind of price increases that we do.
It is a naked fallacy to state that the price of oil in the international
market has gone up and thus prices in Pakistan are merely following the
trend. To begin with, on 25 th March 2008, the day that Syed Yousaf Raza
Gilani took oath of the prime ministers office, OPECs basket price stood at
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$96 a barrel and has since come down to $91.27 (as of January 4), a drop of
5 per cent. Secondly, the rate of inflation in Pakistan depends on Pakistans
monetary policy (read: printing of rupees) and has absolutely nothing to do
with prices of commodities outside of Pakistan.
Pakistans inflationary spiral is eroding the purchasing power of the
rupee, discouraging both savings and investments. The Law of Inflation
states: whatever goes up will go up some more. And then there are the wise
who say that inflation is the senility of democracies. Stop the printing
presses, please!
Next day, Zafar Hussain from Ontario, Canada wrote; My advice to
Mr Rehman Malik is that instead of wasting time in making statements
about shooting people for committing blasphemy it should try to learn Surah
Akhlas first.
On 11th January, The News wrote: As he continues his efforts to win
back the support of disgruntled allies at all costs, Prime Minister Yousuf
Raza Gilani has said that all the demands put up by the PML-N will be
accepted But there is reason to be apprehensive. Implementation of the
Supreme Courts verdicts on the NRO would mean action against key PPP
leaders. Such action is unlikely to come. We may, then, see the 45-day
deadline set by Nawaz Sharif for the implementation of the demands his
party has made come and go. This would bring us back to square one. For
all the talks with its allies, there is still no real conviction that the
government has decided to turn a new leaf or improve governance in any
meaningful way. This does not augur especially well for the future, despite
the reconciliatory words now being exchanged between the two largest
parties which, for now, walk in step again.
In second editorial the newspaper added: The participation of
thousands of people in a rally held in Karachi by religious parties once more
demonstrates the street power of the religio-political forces. Their ability to
bring out so many onto the roads has acted to pressure governments in
the past. They now appear to be doing so again. Even before the participants
voiced a call to ensure there was no change in the blasphemy laws,
government leaders had pledged they will not be amended.
While every group in society has a right to express its opinion, the
incitement of hatred constitutes a violation of the law of the land The
emphasis of everyone in any position of responsibility should be on
upholding the law. Its violation must not be permitted, let alone encouraged.
When this happens, the threat of anarchy looms closer. At the moment we
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have a deep division in society. Differences in opinion exist everywhere and

religious beliefs deserve respect. But there should be no need to advocate
murder or try to browbeat people, rather than winning them over by
persuasion. This holds true for those on either side of the fence. The
heated-up situation we see today is grim; we must hope it does not lead to
more violence.
Zafar Hilaly urged the rulers to act. Now that the question cannot be
avoided, shelved or fudged any longer, why are they reposing their trust on
those rotund yellow looking, yellow livered politicians who continue
sitting on the fence, flirting with one side of the divide while blowing
kisses at the other. If they fail to come to their senses, they face a civil war
and, like most civil wars, it will divide families and homes, judges, the
legislature and the executive; nor will the armed forces remain free, their
cant of martial discipline notwithstanding.
A violent upheaval, albeit slow in the making, threatens the very
existence of this country susceptible as it already is to fissiparous
tendencies. Nor will regional and global powers sit back inertly while the
country burns. Even as we speak extremists are emerging from their lairs to
lead large demonstrations on the streets. Energized by the josh among their
ranks, even as embedded an establishment figure as Fazlul Rahman, is abuzz
about a revolution in the making.
The question often asked by locals, as much as foreigners, is that now
that the battle has been joined who will prevail. So will those whose
responsibility is to safeguard the state and the fundamental rights of the
people finally act? Or have we already embraced the doom assigned by
fate?
Zeenia Satti opined: This is a time when the Pakistani masses are
already hurting all over. Hunger hurts. Terrorism hurts. Loss of
earnings hurts. Homelessness hurts. The let down of the post democracy
movement hurts. Loss of sovereignty hurts. Loss of security hurts. Americas
military conduct hurts. Their leaders alliance with America hurts. Loss of
popular leadership hurts. The ordinary man has nothing left except solace in
his religion in his prophet (PBUH). Salmaan Taseer was wrongly
perceived as one threatening that too. Hence his violent end.
Do not isolate Pakistan as the only country slipping into the
hands of dark forces. These are dark times, everywhere. The murder of a
Pakistani governor who was trying to amend a law he thought was
vulnerable to abuse, and was trying to save a Christian womens life he
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thought was wrongly condemned to death, should be understood in the light

of the opposition to the building of a mosque at ground zero in New York.
There too, people are hurt and therefore, extremists.
If you casually touch an injured persons finger which was crushed
and is hurting badly, he will scream violently. Before you condemn the
person as insanely violent and dangerous, examine his injury. It will help
you understand why he reacted the way he did. Once you understand his
problem, you will find the right way of dealing with it.
Hamid Mir became the first to talk of liberal extremism in columns
of The News. He started with mention of his friendship and then differences
with the deceased Taseer and then wrote: I think Salmaan Taseer was a
misunderstood person. His son Aatish Taseer portrayed his father as an
enemy of Jews and Hindus in his writings just because Taseer left his Indian
Sikh mother Talveen Singh in 1980. In fact, Taseer represented the western
way of life in his private life but Aatish wrongly accused his father for
having a religious hatred against the Jews and Hindus. The assassin of
Taseer also had a wrong impression about Taseer and he killed him as an
enemy of Islam.
Aatish Taseer and the assassin, Malik Mumtaz Qadri, represent two
different extremes. One is a liberal extremist who leveled unfounded charges
against his father. The other is a religious extremist. I am sure that both these
two extremes are very dangerous for our values. We must fight both, the
religious extremists and the liberal extremists.
I must say that the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party is also
responsible for Taseers death. When Taseer criticized the blasphemy laws,
his own party, including President Zardari, never took a stand for him. Law
Minister Babar Awan said that nobody would be allowed to make a change
in the blasphemy laws.
The views of Taseer were misunderstood because the US is also
demanding that Pakistan repeal the blasphemy laws. The common
Pakistanis dont like the US interference and that was why Taseer was
declared an American agent by many rightwing parties. We can compare this
controversy with the cases of Binayak Sen and Arundhati Roy in India. They
are facing sedition charges because they are outspoken like Salmaan Taseer
and they are hated by the right wing like Taseer. They are facing death
threats and they are supported by the US and unfortunately the support from
the US is definitely a disadvantage in South Asia.

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Personally, I also believe that there is no need to change the

blasphemy laws right now But we must not allow a person to kill
another person just for criticizing these laws. Freedom of expression is
assured in Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan. I think that human
rights bodies must fight the case of poor Christian woman convicted in
blasphemy in the high court and the Supreme Court. They should not force
the President of Pakistan to announce a pardon because it will create further
divisions in our society.
We must resolve our problems through the rule of law. Religious
parties once again showed their street power on January 9 in Karachi in
support of the blasphemy laws. Interestingly, Sunni and Shia scholars never
condoned the murder of Taseer but they were together in defending the
blasphemy laws.
The Punjab Assembly showed maturity on Monday by
condemning the murder of Salmaan Taseer. I think that blasphemy law is
a safety valve against violence but I also believe that we must condemn the
murder of Salmaan Taseer. Now some PPP leaders are trying to put the
blame of his assassination on the PML-N. This is dirty politics. We need
unity to fight extremism. I am sure we can defeat extremism not with the
help of US but with the help of our own values based on tolerance. We need
a made-in-Pakistan solution for fighting terrorism and extremism. A made in
US solution will completely destroy us.
On 12th January, Babar Sattar opined: The intolerance that we witness
around us is supported by a certain vision of our religion articulated and
propagated by our mullah brigade. The contraction of intolerance that we
need will not happen without a contraction of the intolerant brand of
religiosity being preached and practiced in Pakistan. Just as ordinary people
rallied behind the conception of constitutionalism, democracy and rule of
law to make the first phase of the lawyers movement succeed, ordinary
people will need to support and strengthen a movement for social tolerance
and liberty in Pakistan. In the absence of such mass demand for tolerance
and liberty, our politicos (even the self-defined liberals) will continue to
chicken out when confronted with tidal waves of bigotry. Our mainstream
political parties will not lead us to such social change. They will only join in
once it is popular.
As a first step we need to wrestle back the public space for debate
that we voluntarily surrendered. And for this we will require our thought
leaders to exhibit courage. If we choose to be bullied into silence we will be

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doing so at our own peril. Then we need to demand that the state enforce the
law without considerations of fear or favour. Unless those appalled by those
showering petals at Qadri outside the court house show up in greater
numbers than the bigots and demand that the killer be treated as a killer and
seek justice for Salmaan Taseer, the state and its functionaries might not
exhibit the courage and the resolve to stand up to the bigots. And ultimately
we will need to reconsider Articles 2, 2A and 227 of the Constitution and the
interaction between state and religion that they stipulate.
Rahimullah Yusufzai observed: A new element has been inserted in
the debate following the allegation by Maulana Fazlur Rahman and leaders
of other Islamic parties that it was part of the US agenda to amend the
blasphemy law as the Western powers wanted to change and dilute Islamic
laws. This would make it even more difficult to consider any changes in the
blasphemy law because anything that is associated with the US and the West
in Pakistan triggers controversy and evokes strong opposition. The US, on
its part, would do well to stay away from this debate because its support for
changes in the blasphemy law would damage the cause of those who
genuinely and honestly feel that it needs to be amended to prevent its
misuse.
Aasia Bibi, the 45-year old Christian woman sentenced to death on
blasphemy charges by a lower court, has been in the Sheikhupura jail located
near her village for over a year and her legal battle isnt over. This is the
prison where Taseer visited her last November along with his wife and
daughter and publicly declared that there had been a miscarriage of justice in
her case and that he would request President Zardari to pardon her. It was
indeed strange for a governor to go to the jail, question the legal system,
describe the blasphemy law as a black law and then deride the mullahs
publicly and on his Tweeter site. But Taseer was different and defiant, never
afraid of saying all that he considered right. He was also somewhat careless
and unmindful of the consequences of his words and actions. Still he hadnt
committed a sin that deserved a death sentence. In the heat of the moment
when emotions are running high, ones words could be misconstrued as it
seems to have happened in his case. The ultra-liberal Taseer tried to interfere
with the law of the land and paid a heavy price. The ultra-religious Qadri,
only 26 and influenced by the emotional debate on an issue as sensitive and
combustible as blasphemy, took the law into his hand and committed
murder.
Raoof Hasan commented: Enveloped in this disgraceful environment,
the domestic political scene continued to unfurl as predicted. To get the
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Mutthida Qaumi Movement (MQM) back, the prime minister went to their
citadel in Karachi. To further shore up his position, he called up leaders of
all parliamentary parties and solicited their support. He ended up by phoning
the PML-N Chief Mian Nawaz Sharif and undertaking to work for his
charter of demands. A four-member committee has since been constituted to
oversee the implementation process and outcome.
One simply fails to understand how that would be possible. Having
claimed that he is an impregnable defence for the president; will the prime
minister agree to improve his governance? Will he agree to sack his
corrupt ministers and other officials and undertake initiatives to
eliminate corruption, visible marks of which can be traced to his office and
that of the president of the country? Will he proceed with implementing all
Supreme Court injunctions including the one on NRO and write a letter to
the Swiss courts to reopen the cases against Mr Zardari? Will he initiate
steps to get the looted billions back into the national coffers? Will he order a
transparent enquiry into numerous scandals that have hit the national scene
since the PPP-led coalition assumed charge? Will he replace the corrupt
heads of the national institutions with people of honour and integrity? Will
he appoint a new chairman for the National Accountability Bureau and
introduce an effective and transparent accountability mechanism? Will he
constitute an independent Election Commission? One strongly believes that
he has neither the will nor the power to undertake any of the promised steps.
He has not done it in the past three years. He is not likely to do it in the
future.
The nation is being led up the alley of darkness yet again all in
the name of sustaining a system that has effectively lost all its promise and
transparency. This system is a misnomer for democracy. No matter how one
looks at it, it does not pass the test of being democratic even in its most
rudimentary form. It is a dictatorship of the corrupt that is being perpetuated
through acts that are lacking in any good intention for the honour of the
country or the welfare of its people.
The increasing US intrusiveness and its venomous tentacles, a
corrupt, inefficient and ineffective government and an opposition smitten
with disunity and a misplaced paranoia of intervention by the army all
make for a continuation of the incumbent circus. Amidst the imbroglio of
rising prices, deteriorating law and order situation, rising ethnic and
religious strife and a government that has abdicated its writ to the wolves,
the prospects of a change through peaceful means are fast diminishing
and there appears no alternative to a testament in red.
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Next day, Kamila Hyat asked few coaxing questions from the liberal
forces. So, is the contest over? Have the extremists won? Has space been
closed off permanently for all those who believe that citizens are equal
regardless of their beliefs, and that religion should play no part in working of
the state?
She argued in support of earnest desire to defeat religious extremism
and concluded: The PPP backtracked completely on the blasphemy issue
and its initial stance on a pardon for Aasia Bibi. No other party has
assumed the role of leading a change in this situation, though both the MQM
and the ANP have made some brave statements. Without the leadership, it is
unrealistic to expect civil society to meaningfully resist well-organized
extremist groups capable of reducing happenings such as the first court
appearance of Mumtaz Qadri to a farce during which the murderer was
garlanded and showered with rose petals while the judge cowered in the
courtroom.
Changing reality and driving away fear will not be easy. It can be
achieved only by addressing the real issues of state, rather than those created
by fanatics. A commitment to defending the rights of all people, including
their right to learn a livelihood, and security of life can go a long way
towards this. These issues are linked to that of extremism. Taking them up is
vital to winning over people and using their power to battle fanaticism.
Ikram Sehgal concluded his views on the ongoing debate on
blasphemy law by reproducing a paragraph from his column wrote six
months back. If the whole system is taken to be corrupt and the justice
meted out to be unjust and unfair, frustration forces those seeking justice to
take the law into their own hands. Loss of faith in the judicial system can
become a very potent breeding ground for vigilantes. Social upheaval
turning violent can spill over into the Pakistani heartland. In criminal trials,
the punishment should be exactly what the accused would have got if the
evidence had been held to be correct. If based on the statements of the
witnesses committing perjury the accused would go to the gallows, shouldnt
those giving false evidence face the gallows themselves? The judge (or
judges) must decide each case of perjury on merit and come down with a
heavy hand against perjurers, as well as their manipulators and abettors.
He then added: The punishment for perjury should be the same as
the accused would have to face if he (or she) were found guilty. We must
avoid polarizing society by fuelling the controversy of amending/changing
the blasphemy laws. If the laws are made strong against bearing false

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witness, miscarriages of justice will not take place, and it will not be
confined to blasphemy alone.
Mumtaz, like Roedad Khan kept urging for change. He concluded his
weekly column in these words: These lords of power are very fickle
minded. Saddam Hussain, their erstwhile blue-eyed boy, was unleashed to
carry out chemical warfare on Iran, but eventually found himself hanging at
the end of a rope. Pervez Musharraf, who sold his country to them, now
finds himself in exile. How long can the foreign lords of power keep a
straight face and claim to be supporting democracy in Pakistan, while
propping up a highly unpopular government that is so easily manipulated by
its own allies?
But why should we look towards foreign powers to bring about
change? The change foreign powers bring about will be engineered, directed
and aimed exclusively at addressing their own specific interests. The only
change that can serve national interests and put the country back on the right
track is a change brought about by the people. But the question is when, if at
all, will the masses awaken?
On 15th January, The News commented on targeted killings in
Karachi. It is easy to imagine the sea that laps the shores of Karachi sighing
constantly. The city has in recent years seen enough tragedy to warrant the
ceaseless sound of mourning. After a brief respite, the spree of killings
motivated by ethnic and political rivalry has resumed. This suggests 2011
will bring no better news on this count than the year that has rolled
out Every death is, then, a tragedy. So is the constant turmoil in the city,
which prevents people from going about their lives with any peace of mind.
The threat of violence walks constantly besides them, like a shadow that
refuses to fade even after the sun has sunk behind the horizon indeed,
especially then, as in Wali Babars case.
Karachi has lost far too many people to such mindless killings. The
attempts to calm matters down or to persuade political parties to do more to
end the frenzied hatred that has taken root in the city have failed. Nothing at
all has come out of the repeated assurances from Interior Minister Rehman
Malik that those behind such violence will be identified and punished. We
still do not know quite who is responsible. But it seems too, from the
growing mistrust, that the killings are driven by the resentments and
frustrations that grow by the day in Karachi. Poor governance adds to them.
We see a total breakdown in law and order; no life is safe and anyone can
die at any time as a result of events that are quite beyond their control

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What is most urgently needed is a way to bring lasting peace to our

largest city. The political parties which wield influence in Karachi need to
accept that they must do everything possible to achieve this. Mere
commitments made at talks can achieve little. The pledges need to be
backed up by genuine commitment to stop the reign of death. Karachi
must be saved by forging a solution to its multi-faceted problems. This can
happen only if the political forces unite in a quest to remove the guns from
the hands of their activists.
In another editorial the newspaper shed tears over a carcass being
scavenged by lone vulture by the name of GM Bilour. Pakistan Railways
has informed the National Assemblys Standing Committee on Railways that
it will need to cut another 39 loss-making passenger trains and raise fares on
others to try and bridge the huge gap between revenue and expenditures. The
raise in fares has been justified on the basis of the increase in the price of
diesel since 2008. The general manager of Pakistan Railways has also said
that while revenue collected annually from the trains whose services he
believes need to be cancelled is Rs500 million, expenditures are a colossal
Rs4 billion. This disclosure is shocking. The manner in which Pakistan
Railways has been going steadily downhill over the past few decades is
terrifying. Lately, the descent has grown more and more rapid.
In a country such as ours, where very few can bear the cost of air
travel, the extensive railway network that sprawls out from Karachi to
Khyber should be serving a vital need. The fact that this has not happened is
entirely the result of continuous mismanagement and the failure to capitalize
on the potential of trains to meet vital commuting and freight needs. The
fare increases proposed by Pakistan Railways will leave it an unviable
option for many who use them. As a result, they will turn to road transport
a sector that has grown rapidly with coaches and buses hurtling down
highways taking away still more revenue from the nearly empty coffers of
Pakistan Railways.
Fleeting attempts have been made to save the public entity. Luxury
services and more non-stop trains have been offered. But these efforts have
brought little real change; in many cases they have fizzled out quickly. The
Chinese coaches purchased to carry passengers from Lahore to Rawalpindi
are today showing signs of increasing wear and tear. Those who had begun
to climb aboard trains have clambered off once more. We need a massive
initiative to rescue Pakistan Railways from what seems like certain death, so
that trains can, literally, be put back on the tracks again. We also need to
examine why so many of our big public-sector organizations have sunk to
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these depths, draining away resources and adding to our economic woes, at a
time when more money is urgently required to keep the ship of state afloat.
Babar Sattar wrote: We dont need symbolic pro-people populism
of the PML-N and the MQM manifested in opposition to the RGST and
petrol price hike. Nobody wants to pay taxes or pay extra for petrol. But we
need to cough up the funds to sustain ourselves somehow. Our political,
agriculture and industrial elites do not wish to pay any taxes, the state is not
willing to rationalize its military and other non-developmental expenditure,
our generals and bureaucrats wish to continue with their opulent lifestyles
sustained by taxes paid by less than ten per cent of the populace and the
struggling masses do not have the ability to pay for petrol or commodities
anymore. We have allocated no money to educate our kids despite our
agreement that education is the panacea to all our ills. We have a large
standing army equipped with nuclear weapons but no money to provide food
and health security to citizens.
This state of affairs is clearly not sustainable. And let us not wait for
any saviors. None will come. We can either allow things to degenerate
further to a level where bankruptcy, mal-governance and religious and
cultural intolerance lead to violent change or alternatively we can willingly
embrace reform. Let us remember that intoxicated by power and privilege,
our ruling civil and military elites are not sober enough to take a realistic
view of the storm we are caught in and the fast-approaching deluge. The
indigent masses have neither the training nor the ability to instill reform. It is
the educated middle class of Pakistan that has the most to lose if it doesnt
take the initiative to instigate and lead a reform movement. It is this lot that
has the potential, the ability and the incentive to provide the required
leadership for change. Those of us who plan to continue to live in Pakistan
and raise our kids here do not have the luxury of time.
Next day, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi wrote: Taseers murder has
confronted us as a nation with the question raised in Ghalibs line. Will we
find it easier to surrender to forces that are considered too powerful to
overcome even though they threatened our existence? Or will we find it easy
to see why we have no option but to overcome challenges that threatened
to destroy us as a society and as nation? If in practice we continue to give
the wrong answer, we will tackle none of the political, security, social,
economic and external challenges facing us today.
Class hatred will deepen. Religion will be used as a political
explosive. Violence will spread. No one will be secure. In such a situation,

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progress will be impossible. We will serve neither faith nor country. The
direction we will have chosen for Pakistan will be set in stone. Time will not
be on our side. External military intervention will become certain. All our
difficulties, indeed our fate as a nation, will be made easy. Our choice of
answer, accordingly, should be easy to make. That is how I read Ghalibs
line. Qazi seemed to be having some problem with his power glasses. All
that about which he has warned already exists all around him.

REVIEW
Sunday rally in protest of regimes designs about blasphemy law
drew attention of the western media because of the number of Karachites
thronging the main thoroughfare of the mega city. Pope Benedict, in
complete disregard for this display of popular public sentiment, wasted no
time in asking Pakistan to repeal blasphemy law.
The ruling coalition of MQM and PPP was perturbed over the size of
rally. Massive response to the call of religious parties certainly alarmed the
liberal secular forces. The two parties apprehended losing their political hold
of the city and feared revival of religious parties.
The self-exiled Khomeini of MQM delivered fresh sermon on the
issue and urged liberal forces to join hands to counter the ominous threat. He
also ordered end to rallies on the issue, which obviously was meant for
our city and MQM workers. Therefore, Urdu-speaking bhiyas are expected
to stay away from future rallies on this issue.
MQM also availed the opportunity to justify yet another U-turn on
its revolution hype saying their return to treasury benches was need of the
hour. It was time the liberal and progressive forces joined together to counter
the threats posed by extremist elements in the society.
PPP, however, resorted to its favourite hypocritical stance. Seeing the
charged sentiments of the people it went on the back foot and its leaders
started saying that the government has no plans to change blasphemy law. At
the same time it kept the parliamentary committee in place, which has been
tasked to prepare draft for reformation of blasphemy law. Ironically, the
committee is headed by a Christian, Shahbaz Bhatti Masih.
That meant regimes desire to please its foreign masters has not been
dampened by the mullas ability to flood streets of big cities with
demonstrators. The rulers mindset was reflected in assertions of Fauzia

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Wahab and Shahbaz Masih on the floor of National Assembly. She equated
Aasia with Dr Aafia and her colleague proclaimed equal rights for both.
In the real world; one could only wish it was so. In the case Aafia,
Fauzias boss had accepted the court verdict as mark of respect for
Americas justice system, despite the fact that decision was based on
untenable incriminating evidence. In the case of Aasia, Zardari cast doubts
on the judicial system of his own country by declaring that injustice had
been done by the court, despite the fact that she had got fair trial and the fact
that the course of law had not yet been completed.
Moreover, Aafia remained missing for years after having been
abducted by the secret agents of the leader of civilized world. Aasia on the
other hand, faced no such ordeal during post-trial period; she was taken into
custody and proceeded against strictly in accordance with the law of the
land.
And, in the case of Aasia the rulers in Islamabad have been and
continue having sleepless nights because of the fear of getting displeasure of
their foreign masters. In the case of Aafia, they had no such apprehensions;
they did not even feel a prick on their conscience.
This is because Zardari knows better where his interests rest. He is, as
they say, bigger than life; bigger than a person, or even bigger than an
institution. He is an empire and empires nourish no emotional attachments;
have only interests. He has made this known several times.
Lately, it has been made evident by him by not attending funeral
prayers of Salman Taseer and Naseerullah Babar, two stalwarts of PPP, but
not missing the last rites of Holbrooke. His trust in the West was further
reflected in reports which confirmed what was sarcastically suggested in the
last article; he requested Obama for Karzai-like US security guards.
Zardari regime justifies all its hypocrisy in the name of reconciliation.
The present dormant stance is part of the same strategy. For the time being
it will maintain ambiguity about its intentions in the context of this issue.
The uncertainty, however, will not serve anybodys interests.
The hordes of liberal, secular and enlightened intellectuals and
observers seemed to have been most perturbed by extremists,
fundamentalists and obscurantist thronging the streets of mega city. They
like the civilized world apprehend these barbarians posing serious threat to
their cherished values.

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They have been demanding justice for Aasia since day one. The day
one was when Pope Benedict had declared that a judge of Nankana Sahib
had been unfair to her. These liberal intellectuals had remained dormant
when Dr Aafia was sentenced, because Pope had kept quiet over that.
Who are these liberal, secular and enlightened intellectuals? They are
a category of Muslims which believes that religion is a private affair and the
state has nothing to do with it. In practical terms, the religion for them is
mere oral embracing; spelling out no obligations.
They are the ones who have to display placard for their recognition as
was seen in a footage wherein a woman rallying in remembrance of Salman
was holding a placard reading hum bhi muslmaan hein (we are also
Muslims). According to Oriya Maqbool Jan they are the ones who cannot
recite Surah Akhlas. They are the ones who choose Shahbaz Masih to decide
the fate of blasphemy law.
They have been crying hoarse since day one. They have heaped
scorns on religious groups for resisting reformation of blasphemy law. It is
not possible to comment on all that they have said and written in few pages
or even books; only some are selected as samples from what has been
written in one English Daily published in last one week which should reflect
on the tolerance shown by the liberals.
Aasim Sajjad Akhtar warned in his column in TNS dated 9 th January:
We who want Pakistani society to be a progressive and just one are all lost
if we do think that Mumtaz Qadri is a genuine hero to a broad cross-section
of the people. Qadri may or may not be a hero, but to project Salman Taseer
as hero will not be acceptable to majority of the believers in or outside
Pakistan.
Raza Rumi had observed that an extremist mindset has infiltrated
state agencies, from the sensitive to the less sensitive, and the governments
of the day and their large, unwieldy bureaucracies can do nothing in the face
of this ideological onslaught. In his entire discourse he did not even make a
passing remark about rampant liberal extremism.
Waqar Gillani paid rich tributes to Salman Taseer for being staunch
follower of Zulfikar Bhutto and for being anti-Zia. Waqar saw him as a
valiant soldier who fought without weapons as brave in his death as in his
life. His death is synonymous with the death of tolerance in Pakistan. The
fact is the tolerance was most dormant during the period of Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto and even now in the rank and file of liberals.

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Dr Tariq Rahman wrote most people condemned the murder, some,

however, showered flowers on the murderer. The enlightened assume that
the silent majority is with them. An opinion poll in this regard, however,
may produce results to the contrary; majority would disapprove Salman
blurting out remarks about blasphemy law in a manner in which he used to
exchange taunts with Rana Sana.
In his column he equated present situation with times in Europe when
people there believed in witches. They also believed in burning them and
thousands of old women were burnt on the stake without trial, or merely
summary trials by a fanatical mob or even more fanatical clergymen
Tariq went a step ahead of Salman in saying that not realizing that neither
the liberals are witches nor the people defending blasphemy law are as mad
as Europeans were in Middle Ages.
On 11th January, editor of The News while commenting on massive
rally in Karachi termed it as street power of the religio-political forces. He
indulged in intellectual dishonesty by not accepting it as reflection of
popular sentiment of the masses. If such a large and peaceful rally has been
held in Paris or London, he would have termed it beauty of the democracy
and adored that. He, like all enlightened, feel shy of accepting the reality that
they are in minority and thus in a democratic dispensation they have no right
to impose their thinking on the majority.
Zafar Hilaly instigated the government to act against mullas by calling
the rulers yellow looking, yellow livered. He argued that it is necessary to
avert the looming civil war, in other words he was inadvertently advising the
start of the same catastrophe which he wanted to avert.
Zeenia Satti in her column saw that Pakistan is not the only country
slipping into the hands of dark forces. Only a person, who has reserved the
title enlightened for his/her ilk can dare say that, though those on other side
of the divide could come out with more convincing arguments to prove that
it was other way round.
Next day Babar Sattar blamed mullah brigade for all the intolerance
prevailing in the society. He took this liberty knowing well that this brigade
being non-English speaking cant reply back by calling him and others like
him as troupe of enlightened intellectuals busy in strip-tease to please some
distant watchers and provoking those in close vicinity to violent reaction.
On 13th January, Kamila Hyat criticized PPP for backtracking on
blasphemy law and appreciated MQM and ANP for making some brave
statements on the law. She then urged for battling fanaticism. She, like all
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enlightened intellectuals, reserved such phrases for religious groups and

absolved MQM and ANP of all types of fanaticism. This intellectual perjury
can be better understood when the language used by her is compared with
one used in another column the same day.
Taj M Khattak took up far more serious issue than one Kamila had
tried to blow up. He termed Karachi a city of anguish while discussing the
daily targeted killings there. In the concluding paragraph he wrote that
many people here appear to be more shadowy than their own shadows. Yet
this is where poor Pakistanis come in pursuit of their dreams and get trapped
in nightmarish lives. After every cycle of targeted killings, the city rulers
bury their dead in specially designated martyrs graveyards at the expense of
the parties to which the deceased belonged, and the national airline carries
the other coffins upcountry free of cost for burial. This final act rubs in the
ultimate contradiction of Karachi, a city where living is expensive but dying
is for free.
Taj was pointing towards MQM, PPP and ANP, the three major actors
in orgy of bloodbath repeatedly staged in the mega city. All this has been and
continues happening for serving the vested interests of political parties, like
land grabbing and bhatha collection; yet Taj refrained from using for them
the words like extremist, intolerant, fanatical, dark forces.
English-knowing segment of Pakistani society, barring few
exceptions, seemed to have reserved these dirty words for religious parties
only; these are labeled upon them when a Qadri kills a Salman not when
mafia gangs spray bullets in markets and bus stands. The reason is obvious;
Qadri is linked to religious extremists and mafia gangs are representatives of
liberal and secular forces.
Next day, Harris Khalique accused religio-political parties of
whipping up of emotions to play a political game. He conveniently
ignored mentioning Salman for providing a pretext to whip up emotions
which he had done to please his masters masters. Harris then talked of
revered humanists of the land who preached Sufism. This is a popular
choice of liberals to counter Islamic militancy (jihad).
He concluded that it is because of this kind of militancy and some
other factors that our existence is at stake. We needdrying up sources of
support for those doing politics in the name of religion. He perhaps believes
that those who are liberally plundering and looting national resources pose
no threat to existence of Pakistan.

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Ayaz Amir stressed upon liberal ruling elite to be prepared to confront

the religious forces resolutely. The clerics are on the march not because
they are strong but because those on the other side of the divide the nonclerical forces are weak, directionless and devoid of vision, without any
strategy and plan of battle. Ayaz was beating battle drums and raising war
cries as if there was not enough of bloodletting going on. In any case, once
the battle he sought starts the emphatic cries of white-collar gentry will turn
pathetic in no time.
With this brief resume of the background it would be easy to
understand the title of this article, which reads It is Part of War. The very
existence of Zardari regime constitutes plausible proof that everything that is
happening in Pakistan is part of Americas holy war. All that happens on
various fronts military, political, economic and even religious is part of
the scheme under which the holy war of America is being fought.
For the satisfaction of those who may have some doubts there is need
to dwell on the point for a while. It should start with a look at the aim of
Americas holy war waged in revenge of 9/11. The aim can be put across in
many was. The shortest statement of the aim can be: To punish Muslims for
launching an attack on US soil in a manner so severe that they are deprived
of means and desire to do it in future.
The above aim is to be accomplished progressively by achieving
certain objectives. Out of these objectives following are important:
De-militarization of Islamic World allowing retention of only that
much capability which is barely sufficient for maintaining internal
security in respective countries.
De-weaponization of Islamic countries allowing weapons needed for
internal security forces and extra military hardware needed to pitch
Islamic countries against each other to secure interests of the West.
Comprehensive de-nuclearization of Islamic World with no exception
even for peaceful purposes where slightest doubt exists.
De-Islamization of Muslim World as it draws strength from the
religion to resist intruding forces; especially its concept of jihad.
Colonization of countries where necessary with or without placing
coalition troops.
Attain control of energy resources by striking deals through
multinational companies of the West.
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 Secure complete subjugation of suspected troublesome nations

accomplished through services of Muslim rulers.
The goals to attain the aim of any war, no matter how carefully
framed, cannot be accomplished without framing a comprehensive strategy
and applying that vehemently. America and its allies have been doing that
resolutely for more than nine years. The details of what they have been
doing were discussed all along soon after their happening.
Herein, the aim is not to repeat that even briefly, except saying that
America and its allies, contrary to general impression, have made significant
progress in attaining their objectives. The goal of de-militarization of Iraq,
one of the two largest armies in Islamic World, has been fully achieved. In
case of Pakistan it is nearing completion. Interestingly, it is being achieved
through causing attrition by pitching its army against its own people.
The above statement holds more or less valid in case of deweaponization. The goal of de-nuclearization of Pakistan is being pursued
relentlessly and Iran is pressed hard to shun the desire to possess nuclear
weapons. Colonization of Iraq and Afghanistan has been completed
militarily; elsewhere it has been attained through courtesy client rulers and
enhanced clandestine presence where necessary.
Control of energy resources is also complete barring couple of
exceptions where Chinese and Japanese companies are contracted. These
countries are being targeted relentlessly; Sudans division has been ensured
through referendum and pressure on Iran is being exerted constantly.
The above leaves de-Islamization the only goal uncovered. The issue
of blasphemy law warrants that some facts in this context should be recalled
to understand as to how this fits in the ongoing war. Soon after the 9/11 Bush
had announced waging Crusades. It meant that the war would be waged by
followers of Christianity against followers of Islam.
The use of word Crusades, however, compromised the demands of
strategy that was conceived for its waging. The war was to be fought with
the support of Muslims who were prepared to be willing partners of
America and word Crusades did not facilitate that. Therefore, this war was
named as war on terror. The new name retained the holiness of war and
also served the cause of demonizing the adversaries which were all followers
of Islam.
Before proceeding further it is important to mention as to why deIslamization of Muslim countries is considered necessary. The attempts at
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de-Islamization should not surprise a student of history; these were made

several times in the past from Spain to Central Asia to Indian Subcontinent
for varying reasons but one reason was common in all attempts.
The last major attempt was made by the Soviet Union in Central Asia,
because Islam was considered major threat to godless ideology of
communism. Christianity has long history not only resorting to deIslamization, but also elimination of Muslims under the cover of ethnic
cleansing. No two religions have such a long history of hostile rivalry.
The enemies recognize the fact that Muslims draw strength from their
religion to resist all alien ideological and physical intrusions resolutely.
Ideological intrusions are blunted because Islam retains original text of its
fundamentals, despite many superfluous interpretations. One of the
intentions behind de-Islamization is to pollute Islam through addition or
deletion of some ideas.
The physical incursions are blunted, apart from using other tangible
means of resistance, with the belief in and pursuit of Islams concept of
Jihad. This concept glorifies the death and its true believers seek death more
than the worldly life. It is not easy to secure success against such believers.
This brings out the need to defeat this concept. To this end a twopronged campaign was launched. One prong was aimed at demonizing the
concept of Jihad by equating it with militancy, barbarity and terrorism.
Second prong was to block preaching of this concept.
Demonization of the concept of Jihad started with concoction of terms
and phrases like fundamentalists, hardliners, extremists, militants, savages,
terrorist and so on. This campaign delivered limited results, falling well
short of those desired.
The Crusaders did not leave achievement of this goal to demonizing
campaign only. Efforts were made to divide Muslim society into progressive
and fundamentalist, moderates and militants, enlightened and obscurantist;
and so on. This was aimed at finally winning over support of the likeminded and pitching them against the other.
Musharraf rendered commendable service in this context. Lal Masjid
was the first major battle fought between enlightened and obscurantist forces
within Pakistani nation. This encounter, however, triggered violent reaction
and Pakistan experienced unprecedented increase in terror attacks and
suicide bombings.

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Concurrently, Musharraf on the behest of his mentors embarked on

bringing changes in the syllabi of education in which verses related to Jihad
were excluded. While changing the syllabi he started preaching Jihad-eAkbar. But this variety of Jihad, though absolutely desirable, is in no way a
substitute for situations in which qatal-fi-sbeellalah is obligatory.
He also banned Jihadi outfits. The same policy is being followed by
Zardari regime with reinvigorated commitment; yet all the above efforts did
not achieve the intended goal. The puppets and their masters tried another
tactical approach, e.g. to counter Jihadi tendencies by preaching Sufism.
Sufism was prescribed as antidote of Jihadi virus. Enemies of Islam
recognize that a Jihadi can cause more damage to the fulfillment of their
designs than hordes of malangs and majawars dancing and dozing halfnaked under influence of intoxication of this or that kind.
To this end Islams message of peace was projected in a manner as if
Islam shuns fighting even in self defence. It was to cast Jihad as something
that negates Islams message of peace. In fact, Islam shuns hypocrisy. Unlike
Christianity, it does not preach presenting second cheek if someone slaps
you. Even modern day followers of Christianity do not practice this kind of
peaceful norms of co-existence. They say that those who want peace without
preparing and having the will to go to war seldom get peace.
Nearly a decade long efforts have yielded only the hearts and minds of
a minority comprising liberals, secularists and the enlightened. But that has
not discouraged the Crusaders to the extent of giving up the goal of deIslamization. In fact, each failure seemed to have strengthened their resolve.
It is so because of the importance of this goal for accomplishing the
ultimate aim of the war. Countries can be invaded, conquered, occupied and
colonized with the use of military might; but nations can be subjugated by
securing their submission through subverting their beliefs and values.
The issue of blasphemy law fits here in the overall scheme. The
demands for its repeal initiated from Washington, London and Vatican City,
as was said in the last review, have the same sinister intention that works
behind publishing of blasphemous caricatures; to ridicule Islam.
The ridicule is meant to inculcate acceptance of insult. Insult accepted
without protest is the sign of submission to might of the strong. That is
embracing of the lowest form of slavery. This is the ultimate part of the aim
the war; subjugation Muslims American-style.

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Once that is achieved the men sitting in Vatican and White House can
pass directives to rulers in Islamabad for any addition or deletion in Islam, as
Pope has desired recently. This indicates that completion of cycle of
invasion, conquest, occupation, colonization, submission and subjugation
was nearing.
Today, he has desired and tomorrow the Pope would order Pakistani
rulers to repeal blasphemy law. The composition of news headlines;
religious leaders condemned Popes statement convey more than its mere
reading. It means only mullas are resent; the masses have accepted (by
showing tolerance) and the liberals have welcomed Popes statement.
The ultimate target of the ridicule and malign is that the masses
should start welcoming the directives of the Pope believing that he is better
qualified to reform Islam which has been distorted by the obscurantist
mullas. Following that they should start asking the Pope to prescribe
khutbas for Juma congregations.
The beginning of the end has been made by the ruling elite by
tasking Shahbaz Masih to implement directives received from White House
and Vatican City about blasphemy law. Tomorrow similar directives could be
expected for reforming or repealing Hudood laws and the Shariat.
Soon the Crusaders and their enlightened puppets may take
cognizance of the time wasted in passing of directives and their
implementation. Both may mutually agree on speedy reformation of Islam
and in pursuance of that White House can issue an Ordinance forbidding
Jihad terming it a form of terrorism.
In view of the spade-work done in opinion-making in this context, it
can be said that such a move would be welcomed by rulers who are on
record saying that they would do everything that their masters desire. They
would be satisfied with the duty of implementation only allowing them the
time to indulge in extracting democratic revenge from Pakistan and its
people.
Another reason for them to welcome such ordinances would be that
the parliamentarians in Islamabad, some of which cannot recite Surah
Akhlas, would feel relieved of performing this laborious task of law-making.
This is how Pakistan would be de-Islamized and its people made tolerant,
progressive, liberal, secular and enlightened.
The present deplorable state reminds one the parting words of
Musharraf. Those words should be seen in the context of a popular anecdote

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wherein a Sikh picked up a brawl with an Englishman. Two of them

exchanged abuses in English and the Sikh ran short of his vocabulary and
making use of word moreover blurted out a filthiest Punjabi abuse.
Musharraf was cursed a lot by almost all segments of the society and
then forced to resign. He addressed the nation before resigning and ended his
speech Pakistan ka khuda he hafiz. It seems in the retrospect that before
saying that he had quietly murmured: moreover Zardari.
16th January 2011

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FORCES LINED UP
The two north-western provinces of Pakistan have been turned into
battlefield since years. Fighting in mountains and sparsely populated areas
did not satisfy the political mafias and they turned Karachi into another
battlefield to try their skills in perpetration of terror in built-up area. The
latest battle or killing spree took place in this battlefield recently.
As usual, after allowing about a week to the gangs and death squads to
operate freely, the regime asked Rangers to act to restore order in the city.
When the operation started and the Rangers laid hands on some PPP
operatives the interior minister of Sindh disowned the action. He was
followed by Rehman Malik and Qaim Ali. Nabeel Gabol went a step farther;
blamed coalition partners and was asked to resign.
The operation was rolled back more promptly than it was launched. It
proved once again that all the three coalition parties were involved in the
game in Karachi, where the gun has been an effective tool for winning over
electoral support and thus these parties cannot find a solution of Karachis
problems, because they are part of the problem.
The gangs of political mafias have been equally ruthless in
perpetrating loot and plunder of national resources. They have virtually
inflicted fatal injuries to Pakistans economy and having done that Zardari
regime was now battling for its survival through dialogue with its rivals:
PML-N and PML-Q.
As if these battles being fought on various battlegrounds for different
reasons were not enough to quench the thirst of democratic revenge Zardari
regime marshaled its troops for yet another battle. He has lost one of his
Knights but seemed not to have changed his mind on blasphemy law for
reasons too obvious; his masters wont like him to budge from his stated
stand.

NEWS
On 16th January, two MQM workers were among five killed in
Karachi. Qaim Ali Shah and Rehman Malik saw anti-government plot
behind the killings. PML-N and Q blamed the ruling coalition. The
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government decided to impose partial curfew and selective commando

operations by heli-drops. Decision was taken without consulting MQM and
ANP. Shahi expressed reservations on selective action. Haqiqi backed
military operation.
Gilani discussed Punjab situation with Latif Khosa and Shahbaz
apprized Gilani of gas shortage effects on industries. FIA gave clean chit to
Hamid Saeed Kazmi in Haj scam. Protests were held in Lahore against the
Pope and regimes design to repeal blasphemy law. One person was killed
and two wounded, including senior PML-N leader in Gilgit.
Next day, more than six hundred people were detained for violating
the orders of pillion-riding in Karachi; those who could arrange bail were
freed rest were sent to lock-up. Fearing possibility of de-weaponization of
Karachi, MQM submitted a Bill for de-weaponization of entire country; the
policy of muddling the water.
KPK Assembly supported holding of dual office by Zardari and
demanded judicial probe into Karachi mayhem. Nawaz Sharif while
addressing a public gathering in Badin said his party knows who is behind
killings in Karachi and said PML-N has no culture of dead bodies.
Gilani while addressing a public meeting in related to forthcoming
bye-election in Dera Ghazi Khan said nobody would be allowed to repeal
or misuse blasphemy law. Ansar Abbasi reported that various instances
wherein NAB and FIA have been working to protect the corrupt. Plea
against shortage of gas supply to Punjab was admitted by LHC. PAC ordered
probe against ex-director CDA. Interior ministry approved holding of
hearing of murder case of Taseer in Adiala Jail from January 24.
On 18th January, investigators informed the Supreme Court about the
loss of about rupees one trillion in Afghan transit trade. More than fifty
thousand containers destined for Afghanistan never reached the border
crossings. The report said the transit trade smacks of a trans-national racket
involving different governments and high-ups in Pakistani government.
Techno Power Sahuwal deposited Pay Order worth Rs1.8 billion in
the Supreme Court as refund of the advance taken by it. Petition was filed in
the Supreme Court praying for probe into corruption in Utility Stores. The
Supreme Court ordered removal of encroachments from parks in Karachi
and said nobody, including judges, is above the law.
The PAC directed government to place name of acting chairman of
Pakistan Steel Mills Imtiaz Lodhi on ECL for holding fake degree which he

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had also used at the time of appointment as Chief Financial Officer in Zarai
Taraqqiati Bank four years ago.
Panels of PML-N and PPP held first meeting on 10-point national
agenda and after the meeting Hafeez Sheikh declared 45-day timeline
irrelevant. Khosa called on Nawaz Sharif and vowed to establish cordial
working relationship. Gilani said no change in blasphemy would be allowed
and then wondered all but Ulema believe me. Eighteen officials of Elite
Force refused to serve in LHC premises primarily because of the rude
behaviour of lawyers.
Four more people were killed in Karachi and two hundred were
arrested in an operation which mainly targeted well-known strongholds of
drug mafia. MQM demanded KPK be given under army control to bring
peace in Karachi. In Lahore, Justice Javeds stepbrother and his accomplice
were arrested for killing his parents.
Next day, the bench hearing missing containers case served notices to
FBR officials; Member Customs Collector and NLC director general
allegedly involved in the scam and directed them to submit their replies by
January 27. Justice Ramday said those who think they would influence
probe are wrong. Chief Justice wondered as to where all this money goes,
but vowed to recover every penny of public money.
An Accountability court hearing case of Punjab Bank scam ordered
confiscation of assets and freezing accounts of Hamesh Khan, Shaikh Afzal
and his brother. A scandal involving misappropriation of more than Rs1
billion was unearthed in Ministry of Science and Technology.
Nabeel Gabol was asked by Zardari to resign as state minister. He
quitted and went to hiding to avoid arrest. His house was raided and his
guards were arrested. Nabeel said he was being victimized by Zardari for
speaking against government allies and vowed to disclose facts in a press
conference.
Zulfikar Mirza came out openly against the federal government,
saying he was totally ignored in the Rangers operation in Orangi Town.
Mirza protested against virtual takeover of his ministry by Rehman Malik,
who had been working in close coordination with the Governor. Mirza
reminded Malik the day when he was PA of his uncle.
PML-Q handed over its five-point recipe for solution of economic and
governance issues; do these or face Tunisia mood. The five-point agenda

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was handed over after meeting with government team headed by Hafeez
Shaikh, but unlike PML-N, Q did not give any deadline.
Nawaz showed his dissatisfaction over governments response as
indicated during first meeting of two teams. He was especially perturbed
over Hafeez Shaikhs statement in which he ruled out fixing of any deadline.
He said some issues needed 45 minutes to resolve. He vowed to take tougher
stance.
On 20th January, during hearing of the case of corruption in Haj
arrangements the Court was annoyed over DG FIA spoiling the probe;
nabbing Rao Shakil, but sparing friend of PMs son. The court was annoyed
at bid to protect criminals; he vowed action against those responsible.
The Supreme Court directed the Establishment Division and FIA to
provide a list of officers appointed on contract. The Chief Justice observed
IGO posted on contract while Karachi saw 75 killings this month alone.
Tariq Butt noted that six DIGs in Sindh Police were contract employees
apart from a number of political inductees as DSPs and out of turn
promoted as SPs.
Chairman FBR submitted in the Supreme Court a list of 58 officials
who held positions from January 1, 2007 to December 24, 2010 when
national exchequer suffered Rs37 billion loss because of pilferage in
containers moving across country under Afghan Transit Trade. The list
included names of six former secretaries, three former FBR chairmen and
three former heads of NLC.
Dr Abdul Basit, counsel for two PCO judges facing contempt charge
pleaded to the court to initiate proceedings against Musharraf for his
unconstitutional acts of November 3, 2007 and award him capital
punishment. The counsel said it was unfortunate that Musharraf was
roaming freely and judges were served notices.
Malik and Mirza disowned the operation carried out by the Rangers in
Orangi Town, while three more people were killed and the Rangers held six
wanted men in targeted killings from Karachi and Hyderabad. Name of
Nabeel Gabol was placed on ECL and he arrived in Islamabad to meet PM.
Imran Khan saw Gabols resignation part of PPP-MQM give and take deal.
PAC objected to signing of memorandum of understanding between
PIA and Turkish Airline. Chairman PAC said some lessons should be learnt
from the precedent of a neighbouring country where the army chief appeared

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before the accounts committee. He asked as to why there was lack of

transparency at the highest level of military.
Amid reports that FATA Senators bought votes of FATA MNAs during
Senate election, Gilani approved R30 million for each FATA MNA for their
relentless support to the government. IHC rejected plea to quash FIR against
Mumtaz saying no one can take law into his hands. The employees shed off
by KESE ransacked companys office.
Next day, Nabeel Gabol was saved by Asfandyar and Gilani from
Zardaris wrath. He took back his resignation. Qaim Ali also denied ordering
Karachi operation. Latif Khosa called himself jiyala and said demands of
PML-Q and PML-N are already part of PPP manifesto. EU Parliament urged
Zardari to pardon Aasia Masih.
PML-Q and PML-N MPs clashed in Punjab Assembly. MQM and
PML-Q decided to stand together in Punjab and Sindh. Shujaat said Punjab
is slipping from Nawazs hands. Nisar wrote letter to Prime Minister to
abandon Rs3 billion Parliament lodges project. Ansar Abbasi reported
involvement of protocol wing of Foreign Ministry in indulging corrupt
practices in recommending cases for visa to foreign missions.
On 22nd January, Judicial Commission chaired by the Chief Justice
gave one year extension to 24 additional judges of LHC; issue of additional
judges of SHC will be taken up in the next meeting. Justice Osmany and
Justice Muslim were nominated as Supreme Court judges. Justice Musheer
will be Chief Justice SHC. Justice Dost Muhammad Khan of PHC warned of
dangerous consequences of non-implementation of court verdicts.
Four people were killed in Karachi. PML-Q team headed by Shujaat
met leaders of various political parties in Karachi and urged to check
worsening situation in the city. Pagara demanded imposition of martial in
Karachi. Rehman Malik told partys core committee that he did not interfere
in internal affairs of Sindh; he claimed he did what Zardari and Gilani
wanted.
Six thousand officers of Pakistan Steel Mills released shocking details
of losses and jointly urged the Ministry of Production to appoint a
professional and experienced management, arrange funds to run Mills and
expedite the process of accountability to recover the plundered wealth.
In a meeting jointly chaired by Zardari and Gilani it was decided to
right-size the cabinet; it took three years to realize that the cabinet size was

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wrong as if rest all was fine. Hafeez Sheikh announced Rs100 billion cut in
development budget.
Zardaris aides made US Congressmen to write a letter to Hillary
seeking ban on visa to those Pakistani media men who do not condemn
Salman Taseers death. Nisar slammed EU demand seeking pardon of
Aasia; he termed it interference in internal affairs of Pakistan. PML-Q and
JUI-F leaders exchanged hot words in Balochistan Assembly.

VIEWS
On 17th January, Asif Ezdi became the first analysts in columns of The
News to put the blame were it belongs. He, however, looked at the issue
from socio-economic angle only. He observed: The sharply divided public
reaction to the tragic assassination of Salmaan Taseer has brought into
focus the class differences that separate Pakistans small affluent
minority from the impoverished masses, as well as the growing
polarization between the two. The divisions are age-old but the threat of
confrontation between the classes is new. It is no wonder that the rich are
scared. But it is typical of their insensitivity to the sufferings and privations
of the huge disadvantaged majority in their midst that while they sense the
danger, they are not prepared to contemplate even minimal corrective steps
that could affect their pockets
The gulf between those who came out to mourn Taseers murder and
those who rallied to defend, even eulogize, Mumtaz for his act could hardly
be wider. On the one side, there were small groups of well-fed and welldressed men and women from the rich and privileged upper classes, the
archetypes of the enlightened moderation brigade. The placards they were
carrying were mostly in English, the language that they have adopted as an
instrument to perpetuate their position. In the opposite corner of the ring are
the angry masses, people from the poorer sections of the society, who bear
the brunt of the economic squeeze and have to struggle constantly against
sliding deeper and deeper into poverty. It is these people who demonstrated
in their thousands and tens of thousands in defence of the law on blasphemy
and hailed Mumtaz as a hero.
The two live in the same country but they could well have come from
different planets. They hardly communicate with each other and that is not
just because of the language gap. From the cradle to the grave, they live in
two different worlds. Class differences exist in most countries of the world

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but in few of them do the upper classes monopolize power, wealth and
privilege as completely as they do in Pakistan. Not only do they possess the
vast bulk of the national wealth, they also control all institutions of state
government, parliament, administration and use that control freely to
protect, consolidate and perpetuate their position. They are virtually above
the law. They evade taxes, steal public money and shamelessly exploit the
honest, hard-working citizens of the country. They systematically deny
opportunities of education to the poor that could one day enable them to
break the shackles of poverty. As a result, the chasm between the rich and
the poor continues to widen.
It is this gulf between the classes, the climate of festering social
injustice and the seemingly unshakeable hold of a corrupt and predatory
ruling class on the levers of power that lies at the root of radicalization in
the country. Our liberal elite has now gone into high gear bemoaning the
rise of religious extremism but instead of holding this class responsible, they
have been searching for scapegoats. Many of our commentators, especially
those who write in our English language newspapers, have been projecting
this phenomenon as a clash between moderates and extremists, between the
secular-minded and Islamic fundamentalists, between progressives and
reactionaries, between enlightenment and obscurantism and between
narrow-minded clerics and those who believe in respect for fundamental
human rights.
This theme has also been echoed in the world press. He dwelled on
this aspect and also mentioned the need to keep Army out of it and then
concluded: Pakistans biggest asset is the resilience, resourcefulness and
entrepreneurial spirit of its ordinary hard-working people. All they need
to come up is, firstly, an opportunity to educate themselves and acquire the
skills needed for building a twenty-first century economy; and, secondly,
conditions in which they are assured at least a half-way decent recompense
for their enterprise and labour. These have been denied to them by a
rapacious and corrupt ruling class that lives off the sweat and toil of the
masses. Much of our liberal elite has been a willing or unwilling
collaborator in this huge rip-off. Their guilt is only slightly less than that of
the ruling class.
Ahmed Quraishi wrote: Pakistan must prevent three different
parties from hijacking the debate over the anti-blasphemy law and over
Mr Taseers murder. One is our own religious extremists. Two is our own
westernized liberal extremists. And the third party is foreign governments

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and media whose statements complicate the internal debate instead of

resolving it.
Unfortunately, there is no credible face in the Pakistani government
that could step forward and put the issue in perspective. The anti-blasphemy
law is not directed at Pakistani Christians. The anti-blasphemy law traps
more Muslims in its net than Christians, as the recent case of a conviction of
a mosque imam and his son indicates
The real problem over the law is between an extremist westernized
minority of Pakistanis, who ridicule religion, and between another extremist
religious minority, that takes religion to extreme. The extremist westernized
minority wants no religion at all and keeps talking about European
secularism, which is misplaced in Pakistan. This provokes the religious
extremist minority into paranoia and pushes them to extremes, as in the case
of the 26-year-old bodyguard who murdered Governor Taseer. Caught
between the two extremes are the majority of moderate, peaceful Pakistanis.
The US and other western governments make matters worse by
openly siding with the extremist westernized minority in Pakistan,
provoking reaction. Also, some of the foreign support is self-interested.
Some of the foreign governments are using Mr Taseers murder and the
impassioned debate over the law to revive the falling legitimacy of the war
in Afghanistan. Linking our internal debate with a disastrous foreign war is
dangerous. Our debate over the law is similar to the US debate over abortion
at one time that sharply divided the American public opinion and led to
some violence. Outsiders must not be allowed to interfere in this debate
No one in Pakistan dares to commit blasphemy and this law creates
the false impression of prevalence of blasphemy cases in our country. Most
Arab and Muslim countries specify death penalty for proven blasphemy but
do not have a law like ours. Leaders of religious political parties know
these facts but chose to play politics and mislead gullible Pakistanis
because they used this debate for popularity and recruitment.
Our overriding concern in this debate is to unite Pakistanis and
stop a situation where Pakistanis go to war with each other because of
two extremist minorities. We must stop anyone fanning this divide and try to
bridge it with reason. Incitement to kill or to ridicule religion from either
side must be sternly dealt with. We need to remind our people that a bigger
travesty of our religion is to find a minister of Hajj, himself a clergyman,
stealing pilgrims money. This debate can be redirected.

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Next day, Farooq Sulehria observed: As a matter of fact, not a

single person has been hanged on the charge of blasphemy. Death
sentences handed down by lower courts have every time been overturned by
superior courts. The 37 people accused of blasphemy who lost their lives
were killed by fanatical zealots. Of course, a sustained struggle, aimed at the
transformation of Pakistan, can rid the society of discrimination and
suppression.
Rahimullah Yusufzai commented on situation in Karachi. Pakistan is
in the firm grip of killers who target their victims. Perhaps in no other period
of its blood-stained 63-year history has the country experienced so much
lawlessness. For sometime now, not a day goes by without a targeted
killing taking place in Karachi. In the first 16 days of January, as many as
90 Karachiites lost their lives in violence perpetrated by killers who are
members of mafias allegedly protected by political parties and even
custodians of the law. According to media reports, the 90 who were
subjected to targeted killings included 16 political activists, one policeman
and one journalist, our very own Wali Khan Babar. While we were able to
publicly mourn the young reporter in the media, most of the rest who were
slain were commoners, dying unknown and mourned only by the bereaved
families
Rahimullah related this to overall increase in different kinds of
militancy across the country and then added: It is hard to believe that
those who carry out targeted killings in Karachi cannot be traced. They
are mostly known or, to be precise, their sponsors are easily identifiable, but
politics is hindering action against them. It is possible that the fear of the
collapse of the government is holding the hands of the rulers to order tough
action against these killers and their godfathers. Political survival is,
therefore, more important than protection of innocent Karachiites from
targeted killings.
When Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza claimed that 60 men
accused of involvement in targeted killings were in government custody, one
wondered about the next step, that of bringing these people and their
sponsors to justice. Dr Mirza also mentioned that 26 of those in
government custody belonged to Karachis biggest political party, and that
some were affiliated with the ANP and certain religious groups. The biggest
political party was obviously the MQM, which was so outraged by Dr
Mirzas utterances that it quit the federal cabinet. Having lost its majority in
parliament due to the withdrawal of first the JUI-F and then the MQM from
the coalition government, the ruling PPP bent over backwards to bring Altaf
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Hussain and his men back into the alliance. Predictably, the MQM has
returned to the ruling coalition and apparently it will now have a more
decisive say in running the affairs of the Sindh government. No wonder,
then, that Dr Mirza has gone quiet and nothing has been heard about
bringing the captured target killers to book.
To a lesser extent, the ANP and the religious groups also have
political clout that could be used it to protect target killers linked to their
organizations. In such a situation, clamping limited curfews in parts of
Karachi, carrying out surveillance from the air or undertaking search
operations in selected areas wont achieve much in terms of cleansing the
city of targeted killings. Political governments, more so, weak coalitions,
cannot do a thorough job in terms of policing and fighting crime when
coalition partners are accused of involvement in acts of violence. Interior
Minister Rahman Malik has been talking about a third force that is plotting
to destabilize the democratically elected government by fuelling violence in
Karachi and elsewhere. He and others in the government need to do some
soul-searching to set their own house in order if they are sincere in
bringing Karachi back to normalcy.
Expecting the police to set things right in Karachi is wishful thinking.
Police officers who took part in previous crackdowns in Karachi were
eliminated in later years. No police officer would put himself at risk after
having seen the fate of slain colleagues. The Rangers could do a better job
if they are properly used and given wide powers. There have been calls by
the ANP, the PML-Q and other parties for handing over the city to the army
for an across-the-board search operation. In fact, many people feel that in
terms of priorities, military action in Karachi should take precedence even
over North Waziristan as they believe saving Karachi is like saving
Pakistan.
On 19th January, The News commented on the Deweaponization of
Pakistan Bill. The problem with the MQM proposal is that, while it is
laudable in general terms, its very generality diverts the focus from a very
specific problem Karachi itself. As such, it may be seen as part of a highly
localized political game play. If the party were truly serious about
deweaponization, then it could do no better than set an example to all other
players in the political game by calling for and making efforts for the
deweaponization of Karachi with all the strength at its disposal. It could
invite all others to do the same. The proposal for the deweaponization of the
entire country does not appear to have much chance of success, however
desirable that may be. And leave ourselves defenceless? would be the
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converse argument. At which point the debate becomes sterile and circular
and doomed to failure. If there is to be a demonstration of political will to
reduce the violence, then it has to come from the political parties
themselves, including the MQM. The political parties have to decisively
eschew violence as a means of attaining their goals. Until they do so, any
legislation, no matter its good intent, will prove to be impotent.
In another editorial, the newspaper observed: Further evidence of
how some segments of society are able to flout or challenge the law at will
was provided by a rally in Lahore on Monday which blocked The Mall for
several hours. The rally was organized in support of the killer of Salmaan
Taseer. Speakers at the rally said that there should be no punishment for
Mumtaz Qadri, and that if any court thought otherwise it would be subject to
a stiff reprimand. It was clear from the speeches made on the occasion that
the reprimand they had in mind was ripping out the tongues of those who
would displease them. Let us be clear about the message being conveyed.
The organizers of such rallies are saying that if Qadri is found guilty by any
court in the land they will have no hesitation in ripping out the tongues of
those who pass a judgment against him, and perhaps of the police who may
have guarded Qadri. They may take similar action against any media
commentator or columnist who speaks in support of Qadris conviction or
any member of the wider society who, by default, in not openly supporting
Qadri, is declared a blasphemer. Shopkeepers who fail to pull their shutters
down, for example, may find themselves in a similar situation in short,
anybody and everybody who fails to toe the line drawn by the religious
right.
While the above could be seen as unlikely, it is not an impossible
scenario. It is not beyond imagination that incited, overcharged crowds
may do just that, or at least attempt to. This is a direct challenge to the
power of the state and the rule of law, and it is a challenge that so far has
been met with deafening silence by the government. It is this very silence
that speaks of abdication by the state, of debilitating weakness at the very
heart of government which results in the governments attitude being
reduced to virtual deference to the power of the mob. Is it to be that any
group henceforth can choose, on the basis of its beliefs, to step outside the
structures of a civilized state and impose its own will by whatever means
threats, coercion or violence on as much of the populace as it can? Many
more may follow such a path tomorrow. Lawyers were present at Mondays
rally. Its a sad commentary on the state of Pakistani society these days that
even lawyers showered Qadri with rose petals when he was first produced in
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court. If the guardians of the law of the land are willing to place themselves
at the extremities, so will others as they learn from their example. As for the
state, will it let the law crumble in the face of mob rule?
S Khalid Hussain opined: The utter neglect and abuse to which
people have been subjected by Pakistans self-serving rulers was ultimately
the reason behind Salmaan Taseers assassination. The first thing on the
rulers mind has been self-gratification, the people and their welfare being
their lowest priority. There has seldom been a period in Pakistans history
when the country could be said to have been in caring hands, and not in the
hands of virtual predators.
Khalid went on to discuss regimes rampant destruction of various
institutions and concluded: Strong institutions are the only means for good
governance to be secured, and that, in turn, the only way for an end to
peoples despair the ultimate cause of the rampant violence in Pakistan
today, of which Salmaan Taseer was but one casualty.
Dr Muhammad Yaqub, seemed to be one of old man Roedads feather,
observed: There seems to be no relief in sight. The only way the log jam
can be broken is if the poor majority awakens to change the status quo. Even
Allah does not help those who are not prepared to help themselves.
Accordingly, realization should dawn on the poor majority that only good
governance and sincere leadership can control inflation, promote growth,
ensure distributive justice, eradicate poverty, generate merit based
employment, attain peace and security and restore national pride and status
quo must change to that end, and only the majority can bring about that
change by their collective awakening.
Next day, Ikram Sehgal analyzed the issue of corruption. Every
enquiry, every investigation, every trial, every arbitration, etc reeks of
rampant falsification and that too with absolute impunity, particularly as
paid witnesses in any trial before a court of law. Knowing them to be
professional witnesses, how many times have our honourable judges made
an example out of them? When our bureaucrats lie through their teeth under
oath in the Supreme Court, how many have the Honourable Justices sent to
jail for perjury? Clearly, drastic corrective action is a crying need of the
time, automatic and severe punishment acts as a deterrent of sorts. All over
the developed world the drop in corruption has been commensurate with
convictions for perjury. Our failure to deal with systemic perjury is why
corruption has flourished.

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Accountability is difficult in a country where perjury taints all

statements and/or cross-examinations thereof. For personal gain, whether
monetary or otherwise, false representation of facts and distortions, a
gentlemanly phrase for outright lies, is the order of the day. To keep the
real facts concealed, vested interests invariably volunteer (or pay volunteers)
to become tainted and prejudiced witnesses in any enquiry or trial, to
disfigure the truth in so brazenfaced and bold a manner that law enforcers,
under influence of corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, etc do not have the
courage to intercede and take action against them. To put it bluntly, justice
can be manipulated to suit those who have a reason to manipulate it, and
have the means, either money or influence, to do so.
As opposed to the suited and booted liars in both our bureaucratic
and commercial worlds, professional touts can be found outside many
subordinate courts in Pakistan, ready to render evidence under oath for a
price. In many criminal cases, the verdict is subject to either influence and/or
disbursements by the highest bidder. While not always, perjury is frequent
in enough of the cases for the situation to be considered catastrophic for
the rule of the law. This subversion of the rule of law has become endemic
in many countries in varying degrees, in Pakistan even more so.
Those committing perjury, including distorting and destroying of
evidence by the law enforcement agencies, must be punished by stiff
imprisonments and heavy fines commensurate to the nature of the offence.
The punishment should be exactly what the accused would have got if the
evidence had been held to be correct. If based on the statements of the
witnesses committing perjury the accused would go to the gallows, shouldn't
those giving false evidence face the gallows themselves? No given formula
can be used. The judge (or judges) must decide each case of perjury on merit
and come down with a heavy hand against perjurers as well as their
manipulators and abettors. Judiciary has a moral responsibility to ensure that
the citizens of the country have a fair opportunity when they turn to the law
for justice. When applied, justice must be fair and equivocal. This can only
be done once rampant perjury is eliminated, and, if not eliminated altogether,
at least contained by having stiff deterrent punishments.
The controversy about fake credentials being used to enter parliament
on false pretences, and thus conceivably preside over the destiny of the
nation, is not only a tragedy but an irony. Unfortunately those with fake
credentials are present in some numbers among our lawmakers. Then there
is the hiding of illegal wealth by misdeclaration, on the other the failure to
pay necessary taxes is endemic. The declaration of assets by a politician, a
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public servant, an income tax payer, etc is mostly false. The entire economic
system of the country is under pressure because of the large deficit in the
revenue collection
After elaborating this point further and referring to laws that already
exist, Ikram concluded: The tragedy is that our uniformed young men in
Swat and South Waziristan, and innocent civilians throughout the land, are
dying by the hundreds while such frauds and perjurers keep enjoying
the luxuries of power, their wealth and influence based primarily on
perjury. If the superior judiciary does not take action, those who are dying in
battle or suffering injuries for the sake of this country may (or should)
become inclined to do so on behalf of their hapless countryman.
On 21st January, The News commented on corruption trailer
movement related to Afghan Transit Trade. The honourable justices were
considering a report tendered to them by the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO)
which exposes in forensic detail the criminal operation set up to
systematically rob the state of taxes. It is noteworthy that the justices praised
the report, something they rarely do in these days of obfuscation and evasion
by those who are called to account by the courts. Names are named, and it
now remains to be seen whether serving or past officers, many of them
senior, are going to be questioned or charged with any offence. The Supreme
Court may have called for action to be taken on the basis of the report, but
the lesson of history is that no matter how damning any report, no matter
how solid the evidence, those at the top of the tree of criminality get
away with it whilst a selection of smaller fry carry the can for them.
That we have got to the position we have today is itself an advance, and
evidence that accountability is not an impossible goal.
The report acknowledges that the missing 10,000 containers are
probably the tip of an iceberg, and that the true number could be many times
that which we now know about. It has exposed a national network of
criminality that spans every province and infects a range of government
agencies from top to bottom. Exposed as it is, there is still no guarantee
that containers are still not disappearing and in all likelihood the state is
still being robbed by the agencies tasked to collect the very taxes they are
stealing. And it is going to take more than a report to stop them.
Shafqat Mahmood pondered over Karachis troubles. How are we
going to come out of this quagmire? Any solution has to include a political
settlement, besides a serious overhaul of governance mechanisms in the
city. The PPP, the MQM and the ANP are only allies in name in the

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government. Their respective leaderships have to move forward and become

real allies. If there is no political settlement, the bloodshed will continue.
A realization has to dawn that no political party or ethnicity can
win this battle. Even if a particularly party or community is temporarily
cowed down, the problem will not end. The Mohajirs, Pakhtuns, Sindhis and
Baloch cannot wish each other away. They will still be living in the same
space, however many may die in this war. Ethnic-cleansing, reprehensible as
it is, is just not possible.
None of the political parties that represent these communities can be
sole winners, however much they may temporarily appear victorious. The
imperative of demography will assert itself politically, come what may.
There is therefore no way out except a political settlement that recognizes
the space of each community in Karachi. Otherwise the bloodshed will
continue forever.
On the governance side also, much needs to be done. The police
force has to be cleansed of politically motivated recruitments. A similar
exercise has to be carried out in the judiciary and in local-government
institutions. Unless the scourge of ethnic or sectional loyalties is wiped,
the state structure will remain nonviable.
The main imperative is for all parties to look at the larger picture. If
Karachi descends into total chaos, the repercussions will be catastrophic
not only for the people living there but for the country as a whole. In such a
scenario, no one will be a winner.
Unfortunately, the enormity of the danger facing the country is
not visible in the government. No All-Parties Conferences are being called,
no emergency meetings running late into the night; only Rehman Malik
mouthing inanities. This will not do. Unless serious political and
administrative steps are taken urgently, we are on the cusp of a tragedy.
Tunisians provided the old man inspiration to talk more vehemently
for the change. Today Pakistan looks exhausted ossified and
ideologically bankrupt, surviving merely to perpetuate its corrupt
rulers. Never has the divide between ruler and ruled seemed so gaping, and
perhaps never has it been so dangerous. Thievery at the summit of power, a
totally new phenomenon introduced in this country by Zardari, inspires
outrage and disgust among the people especially the poor.
President Ben Ali of Tunisia had to flee the country in the darkness of
the night in order to escape the wrath of his people. Isnt it a great tragedy

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that General Musharraf, guilty of unspeakable crimes against the state and
with the blood of innocent Pakistanis on his hands, was given a ceremonial
guard of honour by the so-called democratic government of Pakistan and
allowed to escape. Little did the people of Pakistan know that it was all part
of the deal made in Washington, now unfolding before our eye. The Zardari
regime is merely a facsimile of the Musharraf regime in civilian clothing
and is awash in corruption.
Today the nation is clearly at a crossroads. We can follow the line of
least resistance, turn a blind eye and follow the road that has led us to where
we are today. Or we can choose the other road. If parliament is unable or
unwilling to respond to public demands, people will, perforce, take the
issue to the parliament of man, the parliament of the streets.
The American footprint in our country is growing larger and
heavier by the day. Nuclear Pakistan is now an American colony and is
used as a doormat on which the US can wipe its bloodstained boots.
American military personnel cross and re-cross our border without let or
hindrance. Their drones violate our air space with the agreement of our
government and kill innocent men, women and children. No questions
asked. No public outrage. No protest demonstrations. No self-respecting
country, big or small, would tolerate such intrusions.
Men and women of Pakistan! Today we are engaged in a great battle.
The lines are drawn. The issues are clear. Those who are not with the people
are against them. It is as simple as that. The time to hesitate is through.
Now or never is the moment when salvation from these highway robbers
is possible. Too long have we been passive spectators of events. Today our
fate is in our hands, but soon it may go beyond. There is a moment in
engagement, Napoleon once said, when the least manoeuvre is decisive
and gives victory. It is a one drop of water which makes the vessel run over.
That moment has arrived.
Pakistan has only two choices: shambles and corrupt rulers or a
rally of the mass of the people. Little Tunisia is a clarion call for all those
who want to drive out their corrupt rulers. Both the president and the prime
minister lack integrity and credibility. Any other person in their position
would have resigned long ago. A Japanese would have committed hara-kiri.
The tragedy of Pakistan is that both Zardari and Gilani are clinging to office
like a dirty old piece of chewing gum on the leg of a chair and, like Ben Ali,
will not leave voluntarily.

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At this moment, when the nation is standing on the escalator of

corruption and anarchy, right-minded citizens cannot afford to stand frozen
in disgust and dismay I still remain hopeful we can rouse ourselves to
save our country. But the time is growing short. We are fast approaching
the edge of a huge waterfall and are about to plunge over it. Unfortunately,
no one seems to realize that it is almost too late to head for shore.
Next day, The News wondered as to who ordered the operation in
Karachi. The real question of course is that if the government ministers
responsible for security did not order the operation and knew nothing about
it, then who is running affairs? This situation amounts to total chaos. If no
one is ready to stand behind actions of so much significance there can be
little hope of tackling the basic problem of Karachi. Sindh Home
Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza had earlier claimed that perhaps the federal
government had directly given orders for the operation to go ahead. Interior
Minister Rehman Malik now says this was not the case. At any rate, in this
day and age, it should not be difficult for decisions to be communicated to
each other all the more so as ministers from the same party are involved.
We wonder if the denials are motivated by the criticism that has followed the
door-to-door searches and the outcry from residents. If Rangers were indeed
acting without receiving orders from the civilian government, this is a
serious matter that needs to be investigated.
It is obvious that there is a need for decisive action in Karachi.
Unfortunately the action that Karachiites have been treated to amounts to a
political farce including that of the Gabol resignation, the alleged raid on his
house and his reinstatement as minister of state for ports and shipping on
Friday morning. What this might have achieved in the eyes of mere mortals
is beyond understanding. More crucial is the issue of what is to come next,
with an All-Party Conference on January 25 perhaps being the starting point.
A plan needs to be worked out and everyone taken into confidence. But
given the gravity of the situation we confront, the fact that the right hand
does not apparently know what the left is doing is disturbing; and inter-party
coordination is in urgent need of improvement. Delegates to the conference
may find it useful to label their hands left and right before embarking on
discussions that might affect the lives of millions. Meanwhile the body count
continues to rise and deweaponization is very much on the backburner.
Amir Zia wrote: If the government is sincere about peace in
Karachi, it has to get out of the operation mindset and focus on basics
that start with reforming and depoliticizing the police. The culture of
political pressure, political appointments, selective justice and corruption
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needs to be eradicated from the police force. The city needs a professional
and independent police, whose top officers get appointed on fixed terms and
remain accountable to institutions rather than be at the mercy of
unscrupulous politicians.
Today, the police in Karachi remain unable even to implement traffic
rules, let alone confronting the political and criminals mafias. Indeed, the
foremost challenge for the government, if it wants to match words with
action, is to empower the police so that it can do its job.
However, arresting criminals and terrorists is only one part of the
challenge. The important question remains, what happens after they are
caught. A vast number of accused, involved in heinous crimes, manage to get
free through courts on lack of evidence and weak prosecution. Therefore,
strengthening the investigation and prosecution system should also be
among top priorities. There also remains a need for reforming the judicial
system and, if necessary the relevant laws, because of which cases remain
pending for years. The cases of hardened criminals and terrorists need to be
decided on a fast track not months, but weeks.
For major political parties, it is a time for some serious selfcriticism and rethinking. If they want peace and rule of law, they have to
stop patronizing criminals, extortionists, and terrorists. The politics of
expediency must be replaced by the politics for rule of law, fair play and
justice. These could be the first few small steps for peace in Karachi, but do
the people at the helm of affairs knows what is required of them?
Akmal Baig from Karachi wrote: The governments the federal as
well as the provincial one are treating us, the people of Karachi, as
orphans, or worse. A whole operation was carried out and hundreds of
people were arrested. And now Zulfikar Mirza and Rehman Malik are
claiming ignorance of the operation and disowning it. How can such a big
raid be carried out without their approval? And, why our middle-class
representative party silent?
Human Iqbal from Lahore wrote: Though I find it hard to believe but
lets suppose for a moment that the parliament lodges are actually needed.
But why would our parliamentarians need gymnasium for ladies and gents,
shops and departmental stores, public meeting rooms, lounges and cafeteria
in addition to family suites besides 500 servant quarters on 1.4 acres of
land? Arent we a poor nation in which the majority strives to make
both ends meet?

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Saleem Safi suggested: The Council of Islamic Ideology should be

declared the sole authority on religion and on the enforcement of its
teachings. Politically divisive figures should be replaced with undisputed
personalities. It would be advisable and beneficial for Pakistani society if
well reputed religious scholars of universities were inducted as member of
the council. Similarly, the Federal Shariat Court should be declared the sole
arbiter in religious matters and in enforcement of religious laws. No one
should be allowed to play politics on matters of religion.
The media should not discuss sensitive sectarian and
jurisprudential issues in popular talk shows. The anchors should not raise
such issues for improvement of the ratings of their programmes. If
necessary, only authentic and knowledgeable anchors should be allowed to
talk to authentic, non-political and undisputed religious scholars. They
should discuss religious matters within intellectual limits.

REVIEW
Before the invention of gun-powder, fighting battles in built-up areas
was avoided. The battles were usually fought in open spaces, except where
inescapable. In pre-battle manoeuvre the smarter army commander used to
head towards the likely battleground and army that arrived first occupied
tactically advantageous terrain features and then waited for the adversary to
arrive. The army that arrived second in the battlefield had to be satisfied
with making use of the best of the left over space.
Opposing armies, as if according to some unwritten accord, always
left adequate open space in between their camps. Commanders spent few
days in assessing the strength and weaknesses of each other and finalizing
battle-plans. Once ready, two armies used to move out of their camps and
line up facing each other in accordance with respective battle plans. Yet
again leaving open space in between for first to fight some duels and for
subsequently charge of various battle groups.
Battle drills were completed by both sides while raising war cries and
beating battle-drums, which were considered a ritual necessary to scare the
enemy as well as drowning fears of own weak-hearted. Soon after the
completion of the drill of marshaling the soldiers of repute used to step
forward one by one and challenge the opponents for a duel.
They fought and their respective armies chanted war cries till one of
them fell. Another pair used to step out and then another and yet another.

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These duels served as appetizers for the soldiers of either side; the appetizers
that prepared them for the bloodletting feast.
The duels fought amid war cries and drum-beating agitated the rank
and file for putting in their best on the battlefield. Once the soldiers started
fuming with anger and showed eagerness for the fighting commanders, as
per battle plan, ordered the groups to charge.
If one sees the prevalent tensions in Pakistan through the prism of pregun powder period one finds that the two armies have completed the
approach march to the battlefield. These armies were created during
Musharraf era by dividing the people of Pakistan around enlightenedobscurantist divide.
The award of death sentence to Aasia Masih angered the enlightened,
who claim to be liberal and secular. The judge, whom they presumed to be
some kind of obscurantist fundamentalist, they thought, had been unfair with
the lady belonging to the religious community of Obama and Pope Benedict.
This was no less than an act of war. The enlightened mobilized their
forces. No approach march to battleground was needed because the opposing
armies have already been camping in worlds largest and hottest battlefield.
The forces were only required to be re-marshaled.
The space needed for lining up the forces was no problem as liberals
and extremist armies have permanently camped distant apart from each
other. Enough space was available and only battle drums had to be beaten
sending a mobilization message to the armies.
For the army of the enlightened that signal came from Zardari when
he sent Salman Taseer to Sheikhupora Jail. Forces have been arrayed; first
duel has taken place, in which a Knight of the Enlightened Brigade has
fallen at the hands of Mumtaz Qadri, an ordinary soldier from the
Obscurantist Army.
This was an unequal contest with equally unexpected result. It
infuriated the rank and file of the liberals. All subsequent duels, if take place,
will be like this as the Army to which Qadri belongs has nothing but
ordinary poor soldiers to fight Knights of the liberal community in the finest
battle dress.
Liberals are fuming and there can be more encounters provided more
Knights step out and throw challenge for the contests. What are the chances
of all out battle and when and will be the likely outcome? A look at the
opposing forces can help in finding the answer.
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The rank and file of the Army of religious fundamentalists mostly

comprise of poor. By virtue of being poor they are less educated, because
they can only afford attending charity-run madressas or government-run
schools. And, because of the medium of instructions in these institutions
they cannot communicate in the language of the civilized world.
That leaves them less educated, or semi-literates, as the enlightened
prefer to address them. They being fundamentalist are orthodox and
traditionalists and thus seen as backward-looking and resistant to change.
Therefore, they are considered an impediment to progress.
The progressive forces invite or seduce them to convert to liberal
secularism for the good of the society. But, they cant oblige simply
because they dont have the resources needed for enjoying the fruits of
liberalism. They cannot become affluent even with promised progress.
With all the hard work they put in, they can earn enough only for two
square meals for them and their families; they just cant imagine a
sumptuous meal that development promises. They cant afford buying hard
or soft drink; in fact they dont have the means to get even a glass of clean
drinking water.
Freedom of expression is meaningless for them because they are not
literate enough to write columns in English or even Urdu newspapers. It is
meaningless because no one invites them to participate in panel discussions
on TV channels. They can only throng streets and chant slogans and when
slogans fail they torch a bus or a post to give vent to their feelings.
They do not understand as to what are the basic human rights. They,
perhaps, will never comprehend that because the liberals and their foreign
backers do not accept them as human beings. In the absence of due
recognition, issues of child labour and gender discrimination are quite
meaningless. Even if they somehow secure equal rights, their women folk
may never enjoy that equality by dressing up and staging catwalks for the
pleasure of the men folk.
In any case, the invitation to liberalism is not out of love or well-being
of the obscurantist. The down-trodden masses know as to who is responsible
for their miseries; yet they accept it as their destiny; ordained by the Creator
of all things. They avoid blame game and instead seek refuge, solace and
peace in religion by accepting everything as the Will of God.
Army of religious extremists has numerical edge, but it does not have
the benefit of being advantageously positioned in the battlefield; that

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advantage belongs to their adversary. They are poorly placed for fighting a
battle against liberal forces. They, however, enjoy motivational superiority
drawn from their firm belief in their religion. This facilitates their
mobilization and strengthens their commitment to sacrifice their lives for the
sake of their beliefs.
It is for this reason that they are accused of doing politics on
religion. They are blamed from taking refuge in imaginary rewards hereafter
and running away from the realities of life. They are termed escapists; the
runaways. They are jealous of the liberals for what they have to enjoy their
lives. They are not fit to live in civilized society of 21st Century.
The Army of liberals comprises the affluent segments of the society.
By virtue of their economic strength they are educated in institutions
inherited from the colonial masters or are sent abroad by their families. They
are well-educated because of the medium of instructions in these
institutions and they come out with ability to speak the language of
civilized world fluently.
By virtue of the environment under which they are educated they
automatically become liberal, secular and enlightened. They are taught that
religion has nothing to do with affairs of state. The state must run in
accordance with man-made laws; the laws which are made by the strong and
are applied on the weak. Divine laws, according to them, do not suit good
governance, because they treat all citizens equal, showing no regards for the
VIPs and VVIPs.
Liberals reject all interpretations of religion by saying that it is
difficult to decide as to which maslik should be taken as correct. On the basis
of this flimsy argument they reject the calls of religious forces for reembracing Islam or re-visiting the religion.
Superfluous differences on certain issues provide them the pretext to
reject religion as interpreted by religious scholars and instead they resort to
their own interpretation; the interpretation that suit their interests. The most
consequential interpretation is that religion spells no demands, forbids
nothing, places no restriction, no Hudood, no Shariat and thus no
transgressions and no punishments; it is simply a personal affair.
The physical pleasure they can afford drawing through worldly
pursuits keeps them oblivious of the peace drawn by the obscurantist faithful
in falling back to Allah after every tragedy they encounter. While bearing all
the tragedies of misfortunate, cruelty, injustice, oppression and so on,

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turning to the Provident for thanks giving after every paltry meal remains
beyond the comprehension of the enlightened.
If for once they revisit the final religion revealed and prescribed for
the mankind, they would know the satisfaction it provides is far more than
perhaps not comparable what all the liberalism and abundance of worldly
resources at their disposal can provide.
They enjoy complete freedom of expression day in and day out by
throwing curses on the religious extremists. They have the liberty to call
blasphemy law a black law, or any Islamic law for that matter. They tolerate
all the insult thrown at Islam and its Prophet by their foreign masters and
also expect religious forces to do that in the spirit of tolerance.
They enjoy all the basic human rights, because they are recognized as
human beings and civilized ones. They are privileged to exercise these rights
with full liberty even beyond the point at which the nose of someone elses
starts. They can save their kids from child labour and their women from
discrimination, because they have the resources to do that.
The Army of liberals although numerically inferior is better equipped
and has plenty of back-up resources. It also has support of the civilized
world. Its major deficiency lies in absence of a solid cause for motivation; it
is only seeking the battle out of fears created by the West by hyping that
Islamic extremists are threat to their shared cherished values. It is for that the
slogan-chanting masses scare them. It is also because western backers of the
liberals keep coaxing them to confront dark forces of religion.
In their hearts they know that they are responsible for the plight of
impoverished and illiterate masses talking of religion all the time. It is in
endeavour to conceal that fact that they blame religious extremists for
jealousy and accuse them of being responsible for their own miseries.
In sum, it can be said that the liberals who accuse religious forces of
doing politics on religion are doing the same in negative sense; they do geopolitics on the basis of religion. In that the liberals depend on the support of
the superpower; whereas the religious fundamentalists depend on support of
the Supreme only.
Before moving ahead a few words about the media. Its vast majority
is backing the liberal forces free of cost. Realistically, this is not support, but
a case of voluntary collaboration because of the shared concerns. The
religious extremists are considered threat to values of the enlightened and
business interests of the media.

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The Islamic extremists talk against vulgarity upon which medias

advertisement business thrives. The business in which woman is used
(abused) to all imaginable evil intents; yet the same media cries hoarse about
gender discrimination. They way media abuses women is worse than social
customs like Vani, because in Vani an individual is abused and media abuses
entire community.
What is the motive behind first creation of the latest divide amongst
the people of Pakistan and then pitch them against each other? Apparently, it
seems ideology-driven struggle, but in reality it is a power struggle. It is
driven by the same lust that works behind the qabza mafia.
There is no doubt whatsoever that Pakistan was created on the basis of
Two Nation Theory. At the time of partition of the Subcontinent Muslims
were granted the areas where they were in majority to establish an
independent state of their own.
At that time people of Pakistan despite age-old sectarian and cultural
divides were one entity; the followers of Islam. In 1971, the geographic
entity of East Pakistan parted its way allowing the critics of Two Nation
Theory to claim that they were right in predicting that division of the
Subcontinent on its basis wont be tenable. Notwithstanding the claim of the
critics, the people of remaining Pakistan, and even those who parted theirs
way, retained their Muslim identity though their egoistic exuberance was
dented.
After more than five decades, Pakistans military ruler Musharraf
joined Americas holy war that was waged against those Muslims which
dared defying the hegemonic designs of the superpower. They earned
demonizing names like Islamic extremists, militants and terrorist and so on.
They opposed not only the US but its puppets ruling Pakistan. The
Crusaders propaganda to demonize these resistance groups was not
delivering for the military dictator. This prompted him to find some way to
muster some support for his decision to side with America. He resorted to
favourite strategy of dictators; divide and rule in which the like-minded
segment is won over. He concocted the terms of enlightened and
obscurantist; far more sinister than those invented by the Crusaders.
He also encouraged a debate aimed at shutting the doors at religions
role in statecraft in Pakistan. Musharraf and his ilk, as if after some divine
revelation, started arguing that Pakistan was not created on the basis of
religion. They said primary cause was economic exploitation of Muslims by
Hindu Bania.
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They claimed Quaid wanted Pakistan to be secular state. It amounted

to calling the Quaid a cheat, who befooled everyone by causing partition of
secular India on the pretext of religion to create a secular Pakistan for
himself. This lot of enlightened cheats is today exploiting Pakistan through
plunder and loot at a scale that must have put Bania to shame.
Musharraf and his successors have shaken the very foundation of
Pakistan just to keep the religious forces out of power game and reserve it
for themselves. Once Pakistan is stripped off of its Islamic identity it will
melt down into Punjab, Sindh, Pakhtunistan and Balochistan. Qabza group
seemed not to mind risking that.
Now with the forces lined up and first duel taken place all out seems
imminent question arises: Will battle take place and when? If it were Middle
Ages one could expect start of the battle after some more duels, but time has
passed by centuries. The liberal forces are likely to cool down.
They are the enlightened community and it would certainly dawn
upon them that circumstances are not as favourable for them as they appear.
They are educated enough to appreciate in view of the happenings in
Kyrgyzstan sometime ago and in Tunis recently that outcome of the battle
wont be in their favour. Though in those two countries the masses battled
against rulers for reasons different from Pakistan, yet likely outcome wont
be different.
Liberal forces also know that the impoverished masses have nothing
to lose except their lives and for that they are more than willing to risk.
Liberals also understand that their adversaries are now aware as to who is
responsible for their socio-economic miseries. The poor may not have read
what Yvonne Ridley had written while commenting on US support for the
ousted Ben Ali of Tunisia (Sadly, it serves western interests to have a people
brutalized and subjugated.), but they know it very well.
Lastly, and more importantly, the liberal ruling elite know that they
cannot pitch armed forces against religious forces, because the hands of
Army are already full. Even if the hands were not full, their induction would
be risky because more than 90 percent of their rank and file is not liberal.
For the liberals maintaining status quo is better than seeking a battle
and losing it. If they lose, the winner will lay the outline of future Pakistan.
In Pakistan reconstructed by extremists the liberals will have limited space
to enjoy the fruits of their personal freedoms.
23rd January 2011

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ROT ALL OVER

The events related to blasphemy law dominated other happenings
since the murder of Salman Taseer. Liberal forces raised hue and cry but
failed to create the desired effect. In fact, they were utterly disappointed
when members of Senate declined to offer Fateha for Salman; nevertheless,
the enlightened like Nilofer Bakhtiar and Farzana Bari kept demanding early
hanging of Qadri.
Out of the events overshadowed by the murder of Salman three were
quite significant. One, political mafias of Karachi experienced yet another fit
of targeted killings; two, hearing of several cases of corruption by the
Supreme Court and three, PPP-PML-N dialogue on economic issues
continued.
Meanwhile, the murder of three young Pakistanis in Lahore by
American spy masters operating in the guise of diplomats caused further
distraction and so were the public up-rising against secular dictators ruling
Tunisia and Egypt for their western masters. These events are covered in
separate articles.

NEWS
On 23rd January, The News on Sunday focused on Karachi but from a
wrong angle. It published views of those who are part of the problem not the
possible solution. Haider Abbas Rizvi was reported saying MQM is the
easiest scapegoat. Shahi Syed said the only solution is a military
operation. Sharmila Farooqi said turf war, not exactly. JI Amir said those
involved in target killings are part of the government. Adnan Adil observed
it is the battle for Karachi.
Khosa visited Karachi to say peace in the city must be restored. PPP
has deferred its plan to alter Karachis shape. Sacked KESC, PPPs jiyalas
and MQ Ms matwalas, were restored; Zardari welcomed the decision. Ansar
Abbasi reported expansion visa scam to president and prime ministers
official visits.
Punjab abolished 550 posts to save Rs6 billion per year. NAB
Chairman took personal control of Swiss cases. In Peshawar, JI staged sit-in
to protest governments intention to amend blasphemy law. JUI-F organized
similar protest in Mansehra. Tribal jirga failed to resolve differences

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between a federal minister and a FATA Senator in the buy-a-vote scandal but
sacked its members who had spoken to the media on the dispute.
Next day, during the hearing of NICL corruption case the Chief
Justice said it appears thieves have gathered to save thieves. It seemed
efforts are being made to hush up corruption cases and urged end to culture
of not arresting big fish. Justice Ramday observed anyone who works
honestly is transferred, but officials guilty wont be let go scot-free. The
court was told that an arrested accused has told investigators that he had
given Rs220 million to Moonis Elahi.
The Supreme Court rejected FIA report on alleged corruption of Rs22
billion in Steel Mills case. Justice Ramday observed that FIA has become
federal agency for protection of crimes. The court warned FIA that it was
last chance for it to arrest the actual culprits; otherwise the court would take
action on its own.
Chief Justice LHC observed during the hearing of Zardaris dual
office case that head of ruling party seems more powerful than PM. Habibul
Wahab Khairi moved the Supreme Court for removal of Sharmila Farouqi as
she was disqualified by NAB court from holding any office for ten years.
Mumtaz Qadris challan was submitted before ATC. FIA sealed foreign
accounts of Saeed Kazmi.
Millions were paid to lawyers hired to defend NRO and 18 th
Amendment; the lawyers hired included Latif Khosa and Federal Law
Secretary. Latif Khosa called on President and PM separately; Zardari
directed him to improve ties with PML-N.
Altaf Hussain urged imposition of martial law in Punjab. He said if
revolution comes in the country then Army and Judiciary will support
masses; looters and plunderers will be hanged on trees and street polls.
Gilani asked parliamentary body to decide on new parliament lodges.
On 25th January, during hearing of NICL scam Sindh FIA Director
Moazzam Jah accused Wasim of sheltering Amin Dada, an accused in the
case. The Court ordered probe against DG FIA; Zafar Qureshi will supervise
the probe. Wasim and Moonis were placed on ECL.
Dysfunctional judge of LHC, Justice Sajjad Hussain Shah regretted
taking oath under PCO in violation of Supreme Court restraining order.
Leaving himself at the mercy of the court he begged the court for action
against Musharraf and his associates.

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Top management of NAB discussed the status of assets and properties

of Zardari inside and outside Pakistan and decided not to speak a word to the
media on this subject. NAB denied the report and said no fresh inquiries
were being held in NRO cases.
PHC issued notices to military and ministries officials in the case of
missing persons. Rehman Malik said Army can be called wherever required.
PAC took up case of thousand acres occupied by Army and Rangers. PML-N
and MQM exchanged pleasantries during NA session.
Next day, the teams of PML-N and PPP decided to order judicial
probe into sugar price hike. Teams were informed that Rs281 billion have
been written off since 1971. Hafeez Sheikh told the media that various
issues, including accountability bill, were discussed during the meeting.
The Supreme Court reserved its judgment in PCO judges contempt
case. The bench hearing Reko Diq case summoned chief secretaries of
Balochistan. FIA issued summons to Moonis Elahi in NICL case. Probe
against DG FIA was started by his junior.
Chairman PSM defied PAC and went abroad. The judge who had
cleared Gilani in two corruption cases was being rewarded by appointing
him as judge of Azad Kashmir High Court against the wishes of the chief
justice. Heirs of those killed in car race submitted their affidavits in the court
declaring officials of Bahria Town innocent.
The cabinet allowed import of 5-year old vehicles. After the meeting
Kaira told media that economic situation is not as bleak as being portrayed.
Nine accused involved in killings in Shershah, who had surrendered
voluntarily, were freed by the judge. The man, who had named them in FIR,
could recognize none of them.
On 27th January, during hearing of Hajj scam it was established that
former minister Kazmi had contacts Ahmed Fiaz and Rao Shakeel. Earlier,
the court had sought list of contracted employees in Police and FIA; the
court directed federal and provincial governments not contract retired
officers in violation of law. Ansar Abbasi saw hundreds of re-employed
bureaucrats losing jobs in view of the court directive.
The bench hearing NATO containers case granted three more days to
DG NLC and others to submit their replies; 30 officials out of 43 had
already submitted their replies. The court directed that criminal cases against
officials should be registered.

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Pervaiz Elahi accused Sharifs of implicating Moonis in NICL case.

Director FIA Sindh complained that authorities of Pakistan Steel Mills were
not cooperating. PML-N rejected the name proposed by PPP for probe into
sugar price hike and proposed the name of Justice Raza Khan. It also
expressed dissatisfaction with progress made by the government on 10-point
agenda. Earlier Nawaz had opposed in-house change of government, or
through mid-term elections.
Next day, Nawaz said Gilani blocked the plot to implicate Sharifs in
murder of Taseer. Senate adopted resolution condemning murder of Salman
Taseer, but Senators of JUI-F walked out when Chairman Senate asked
offering Fateha; Professor Ibrahim and others refused to lead Fateha. It was
left to Nilofar, the most enlightened of Musharraf era, to befittingly lead the
prayer.
The Supreme Court observed rise in number of missing persons.
Interior secretary said some of the Taliban in foreign jails were included in
the list of missing persons. Defence secretary informed the court that 96
persons have been recovered and the remaining will be recovered soon. The
court decided to hear the case of persons that went missing during Lal
Masjid operation for full one day.
Advocate General Punjab informed the court that despite efforts made
by police some of the persons involved in Bahria Town car race case could
not be arrested. He sought courts help in issue of red warrants of Atif
Shaikh, which were being delayed because of interior and foreign ministries;
the court obliged by directing the ministries to do the needful.
FIA obtained arrest warrants of Moonis Elahi, who is presently
abroad. Imtiaz Lodhi was sacked by the board of PSM on charges of
corruption, reportedly, to preempt Chairman PAC who was trying to protect
him. With the unfolding of containers scam the guilty parties started the
blame game; CBR came out with serious charge against NLC. National
Assembly was informed that re-instatement of sacked employees has cost
only Rs2.4 billion.
After Sindh and KPK assemblies Balochistan Assembly also reposed
confidence in Zardari holding two offices; this is to forestall untoward
decision of the court on a petition that sought his disqualification for holding
dual offices. Gilani met Uncle Pir Pagara. Altaf Hussain telephoned Gilani
and asked him to rid Karachi of bhatha khors.
On 29th January, PML-Q retained its seat in bye-polls in Shangla. The
probe found nothing wrong in reported visa scam. MPA Sardar Ali from
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Swabi was arrested in fake degree case; as independent he had defeated

PPPs candidate.
Next day, a massive rally was held in Lahore to warn the regime
against tampering with blasphemy law. Fazl talked of Tunisia and Egypt-like
revolt; Munawwar vowed to foil US designs; Hafiz Saeed urged
international law to protect sanctity of all prophets; Pervaiz Elahi threatened
to quit assemblies if law amended and Saad Rafiq asked PPP to join
Namoos-e-Risalat drive.
Altaf demanded creation of more provinces in his telephonic address.
He urged army, rangers and police to support revolution or face masses.
Gilani said situation in Pakistan cannot be compared with events in Egypt.
Chief Justice set precedent by terminating services of re-employed persons
in the Supreme Court. Hoti said Zardari fulfilled most promises he made to
ANP.
On 31st January, PPP and PML-N teams held meeting on 10-point
agenda and agreed to push through new accountability law. The two teams
also appointed Justice Sardar Raza to probe into sugar price hike. Earlier,
Khosa and Shahbaz held a joint press conference and vowed to work in
unison to provide good governance. Sindh government terminated services
of 12 advisers. Altaf declared that majority of generals have become liability.
The Supreme Court sought reply in three days regarding illegal
leasing of Railways land. LHC dismissed contempt plea against Sindh and
KPK assemblies for passing resolutions in favour of Zardari when dual
office case was pending before the court. Election Commission asked DPOs
to arrest 13 MPs for holding fake degrees.
Next day, the Chief Justice begged rulers to have pity on the country;
he said this during hearing the case of corruption in railways. The Supreme
Court directed Railways chairman to submit a comprehensive reply over
non-transparent procedure for procurement of 75 locomotives and a
subsequent tender of another 150 locomotives causing Rs40 billion loss to
the national exchequer.
FIA informed the court hearing NICL case that another Rs220 million
fake account has been discovered. Meanwhile, the main accused, Mohsin
Habib Warriach, who has absconded abroad, said Moonis Elahi is innocent
as he is not involved in the scandal.
The bench hearing the petition challenging the appointment of
Chairman NAB observed that President seemed to have appointed him

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without the advice of Prime Minister which was mandatory this case.
Meanwhile, Pir Karam Ali was sworn in as governor Gilgit-Baltistan.
On 2nd February, the Supreme Court decided that contempt
proceedings can be held against judges. The court will frame charges against
nine PCO judges on February 21. Hamid Khan group welcomed and Asma
Jahangir criticized the verdict. Former superintendent and deputy
superintendent Adiala Jail escaped from police custody after LHC
Rawalpindi bench cancelled their bails in 11 missing persons case.
Unification block of PML-Q elected Dr Tahir as its leader and applied
for leadership of opposition in Punjab Assembly. Gilani told NA that Sherry
has agreed to withdraw her bill on blasphemy law. Parliamentary committee
endorsed 23 and rejected 4 nominations for high court judges.
Next day, PPP Punjab wrote a letter to Nawaz Sharif making 19
suggestions to improve governance in Punjab. He has been advised to guide
his brother on various issues of governance, including inflation, law and
order, horse-trading, abolition of task-forces and holding of regular meetings
and so on.
The Supreme Court observed that authority to appoint NAB chairman
begins from PM and ends there; President in not authorized to do this.
Troika met in Presidency to find ways and means to improve governance.
Sherry accused Gilani of sabotaging efforts to amen blasphemy law. Black
Berries of Benazir were found.
On 4th February, Zardari indulged in self-praise while addressing CEC
of PPP which was called for considering the dissolution of the cabinet. He
said he would have brought everything down by starting bloody revolution
in the wake of Benazirs murder. He also boasted of saving Nawaz Sharif
from isolation.
The CEC of the party authorized Gilani to take final decision to
dissolve the cabinet. All ministers handed over their resignations to
President. New cabinet will be appointed in batches. Zardari and Gilani
contacted heads of other parties soon after the decision.
Babar Awan conveyed his strong reaction to Zardari and Gilani over
rejection of four names of judges by parliamentary committee which were
recommended by judicial commission. Sixteen out of 20 SCBA members
supported the judgment on PCO judges; Bibi Asma and three others
remained committed to political considerations.

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Kabir Ali Wasti of PML-Q was thrashed by unknown men traveling in

vehicle with green number plates at Faizabab flyover. Media team of Dawn
TV led by anchor person Talat Hussain was fired at in Islamabad area;
nobody was hurt. Special Committee of NA presented its report on
multibillion housing scam; five officials were named in the fraud. Umar
Cheema reported Multan connection in this scam too.

VIEWS
On 25th January, K Hussan Zia wrote: Since the law and courts
decisions have been prevented from taking their course and a public uprising
is not in the national interest an alternative has to be found. A military coup
is, if anything, even less desirable. Since the army played a determining role
in putting the present lot into power, in the process, it also assumed
responsibility for their actions. The country is hemorrhaging because of the
war the onus for which also rests with the army for Musharraf was backed
and supported by it. A solution has to be found quickly and, like it or not, the
ball rests in the armys court. There are many constitutional ways of bringing
about desired results short of a coup, provided there is a will. Doing nothing
is no longer an option.
Next day, The News commented: What can one say when the head
of the countrys top investigation agency is apparently himself involved
with criminals? Can there, in these circumstances, be any hope of
eradicating crime? Is it then any surprise that we are unable to root out
corruption? Is it just a coincidence that the president of Pakistan has not
even once uttered the word corruption in any context during his three-year
rule so far? The fact that the Supreme Court has had to order that the director
general of the FIA be investigated possibly arrested, in connection with a
whopping scam of Rs5 billion in the National Insurance Company Limited
shows how rotten the state of affairs has become. It is understood from the
court hearings that the FIA boss had been protecting one of the principal
accused, making his arrest impossible. As the court remarked, the presence
of such a network of persons involved in crime is disturbing.
The network is one that reaches far and wide. Another of those
arrested in the case says money was paid from the scam to Chaudhry
Moonis Elahi, the son of former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz
Elahi. The name of Moonis Elahi has figured in other cases of alleged
corruption too. It is clear that we have in our country a ring of powerful
people who act together to fill one anothers pockets and then provide
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mutual protection when the law closes in on them. In these circumstances,

when those whose task it is to investigate crime appear, or are perceived, to
be consorting with those they are supposed to be investigating, it is difficult
to see how justice is properly served.
The proceedings before the Supreme Court have in many ways
revealed what is a ludicrous situation, even comic were it not inherently
tragic. It is after all ordinary people who suffer when huge sums of money
are stolen, leaving less behind to run the affairs of the state. The dramatic
intervention of the Supreme Court and the investigation and possible arrest
of the DG FIA are no surprise. The existence of dishonesty within the top
echelons of the investigative agencies is well established and few trust the
police. So what is to be done? The arrival of a set of honest rulers who can
set to right all that is amiss seems unlikely to happen; yet we must find a
way from within to escape from the tightly meshed net of corruption that
ensnares us. It will be up to honest individuals who can indeed be found
within all departments to take a more proactive role. Perhaps the current
activism by the courts will lead somewhere. This is our only hope.
Otherwise we face a very difficult future indeed.
Afiya Shehrbano wrote about Karachi. Rather than posing the
choices as the right vs liberal/moderate, we need to identify the political
divisions in Karachi as communal, as a far more accurate placement. This
allows at the very minimum, an exposure of how close these two supposedly
ideological poles really are, and how linked their agendas and parochial,
material interests.
Raoof Hasan opined: Karachi has been in the grip of unrelenting fear
for long. The mayhem of May 12, 2007 still haunts ones memory when over
fifty innocent people were murdered in cold blood. Subsequently, some
lawyers who planned to question the gory happenings of the day were burnt
alive in their offices. In spite of this colossal human catastrophe that
destroyed many a home, there was no enquiry conducted, no findings
announced and no culprits punished. There has been only a slinging of
accusations, mostly among the coalition partners, but no one has shown the
courage to quit in protest, or push earnestly for a transparent probe to be
ordered. To twist things further, the one who has sworn allegiance to the
British throne is demanding the imposition of martial law in Punjab. There
could be no graver travesty of justice in ones bid to scoring cruel
political points. All ethical barometers would demand that, instead of
pontificating from foreign lands, he should first come back to the country
that he vows to lead to a revolution.
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On 27th January, M Zeb Khan observed: What we know about the

state institutions and their functions is through the electronic and print
media. Notwithstanding so many TV channels, newspapers, and internet
access in Pakistan, many events go unnoticed and many stories intentionally
distorted. In everyday life, when one looks around one only sees white
elephants and lame ducks all around. The dead end everywhere reinforces
ones belief that this country is close to anarchy and cannot possibly be
rescued through piecemeal interventions. Revolution seems to be round the
corner, which may decide and seal the countrys fate.
After briefly mentioning the law and order situation across the country
Zeb concluded: We are a bankrupt nation even politically. A company goes
into bankruptcy when its liabilities exceed its assets. Political bankruptcy
emerges when personal interests take precedence over public interests,
wheeling-and-dealing becomes the norm, moral principles give way to
hypocrisy, when the trust-deficit between the rulers and the ruled widens
beyond remedy.
Political reconciliation is the latest mantra for you scratch my back
and I scratch yours. This is one of those things that are eating into Pakistans
body politic like termite. More catastrophic is the unscrupulous use of
religion and ethnicity for political gains. These tactics are useful for the
securing and protection of power, but eventually they usher in an era of
anarchy. The only way for the reversal of this destruction trend is for leaders
to rise above party politics and lead by personal example of sacrifice,
integrity and public service.
Next day, Shaheen Sehbai observed: When Fred Barnyard wrote in
1921 that a picture is worth a thousand words, he could never have imagined
that after 90 years it would fit todays political scene of Pakistan like a
glove. On Wednesday when the nation saw on TV screens two of the most
vocal, malignant and puckish anti-PML-N spokespersons of the PPP, Babar
Awan and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, standing sheepishly behind Senator Ishaq
Dar and listening to his comments, as if he would save their sinking ship, no
number of words could have described their pathetic plight.
But the pictures also showed the lopsided politics and hypocrisy
of the PML-N leadership which was providing a shield to the same people
who had been described as political dirt, a corrupt bunch and scum of the
earth by none else than Mian Nawaz Sharif, when he had given a 45-day
deadline two weeks ago and had repeated it a week back saying this filth
could be removed in just 45 minutes, if Zardari was listening to him.

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That the PPP politics of the day is simply unprincipled and topsyturvy is obvious. Some noteworthy features:
The government has failed to handle the security situation as it has
given all powers to security establishment which is calling the shots,
though no one wants to publicly admit it.
The government has failed to handle the internal finances as billions
upon billions are being borrowed and the PPP leaders are behaving as
if they are ruling a conquered territory for which they have absolutely
no responsibility.
The State Bank has failed to monitor and control this runaway
financial train. The Finance Minister publicly admits that the economy
is on the verge of collapse.
The government has failed to handle the macro-economic situation as
all decision making is with IMF-approved non-PPP technocrats who
have not received any political support from the coalition partners
Only international increase in export prices and remittances has
helped, but the PPP cannot take credit of this bonus.
The government has failed to handle the political situation as almost
every party is demanding military action, intervention of some kind
and even martial law in every other part of the country
The government has failed to stop the loot and plunder of billions
upon billions and the President or the Prime Minister do not even
mention the word corruption as if they would be held accountable
and declared guilty if they uttered the C word.

The government has failed not only to strengthen or build national

institutions but has in fact acted criminally to demolish most of them
for personal survival or vested financial interests.

Examples of these criminal actions include damage done to the

judiciary, failure to set up an independent EC, corrupting the NAB,
imposing cronies on FIA, Federal Ombudsman, FBR, Export
Promotion Bureau, Trading Corporation, and many such state-run
organizations.
The government has failed to manage the semi-autonomous corporate
state organizations like Pakistan Steel, PIA, PSO, OGDCL, NICL,
because of incompetent, unqualified and totally corrupt top

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managersdespite billions pumped into themto provide these

cronies an opportunity to make some quick bucks.
The government has failed to inculcate a political culture of dignity
and respect by acting without any sense of moral responsibility or any
iota of political correctness within its coalition partners or within the
parties.
The parties have been made handmaidens with important and honest
leaders treated as members of private harems, frequently abused,
blackmailed or threatened, bribed or cajoled, publicly and privately,
without any qualms.
This list can go on and on but the ultimate result is that in three years,
the political system has collapsed In such a situation, the Opposition
political parties and members of the PPP coalition have failed in their duty
miserably, led very un-admirably by Mian Nawaz Sharif. His failure is
greater than Asif Ali Zardaris as it was naive in the first place and a gross
over-exaggeration to believe that Zardari will deliver anything. At least I can
claim that I had warned everybody, in August 2008, that making him
President of Pakistan will be a sheer disaster.
Mr Sharif is more to blame because he has failed to stop Zardari
from plundering state institutions by repeating the mistakes listed above on
the one hand. On the other he has failed to give alternate leadership from
within the political system to assure the nation and the world that Pakistani
politics and politicians can handle incompetence, corruption, criminal
neglect and utter lack of moral, political and economic vision. Simply
keeping a corrupt regime in power is no big achievement.
Nawaz Sharif has got himself tangled into knots created by his
own fears and his vested interest in keeping Punjab under his thumb.
What he has forgotten is that a shrewd and fearless Zardari has already made
enough of a fool out of him for three years and if he is allowed to do the
same, by the same or new tricks, for another two years, he would come back
in the next elections to wrap up and steal whatever little political capital,
respect and support Mr Sharif may have been left with by that time.
This is obvious because the Sharif brothers will have to face the
blowback of incumbency when after five years they go back to the
electorate. They have nothing extravagant to show anyway. They do not
realize that 2008 was a unique and a rare election in which neither of the two
big parties, and their top leaders, campaigned on their programmes or

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manifestos Nawaz Sharif was not even in the country until a few days
before the December poll date
The next election will be on performance and he himself admits that
because of his support to Zardari, he has lost support and popularity. When
support for the Sharif brothers diminishes in Punjab, who but Zardari, if he
is still there in his seat, will benefit. Any losses to the PPP in Sindh would be
more than compensated for gains in Punjab. Mr Sharif has made no inroads
in any other province, so it would be fair to assess that the PML-N would
get a lesser number of seats than it has now.
How would Mian Nawaz Sharif then stop the PPP from getting back
into power as, compared to Zardari, he has not shown any skill or
inclination to form alliances with other parties? The Sharifs may not even
be able to stay in power in Punjab. If this is his goal to perpetuate the current
politics of corruption in the name of a so-called democratic set-up, his
acumen or understanding appears to be deficient somewhere and must be
challenged.
In the current scenario, the best option for the Sharif brothers was to
vigorously support the superior judiciary in pursuing the corrupt and cleanse
the system of all the Zardaris and his cronies. He has failed to do that other
than paying occasional lip service.
This lopsided politics, based on fear of another military intervention,
has actually brought another military intervention closer than Nawaz Sharif
thinks Where are the brains of politics when every political leader of any
worth, Altaf Hussain, Asfandyar Wali, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Pir Pagara,
Salim Saifullah, Chaudhrys of Gujrat, Kasuri, Sheikh Rashid, even Kabir Ali
Wasti of Rawalpindi, are now asking the generals to take over one part, one
city or province or even the whole country. Everybody thinks they cannot.
Yet everything is crumbling before our eyes. The politicians have to
understand that a crippled and dilapidated Pakistan which cannot be revived
would be in no ones interest. That stage will not be allowed. It should not be
allowed. If politicians cannot deliver, someone has to.
On 29th January, S Khalid Husain observed: Democracy takes its
best revenge from the people of Karachi, every day of the week, every
hour of the day, with the democrats in their monstrous 4WDs sideswiping all
traffic riding, party and other flags fluttering on both fenders, with police
mobiles in front and back, and thuggish looking private guards in separate
vehicles keeping an eye on the policemen in the mobiles.

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Such scenes were standard in 1950s movies on drug smugglers in

South America, who moved in heavily escorted convoys, much as our
politicians do now. No one could envision that, sixty years on, Karachiites
would see the scenes live on their citys streets. It is a measure of the quality
of governance, and of the quality of those who are governing, that the 4WD
vehicles being escorted by the law enforcers, or police mobiles, are most
often in violation of the law. They follow no traffic law, carry no license
plates, or have plates with just MNA, MPA, Minister, or the names of
their respective tribes or clans on them.
Clearly, these are unregistered vehicles, and no road tax has been
paid, which means most are also smuggled, and no import duty has been
paid. It is unlikely the drug smugglers in the movies traveled in unregistered,
smuggled vehicles, with flags flying, and under police escort. This makes
our rulers one up on the drug barons.
Democracys best revenge is when the police escort of a 4WD
behemoth, carrying a fake AFR 2010 license plate and with an ample
political body ensconced inside, is informed of the violation. The ample
political body within rolls down the window, and lets fly a volley of
choicest, most colourful words of abuse, which would put a drunken truck
driver in Bhatinda district to shame.
Democracys best revenge is Sindh home minister Zulfiqar Mirza
imposing himself like an unsightly pimple in DHA, with embarrassed police
and Rangers apologizing to motorists for the inconvenience, and the
ministers thuggish private guards brandishing weapons at them. It is also
Bilawal House, which has made thousands of area residents fervently pray
that its owner, in a moment of piety, will donate it to Eidhi Foundation and
earn Divine blessings, and the gratitude of the thousands of beleaguered and
stressed citizens living within a radius of two miles of the edifice. It will also
bring forth a huge sigh of relief from hundreds of security personnel
manning the bunkers and barricades around the structure, which are
probably not unlike those at the countrys nuclear installations.
Democracys best revenge is collection of protection money from
businesses and shops, and from doctors, by the democratic goons of
democratic political parties, whose elected parliamentarians sit in assemblies
as peoples representatives. It is also banning of pillion riding on
motorbikes, to benefit transporters, whenever that is demanded by the
transport mafia, and it is to keep the water tanker mafia contented and in

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high spirits, by denying direct supply of water to the voters, the mainstay of
democracy.
Democracys best revenge is eviction of students from Jinnah Hostel,
and its conversion to the Rangers Headquarters. The students need no hostel,
for the process of education is down and out for the count. Minister of
Education Sardar Assef Ahmad Ali personally, as well as his ministry, is too
busy dragooning the ECP, the HEC and others to keep their hands off fakedegree holders, to have any time for the long-suffering learning process
lying inert on the floor. Declaring holiday is a function which takes a fair
amount of his ministrys time, and there are so many to declare in a
democracy.
Democracys best revenge is to pit Karachiites against one another. It
is visiting the MQM hideaway one day to be received like a bridegroom, and
firing a broadside the next day through a minister assigned the role of field
gun of the party. It is to mollycoddle the MQM, and also to instigate the
ANP against it. It is to make monkeys of all political players in Karachi,
without even playing the Sindh card. Let the monkeys unite to make
Karachi what it is, the largest city of Pakistan.
The best revenge of democracy is the swift presidential pardon of
Interior Minister Rahman Malik, after he was convicted by the Supreme
Court. It is the peaking of corruption, the floodgates of which were opened
by the first PPP government under its founder and first chairman, Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto, when banks, industries and businesses, and anything that had
anything to do with money and finance, were nationalized, and party faithful
were appointed to manage these.
Finally, the best revenge of democracy, are the inheritors of the party,
albeit of a different lineage than Bhuttos, but riding on the Bhutto name and
shoulders. It is the new, hitherto unattained, heights to which the successors
have taken corruption. NASA must be shaking its head in wonderment.
Next day, The News commented: The PPP has adopted a strange
position: on one hand it presents Mr Taseer as a victim who died pursuing
the partys cause, and on the other it refuses to own him. It is possible fear
played a part in the members reluctance to offer fateha, but it is
frightening that so few are now willing to raise a voice for what is right. If
such an approach can be adopted in the Senate, what can be expected at
other forums? As a nation, we need to find a sense of morality and basic
decency. If even this is lost, the narrow views of the least enlightened will
hold sway, with no one willing to challenge them. The murder of Salmaan
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Taseer has exposed a great deal about our society. It continues to do so, and
the image emerging from beneath the thin veneer is a horribly ugly one.
Abdul Manan from Larkana wrote: Will President Zardari hold the
leader of the house in the Senate accountable for his refusal to offer
Fateha for the slain Salman Taseer? Also, why did the ANP and the
MQM, the so-called secular parties, join the JUI-F in refusing to support the
resolution against the assassination of Taseer?
On the one hand the PPP tries to gain political mileage out of the
high-profile murder by implicating the Punjab government in it, and on the
other hand its senators refuse to recite Fateha for the departed soul. Is it not
the worst kind of political expediency and opportunism?
On 31st January, S Iftikhar Murshed wrote: There can no longer be
any denial that the lethal brew of economic deprivation and corruption
has transformed Pakistan into the epicenter and breeding ground for
terrorism. Desperate measures are required. The Tunisians have blazed the
trail. Never before has the Arab world witnessed a purely civilian uprising
that has successfully toppled an entrenched and corrupt autocracy.
Though the Tunisian revolution is still in the making and the final
outcome remains uncertain, people in Egypt, Algeria, Jordan and other
countries in the region have also taken to the streets to demand their
economic and political rights. Civil society in Pakistan, which rose in
masse to restore the independence of the judiciary, should demand
effective and honest governance. The first step can be taken by the suo
moto-wielding Supreme Court, by disqualifying political leaders known for
corruption from elections till they are able to prove their innocence.
On 2nd February, Rashid Mahmood Langrial wrote about democratic
underperformance: At the end of the day, politicians are left with a much
smaller segment of the policy space than is needed to make any meaningful
trade-off between public good and private benefit. Encroachment of policy
space by extra-political forces coupled with uncertainty of the
democratic continuity has important implications for functioning of the
political market.
Firstly, it affects the type of persons who enter the market as
political entrepreneurs; uncertain payoffs imply that only the high risktakers would join the profession; less of policy space would prevent publicspirited individuals from joining the political class; and relatively low ego
rents in presence of more powerful arms of the state would discourage the
brightest. Moreover, interruptions in the democratic continuity discourage
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people from adopting politics as a career, skew human resource allocation by

established political families and prevent universities from teaching politics
of public policy as a discipline. To understand this last point, imagine that
there was a state that outlawed banking as a profession at regular intervals
for a decade after every ten years and then expect first rate banking services
during the episodic restoration of the profession.
Secondly such scenario results in breakdown of signaling
mechanism between the politician and the elector: elector, no more able
to use performance in office as sorting indicator between a congruent and a
dissonant politician, resorts to secondary criteria as a proxy for expected
performance, and votes on account of caste or clan or ethnicity.
Discontinuity of democratic system also affects the ability of the voters to
punish the dissonant behaviour of politician as focus shifts from politicians
performance in office to their conduct during the non-democratic rule,
particularly to their efforts for restoration of democratic order.
Politicians failure to deliver on public goods and services is often
cited as the raison dtre for packing off democratic governments and for
denying decision making to politicians in certain off-limit quadrants of
policy space. What is presented as the solution to the failure of political
market is, in fact, the very foundation of such failure.
Ameer Bhutto commented: United States Vice President Joe Biden
has warned that Pakistan could be next in line, and understandably so
because conditions here are far worse than in Tunisia and Egypt, which were
not looted by the rulers as openly and on such a massive scale as Pakistan.
There are no reports emanating from those countries of target killing
bloodbaths or the kind of lawlessness we have to endure. Their institutions
had not collapsed the way ours have. They do not suffer from administrative
atrophy and corrosion of the writ of law to the extent we do. Make no
mistake about it; we have traveled much further down the road to doom than
they had. And yet, while they mobilized to save their countries from ruin,
all we hear from the people here is a deafening silence.
What do the people in Tunisia and Egypt have that is lacking in us?
Is it an intrinsic part of our national character to be doormats and
suffer in silence all the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune to which we
are continuously subjected? In the aftermath of the devastating floods last
summer, one imagined that there would be outrage at the way an elected
government abandoned the people to their fate. But instead, the doling out of
a very meagre pittance

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But if servitude is part of our national character, then how can

Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos revolution, that toppled two military dictators, be
explained? Perhaps the difference between then and now is that that was an
age when ideology and the distinction between right and wrong still
mattered. Myopic greed had not clasped the nation in its clutches back then
as it now has. All the great revolutions of the world have been born from the
yearning for freedom from oppression, hunger and suffering. A nation that
is addicted to living off handouts can bring about no revolutions
Ameer Bhutto discussed various factors linked to this point before he went
on to conclude.
Even if Joe Bidens warning was to be heeded and an effort made to
set right the wrongs, the million dollar question is who will undertake such a
gargantuan task? Everyone is naked in this hamam (bath). Slumbering
nations can be awakened by shock treatment. The bungling, incompetent
incumbent dispensation in Pakistan has delivered enough shock treatment to
awaken a continent or two. If we have a smidgen of spine left in us, now is
the time to show it. How long can the anesthetic of handouts and political
bribery withstand the mounting pain and suffering? Long gone are the days
of deliverers descending from the heavens to lead nations out of slavery to
the Promised Land. When leadership and the system fail, it falls upon the
political sovereign to seize the day, not only because it is their democratic
right, but because it is their moral duty.
Next day, Ikram Sehgal enquired: Will the seething anger sweeping
the long-suffering populations of the Muslim countries bypass Pakistan?
Asif Zardari is too smart to hang around (and that is a pun) and wait
for the streets to propel him into history. Our Supreme Commander well
knows, unlike Hosni Mubarak, who found out too late, what attitude the
armed forces would adopt against a similar street protest.
On 4th February, Harris Khalique urged: The progressive forces in
Pakistan have to get their act together by providing leadership, not just in
organizing themselves and reaching out to the masses but also by coming up
with a fresh social theory and a new economic order. If those sitting in
parliament today and the ones outside with political interests do not shape
up, there will not be a revolution in Pakistan but bloodletting, chaos and
complete anarchy.
Next day, The News commented on recovery of Blackberries used by
Benazir. So, who killed Benazir Bhutto? Why did she die and who knew of
the plot? More than three years after her death these questions loom as large

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as ever. Bhuttos own political party, even her widower, seem least interested
in getting to the bottom of the assassination. Instead, they seem eager to hide
the truth or at least make sure ordinary people are not let in on it.
Mysteries surrounding the murder are growing increasingly complex
while suspicions continue to intensify. This is not a desirable state of
affairs.
A month ago the PPP Central Executive Committee, which met on
the occasion of Benazirs death anniversary, was told the report from the
enquiry team that probed her murder would only be presented in the
presence of party chairman Bilawal Bhutto. It now appears there are no
plans to present the report to the CEC. PPP members have come up with
various versions of why this is so. Some say a special session will be
convened to present the report, some say they are trying to find out why it
has not been put before the partys decision-making body. The interior
minister, who claims he and the president alone have seen the report, has
said it will be disclosed at the right time. He has not specified when that
may be.
So, what are the contents of the report that make it so sensitive? Why
is there so much reluctance to share its contents even with top PPP leaders?
This matter has caused considerable distress and raised important questions.
What is being hidden and why? Whose names come up in the report? And
do individuals such as former Intelligence Bureau chief Ejaz Shah figure?
We may never know.
There are other mysteries surrounding the incident as well. Two
Blackberry phones used by Bhutto, which apparently went missing after
her death, are reported to have been located at Bilawal House. It is said
that the phones have been sent for forensic testing to Islamabad. It seems
odd that it took this long for the phones to surface. The phones could prove
useful in the investigation. But it is also possible that they have been
tampered with. There are more questions than answers circulating. As things
stand now, there is real reason to fear we may never discover the full truth
behind an assassination that changed the political destiny of the country. Too
many facts do not seem to fit together and too many individuals in key
places seem anxious to ensure the full story remains under wraps.
Roedad Khan observed: The Islamic world contains the worlds
greatest concentration of corrupt rulers, unelected monarchs, and military
dictators, all supported by America. None would survive without American
help. Not surprisingly, American support for tyrants in the Muslim world has

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turned millions of Muslim against the United States. In the past, there was
some rationale for accepting authoritarian regimes in the Muslim world as
long as they were anti-communist. Now that the Soviet Union is a thing of
the past, what is the justification for supporting unelected, despotic, corrupt
regimes?
A long-awaited revolution is now blazing its way across the Middle
East. The entire political system dominated by authoritarian rulers,
fabricated by Kitchener, Lloyd George and Churchill in 1922, is in imminent
danger of total collapse. Egypt is in the throes of a mighty revolution. Jordan
is in turmoil. So is Algeria. And the wind is blowing toward the East.
Which leads us to question: where do we stand today? The
independence of Pakistan is nothing more than a myth. Sixty-three years
after independence, Pakistan has a dysfunctional political system, a
president facing corruption charges and terrified of his own people, a nonsovereign parliament, and an ineffective, corrupt prime minister. The
opposition languishes in torpid impotence. Ostensibly, we have all the
trappings of democracy national and provincial assemblies, political
parties, elected government but they play no real role in determining major
policy decisions and are, for all practical purposes, quite irrelevant.
The Pakistan Mr Jinnah founded no longer exists Today, people
openly talk about the corruption, indiscretions, folly and vulgarity of the
man whom fate has planted in the presidency. The good news is President
Zardaris star is already burning out. But he will stop at nothing to keep
power. It seems that in the death throes of his regime, he will take Pakistan
with him.
After expressing his long unfulfilled wish of revolution old man
concluded: After decades of corrupt, civilian and military dictatorships the
state is so flawed that it needs to be dismantled and rebuilt, rather than fixed.
It is not enough to sit back and let history take its course. The present
corrupt leadership is taking Pakistan to a perilous place. This is a delicate
time, full of hope and trepidation in equal measure. Today, there exists a
political and moral imperative for all patriotic Pakistanis to fight for our
core values, to resist foreign intervention in our internal affairs and to
destroy the roots of corruption at the top.
The time has come when the ultimate sovereign the people of
Pakistan must assert themselves. We have no alternative but to stand up
and fight. If we succeed, and God willing we shall, we may be able to create
a new corruption-free Pakistan. We may regain control of our collective
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destiny, and earn back the respect of the democratic world. We may become
a proud and free country once again.

REVIEW
The liberal, secular, enlightened and pro-West forces while mourning
the death of Salman Taseer for the last one month have been instigating the
regime to take democratic revenge from the dark forces of religious
extremists. They, however, were disappointed as the ruling party even failed
in offering Fateha in the Senate.
To the contrary, the religious forces closed their ranks and vowed to
resist any change in the blasphemy law. Two major opposition parties, PMLN and Q, also joined the last rally held in Lahore. The hopes of secular
forces were further dampened by the events in Tunisia and Egypt.
This issue of fanning confrontation between liberals and religious
extremists has been commented upon in some detail in last three consecutive
articles due to which other issues were ignored. There has been tot all over.
However, only three issues were mentioned in the opening lines which need
to be reviewed.
Karachi has been held hostage by the political mafias which indulge
in the game of targeted killings at regular intervals. The latest killings were
part of the same game. In this round when as result of some
misunderstanding Rangers initiated action against criminals Mirza and
Gabol angrily resented. This indicated PPPs involvement in the killings.
During this round of killings pressure mounted on government to find
a lasting solution of the problem. Two possible solutions were recommended
for restoration of peace and tranquility, i.e. de-weaponization of the city and
handing it over to Army. Both the solutions were not new and had been
earnestly demanded by the ANP and vehemently opposed by the MQM,
which has maximum number of death squads operating in the city.
This time PML-N also expressed its concerns. MQM was alert to the
situation and prepared to counter both the moves well before someone
planned to initiate any of the two. The proposed solution through deweaponization of the city was countered by submitting a bill in the National
Assembly for de-weaponization of the entire country. This meant the process
must start from Gilgit-Baltistan and progressively move southward and drain
all weapons into Arabian Sea.

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Countering of the second proposal was facilitated for the MQM when
PML-N supported ANP in handing the city over to the Army. MQM
promptly demanded imposition of martial law in Punjab. This was no
different from the above as MQM has been recommending stitching of an
ear for treatment of cut on the foot.
The second event was a spate of hearing of corruption cases by
various benches of the Supreme Court. Strangely, most of the cases have
been the result of suo moto notices or as a result of petitions filed by
citizens. None of the cases being heard by the Supreme Court has come
through the governments apparatus meant for accountability.
The Executive, which is vital part of any system of dispensation of
justice, has been creating obstacles in the accountability of the corrupt. It
seemed that the Zardari regime considered corruption no crime and that was
why Pakistanis have never heard him mentioning it.
It is because of Executives resolve to protect the corrupt that all
efforts of the superior judiciary have been of little use. The only
achievement has been refund of few billions given as advance for rental
power projects. This refund has put no one to shame, in fact, the regime
must have welcomed those billions back in the kitty to allow more
corruption.
The cases of Pakistan Steel Mills and Bank of Punjab seemed to have
been stuck in the traffic jam deliberately created by the Executive. Barring
few junior corrupts the rest roam about freely and some even continue
enjoying perks and privileges with or without attending the office.
The case of corruption in purchase of locomotives for the Railways
causing Rs40 billion loss further exposed the limitations of the Judiciary.
While the case of 75 locomotives was pending before the court, tenders for
purchase of another 150 were floated. The court did not dare ask that how
could a business rival could head Railways; Bilour family run the biggest
road transport company.
In Haj and NICL scams the Executive has been blatantly hindering the
investigations for reasons too obvious. In the case of latter, son of chief of
Qatal League is involved and son of Maqtool party in the former. Son of
Gilani and name-sake of Abdul Qadir can do no wrong.
From the foregoing it can be inferred that the Supreme Court can
deliver very little despite best of its efforts. The case of Bahria Town car race
amply exposed limitations of Judiciary working without the support of

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Executive. The police have not been able to make much progress in this case
in which five people were killed.
If the highest court in the country cannot proceed against a property
dealer how can it proceed against men who matter, what to talk of head of
state. Recovery of few billions without sending the culprits behind the bars
is no justice but its mockery. The proverbial Allah Ditta can deliver more
than that and in lesser time.
On political stage of the country, ten-point agenda of Nawaz Sharif
resulted in initiation of PPP-PML-N dialogue to resolve woes of Pakistan.
The PPP seemed to have agreed not to find a negotiated solution but to buy
more time. This would also help Zardari regime in sharing the blame of its
failings with PML-N.
Nawaz Sharif should certainly know from past experience that Zardari
wont mend his ways, yet Nawaz preferred to follow King Bruce in trying
again and again rather than avoiding being stung from the same hole again
and again. He opposed in-house change of government, or through mid-term
elections arguing that it would be disastrous for the system and the country.
His statement perturbed the observers who saw it in contradiction to
what he has been saying about the Zardari-led PPP regime, especially his
statement in which he had termed Zardari a biggest threat to democratic
system. Kamran Khan in his TV programme expressed his inability to
reconcile Nawazs past and present utterances.
It is not much of a riddle. Americans have made it clear to Nawaz not
to harm their crony in the Presidency, failing which he might risk losing his
turn or even his country. That was why he has been frequently reiterating
his resolve to protect the system. He is indulging in dialogue only to
pretend that he was doing something as head of the largest opposition party.
PPP has made a counter move in which 19 suggestions have been
made for improving governance in Punjab. A day after that Jehangir Badr
held a press conference in which the responsibility of price control and
terrorism was passed over to provincial (Punjab) governments. All this is in
anticipation of the failure of dialogue on 10-point agenda and part of
preparations for the blame-game that would follow.
Along with the above, Zardari has decided to make some cosmetic
moves to dilute the effect of ten point agenda; decision to dissolve federal
cabinet is part of those moves. The PML-N can take credit and rejoice over

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media reports that corrupt ministers would be off-loaded because of the

pressure exerted by Nawaz.
The fact remains that PML-N has accepted a corrupt person as
governor and that the most corrupt of all, Gilani, will be retained as captain
of Zardari team. Gilani is like centre-half of a hockey team, the pivot around
which all the moves revolve. He is and will remain the linchpin of
corruption.
6th February 2011

DRAMA TIME

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Politics in countries where masses have no rights, except the right to

cast votes, falls in the category of performing arts. Elsewhere in the world
politicians are like delivery men, but in third world they are comedians
dressed up in democratic robes. They entertain the audience with their onstage antics to have good time off-stage.
There is no fixed schedule for staging drama; comedians are everready to perform any time at short notice. For them it is drama time in
perpetuity; however, frequency and intensity of enacting drama keep
varying. In Pakistan, during last two months dramas were enacted in rapid
succession by stooges of all hues.
The ongoing spate of dramas commenced with Nawaz Sharif raising
the curtain from the comedy of 10-point agenda which coincided with
tragic scene of the drama enacted by the enlightened over blasphemy law.
Altaf Hussain could not remain off-stage; he released nine-point agenda
from Nine Zero.
PPP being the largest political troupe in the country summed up 10
and 9 and Raja Riaz like a magician flashed 19-point agenda for the
amusement of Jiyalas. Most of the scenes of ten point agenda were enacted
by Hafeez Sheikh and Ishaq Dar, but they failed in impressing the audience.
This drama led to another drama on the stage of Punjab in which PPP
ministers were shown the door. The producer-cum-director of PPP drama
party had been preparing for this for the last many months by turning of
power and gas supply to Punjab. He had also unleashed Babar Awan, his law
minister rolled into a befitting Punjabi villain.
Shahbaz felt the heat or lack of it and shouted at Zardari to stop the
topi drama. Raja Riaz, having been relieved of the burden of a ministry,
shouted back you stop the topi drama; not realizing that what would all of
them do if dramas were stopped. The latest drama was jointly enacted by
PPP-MQM in which the increase in petroleum products prices was cut by
fifty percent.
All these dramas went on concurrently with Raymond drama being
performed on the stage of war on terror. The distraction caused by hectic
drama activity allowed Zardari regime to quietly usurp the independence of
judiciary by rejecting extension to three judges which had been
recommended by Judicial Commission. Off-stage the rulers kept enjoying.

NEWS
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On 6th February, Gilani said cabinet doors were open for PML-N. Raja
Riaz gave deadline to Nawaz to respond to PPPs 19 point agenda and
threatened of resignations and sit-in in front of Assembly building.
Musharraf attracted yet another pair of shoes in London; the shoe-throwers
raised slogans for Dr Aafia and Musharraf came down heavily on Nawaz
Sharif. Against assessment of Rs825 billion damage caused by floods the
governments in provinces and the Centre has spared only Rs40 billion only.
Thrashing of Kabir Wasti was condemned by all except PPP.
Next day, JIT included Musharraf in interim challan in the case of
murder of Benazir, which also said that the two police officers had acted on
orders of Musharraf. The court rejected bails of the both. Officers in charge
of IB and Crisis Management Cell at the time of murder have become
approvers; both are retired army officers. Benazirs Blackberry has been
tampered with. It showed that Benazir received no telephone call during the
period in which she had allegedly received a call from Zardari asking her to
come out and respond to peoples applause.
The Supreme Court directed the State Bank of Pakistan to provide
details of bank loans waived off during the last two years. The court rejected
commission on written-off loans and vowed to go to any length to recover
public money.
Babar Awan advised against amending blasphemy law and pardoning
Aasia. Asfandyar said Pakhtuns in Karachi is a reality and must be accepted
as such. Reportedly, Zardari pardoned or commuted punishments of 14,000
persons of his favourite community of criminals in last two years.
On 8th February, Zardari started contacting heads of political parties
for roundtable conference to discuss national issues; Altaf welcomed the
idea. Moonis Elahi was declared proclaimed offender. Masood Kausar,
brother of Ahmad Faraz, was appointed as new governor of KPK. PIA
operations were crippled by strike over its merger with Turkish airline.
The teams of PPP and PML-N reached first agreement of some
significance in deciding that the top hundred write-offs in case each bank
would be recovered. The teams failed to make progress on any of the ten
points. Nawaz expressed disappointment over progress on ten-point agenda.
Federal Tax Ombudsman refused to give up probe into missing
Afghanistan-bound containers after FBR initiated a parallel inquiry. In a
press conference he named NLC Nowshera and Chaman as the main culprits
that helped smugglers evade tax through misuse of duty-free Afghan Transit
Trade.
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The Supreme Court bench hearing case of appointment of NAB

chairman was told by the counsel that petitions challenging Deedars
appointment were not maintainable. The court remarked that agreement with
opposition leader is necessary.
Next day, federal cabinet resigned as per decision of PPPs CEC
headed by Zardari. Gilani commended the performance of ministers and felt
proud of them. MQM and JUI-F declined the offer to join new cabinet,
which would be constituted in phases. Zardari invited Nawaz for roundtable
conference; the latter questioned its relevance.
PIA employees continued their protest as government-pilots talks
failed, because pilots demanded resignation of MD PIA, but government
turned it down. In Karachi, ASF used force against protesters and injured
pilots, journalists and even passengers. Zardari telephoned Abdullah Gulf
and discussed airlines merger fiasco.
In a PPP-PML-N meeting the government proposed 25 per cent cut in
50 per cent pay raise incorporated in the current budget and, reportedly,
PML-N has agreed. The Supreme Court granted time to the counsel for the
federal government for consultation. The court remarked that NAB chief
would have to quit if laid down consultation was not completed.
On 10th February, the Supreme Court was informed that 152 senior
officials were working on contract basis after their retirement and out of
them 15 officers, including DG FIA and IGP Sindh, were being removed.
The court directed to proceed against Hamid Saeed Kazmi according to law.
His arrest warrants were issued and raids were conducted for his arrest. The
court enquired about Abdul Qadir Gilani, not the one that comes into mind
on hearing this name but the son of Prime Minister involved in Haj scam and
asked to find out his source of income and tax he pays.
The counsel of the federal government, A Hafeez Pirzada, was forced
to lie in the court to cover up lies of Zardari and Gilani in the case of
appointment of Chairman NAB, who was appointed on the basis of a
summary without canceling the earlier one. The counsel told the court that it
was being done now.
PML-N sought removal of MD PIA. Railways labour union showed
solidarity with employees of PIA and threatened to stop rail movement when
asked by the sister union. PIA called passengers to airports and then returned
them back. Rehman Malik said PIA issue would be resolved in 2-3 days.

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Habibullah and four others were granted bails in NICL scam case.
Shujaat blamed Nawaz for involving innocent Moonis in NICL case.
Meeting on ten points was postponed. PML-N rejected government proposal
to cut salaries; this was in negation of earlier reports. Zardari claimed his
government saved the country from economic collapse.
Next day, 22 ministers were sworn in first phase of raising new
cabinet; many of them were old faces. Punjab got seven against eight from
Sindh as part of democratic revenge. Arif Nizami observed that Shah
Mahmood was removed from foreign ministry possibly for two reasons. In
violation of Zardari ideology he has been tough with India and recently he
had refused to give clear-cut immunity to Davis.
Police baton-charged PIA protesters; Rehman Malik suspended police
officer in charge ordered judicial inquiry. MD PIA, an old buddy of Zardari
at last resigned; perhaps, he took clue from Hosni Mubarak. St5rike was
called off And PIA flight operations resumed. LHC granted protective bail to
Kazmi. PPP cancelled basic party membership of Dr Israr Shah. Sarfraz
Nawaz joined MQM in search of love.
On 12th February, arrest warrants of Musharraf were issued in Benazir
murder case; to be declared proclaimed offender if does not appear before
the court. Firdous Ashiq said government would provide all the assistance to
the court.
Rehman Malik said the Supreme Court has nor ordered removal of
DG FIA; Wasim Ahmed would continue working. Chief Justice blamed
corruption for widening gap between rich and poor and the Supreme Court
was striving to end this evil. FIA stopped from taking action against
overseas employment promoters and human traffickers.
Next day, Farooq Sattar and Shujaat Hussain met and mulled the idea
to become king-producers from king-makers. Babar Awan saw wind of
change in Punjab and said Moonis was suffering for being son of Pervaiz
Elahi. Rana Sana termed Babar Munshi of plunderers of Bank of Punjab.
Kazmi accused FIA of his character assassination. Four people were killed
and seven wounded in Karachi.
On 14th February, Strategy for quick disposal of cases was devised in
full court meeting of the Supreme Court. A resolution was also passed for
appointment of Justice Ramday and Justice Jaffery as ad hoc judges after
retirement. There is no bar on ad hoc judges in 18th and 19th amendments.

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Arrest warrants of Abdul Qadir, son of Prime Minister, were issued

after he did not appear before FIA team probing Haj scam. Soon after that
Hussain Asghar, main investigating officer, was removed. This has been a
favourite policy of the regime to obstruct implementation of court orders.
Zain Sukera, close friend of Abdul Qadir, resigned from IT Ministry.
The Supreme Court was informed that Rs74 billion of 454,737
borrowers were written off during 2008-2009. The court rejected unsigned
report of State Bank. The Chief Justice vowed to recover public money
along with interest. LHC sought NAB reply on a writ petition that
challenged closure of 60 corruption cases. Zafar Querishi, Additional DG
FIA, was served notice for maligning PML-Q and Moonis.
PCO judges filed appeal against verdict on contempt case. Six
hundred employees involved in NATO containers case were barred from
leaving the country. Raja Riaz termed PML-N ministers corrupt; maximum
corruption was done in sasti roti programme. Mumtaz Qadri pleaded guilty
in the case of Salmans murder; next hearing will be on 26th February. A
court in Multan accepted a petition accusing Sherry Rehman for blasphemy.
Next day, during hearing of the case of Haj scam the Chief Justice
remarked it seemed that the Executive was bent upon confronting Judiciary.
The counsel of the regime, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada said it is our duty not to
allow that happen. The court expressed its displeasure over sending the
investigating officer on leave and directed cancellation of appointment of
DG FIA Wasim Ahmed and other senior officials by 18th February.
Asma Jahangir criticized appointment of two ad hoc judges in the
Supreme Court. Bars and senior lawyers also protested the resolution for ad
hoc appointment of Justice Ramday and Justice Jaffery; the Supreme Court
cancelled its resolution. Ansar Abbasi apprehended another assault on
independence of judiciary.
The process of meetings between teams of PPP and PML-N ended
with urging the State Bank to order recovery of loans written off politically.
Ishaq Dar asked the government to ensure gas load management on equal
basis. The dissidents of PML-Q got the status of parliamentary party in
Punjab Assembly.
On 17th February, PCO judge Rahim of Peshawar High Court served
show-cause notices to four judges of the Supreme Court who had heard the
contempt case against PCO judges. He also urged President to refer the case
to Supreme Judicial Council.

155

The Supreme Court suspended the recommendations of the

Parliamentary Committee in which names of four additional judges of LHC
were rejected. ADG FIA, Zafar Qureshi complained of threats from main
accused in NICL; the Supreme Court issued directive for full protection to
Zafar. The apex court disposed off Railway engines case after written
assurance from Secretary Railways.
Raja Zafarul Haq said governments response to ten points has been
disappointing. FBR, Customs and NLC representatives appeared before
parliamentary body and told that more than 80 per cent of NATO containers
go missing during transit and the system of checks is almost non-existent. In
a secret deal PPP and MQM have agreed not to try 26 killers in court of law.
These killers belong to death squads maintained by political parties in
Karachi.
Next day, notices issued to four judges of the Supreme Court by
suspended PCO judge of PHC were canceled. The Supreme Court hearing
the appeals of PCO judges passed interim order that suspended PCO judges
cannot pass any directive. The hearing was adjourned till 21st February.
Nawaz was disappointed with governments response to ten points.
Sana hinted at demanding midterm polls if ten point agenda not enforced.
ANP rejected decisions taken by PPP and PML-N on ten-point agenda; a
pre-planned move by Zardari-Asfandyar nexus.
Zafar expanded its probe into NICL case after finding documents
indicating that Moonis Elahi has property in Spain. Gilani sacked nine
contracted senior officials out of 15 the Supreme Court had ordered; six
retained in defiance of court orders included DG FIA Wasim Ahmed and
three senior police officers of Sindh.
Rehman Malik denied the report about PPP-MQM secret agreement to
free 26 killers. PPP delegation visited Nine Zero resulting in chanting of
Altaf-Zardari Bhai Bhai slogans. Zulfikar Mirza was also present. Five
people were killed in Karachi.
On 19th February, Judicial Commission gave one year extension to six
additional judges of SHC and dropped three others. Appointment of Ramday
and Jaffery as ad hoc judges of the Supreme Court was deferred; Asma
Jahangir was pleased over deferment. KPK Bar had opposed the
appointment of two judges.
Nawaz accused Zardari of foiling PML-Ns reconciliation efforts.
Party meeting opposed giving further time on 10-point agenda. Rehman

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Malik saw ship of Charter of Democracy sinking. Congressional delegation

met Zardari to discuss matters of mutual interest. Fauzia resigned as PPPs
information secretary; Kaira took over. ATC hearing murder case of Benazir
re-issued Musharrafs arrest warrants and to be produced on March 5.
Next day, Zulfikar Mirza threatened to destroy all party offices of
PML-N in Sindh from Karachi to Kashmor if PPP is thrown out of Punjab
government. He bet the battle drums for joining battle against Nawaz and
Imran Khan and at the same time vowed to follow policy of reconciliation.
He also said Benazir wanted to get rid on Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi.
Rana Sana said Mirza is a warrior who challenges and surrenders in the
same breath. PML-N summoned party meeting on 25th February.
On 21st February, Nawaz said no more embracing of corrupt rulers and
ruled out alliance with Chaudhrys of Gujrat. PPP leaders launched barrage of
statements against PML-N after the reports about PPP being thrown out of
Punjab government. Gilanis son held a press conference and rejected all
allegations of corruption. He appeared before FIA team which was
investigating his involvement in corruption.
Next day, PPP and PML-N teams held last meeting on ten point
agenda and the participants decided to refer the matter to party leaders.
Meanwhile, the Speaker National Assembly constituted a 12-member
parliamentary committee for reformation of Election Commission of
Pakistan. This was demanded in ten point agenda. Nawaz expressed
dissatisfaction over progress on ten point agenda.
Parliamentary Committee endorsed recommendations of Judicial
Commission for one year extension to four judges of SHC and rejected the
same to two others. Rs6 billion corruption was reported in National Police
Foundation. The officer appointed to probe is relative of one of the main
accused. Gilanis son was asked to prove his source of income.
On 23rd February, the Supreme Court observed that DG FIA has
spoiled the case of corruption in Pakistan Steel Mills. The court was
informed that the loss has now reached Rs37 billion. Chief Justice said it is
not the responsibility of the apex court to pinpoint wrong doings and suggest
measures to be adopted, but PSM should do that on its own.
Moonis Elahi returned to Pakistan and his arrest warrants were
cancelled by the court. He denied his involvement in NICL scam and alleged
that all cases were framed on political basis as one of the brothers of Zafar
was not promoted during PML-Q rule. PPP and PML-Q were secretly
working to oust PML-N from Punjab and former has promised to close all
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cases against Moonis. PML-N seemed all set to kick PPP out of Punjab
government.
Public Accounts Committee was informed that NAB has closed
several fraud cases involving Rs61.88 billion. In defiance of apex courts
directives the regime has decided to regularize thousands of re-hired
appointees. Qureshi said Pakistan has everything except honest leadership.
Next day, Nawaz Sharif said Zardari incessantly let him down. He
showed willingness to accommodate party dissidents and claimed PML-N
could rescue nation from the prevalent precarious situation. Qaim Ali
accused Nawaz of destabilizing the country. After consulting Gilani and top
aides Zardari decided not to quit Punjab government. Imran Khan talked of
revolution while addressing a public gathering in Peshawar. Three political
activists were killed and 29 criminals held in Karachi.
On 25th February, Nawaz said if the government did not mend its ways
in next few months, PML-N would demand mid-term polls. He blamed the
federal government for protecting corrupt elements He announced the party
decision to throw PPP ministers out of Punjab cabinet. He, however, ruled
out steps to destabilize democratic set-up.
Raza Rabbani held a press conference along with party leaders and
refuted PML-N claim that no progress was made on ten point agenda. He
vowed to continue policy of reconciliation. Babar Awan bitterly criticized
PML-N for resorting to politics of Changa Manga. Meanwhile, the apex
court asked the government to clarify the lease case of Railway land. Chief
Justice said its time to book the culprits.
Next day, Shahbaz Sharif fired seven ministers and 13 parliamentary
secretaries, not Davis-style, but as part of culling of sick chickens of PPPbreed in Punjab Poultry Farms. The summary was sent to Governor who
said he would look into legality of culling. Talal Bugti welcomed PPP ouster
from Punjab. Babar Awan spent busy day in Lahore in cursing PML-N. As
part of democratic revenge textile industry in Punjab was subjected to five
days a week load-shedding.
National Bank concealed names of some loan defaulters and loan
write-offs while submitting lists in pursuance of orders of apex court.
Customs suspended 22 officers in NATO liquor scam. An anti-corruption
court in Karachi issued non-bailable arrest warrants of Qasim Dada in NICL
case. Reportedly, Shah Mahmood was mulling formation of Shaheed BB
Group. Hamid-backed candidate defeated his opponent supported by Asma
and Babar Awan in LHCBA presidential election.
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On 27th February, Zardari accused Nawaz League of promoting

politics on Changa Manga, but ruled out dislodging Punjab government. He
summoned Governor Punjab to Bilawal House, Karachi. Aitzaz Ahsans
statement that it was Q League, not the U-Block is in danger, gave boost to
the Unification Block. Khosa, the chief Jiyala in the province, vowed that
his party would be an aggressive opposition. Shahbaz Sharif informed Saudi
Ambassador in writing that 10-year ban on Nawaz on taking part in politics
has ended.
Shahbaz asked Zardari to end gas shortage drama to victimize Punjab.
Gilani denied victimizing Punjab in gas load-shedding. Governor State Bank
informed the apex court that banks didnt need SPP permission to write off
loans. Qureshi was warmly received on his way to yatra of Garhi Khuda
Bakhsh. Seven people were killed in incidents of violence in Karachi.
Next day, the Supreme Court suspended decision of the Parliamentary
Committee which denied one-year extension in service to two additional
judges on SHC and restrained the respondents from issuance of any
notification in pursuance of committees recommendations. President signed
summary of extending tenure of four judges of SHC for one year as
recommended by Parliamentary Committee.
The auditor looking into the accounts related to NICL scandal on
orders of apex court was booked by Karachi police and arrested. He was not
released despite the bail granted to him by SHC. The audit officer said he
had been receiving threats and telephone calls to delay the audit of accounts.
FBR requested the bench hearing case of ISAF containers scam to
postpone the hearing for a month; the court accepted the request. FBR
Chairman told the court that a committee had been constituted to determine
criminal liabilities and departmental disciplinary action against persons
involved in the scam and recovery of Rs70 billion was in sight.
The Supreme Court observed that Law Ministry seemed to be
unaware of the law regarding appointment of Chairman NAB. The counsel
for the federation said under Article 148 the apex court has no jurisdiction to
hear the case. Hamid Kazmis bail was extended to March 14.
Khosa signed the summery of removal of PPP ministers. Shahbaz
termed gas load-shedding in Punjab a great injustice. Nawaz condemned
losing trillions of rupees to corruption. He threatened another long march.
PML-N denied that Nawaz wrote to Saudi King to take him into confidence
about taking part in politics. Altaf Hussain once again invited Army to save
Pakistan. Petroleum products prices were increased by 9.9 percent.
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On 1st March, the Supreme Court ordered removal of DG FIA in three

days for spoiling the investigations into Haj scam. Chief Justice said the
government seemed determined to erect hurdles in way of Supreme Court
orders. And not interested in obeying court orders on contract appointments.
The court reprimanded Swati for not providing proofs about Kazmis
involvement in corruption.
Increase in price of petroleum products was widely condemned and
rejected. Opposition parties and MQM staged token walk out from National
Assembly. Zardari talked to Altaf on telephone and assured him review of
POL prices.
Raja Riaz was selected to be opposition leader in Punjab Assembly.
Sindh Assembly passed unanimous resolution condemning horse-trading in
Punjab. Shah Mahmood Qureshi addressed a public gathering in Chhachro
and said he did not want to leave PPP but some people were trying to elbow
him out. Secretary ECP refused to succumb to government pressure and
instead proceeded on one year leave. Altaf once again called upon patriotic
generals to help the people.
Next day, Chief Justice and senior judges refused to take closed-door
briefing from the defence and interior ministers on the request of Gilani and
directed that if the government wanted to explain its stand on any matter, it
should do so in the open court. The counsel for the federation had submitted
a secret letter in the court for closed-door hearing on contract employees.
On 3rd March, Abdul Hamid Dogar and Zahid Hussain submitted
unconditional apology in the Supreme Court in contempt case which was
accepted. Ministries vacated by PPP were distributed among PML-n; No one
from Unification Bloc was inducted in Punjab cabinet. Reference against
nine members of Unification Bloc was sent to Speaker Punjab Assembly.
The latest increase in prices of petroleum products was cut by 50 per cent in
night-time gimmickry of PPP and MQM. Policeman was among eight
people killed in Karachi.
Next day, the Supreme Court nullified the Parliamentary Committees
decision to reject recommendations of the Judicial Commission for one year
extension to six additional judges of LHC and SHC and directed the federal
government to issue a notification giving these judges one-year extension.
The regime flouted orders of apex court yet another time; it did not
remove DG FIA. It sought his retention from the court promising that he
would be removed from supervising investigations into Haj and NICL
scams. Raza Hayat Hiraj moved a bill in National Assembly providing for
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disqualification of a member of the parliament if he possesses any bank

account, assets, wealth or business outside Pakistan or has dual nationality.
Fazlur Rehman invited all opposition parties representatives at his
residence; they agreed to have unanimous stand on major issues. Six people
were killed in Karachi.
On 5th March, the government refused to remove DG FIA as ordered
by the apex court; it said Waseem was dealing with national security matters.
The Chief Justice took suo moto notice of defiance of its orders regarding
and decided to hear it before March 15.
The judge hearing Benazirs murder case issued arrest warrants of
Musharraf third time and ordered his production by March 19. A Rawalpindi
court indicted Babar Awan on charges of robbery and kidnapping; the
minister denied. Kausar Malik, an officer of National Bank working with
NAB on deputation, was sacked and reverted back. He had told PAC that
Swiss cases against Zardari were being re-opened in line with the Supreme
Courts directives.

VIEWS
On 7th February, Mobin S from Lahore wrote: I wasnt surprised to
read that there were few expressions of dissent in the recent meeting of the
PPPs Central Executive Committee. What else can we expect in a PPP CEC
meeting? The reportsaid that all the participants praised the leadership of
Mr Zardari. The highest award for sycophancy, however, should go to
Mian Manzoor Wattoo, who told the President: The nation is satisfied with
your leadership to bring the country out of crisis. O God, please save us
from our leaders.
Ismael Rahman from Quetta observed: During the PPP CEC meeting,
poor Aitzaz Ahsan was confronted by President Zardari when the former
demanded that only clean people be inducted into the new federal cabinet.
Doesnt Aitzaz Ahsan know that being clean can be a disqualification for
a ministerial post in the current set-up?
On 10th February, Zafar Hilaly opined: Frankly our primary
problem today is less extremism and more our dysfunctional political
line up with mainstream political leaders unable to rise to the occasion.
Most of them got into politics for self aggrandizement than to serve the
country for a higher purpose. Even today they are bickering and pulling each
other down over all kinds of issues like in the past although today we face an
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existential crisis in which the writ of the state is being openly flouted and
democracy is under its severest test. Its not elusive miracles that we should
be looking to save us when a modicum of common sense accompanied by a
bit of strait laced courage would suffice.
Next day, S Khalid Husain wrote: There is not an issue on which
the country is not stuck between a rock and a hard place. The rock often
is presidential ego, which prevents recognition and correction of mistakes.
PIA and the Pakistan Cricket Board are two glaring examples of ego scoring
over institutional well-being. The presidential nominees who are heading the
two hapless organizations have made it a habit to create one crisis after
another. In their demeanour and their management and work style, such as
ignoring the duly constituted board of directors, or giving short shrift to
management and decision making processes, the worthies emulate their
mentors approach, with similar disastrous results.
On 12th February, The News commented: The new smaller cabinet
sworn in on Friday has come up to national expectations by proving exactly
what it was apprehended to be: a meaningless exercise. The good news is
that it is much smaller but that is about it. That its genesis lies in the
presidency is also all too clear It was interesting to note that the portfolio
of the new Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan was announced by
the spokesman of the presidency and not the PM House, as it should have
been.
The presidents personal musketeers, Rehman Malik, Babar Awan,
Naveed Qamar and Syed Khurshid Shah have been retained in the shrunken
cabinet clearly signaling that President Zardaris control over national
affairs will become even more suffocating. PM Gilani has been left with
little clout in the cabinet and his primary role has apparently been reduced to
that of political firefighting and damage control, a role he has so far played
admirably to the benefit of the president. Over all the cabinet offers little
hope of any meaningful change in the performance and quality of
governance, which have been the bane of the Zardari-Gilani regime.
On the contrary, bigger fissures and growing discontent within the
PPP and coalition ranks have now been confirmed. Major allies the
MQM and the JUI-F have stayed away despite attempts by the president.
The change shows no signs that things will improve. Hopes that the prime
minister may have become more powerful with the 18 th Amendment have
proved false, at least for the remaining part of the PPP tenure.

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In another editorial the newspaper wrote: If there is a single linking

element to the many corruption cases before the courts today, it is the
digital fingerprint. Some criminals wear gloves in order not to leave
fingerprints at the scene of their crime, but disguising the digital fingerprint
is not so easy If Kazmi has moved any money in connection with the
alleged Haj scam, then there will be digital evidence of it that is virtually
impossible to hide. When questioned by the FIA, Kazmi had been unable to
explain the origins of some of the money in his accounts.
Also caught in the eye of the superior judiciary is Abdul Qadir
Gilani, the son of the prime minister. The Supreme Court has developed an
interest in his wealth as well, and wishes to know where the money came
from that financed a bullet-proof vehicle from one of the Gulf States, and
even more intriguingly, just how much tax has he paid in recent years? Tax
records are another of those fingerprints that are hard to erase, especially
when you have a lifestyle of conspicuous consumption but are filing records
that suggest that your income is below what you appear to be spending. All
of this is what is known elsewhere in the world as white collar crime
crime committed by people outside the normal criminal spectrum, often
otherwise upstanding members of the community and therefore believing
themselves above both suspicion and, ultimately, the law. Forensic
accountancy is a growing job market here, and the digital sleuths are
getting better by the day at tracking their prey. Hiding was never more
difficult, and denial never more pointless.
Next day, Sana Buch wrote: The idea of the round table is epic. It
took petty rivalry, a villainous traitor and gave misunderstandings to break
the harmony of this group. It could very well happen that the round table
that Zardari has called will make no impact. We are all skeptical about
Zardaris motives and rightly so and doubtful of his knights too. But
history is often about defying the skeptics.
On 14th February, Imaan Hazir from Islamabad wrote: Recently,
President Zardari issued a rather comic statement regarding how the
PPP saved Pakistan from economic collapse. I have a few questions to ask
our honourable president. Firstly, didnt his government take a massive loan
from the IMF? Didnt this further increase our debt burden? And what about
electricity load-shedding which has now been given a friend; gas loadshedding? If the PPP has indeed saved the country from economic collapse
and our economy isnt plummeting, could President Zardari please tell me
why all the aforementioned things are occurring?

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On 18th February, Ikram Sehgal opined: We are at an interesting

crossroads; it has taken only a few days of perseverance by a few true souls
in the streets in Tunisia and Egypt to bring down tyrants (and their kith and
kin) who were looting their country at will. Yemen is sure to go; Jordan,
Bahrain and Algeria are at considerable risk. Our Armed Forces will soon
face such an acid test in this country, much sooner rather than later. The
Bangladesh Model is now in place in Tunisia and Egypt. Is Pakistan
the next likely candidate?
Next day, The News commented: Just as matters seem to be calming
down between institutions, a new front appears to have opened up. The
Supreme Courts suspension of a decision by the Parliamentary Committee
rejecting the names of four additional judges of the Lahore High Court
recommended by the Judicial Commission for an extension in service
highlights, in the first place, the flaws in the new method of appointment
of judges laid down under the 18 th Amendment Bill. For months, many
have been predicting a stand-off between the judiciary and the Parliamentary
Committee regarding this matter.
The key reason for the decision by the two member SC bench is that
the Parliamentary Committee failed to offer any reasons for rejecting the
judges. The Attorney General has said this will be done, but the offer comes
rather late in the day. The names of 20 other judges have been accepted but it
is clear that the damage has already been done. Differences over this issue
could, in future, assume far more serious dimensions creating the kind of
rift between institutions that we have been trying, month after month, to
ward off.
This case also highlights the issue of judicial independence and
constitutional guarantees that the institution will enjoy independent status.
The fact that the committee had failed to explain why the recommendations
were not accepted also raises further questions about how matters will
proceed in future. In order for institutions to work smoothly together, the
system in place needs to work efficiently. This does not seem to be the case
at present. The risks posed by this situation are many and raise all kinds of
questions about the future. These need to be sorted out. The very last thing
we need at this juncture is a clash between key institutions. The latter would
be a disaster for our country.
On 20th February, Najam Sethi cautioned judiciary not to touch NRO
again. Analysts are inclined to ask where the Supreme Court is headed;
secession or independence? If these issues are blithely brushed under the rug

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but the NRO case is revived against the PPP, President Asif Zardari in
particular, then it is a safe bet that we are heading in the direction of a major
political intervention by the Supreme Court to set things right, but, only
time will tell whether this will set things right or irredeemably wrong.
Two days later, The News commented: It is hard to see logic behind
Dr Mirzas attack. The senior PPP leader seems hell-bent on creating more
problems for the party. With the PML-Ns 10-point agenda largely ignored,
the party will be in no mood to experiment with yet another round of
diplomacy. And with the party enjoying a comfortable hold on Punjab, it is
the PPP which will be the loser in this scenario. The angry exchange,
which in many ways seems totally unnecessary, cannot do much to improve
the political environment on the whole. It also raises further questions about
strategy within the PPP, and whether a particular game plan is being
followed or if each leader is free to say what he or she chooses, regardless of
the consequences.
On 23rd February, The News wrote: The PPP and the PML-N being
locked in a battle has made the task of solving the immense problems that
are being confronted that much harder. The sense of uncertainty which
comes alongside this growing war of words means it will be harder to
stabilize the economy or achieve the level surface needed to build a future
on The inherent absurdity of some of the comments being made
would be comical if it didnt involve an issue of national welfare. At his
press talk in Islamabad, Federal Law Minister Babar Awan has accused the
PML-N of failing to stick to that long-forgotten Charter of Democracy, the
terms of which have been ignored consistently by the PPP itself. As for the
10-point agenda of demands put forward by the PML-N Awan has blithely
declared that in politics no deadlines could be set and the PPP itself is not
inclined to do so. He does not explain why this line of thinking was not
clearly explained to the PML-N at the time that its 10-point list was accepted
by the PPP and a promise was made to implement it.
The lines have now been clearly etched out on the ground. The PMLN and the PPP are quite clearly at odds and this time round
reconciliation seems harder. The PML-N is demanding action against
Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza, for his harsh comments directed
against the party. There is as yet no sign that Mirza will be called to heel.
The PML-N has meanwhile said it will not work with the PML-Q, even as
charges of horse-trading so familiar in times of political conflict come in
from Awan. There are indications the 47-member PML-Q breakaway group
may become a key player in events as they continue to unfold.
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Next day, Raoof Hasan opined: the most worrisome factor is the
unbridgeable disconnect between the rulers and the ruled. While the
former are busy filling their personal coffers, life has become perpetual
torture for the latter, with no hope for redemption. With the prevailing levels
of frustration, the lack of delivery by the political leadership is being
increasingly attributed to the inability and inefficacy of the system as being
insufficiently and inadequately equipped to ameliorate the problems of the
impoverished.
We have drifted far into the deep sea with no boatman or beacon to
show us the way. The tide is rising menacingly. The currents are taking us
farther away from safety. The noise of the sea is deafening, but there is an
incomprehensible stillness inside. The danger of an all-consuming storm is
haunting, but the will and effort to escape it are missing. It is as if we are
caught in a vortex, having irretrievably resigned ourselves to the
eventualities of fate. This is in sharp contrast to the waves of change
sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa.
Happenings in Libya led Dr Muzaffar Iqbal to remember the founder
father of the party that is ruling Pakistan. On 25th February, he conveyed
without saying that man is known by the company he keeps. Bhutto, though
not as eccentric, yet certainly has been as self-centred as Gaddafi. Two
paragraphs from his column are reproduced.
Memories hit back: the day in the distant past when Lahore was filled
with a vibe never experienced before or since then. On that day, our own
socialist revolutionary, the late ZA Bhutto had brought the good old colonel
from Libya to the largest public place in Lahore the cricket stadium then
on the outskirts of the city which we all loved and which on that fatal day
was renamed as Gaddafi Stadium. The scene in Lahore on that day of 1972
was simply overwhelming. The whole city was adrift.
Yet, the man from Libya was used by ZA Bhutto as a pawn for his
own plans to recognize Bangladesh. The colonel must have sensed this as
their so-called brotherhood never really got off. Numerous great plans
announced during his visit all disappeared from the news and no one ever
spoke about the Peoples Publishing House, which was going to fill the world
with revolutionary literature; the joint fertilizer plants never got off ground
and several other ventures announced in the heat of a friendship just
dissolved in thin air. ZA Bhutto and Colonel Muammer al-Gaddafi were
both budding revolutionaries at the time and perhaps there was no room for

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two such revolutionaries on stage; hence they simply dissolved the drama
and left the audience hanging in suspense.
Next day, The News wrote: The PPP press conference after Mian
Nawaz Sharif announced the decision to part ways was, for the most part, a
fairly sedate affair. But there were hints of future fire-works. In typical
fashion, Law Minister Babar Awan, spoke of responding soon to Nawaz
Sharifs assertions on the failure to implement the 10-point agenda put
forward by his party. A more mature politician may have accepted there is
really very little to say; that promises were indeed broken and mistakes
made. The acrimony which came through from Mr Awan was unfortunate, if
not entirely unexpected. We must hope though that it will not lead to new
problems in the future for what is needed now, most of all, is a sense of
stability and a willingness to set affairs in the province running along a
smooth track.
On 28th February, S Iftikhar Murshed commented: It is futile to
expect the current political leadership, whether in government or in the
opposition, to salvage the situation, because they are the cause of the
problem. In his press conference Nawaz Sharif hinted at possible midterm
elections. This is not the answer, because elections, whenever they are held,
will only yield the same poisonous harvest of a corrupt leadership. There has
to be immediate and radical change because the continuation of the
economic meltdown and the political turmoil will be disastrous for the
country.
Some analysts have suggested that a possible way out is the
replacement of the federal and provincial governments by interim
dispensations of technocrats mandated to carry out reforms, through a
decision by the Supreme Court under the Roman law maxim of salus populi
lex or let the welfare of the people be the supreme law. They have no
hesitation in admitting that this was precisely the justification advanced by
the Dogar Supreme Court in validating Pervez Musharraf's proclamation of
emergency, which was described as an extra-constitutional step, rather than
an unconstitutional measure.
Chris Cork wrote: Our rulers can watch events elsewhere safe in the
knowledge that their positions are secure and most unlikely to be challenged.
And why might this be, Dear Reader? Because, we are united in our disunitedness. Because you would never see a group of Christians linking arms
around a group of praying Muslims to protect them as they did in Tahrir
Square in Cairo. Nor all march under a single flag. Nor tolerate nor even

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contemplate a move across political, cultural and ethnic boundaries in such

a way as to present a united front. Grumble and fulminate we may, but there
is no unifying issue beyond blasphemy that is going to coalesce the masses
and provide a real and credible challenge to the status quo. So no revolt here,
now or in the foreseeable future. Sorry to have disturbed you, you can go
back to sleep now.
Next day, The News commented: As if our justice system had not
suffered enough, it is now suffering from a dearth of judges. Over fifty
percent of the sanctioned strength of judges in five high courts across
the land are lying vacant. Consequently, a disproportionate workload falls
on the shoulders of those judges who are in post and the Judicial
Commission (JC) is facing very considerable difficulty in filling the
vacancies At least, in part, the problem stems from the unwillingness of
senior lawyers to be elevated to the judiciary, plus the very high standard set
by the JC in order that only the best are appointed. The JC itself is very
stretched as it is primarily engaged with reviewing the cases of additional
judges who have been working in the high courts, rather than making the
necessary new inductions.
Further hurdles in the way to having a fully staffed high court are
provided by the tussle between the JC and the parliamentary committee that
has oversight of it. The recommendations of the JC are not automatically
approved; and judicial appointments are as political as every other
appointment to a government position. Somewhere at the bottom of this
unhappy situation is the poor litigant, the men and women whose cases are
either before, or due to be before, the courts. Cases are deferred, sometimes
for months or years, and drag on interminably. It is a legal axiom that
justice delayed is justice denied and as the politicians play chess with the
appointment process, countless thousands of people are denied the justice
which is their right.
In another editorial, the newspaper added: The level of belligerence
in Punjab and the centre is growing. The Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz
Sharif, using a distinctly sharper tone than the one used by him before, has
accused President Zardari of deliberately curtailing the gas supply to
Punjab. The accusation is a serious one, given the degree of damage the gas
shortage faced by the province caused all winter. The problems with the gas
supply continue The prime minister has denied any mala fide and claimed
available gas was evenly distributed, but this, like much of what politicians
say, holds only limited credibility.

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The comments on the gas supply mark a hardening of lines. We can

expect more angry words in the future. The president, following a meeting
with key aides, has accused the PML-N of engaging in horse-trading and
corrupt politics. In a typically cryptic remark, he has accused our friend of
encouraging these practices. More drama over the coming weeks would not
be unexpected. Fortunately, the president has clarified there will be no
attempt to dislodge the Punjab government. This is a welcome assertion
but we still do not know what lies ahead or how things will pan out in the
province. The fact that the governor is a close crony of the president may
become very significant indeed. The role he is likely to play is still far from
certain though we must hope good sense prevails and there are no attempts
to disrupt the working of government.
Concrete issues that are being raised meanwhile need to be dealt
with. Gas supply is one of them. The matter has lingered on for months and,
despite several rounds of meetings, remains unresolved. The problem is
obviously an acute one for the Punjab government. It needs to be
addressed. We also need transparency in the matter and a willingness to lay
out all the cards on a common table. Punjab and the centre will need to
continue cooperation at some level; this, after all, is a requirement in the
running of any federation. The degree to which they succeed in doing so
over the coming weeks will determine a great deal about the levels of
maturity of the political leadership, particularly those in Islamabad who hold
most power in their hands. We must hope, for the sake of our fragile
democracy, that they will use it wisely.
Rahimullah Yusufzai commented: The next general election is two
years away but it seems the campaigning has already begun. Coalitions
are falling apart and alliances are being repaired or formed anew. Talk of
Changa Manga, one of the worlds largest man-made forests near Lahore
that became known for hosting and protecting lawmakers from being bribed
to switch sides, is once again on many lips as another round of horse-trading
is about to begin.
Though Changa Manga, the 12,000 acre irrigated forest planted in
1890 by the then British rulers of undivided India to provide wood fuel for
the railway steam engines, became notorious as part of the game being
played by Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to outwit each other, it wasnt
the only place for merry-making at the states expense at the time. There
was the good old Murree and also the heavenly Swat, the two popular hillstations offering pleasant weather and beautiful sights in the hot summer to

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the assembly members whose stock rose manifold in the 1990s as they were
offered anything and everything to defect.
Changa Manga was referred to as the stable for legislators siding
with Nawaz Sharif while Swat became the destination of choice for those in
the PPP camp led by Benazir Bhutto. It is sad that picnic spots and tourist
destinations became associated with the buying and selling of elected
representatives of the people. Those with the power and money used to
insist in the 1990s that there would be no horse-trading. Both sides did
exactly the opposite as they tried to buy the loyalties of vacillating
members of the assemblies.
This claim is again being made, but there arent many takers due to
the lack of credibility of the claimants Not surprisingly, the main political
forces in the arena are the same and, therefore, to expect a different or more
principled approach from them would be futile The principal players are still
the PPP and the PML-N, the former now led by President Asif Ali Zardari in
place of his slain wife Benazir Bhutto and the latter still by Nawaz Sharif.
Once again Punjab is the main battleground
Some of the minor players in the unfolding Changa Manga
politics are also familiar to the people of Pakistan. They include the ANP
and the MQM, the PML faction of Pir Pagara who refuses to call it a day
despite his old age and stale predictions, and one or two Baloch-centred
parties. The ANP in the 1990s was an ally of Nawaz Sharif and its
lawmakers were among those being feted and entertained in Changa Manga.
Now it is firmly in the PPP camp and is in the habit of showering more
praise on President Zardari than even his PPP loyalists. Such is the
unbreakable bond between the ANP and the PPP that the PML-N is not even
considering making an attempt to befriend Asfandyar Wali Khan and his
ANP lieutenants.
The MQM, forever in power for as long as one can remember and
adept at playing the role of both the government and the opposition, is also
an ally of the PPP. However, it would continue its somersaults, abandoning
the PPP at short notice and then agreeing to enter into a strategic alliance
with the same party. Principled politics are in short supply in present-day
Pakistan.
To complete the script of the changing political situation in the
country, there are also new kids on the block, or perhaps old ones in new
guises. Shah Mahmood Qureshi is one Surely, old leaders such as Mr
Zardari would have to be discarded if the country really needs the new,
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sincere and honest leadership that has become a trademark of Qureshis

speeches during his recent tour of his hometown Multan and then the towns
falling on the way to Garhi Khuda Bakhsh where he was planning to visit
the graves of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto.
So desperate are our people for a saviour that a single act of defiance
by the former foreign minister on the issue of US diplomat Raymond
Davis, the undercover CIA agent who murdered two young Pakistanis who
were following his suspicious movements in Lahore, has made Qureshi an
unlikely object of affection for many Pakistanis. Qureshi wont be able to
stay in the PPP and do the kind of politics he is now doing and before
long would be expelled or forced to quit.
Others eager to play a more meaningful role in the emerging political
scenario are mostly the leaders of parties that made a mistake by boycotting
the 2008 general election. They are desperate to join the political
mainstream and would be happy if the existing, crisis-prone powersharing set-up referred to as national reconciliation by President Zardari
was packed up and mid-term elections were held. Imran Khan appears to be
the most active of the lot, but the Jamaat-i-Islami leader Syed Munawar
Hasan and the PMAP head Mahmood Khan Achakzai and some of the
Baloch nationalist leaders would, no doubt, welcome mid-term polls. The
return of Changa Manga politics would certainly provide valid reason to
these parties to push for mid-term elections.
On 2nd March, The News commented on increase in petroleum
product prices. The increase will unleash inflation on a still larger scale and
even if people are able to burn stoves we wonder if they can afford to pay
for anything to cook on them. How long, we must ask, will it be before
motorcycles stop running and smaller cars pull-up by the roadsides? The
government should not forget that inflation and corruption amongst
other factors triggered the orgy of rage sweeping across the Arab
world. Can it be confident such rage will not erupt at home?
We have already seen the first evidence of fury as protesters in
Karachi vented their rage against petrol pump owners who closed down their
stations in anticipation of the price hike. Similar anger was visible at some
places in Lahore as petrol ran short in the City. There is a real possibility it
could expand. The patience of people has been running thin for some
time. Their desperation is fanned by relentless inflation which makes it
impossible to meet even the most basic needs such as that for food. And as

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transport prices rise, vegetables, pulses, rice and virtually every other item
will also inevitably grow more expensive.
It is no coincidence that the announcement from the government has
been made as a new round of talks with the IMF begins. The increase in PoL
prices is believed to be a means to lay the ground to seek additional favours
from the donor team. But this is of little consequence to the ordinary citizen.
The intricacies of the IMF deal are poorly understood. What people do know
is that they need to commute to reach places of work, they need to bring
food into homes, and they need to educate children. When even this essence
of existence is pulled away, it leaves them with fewer and fewer options. We
have seen hope fade before our eyes. Sadly, the government has failed to
do anything at all to dispel the darkness and this makes it an enemy in the
eyes of people who badly need its help and support.
Mosharraf Zaidi attributed bad governance paying of undue attention
to Davis. Do you want to know why no one is watching the system of
governance take shape; because everyone is busy watching the non-stop
Raymond Davis circus. This system is what is causing the problem of loadshedding, not solving it. It is what is causing the problem of inflation, not
solving it. It is what is causing the problem of absentee teachers, not solving
it. The economy is being strangulated by this system. This is not of the
people, by the people, or for the people. It is the opposite.
Tanvir Ahmad Khan observed: The present scenario is, admittedly,
not conducive to a quick liberating revolution; in fact, it portends something
worse: descent into anarchy, drift and inane violence spreading from mega
cities like Karachi to small towns and even rural areas. Revolutions can
have a creative dynamic; anarchy only breeds nihilism. Pakistan has not
reached the proverbial tipping point as yet. It needs to radically rethink
domestic and foreign policies and not retreat into facile optimism if it wants
to protect democracy.
Najam Sethi wrote: If a war with India is provoked or there is
conflict with the US, then all bets will be off. Elements of a failing state are
anarchy, civil strife, war, economic meltdown and secession. The only
realistic option is for our political leaders to keep religious passion out
of law and politics, anti-American outrage out of economic and foreign
policy, and unaccountable corruption and inefficiency out of government.
We must make democracy work so that Pakistan can survive and prosper as
a nation-state.

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Next day, The News commented: Once again, the government has
chosen to flout the rule of law and frustrate the administration and
dispensation of justice. Once again, it is the Federal Investigation Agency
(FIA) that has attracted the ire of the superior courts. And the courts are
losing patience. The matter under consideration is the Haj scam, a report on
which was to have been submitted to the Supreme Court by the FIA. A
report was submitted, but it proved to be to all intents and purposes
worthless, and the SC has required that the government remove the Director
General (DG) of the FIA on the grounds that he is impeding the enquiry and
that no impartial inquiry is possible as the court believes he is shielding key
witnesses or failing to adequately interrogate them. Further, the court took
notice of the failure of the State Bank of Pakistan to cooperate with the
inquiry in the matter of accounts held by one of the accused Hamid Saeed
Kazmi. Indeed, every government agency or entity appears to be in noncompliant mode with the apex court regarding the Haj scam, and there is
a distinct impression that if the government stonewalls long enough, the case
will fade into the background.
The SC has now given the government three days to replace the DG
FIA with somebody either more competent or less biased and preferably
both, but it remains to be seen whether compliance is on the agenda. Abdul
Hafeez Pirzada, the counsel for the Federation, told the court that the matter
of the FIA DG, a contract employee, would be determined within three days
but as the Federation was already in contempt by failing to comply with a
previous similar order there seems little prospect of them bending to the will
of the judiciary this time around. In simple terms, the government is
choosing to ignore the findings of the courts where those findings are at
variance with its own wishes or objectives. Government officers and
institutions are making a mockery of the entire justice system, and as Mr
Justice Khosar observed The court is being compelled to supervise the
investigation by its own. The acquisition of a judiciary that appears
reasonably honest has done little, seemingly, to spread the virus of honesty
and accountability to those who rule us.
On 5th March, Ameer Bhutto observed: With several Arab rulers
bearing the brunt of public wrath, a number of our parliamentarians have
recently appeared on television talk shows to pre-empt a similar fate by
mocking and condemning public political activism. They say that it has
become fashionable, since the success of the lawyers movement, to try to
settle all scores in the streets. They argue that there is no need for such
extreme measures in the presence of an elected parliament. Have they
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forgotten that they are sitting in parliament and enjoying the perks of power
only by virtue of the mandate issued to them by the public? Who are they to
preach complacent inaction to the people when they have failed to solve
their problems? The people are the political sovereign. They are the fount of
political legitimacy and authority. Their role in the democratic process does
not end at the polls, nor is their mandate a carte blanche for rulers to run
amok and unchecked for a whole term. It is constant and continuous
public scrutiny that keeps governments honest in western democracies.
Far from limiting the role of the public, there is an urgent need for
greater public awareness and involvement, because the ship of state is
floundering and needs to be rescued. We need a salvage operation which
only the people care about and are capable of carrying out. Some reject
this outright because their political survival depends on the status quo and
are busy making hay while the sun shines. Others are of the view that
Pakistan cannot be bracketed with the Middle Eastern countries because the
scenario here is different.
They argue that, unlike Middle Eastern states, we have
democracy. Do we? Where is it? Elections alone do not define democracy.
There was an elected parliament and president in Egypt. Should a
government of the people, for the people and by the people not be founded
on a genuine and palpable commitment to serve the people, particularly
those in desperate need, rather than feathering its own nest? Is duping the
people by begging for votes in the name of a slain leader and then letting her
killers walk scot-free after forming a government democracy? Is stabbing
political allies in the back democracy? Is sacrificing public and national
interests at the altar of expediency before foreign masters democracy? Is
record-breaking corruption and sleaze that has rubbed national pride and
honour in the mud all over the world democracy? Do democratic leaders
take off to visit chateaus in France or for a sojourn in the presidential suite at
the Churchill Hotel in London, while their country is drowning in the worst
flood in nearly a hundred years? Does democracy condone a daily budget of
2.5 million rupees for the presidential and prime ministerial palaces while,
even six months after the floods, the displaced refugees continue to die from
starvation and bitter cold in camps? How can anyone gloat about this
democracy that, far from empowering the people and serving their
interests, exacerbates and compounds their pain and misery? It is worse than
some of the Arab monarchies and dictatorships the people are striving to
overthrow.

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We have had six general elections since 1988. Has the lot of the
common man improved by even an iota since then? While those who
have wielded power in this period have prospered enormously, with some
who used to travel in buses and live in mud shacks having acquired fleets of
luxurious vehicles and palatial properties not just in Pakistan but all over the
world, the poor labourer and hari has been pushed into such desperation that
he must sell his children to make ends meet. It may seem politically correct
to extol the virtues of this lame democracy and peddle ridiculous and
meaningless cliches like the worse democracy is better than the best
dictatorship on talk shows and in plush drawing rooms, but go to the
villages and inner cities where people are losing daily battles for survival
and tell them that they are better off under this democracy and see what
they do.
It is said that unlike the troubled Arab states, important state
institutions in Pakistan are independent and can be instrumental in resolving
issue of public importance. If this is the case, then why are people out in the
streets, with dozens of protests and demonstrations taking place all over the
country every day? Yes, parliament is elected and empowered to provide
relief to the people, but their greatest achievement thus far has been the
sanctioning of construction of new residences for themselves at a cost of
three billion rupees, while people are committing suicides daily because of
hunger and poverty. In what way has parliament lessened the agony that
people endure every day? Yes, the judiciary is finally free and is in the
vanguard of the fight against this governments corruption and illegal
conduct, but the government has found an easy way around it by simply
ignoring its orders. If the courts push harder for the implementation of their
orders, they are accused of judicial activism. Yes, the media is independent,
but all they can do is report realities. They cannot remedy the problems. All
important state agencies and institutions have been put under the control of
government thugs to facilitate loot and plunder. NAB, under its new
chairman, has reportedly withdrawn cases in which over 61 billion rupees
were allegedly embezzled. How does this help the cause of the people or the
country?
It is argued that the current dispensation in Pakistan is not despotic,
in the sense that Qaddafis is in Libya. But there are other ways to inflict
pain and suffering on a nation. Record-breaking corruption that leeches the
life blood out of the state, horrifying incompetence, ignorance and malicious
intent that have ground all public institutions to a halt and gross negligence
that is eroding the edifice of state all combine to have the same excruciating
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effect as despotism; the people are denied resources that should be

earmarked for their uplift, they have no security of life, property and dignity
and continue to be squeezed by the claws of poverty and lack of opportunity,
education, health services, electricity and clean water with no relief in sight.
If a chasm so wide opens up between the people and the government,
if a government strays so far from its mandate and obligations, does it not
become the moral duty of the people to step forward and correct the anomaly
when the system clearly cannot? In Pakistan, we need to go beyond targeting
just one leader, one party or a failed, useless, indeed harmful, government.
The whole system has collapsed because it has been made hollow by
repeated perversions. It needs not just a jolt, but reconstruction.
However, there are no portents of the needed public uprising on the
horizon. That does not mean that it is not needed or that it should not or
cannot happen. It is undeniably desperately needed and will happen. But its
beginnings are not visible at the moment. This is so because despite
continuous intolerable pain and humiliation, people habitually sell out too
cheaply, for a watan card or a thousand rupees handout from the Benazir
Income Support Scheme. The authorities in Egypt tried to buy people off by
announcing similar handouts, but it did not work. We should learn a lesson
from them. But the beautiful thing about revolutions is that they happen
when least expected. Nobody could have predicted the uprising in Tunisia
even weeks before it happened. Why should it be considered impossibility
here where it is needed more urgently?
Next day, Adnan Adil commented: In all probability, if the PPP does
not destabilize the PML-N government in Punjab, the PML-N would
not make any move against the PPP in Islamabad. The threat to the
present assemblies does not emanate from the PPP and the PML-N, contrary
to the practice of the 1990s when they had destabilized each others
governments with the help of the military establishment. A major challenge
for the PPP government is due in coming June at the time of federal budgets
presentation. Without the 25 MQM votes in the lower house, it would be
hard for the government to get the budget passed and under the law its
rejection would imply a no-trust vote against the PM. The only possible way
out for the PPP is to get support from the MQM and the JUI-F (a total of 13
members).
There would be some alternative scenarios. Some crucial cases of
corruption and implementation of judicial orders in the NRO cases and
removal of the contract officers from the senior government positions are

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part of the political problem. The NRO implementation involves none other
than President Zardari and the issue of retired civil servants working on
contract at high official positions is also touchy for the president who is
practically working as the countrys chief executive. Most of these men are
considered confidantes of President Zardari, including Salman Farooqi, a
retired senior police officer Asif Hayat, and DG FIA Waseem Ahmed.
In case the court decides to put its foot down and invoke the
power of contempt of courts jurisdiction over non-implementation of its
orders, mighty heads would roll in Islamabad after which no party seems to
be in a position to win a majority vote in the lower house. This would leave
no other option but to hold early general elections, if the constitution is
strictly followed.
Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N parliamentary chief Chaudhry Nisar
Ali Khan have already hinted at the possibility of mid-term elections. In
October 2010, Nisar Ali Khan had said that the mid-term polls could not be
ruled out. While presenting his 10-point agenda, Sharif had also talked
about the option of early elections in case the PPP did not agree to his list
of the demands.
If Nawaz Sharif persists with his estrangement with the PPP, the
emerging scenario is dependent upon two main factors: (a) the MQMs
decision to sit on the treasury benches or part ways with the PPP till the time
of Budget 2011 and (b) the verdicts of the apex court in some major cases.
One only hopes the conspiracy theories about any unconstitutional
intervention are just rumours.
Aijaz Zaka Syed wrote: Karunanidhi, the permanently wheelchairbound Tamil Nadu CM, cannot move an inch without the help of his family
and aides but cling on he must to his chair. Surely, a nation of billion plus
people deserves better. So does Pakistan and so do other nations in the
region. This is why, given the bankruptcy of politics in the region, dont be
surprised if we see an Arab spring in South Asia soon. Possibilities for a
brave new world are endless.
Dr Farrukh Saleem observed: the revolutionary bug has so far spread
over seven million square km with 200 million affectees. Will the
eastwardly driven revolutionary pollination pollinate unemployed
Pakistani youth? Well, that depends on the flower, the vector and the speed
of the wind. Will it be a breeze, a gale, a storm, tornado or a hurricane? Or,
would the revolutionary flotilla bypass Pakistan altogether?

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REVIEW
As said in the opening lines, it was time for enacting dramas.
Politicians worked overtime during the period to prove their mettle, which
they did but failed to earn any applause from those whom they wanted to
impress. Nevertheless, their efforts induced performance from other
quarters.
One of the performances came from Adiala Jail where an AntiTerrorist Court was hearing murder case of Benazir Bhutto. There the
regimes game-plan started unfolding when two senior police officers
became approvers. Soon after that the court issued arrest warrants of
Musharraf, the man who was allowed to slip away from the country by
Zardari.
Blackberry mobile telephone sets used by Benazir on the day of her
murder were found by the investigators. Benazir had allegedly received a
telephone call on one of these sets from Dubai urging her to come out of her
vehicle to acknowledge cheering of the crowd.
The recovered sets had been tampered with because these showed
that she had received no call from anybody during thirty minutes prior to her
killing. This game-plan has ensured no punishment of two police officers.
And, Musharrafs conviction remains doubtful, but Zardari and his
accomplices would certainly be saved.
In the ongoing drama competition Zardari accused Nawaz League of
promoting politics of Changa Manga. He was referring to what had
happened in plantation near Pattoki during last decade of last century of last
millennium.
This plantation was named Changa Manga because of a small town
located in the vicinity by the same name. History tells us that Changa and
Manga were two brothers, who earned their repute for looting and defying
law of the land. In that context Zardari spoke half truth as he could not keep
himself away from not indulging in this kind of occupation.
The naming of the town after them spoke that the masses in this part
of the world honour even those sons of the soil which excel in criminal
adventures. Zardari and Nawaz should know it better than anyone else. They
only have to mutually decide who is big brother; who is Changa and who is
Manga.
6th March 2010

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THEATRE OR CIRCUS
In the last article Pakistan was equated with a big stage where dramas
are enacted round the clock. Tragedy and comedy shows are going on side
by side. The list of tragedy dramas is fairly long, some of which drew
attention during the period need to be mentioned in the preamble.
Row between Judiciary and the Executive in the wake of 18 th and 19th
Constitutional amendments ended, at least temporarily, when the Supreme
Court placed its foot, though Asma Jahangir termed the ruling illegal. On
the issue of DG FIA stubbornness of Zardari and Gilani kept testing patience
of the apex court.
The Supreme Court verdict on appointment of Chairman NAB was
the most tragic for the Zardari regime. PPP protested and the Scoundrel
showed arrogance by insisting on reappointment of Deedar Shah. His
premature reaction was not only knocked down by the Leader of Opposition
and by the court in its detailed judgment, but it also earned contempt notices
for PPPs Sharjeel Memon and Taj Haider.
MQM-PPP political marriage of convenience kept causing
inconvenience. MQM has been behaving like under aged girl married with
middle aged man like Mirza Zulfikar. The people of Karachi suffered the
most when tension mounted between in-laws and out-laws of MQM and
Mirza.
Other serials that went on and are worth mention included: strike
against sales tax on textile products; move against loan gobblers; Chief
Justice urging stricter laws to block illegal write-offs and arrests of Moonis
Elahi and Hamid Saeed. Of course, the comedy show of arrest warrants for
Musharraf could not be ignored.

NEWS
On 6th March, Asma Jahangir met Gilani and after the meeting she
said decisions of Parliamentary Committee cannot be brought before the
court. As head of the Bar she showed solidarity with the Executive instead of
Bench. Gilani said institutions bound to work within their ambit and only
Parliament can amend the Constitution.
FIA sent arrest warrants for Musharraf to London. Presidency
condemned indictment of Babar Awan in a 12-year old case. Writing about
Governments defiance of court orders regarding removal of DG FIA Ansar

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Abbasi observed Supreme Court showing remarkable patience over

persistent stubbornness of Zardari-Gilani duo.
Zulfikar Mirza adopted Aman Committee as baby of the PPP. MQM
leaders reacted by saying that PPPs backing of targeted killings in Karachi
has been confirmed. They talked of quitting coalition government of Sindh.
As usual Mirza said his statement has been misunderstood. Meanwhile, three
more people were killed in Karachi.
Next day, MQM decided to sit on opposition benches in Sindh
Assembly in protest against Zulfikar Mirzas statement about Lyari-based
Peoples Aman Committee. Formal announcement is likely to be made after
meeting with Zardari on 8th March. MQM boycotted Sindh Assembly
session and Mirza received standing ovation from PPP parliamentarians.
Zardari and Gilani discussed this latest development. Meanwhile, seven
people were killed in Karachi.
Chief Justice took note of the statement of DG FIA in which he had
charged that the owners of the Khanani and Kalia had used heavy amounts
of money for their release, despite the fact that enough evidence was
presented against them. Chief justice asked SHC to appoint a senior judge to
ascertain the veracity of the allegation.
The Supreme Court sought details of contract appointments. Chief
Justice formed larger bench to hear contract appointments case and
summoned AG and Establishment Division secretary for 11th March.
Shahbaz proposed to Gilani to hold all parties conference, including nonpolitical stake-holders like army, judiciary and media, to find way out of the
crisis faced today.
On 8th March, MQM team led by Farooq Sattar held a lengthy meeting
with Zardari over the issue of Mirzas statement. The resident of Presidency
following the lamkao policy of Ranjit Singh bought one week to resolve
MQMs grievances. Fazlur Rehman rejected Shahbazs proposal of stakeholders conference to solve national crisis. FIA assured SHC about probe
into treason charges against Musharraf. Justice Sajjad was appointed by
SHC to probe into Khanai and Kalia scam.
Next day, lawyers observed Black Day over Musharrafs act of 2007.
Asma Jahangir ruled that the verdict of the apex court on extension of judges
was illegal. Her statement invited remarks for and against. Mansehra Bar
banned her entry to its premises. Parliamentary committee asked
government to file review plea in the Supreme Court.

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Rehman Malik on arrival in London refused to say anything about

Musharraf as the case was sub judice. He called Altaf his brother with
whom he would try and settle issues related to political mafias of PPP and
MQM operating in Karachi.
The Supreme Court was informed that notices were issued to one
thousand dealers for recovery and 17,000 employees were working against
less than 6,000 posts; the Chief Justice observed that losses in Pakistan Steel
Mills were controlled to some extent. The Supreme Court directed flood
body to complete probe into breaching of embankments in six weeks. DG
FIA Waseem Ahmad submitted resignation. Arrest warrants of Musharraf
were handed over to UK authorities.
On 10th March, the Supreme Court ruled the appointment of Chairman
NAB void ab initio. The short order also clipped the wings of Deputy
Chairman thereby foiling the regimes clever move in which Deedar Shah
had delegated powers to his deputy soon after he had assumed the charge.
Zardari had arranged this through Babar Awan so that NAB could function
according to their desires even if Deedar Shahs appointment was declared
illegal.
The regime once again decided to play the Sindh Card and PPP there
decided to observe Black Day on 11th March, but gunmen in Karachi took to
the streets at night torching eight vehicles and killing five people in Karachi.
Meanwhile, Zardari decided to reappoint Deedar Shah. Law experts termed
government protest against Supreme Court as immoral.
MQM boycotted Sindh Assembly session and Mirza received heros
welcome when he entered the house. After the session Mirza said he would
not apologize to anyone as he had said nothing wrong. Pir Mazahrul Haq
telephoned Governor Ishrat and asked MQM to join proceedings of the
Assembly. Gilani advised Zardari for regularization of 74 officers employed
on contract.
The Supreme Court told Governor SBP to move against loan gobblers
and Chief Justice wanted stricter laws to block illegal write-offs; case
hearing was adjourned until March 14. LHC reserved judgment on
presidents dual-office case. A judge of LHC granted bail to Moonis Elahi
but restrained him from giving any statement.
Next day, during hearing of the case of Haj scam the court enquired as
to how Rao Shakeel and Faiz were appointed. When the counsel for the
federation presented secret summary about why DG FIA could not be
removed as his retention was important for security reasons a judge termed it
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as the biggest joke of the year and other said it must be treated as classified
joke. The counsel requested more time and the proceedings were adjourned
until March 16. In Karachi, DG FIA appeared before SHC in Khanani and
Kalia case.
Strike was held in Sindh on PPPs call to protest against Supreme
Court judgment on NAB chairman; at places jiyalas forced the shopkeepers
to bring shutters down. PPP MPAs marched from Assembly to SHC.
Speakers spitted fire against Punjab and lead of Opposition. Death toll in
Karachi reached eight and several vehicles were burnt. Asma Jahangir
disapproved strike and violence over SC verdict.
Zardari wrote letter to Leader of the House and Leader of Opposition
and asked their views on re-appointment of Deedar Shah as Chairman NAB.
Zardari is also bound to consult the Chief Justice for this appointment but
spokesman of Presidency said nothing about the letter to Chief Justice.
PPP and PML-Q disrupted the proceedings of Punjab Assembly for
more than two hours and kept shouting slogans condemning lotacracy. The
Supreme Court categorically rejected the assertions of PPP and PML-Q
leaders that Punjab government was surviving on a stay order; no case was
pending before the court.
Chaudhry Shujaat along with his mouthpiece Mushahid Hussain met
Zardari and assured him that his party wont destabilize PPP government.
PML-Q filed reference against nine members of U-Block in Election
Commission. Sheikh Rashid addressed a public rally in Rawalpindi and said
fresh polls were essential to save democracy.
On 12th March, Zardari met PPPs parliamentarians from Sindh and
told them that if he could forgive Nawaz Sharif then PML-Q could also be
forgiven. Zardari telephoned Mushahid Hussain. Karachi kept bleeding in
the presence of Zardari and Gilani; the death toll reached 12. The Chief
Justice took suo motto notice of Deedar strike and violence and sought
report from Sindh.
Mobashir Luqman filed a petition in the Supreme Court begging for
cancellation of voter list which include 36 million bogus votes. He
nominated the Election Commission and Nadra as respondents. UK
government refused to accept application for arrest and handing over of
Musharraf. Rehman Malik in London said, we know where BB murder plot
was hatched. Moonis appeared before FIA probe team.

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Next day, Leader of the Opposition held a press conference and

accused Zardari of fanning provincial prejudices and hatred over a court
verdict; yet when Saleh Zaafir asked him whether or not he considered
Zardari a threat to the solidarity of Pakistan Nisar refrained from saying the
truth and termed Zardari a threat to democracy.
Nisar said he has received no letter from President regarding reappointment of Deedar Shah. He ruled out any consultation on the issue
before the detailed judgment of the apex court. He advised Zardari to mend
his undemocratic ways and render public apology for blaming PML-Q for
murder of Benazir.
Fazlur Rehman said the game for government was almost over, unless
an immediate political injection from MQM. Malik met Altaf Hussain and
assured him of meeting genuine demands of MQM. Shujaat said his
meeting with Zardari was held in national interest.
Zardari postponed meeting with MQM team because of his busy
schedule. Zardari telephoned Nawaz and enquired about the health of his
wife and Zawaz thanked Zardari for arranging protocol at London Airport.
Nine more people were killed in Karachi; Mirza blamed non-political
elements for the killings.
On 14th March, the Supreme Court issued interim order in loan writeoffs case; asked SBP to publish suggestions for formation of three-member
commission a judge and two experts to review all the cases and make
recommendations for recovery.
Leader of Opposition received the letter of Zardari proposing reappointment of Deedar Shah. Nisar in his interview to Hamid Mir said
PML-N would welcome MQM on opposition benches. Late at night the
government claimed end of row with MQM. Earlier, Shujaat had telephoned
Altaf. Cameraman of a TV channel was hit by a bullet in the premises of
Punjab assembly. The death toll in Karachi violence in the wake of Deedar
Shahs removal by the apex court reached 46. ANP activist was among five
people killed in Karachi.
Next day, the government imposed mini budget through presidential
ordinance to generate Rs50 billion additional resources; 15 per cent
surcharge was imposed on income tax; excise duty was raised from 1 to 2.5
per cent; sugar price to increase Rs7 to 8 per kg; 17 per cent GST exemption
on fertilizer, pesticide, seeds and agriculture machinery and surgical
instruments was withdrawn. Two per cent surcharge on every unit of
electricity was levied and four per cent more by June. Having done that the
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government promised austerity. PML-N rejected the taxation through

ordinance.
Zardari banned Peoples Aman Committee and MQM landed back
into his reconciliatory embrace. But this embrace cost more than fifty lives
in Karachi. PML-N filed a privilege motion in NA Secretariat against Sindh
Assembly for indulging in unconstitutional act of passing a resolution
against the Supreme Court. PPP and PML-Q MPAs again disrupted
proceedings of Punjab Assembly and vowed not to allow the assembly
function.
Chief Justice was surprised to learn that Mr Ishaq Khaqwani, one of
the main petitioners in the much publicized Royal Palm Golf Club Railway
lease case, had himself paid merely Rs12 per year to the Pakistan Railways
for the same golf club and now wanted the new lease canceled in the larger
fiscal interest of the country.
Former minister Hamid Saeed was arrested from court room after
rejection of bail and was sent to jail. FIA rejected tax returns submitted by
Moonis Elahi and he was told to appear before the probe team again on 16 th
March. The Supreme Court sought comments from ECP and Nadra on
petition about bogus votes.
On 16th March, Chief Justice remarked that the government should not
push the courts to wall. We are not against anyone, but it is shameful that
Hajis were suffering without any help. We know that the FIA is facing a lot
of pressure, but it is the duty of every Pakistani to show zero tolerance to
corruption.
Earlier, DG Haj, Rao Shakeel appeared in person and a statement of
Pakistani ambassador to Saudi Arabia was submitted before the court.
Justice Javed Iqbal observed that all those who performed Haj at government
expenses must be given notices and be asked to return the expenditure or
face legal proceedings.
The probe had also revealed that Shagufta Jamani, minister of state,
was also involved in the scam and had visited Saudi Arabia where she had
two front men. She was promised to get SR25 for each Haji. Meanwhile,
Kazmi was handed over to FIA on five-day remand.
In a case pertaining to contract hiring, the court urged that the
government should itself take a decision in removing such employees
instead of forcing the court to issue order. Court remarked that these officials
were holding these posts in violation of Article 9 of the Constitution.

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SCBA in its meeting chaired by Asma Jahangir expressed concern

over non-implementation of orders of apex court. Later she left for India
along with 138 lawyers to celebrate Holi. Meanwhile, six more people were
killed in Karachi. No fuel, no trains from Quetta.
Next day, two policemen were among eleven people were killed in
Karachi; 13 people were also wounded. Moonis Elahi was arrested from
LHC after cancellation of his bail. On 18 th March, Moonis and Rao Shakeel
were sent on three and 14 day remand respectively.
On 19th March, the Jang Group wailed and begged the Supreme Court
by publishing front page blocked-headline in The News. It cried that Pemra,
PTV, and cable operators had colluded to punish us for speaking the truth.
It was with reference to Supreme Courts decision in favour of Geo Super
TV channel giving right to show the Cricket World Cup matches live.
In a clever move Pemra pretending to be acting for implementation of
enforcing the court verdict conducted raids and seized equipment of 78
networks for defying court orders. The body of cable operators resented the
raid and announced 24-hour strike starting mid-day 19th March and
intriguingly PTV channels were to remain available on cable. Meanwhile,
MQM activist was among eight people killed in Karachi and drama of
Benazirs murder trial continued in Adiala Jail; the judge ordered production
of Musharraf on March 26.
Next day, Amir Zia reported that banning of controversial Amn
Committees in Karachi saved alliance, but not the lives of people. Sixteen
more people, including three activists of MQM, were killed in the city and
several vehicles were burnt. Farooq Sattar said Mirza was involved in
kidnapping for ransom; PPP MPAs said people of Sindh were proud of
Mirza. ANP asked MQM to back its call for military action in the city.
PML-Q vowed to boycott join session called for Presidential annual
address. Shujaat contacted JUI-F and MQM for evolving joint strategy.
Shujaat contacted Nawaz and enquired about his health. Punjab government
promised raise in salary of doctors from July 1.
On 21st March, the Supreme Court issued detailed judgment in judges
appointment (extension) case. It ruled that Parliamentary Committee cannot
be given veto power as such power in appoint of judges would be against the
independence of Judiciary. Its decision will be subject judicial review.
A seven-member bench of the apex court heard the intra-court appeals
filed by PCO judges against the courts verdict. The court sought a written

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statement from the government on the issue of judges who took oath under
the PCO promulgated by Musharraf.
Counsel of Moonis Elahi prayed to the Supreme Court for change of
investigation officer, Zafar Qureshi, because of his political leanings; the
court sought views of Zafar on next hearing. Moonis and Hamid Saeed were
sent on 3 and 5 days remand respectively.
Leader of the Opposition in his reply to Presidents letter for
reappointment of Deedar Shah as Chairman NAB rejected the proposed
name. Nisar was astonished over presidents proposal before the issue of
detailed judgment. He opined that Deedar has been made controversial by
PPPs call for strike in Sindh even if he wasnt to start with.
Gilani spent a busy day to make Zardaris address to joint session of
the Parliament a success. The opposition parties delayed the decision until
tomorrow about the line of action to be taken. Meanwhile, it was reported
that Leader of Opposition declined to accept Nishan-e-Imtiaz Award. ANP
leader was among three killed in Karachi.
Next day, the Supreme Court issued detailed judgment in the case of
Chairman NAB and disqualified him for reappointment with the remarks
that Ministry of Law does not understand the law and Constitution. The
verdict also made Chief Justice party to consultative process for appointment
of Chairman NAB.
Zardari made a record by addressing joint session of the Parliament
for the fourth time in which he rattled out a well-rehearsed speech like an
actor tutored by director staging a Shakespearian drama. PML-N, PML-Q,
JUI-F, JI and PPP-S staged walkout to record their protest.
He repeated his favourite lines on democracy, democratic revenge,
reconciliation, war on terror, BISP, pay increase and so on. He made it
convenient to ignore mention of taxation through ordnances, Raymond
Davis, drone attacks in tribal areas, implementation or resolutions passed by
Parliament and Pakistan Day that fell next day. Advised political parties to
refrain from point-scoring; invited them to dialogue; desired consensus to
solve electricity and gas load shedding; asked judiciary to remain within its
limits and promised to end targeted killings.
Leader of Opposition held a press conference after Zardaris speech
and termed it speech of a political leader and not of head of the state.
Cameron Munter was all praise for Zardari for his address to the Parliament,
especially his pledges on war on terror.

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Altaf addressed public gathering via satellite in Lahore and termed

ruling mafia agents of foreign powers. He called his party soldiers to come
to nations rescue. He warned plunderers of peoples rule and advised them
to bring back looted wealth or quit country (and join him in London).
Meanwhile, fifteen people were killed in Karachi.
On 23rd March, Umar Cheema reported that the regime has planned to
blackmail Zafar Qureshi, the officer investigating NICL case; Registration of
FIR against former secretary establishment is part of the plan in which
brother of Zafar would be entangled. The auditors informed the apex court
that Niazi and company ate up Rs12 billion in NICL scam.
Three leaders of PML-N declined to accept civil awards from Zardari.
Latif Khosa said he has read Supreme Court judgment and Zardari could still
appoint Deedar Shah as Chairman NAB. World Bank held back Rs73
billions. UN said Pakistan government has pushed food prices too high;
doubled in three years. Seven people were killed in Karachi.
Next day, the Supreme Court took notice of the FIR against Ismail
Qureshi to pressurize Zafar Qureshi and ordered not to arrest him without
clearance from the court. The order came when FIA probe was ordered
against Ismail. The Chief Justice remarked that criminals flee abroad crying
victimization. The court ordered bringing back drag race organizer, Atif
Sheikh of Bahria Town, from Dubai.
The strike against sales tax on textile products continued on fifth day
in Faisalabad. Lady health visitors of Sindh and Punjab staged sit-in on
National Highway near Ghotki to push their long-standing demand of
regularizing their temporary employment. Sixty protesters along with Marvi
Memon were arrested. Senate Committee urged the government not to reemploy the retired officers. Eleven more killed in Karachi.
On 25th March, rallies were held in Faisalabad and Multan by workers
and businessmen linked to power-looms to protest over imposition of sales
tax. After the rally they decided to shut the looms for indefinite period.
Rehman Malik claimed all the killers of Benazir have been traced out and
they would be exposed soon; but the trial of killers has already commenced.
In London, the Home Department approached the court for implementation
of arrest warrants of Musharraf sent by Pakistani court. Mirza ordered
release of lady health visitors while 13 more people were killed in Karachi.
Next day, Chief Justice said provision of justice is the responsibility of
the State. Supreme Court served the notices to PPPs Sharjeel Memon and

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Taj Haider for contempt of court while uttering derogatory remarks to

ridicule and disrepute the court after disqualification of Deedar Shah.
The ATC was informed that Interpol was being contacted to arrest
Musharraf. The court adjourned until April 2 while directing to produce
Musharraf on next hearing. Hamid Kazmis remand was extended for four
days. Three people were killed in Karachi. On 27 th March, Chief Justice
formed body to curb corruption in courts. Moonis Elahi and Saad Rafiq
received kidnapping for ransom threats from a militant group. Gas supply to
textile industry was further reduced.

VIEWS
On 8th March, The News commented on yet another episode of drama
serial enacted by PPP and MQM. As in the past, the fracas arises from
comments made by the Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza, stating that
the Lyari-based Peoples Aman Committee was affiliated with the PPP and
its members were children of the party. The PPP has in the past, repeatedly
denied any link with the group accused by the MQM of being involved in
Lyaris gang wars and the murder of its activists. The MQM, in turn, also
stands accused by this group and some others. It is hard to say what
prompted the home minister to make comments that were bound to rile the
MQM. He is either especially prone to blunder or engaged in some
power game of his own. Despite attempts by the interior minister and other
PPP leaders to defuse the situation; the MQM has accused Dr Mirza of
patronizing criminals while announcing its decision to quit the coalition.
The PPP stands on a very sticky wicket, with seemingly few expert
players in its line up to tackle the situation. It faces an onslaught on other
fronts too. Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif has reiterated a
suggestion that major parties in the country sit together, alongside the
military leadership and the judiciary, to work out a plan to prevent further
deterioration in the countrys situation. He has also said the prime minister
had been contacted in this regard. The PML-N is clearly displeased at the
absence of a prompt response to its magnanimous suggestion and the
apparent failure to even realize just how grave matters are. The law and
order situation worsens by the day, and it seems obvious the government is
clueless about what to do. The latest twist in affairs in Sindh will
obviously not help matters. We wonder how long they can continue on
this strained note, with the clouds growing darker across the skies and
threatening to bring an especially angry storm crashing down upon us.
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Next day, Tanvir Ahmad Khan cribbed about misuse of word

reconciliation by the Zardari regime. Words often have an interesting
history of their own; they mean different generations and get upgraded or
downgraded over the years. The most obvious word on a downward spiral in
Pakistan today is reconciliation which only three years ago meant survival,
hope and eventual glory.
Tanvir mentioned the use of this word in different spheres of life and
by Benazir and her husband in Pakistani politics. He then added: Not
surprisingly, the result is not reconciliation but a return to the kind of politics
that demolished elected governments in the 1990s. For the broad masses, the
word reconciliation has come to mean fresh bargaining for partisan profit
every few months.
Zafar Hilaly saw over-centralization as the problem. Not all of Mr
Zardaris woes are self-created. In Pakistan we either elect dictators or
are saddled with military dictators. That fact that we can frequently
replace the elected dictators every so often is not the point. Handing over a
country for five years to any one person except Aristotle is foolish.
Power in Pakistan is far too centralized. There are simply too
many decisions that only the prime minister or president can legally take. To
make matters worse, incumbents develop a fetish for power. The act like
control freaks. They want to have the final say on just about everything even
on matters about which they are perforce ignorant like, say, which variety of
wheat seeds would best germinate in the dust bowls of Balochistan. If they
ever delegate authority, it is only to recall it when it suits their fancy. In
short, they act like know alls, a trait, which Mr Zardari reportedly
possesses in abundance.
The chief ministers too regard themselves as the fount of all wisdom
in the provinces. They hog the ministries for themselves; treat the minister
entrusted with the portfolio as a factotum and hire and fire civil servants at
whim. Shahbaz Sharif is the epitome of this particular failing Why we
should persevere with the current dysfunctional system that produces
over-centralization and makes for bad decision making. The trouble is that
if Mr Zardari were to blame the system for his lack of success, no one would
believe him and there would be an outcry of a poor workman blaming his
tools but for once he would be right.
Raoof Hasan also talked of undemocratic mindset. Interior Minister
Rehman Maliks refusal to resign after the latest instance of a serious breach
of security in the federal capital on the basis that nobody resigned when Lal
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Masjid operation was launched casts a long shadow on the democratic

credentials of the incumbent government. Has he forgotten that the Lal
Masjid operation was launched during the tenure of a dictator, or is it that he
believes that this government is only a continuation of the policies and
practices of the former despot? At the very least, it establishes that the
governing mindset is moulded in the traditions of dictatorship.
The statement is also a testament to a palpable lack of morality
that has been the hallmark of the incumbent administration. More than
anything else, this has been aptly reflected in the governments persistent
endeavours to confront the apex judiciary. Capping a spate of instances of its
intransigence in the face of the Supreme Courts directives is its recent
refusal to remove the Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency
(FIA). This came immediately after the Parliamentary Committee,
dominated by members of the PPP, refused to approve the Judicial
Commissions recommendations with regard to the extension in the services
of six additional judges of the Lahore and Sindh High Courts.
After quoting more instances like this Raoof concluded: Confronted
with serious existential challenges, national survival can only be ensured
through voluntary subservience to the rule of law. That has not been the
case so far which has damaged the countrys prestige and sovereignty. It is
ironic, though, that the subjudice syndrome is exploited in cases where it
benefits the government to hide its real intentions, for example, the
Raymond Davis episode. But, the same is construed as an attack on
legislative authority when it concerns critical issues that may adversely
impact the governments position. This duplicity should be addressed
urgently as its continuation and consolidation could further bedevil national
ability to successfully confront the existing challenges as well as Pakistans
position in the international comity.
The old man Roedad Khan kept singing the Revolution Raga.
Pakistan shares many of the conditions that triggered the revolutions in
Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. The Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions have
shown how people can bring down corrupt rulers without firing a shot. It
was a sea of peaceful humanity that washed away Hosni Mubarak and Zein
ul Abedin of Tunisia and is threatening to topple Gaddafi.
Every once in a while I feel despair over the plight of the country but
nobody wants to hear about it or do anything to avert it. We stand on a
volcano. We feel it tremble, we hear it roar, how and when and where it will

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burst, and who will be destroyed by its eruption, it is beyond the ken of
mortals to discern.
On 10th March, The News wrote: The question is how long this farce
can continue. The PPP is aware of the consequences of losing MQM support
and the jeopardy this would place its government under. But the kind of
instability we see is not doing anyone any good and is only adding to
economic and political turmoil in the country. Successful coalition
governments run on trust. It is clear in the present case that this has all but
vanished between the MQM and the PPP. The growing legacy of bad blood
makes it hard for them to work together, and even now we do not know what
the final outcome of the current dispute will be. There is a real need to sort
out matters on a more permanent basis. The sudden threats that we see and
the feuds that break out are damaging to the system. They detract from the
good governance we need and spoil the sense of harmony that is vital to the
functioning of any country.
Next day, Usman Manzoor recounted the tale of condoning
corruption and catching small thieves during short illegal tenure of Deedar
Shah as Chairman NAB. He wrote NAB pushed various high profile case
under the rug, turned a blind eye towards mega corruption cases of the
present regime and the bureaus prosecution machinery turned itself off,
benefiting influential NRO beneficiaries.
Some of the instances he mentioned were closing of inquiry against
Defence Minister; no prosecutor general was appointed which halted the
progress of prosecution; cases being heard by SC were not taken up; all the
high profile cases were dealt by Deedar and his deputy Javed Zia Qazi, who
had withdrawn ARY Gold, polo ground and cotecna references; initiated
inquiry against JUI-F minister after JUI left the coalition government;
important inquiries were closed and so on.
He concluded: No high profile case was initiated during the ousted
chairmans tenure and the cases which were initiated did not exceed Rs200
million. A few of them include: Re-inquiring a very important case of
Khurram Javed and Muhammad Younis Marwat, an employee of NBP,
references against Noor Jamal of Pak PWD, Gulraiz Ahmed Raza and others
of FBR for the bogus sales tax refunds amounting to Rs30 million, Munishi
Sheruddin and few others.
Ansar Abbasi observed that declaration of Deedars appointment as
illegal also clipped the wings of his deputy which has hurt the regime
that thought that Deedars exit wont affect its plans. Deedar has delegated
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most of its powers to Javaid Zia Qazi as part of the scheme that he would
continue delivering in case his boss was told to go. Abbasi wrote: Sources
in NAB said that following the said internal order (related to delegation of
powers), Deedar had become redundant as Javaid Zia Qazi used to chair all
important meetings and decide crucial matters whether administrative or
legal.
To Qazis bad luck, this would be for the second time that all his
actions that he has been taking on behalf of the chairman would stand
void. Earlier, the Supreme Court had declared Qazis appointment as acting
chairman as illegal and as a consequence all his decisions and actions taken
as acting chairman stood invalid. Now he has again met the same
embarrassing situation as the apex court has now declared the appointment
of Deedar as void ab initio which means the retired justice was never
appointed as NAB chairman and thus passed no orders as such.
Deputy Chairman, Javaid Qazi is a controversial officer, who
according to media reports was not promoted and was superseded for
doubtful integrity in the previous government He belongs to interior
Sindh (Shikarpur) and was serving member Custom Tribunal in Karachi
before assuming office in NAB.
Shaheen Sehbai commented: The gloves are off on all sides. After
the SC verdicts on FIA and NAB chiefs and the reserved judgment in
presidents dual office case, President Zardari has decided to go after the
courts, not to tolerate anymore interference and to fight these legal battles
politically, mainly using his strength in Sindh.
PPP leaders have given a strike call in Sindh, the presidents right
hand man Zulfikar Mirza has publicly attacked the SC judges in a highly
threatening tone, most of the rural Sindh will take out rallies against the
judges and since urban Sindh, especially Karachi and Hyderabad, may not
join the strike, the urban-rural divide will be further accentuated.
The Sharif brothers of Raiwind have decided to go after Zardari,
who they think made a monkey out of them in the last three years. In a
public reversal of their stated policy of not involving the army in political
matters, the Punjab chief minister has invited the Pakistan Army and the
Supreme Court to a stakeholders conference. That this invitation is but a
tacit admission of Raiwinds failure to match Zardaris political antics and
tactics is another matter.
The Supreme Court is showing renewed grit and determination
to give striking judgments which mainly hit the PPP top brass directly, be it
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the sacking of the FIA or the NAB chiefs, both positions being the key to the
implementation of the previous SC decisions on the NRO or reopening of
the Swiss cases of President Zardari.
This new show of spine by the SC is being interpreted in many
circles as an ominous sign of other major decisions, specially in the NRO
review case, the Swiss accounts issue, the presidents dual office case and
appointment of judges review, if filed.
The so-called Establishment, led by the Pakistan Army, has been
quietly watching the situation, seriously disturbed and concerned deep
inside. It has, nevertheless, achieved what it wanted and thought was right,
like the three-year re-hiring of COAS General Kayani or the latest two-year
extension to ISI chief General Ahmad Shuja Pasha. It is perturbed by the
failure of the politicians to govern, manage the economy, create hope for the
masses buried deep under poverty, inflation and helplessness.
All agree that the countrys freefall into political, economic, social
and security domains has to be stopped first and then reversed. But there is a
reluctance and hesitation in coming out openly and addressing the root cause
of the present state of disarray and disorientation the dismal failure of the
PPP leadership because of the sheer greed, incompetence and selfishness
of its top leaders.
Shaheen dwelled on this point and then concluded: Three years of
waiting have left us with the present mess which will get worse if
nothing is done now. The onus has now come back on the Pakistan Army to
support the judicial and democratic system to clean the polluted waters of
this land. No direct intervention is needed but in the light of the Raiwind
proposal, the army should itself declare, and unequivocally, that it would
support all major judgments of the judiciary, whether politically sour or
sweet.
Let then the judges deal with the corrupt and the shameless. And if
the disgruntled PPP in Sindh tries to create strife and unrest on SindhiPunjabi basis, it should be crushed with an iron hand. If this is not done now,
it may be too late, very soon, to do anything about it. Mafias must be
handled like they are handled all over the world. There are no political
solutions for people who hold people, or a nation, hostage.
Hamid Mir was of the view that Pakistan is once again heading
towards a deadly clash of state institutions against each other. Pakistan
Peoples Party leadership have decided to open three fronts against
Supreme Courtasked party office bearers to condemn the superior court
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in their demonstrations today, PPP want to reappoint Didar Hussain Shah in

NAB but top government sources never confirmed this and said that
reappointment will take a very long process and we will not waste our time.
On the other hand PPP also decided to use parliament against Supreme
Court.
Top PPP leaders revealedthat federation will file a review petition
against the short order of Judges appointment case and the detailed
judgment of the same will be discussed in the parliament. PPP sources
claimed that article 68 of the Constitution will not become a hurdle in this
regard because this article only stops parliamentarians to discuss the conduct
of judges and we can discuss judgments of the superior court.
Another PPP source said that when discussion on a court judgment
will be started then some of our angry colleagues will definitely discuss
the judges who wrote that judgment. PPP claimed that PML-Q, ANP and
JUI-F leaders will join their parliamentary attack against SC.
It is also learnt that PPP leadership is consulting some lawyers to
file a reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry under
Article 209 of the Constitution. PPP leadership thinks that the conduct of
Chief Justice is creating problems of governance They quote two recent
cases in this context, i.e. sacking of DG FIA and appointments on contract
basis.
Hamid continued: Federal government will also try to take
advantage of the resentment of some secret agencies against Supreme
Court which was quite visible during the recent hearings of missing
persons case. One PPP legislator expressed deep reservations about the antijudiciary plans of his leadership and said that may be some powerful
elements within the establishment are encouraging parliament to attack
judiciary and then a third force will definitely take advantage out of that
confrontation.
Mir went on to conclude: A top lawyer confided to this scribe that
some PPP leaders have started a campaign against Chief Justice in the
diplomatic circles of Islamabad. These leaders are criticizing some recent
verdicts and suo motto actions of Supreme Court in front of the diplomats
and telling them that our bad governance is not due to bad policies the real
reason of our bad governance is the over stepping of Supreme Court.
An independent diplomat told this correspondent that the diplomatic
community was closely watching Pakistans situation and the judiciary. He
said that it was good omen for Pakistan to have such an independent and
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vibrant judiciary which had fearlessly decided cases involving

government, private sector, armed forces as well as intelligence agencies. He
said that actually corrupt elements in the top echelons of the government
whose personal corruption-related cases, including the Swiss ones, were
being heard in Pakistan as well as abroad would never accept an independent
NAB or independent judiciary. The diplomat said that that apparently the
PPP-led government and some elements in the establishment had joined
hands to malign judges especially the Chief Justice.
Tariq Butt observed: The judgment had left the PPP leaders in a
tight corner with hardly any option to continue with a tamed NAB that
would protect their past corruption or financial interests. The reaction of
accountability-shy, badly cornered PPP government was to announce a
protest throughout Sindh it proves that the vested interest of top command
of the party has been badly hurt band the party is not ready to face
accountability or accept an independent judiciary.
Deedar was firstly not disqualified because of his domicile but his
appointment process was also flawed. The governments reaction also
establishes the fact that Deedar was a trusted PPP loyalist. The purpose
of the Sindh protest is to send the message that PPP will confront the SC.
The surprise was the person to lead the attack an otherwise serious and
sane Senator Taj Haider, who is considered an intellectual. But he seems to
have blindly acted on the diktat of President Zardari.
Deedar Shahs removal has left two choices for the government
either to appoint an independent chairman following consultation among the
prime minister, the leader of the opposition and the Chief Justice of Pakistan
or to replace the NAB with an autonomous Accountability Commission as
envisaged in the Charter of Democracy. In both cases, the Presidencys
desire to have a disciplined accountability apparatus cannot be fulfilled. In
view of this situation one odd option could be to continue with the headless
NAB but in this way it will not obviously produce the desired results.
Deedar Shah is the third NAB chairman to go on the orders of the
Supreme Court in less than a year with his exit promptly bringing the socalled principal anti corruption agency under the control of his deputy Javed
Zia Qazi. Butt explained by narrating the incidents that brought the situation
to this impasse.
The News commented on the presently contested issue of appointment
of judges. An eight-member parliamentary committee has suggested the
government move a review petition against the Supreme Court judgment

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delivered a few days ago, overruling the committees rejection of the

Judicial Commissions recommendations on extension of six judges of the
higher courts. The threat of a stand-off between institutions, which we
had hoped would be settled following the apex court ruling last year and the
passage of the 19th Amendment, arises once more. The issue is a crucial
one, given that perhaps more than anything else, we need an independent
judiciary able to mete out justice freely and without any restraint. Behind the
many angry words we hear, this is the crux of the matter.
The periodic challenges to an independent judiciary are inflicting
a great deal of damage. It is clear that people seek this ardently, as do most
members of the legal profession. The celebration of Iftikhar Day by
lawyers, to mark the anniversary of the restoration of the judiciary headed by
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is just one indication of this.
Many of us also wonder where we would stand if the judiciary had not been
willing to assert itself and take up issues such as corruption. The situation
we face could have been even worse than is currently the case, and this is a
frightening thought in more ways than one.
We badly need our judiciary to be able to work independently
and without pressure. The role of the courts in introducing the reform in
countries such as India is well-established. That process seems to be
beginning at home. It should not be disrupted. What we definitely do not
need at this point is any kind of power game between institutions. There are
enough problems already. Since the 18th Amendment was passed by
parliament last year, there have been warnings of a clash between
institutions.
In the present case we have already heard a variety of views. What is
vital is that the matter be sorted out before any lasting damage is
inflicted the role of the judiciary as laid down in the Constitution
accepted, and the principle of a separation of the institutions fully accepted.
Unless this happens, we will keep running into roadblocks, and this can only
hurt a democracy that has still to establish itself in the country. It will be able
to do so only if every institution is given the space it needs to grow and
develop.
Dr Qaisar Rashid listed impediments endangering the juvenile
democratic polity of Pakistan, which in brief are:
The slogan of extra-constitutionalism is becoming apolitical ethos;

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 The religious parties active in the political domain are refusing to

learn the way the political path be tread;
The concept of liberty falling under the head democracy is considered
to enfold the mandate of imitating western values of liberalism;
There is a dearth of the informed voters;
During an electoral process, a considerable number of voters tend not
to vote for or against contesting candidates of their electoral
constituency.
On 12th March, The News commented: The sense that we are
millimeters away from a crisis has been with us for months. The consistent
contempt shown by the government for the Supreme Courts decisions has
contributed to this. We see now a refusal to accept the verdict on the
appointment of Justice (r) Deedar Hussain Shah as NAB chairman, a
decision that had raised many eyebrows from the moment it was announced
last year given his close links with the PPP and the unsuitability of such a
candidate to fill a post that demands neutrality and integrity. In response to a
petition moved by opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the threemember bench had declared the appointment void. This should hardly have
come as a surprise to the PPP given the provision in the 18th Amendment that
the opposition leader be consulted before appointing the NAB chief. Yet in
both Sindh and the centre, the response has been almost violent. The strike
called by the PPP in the province is reported to have led to deaths and to
buses being torched and shops being shut down as tension grips Karachi
and, according to reports, also other cities. Meanwhile in the centre, after
several hectic meetings, the government has decided to reappoint Deedar
Shah, claiming it has removed the Supreme Courts objections. This
seems implausible at best.
It is worth noting that key PPP allies have distanced themselves from
the move. Most interpreters have no doubts that the reason why the PPP
wishes to ensure a loyal henchmen heads NAB is to protect leaders against
whom many cases of corruption stand. It is also apparent that no system can
function smoothly when there is so much unwillingness to abide by the
Constitution and disregard court orders. The fear that we may find
ourselves facing complete mayhem is growing by the day, indeed by the
hour. As had been predicted many weeks ago the governments actions have
landed us in very serious trouble indeed. The attempt to use people on the
streets against the courts will simply not work. It has already resulted in

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disrupting normal life in Karachi and creating a graver crisis than the one
we are already locked in. The fragile relations between the judiciary and the
executive have once more broken down and once more they appear difficult
salvage. Each episode from the past has added to the tensions. The
unwillingness of the government to abide by court orders has put the whole
system under tremendous pressure. Many wonder how long it can last under
the present situation and what can be done to regain some sense of order.
Next day, The News commented: We see strange sights every now
and again in our country. The notion of political gamesmanship of every
kind, of leaders who rob their own people without restraint and of a constant
state of chaos that refuses to die down is with us constantly. But lately
things seem to have taken a turn for the worse. The calling of a strike by
the government and the outbreak of violence before and during it are
unusual to put it mildly. Leaderships do not usually attempt to subvert
peace in their own cities or put at risk the lives of their own people.
The fact that this is happening indicates a state of affairs that does not
add to our confidence as to the abilities of the ruling set-up. Who knows
what may unfold next or what the future may bring. There is more to this
political mess. We have a distancing by all the major allies which once
formed a part of the ruling set-up from the PPP. The PML-N has parted ways
completely and opted to carve out its own path; the MQM is showing signs
it could opt to do the same. Even the ANP has made it clear it does not
support the Karachi strike action, while the JUI-F too maintains its distance.
The PPP continues its efforts to woo a PML-Q that is itself deeply insecure,
given the carving out of new blocks from within it and the fact that
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain no longer retains control over the party he played
a key role in founding on the instructions of a dictator. His talk of not doing
anything to create instability, following talks with the president, is
obviously a move intended to keep some relevance within the existing
scenario and make sure the PML-Q does not become an entirely redundant
entity.
On top of all this, we witness continued militancy, new acts of
terrorism every few days and a worsening law and order situation
everywhere. The question of the blasphemy laws lingers on; nothing has
been solved; nothing has changed. The PPP appears not to know what to do,
with the interior minister now talking of building consensus. This should
have happened many weeks ago. We have also a complete social and
economic mess, with education, the economy, healthcare and all else in a
terrible state. There seems to be no way out of this quicksand which
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pulls the nation into deeper and deeper trouble and places us in a situation
which gets worse and worse by the day.
Reema Omer opined: An unbiased process of judicial process of
judicial appointment is integral to the independence of judiciary. If there is
consensus that the Parliamentary Committees final say over judicial
appointments makes appointments susceptible to being politically motivated,
there must be movement calling for a change in Article 175-A of the
Constitution. The Supreme Courts taking the matter in its own hands and
bypassing the Constitution to defend it, achieves little and ends up putting
the judiciary and parliament in an unpleasant confrontation.
Sana Bucha wrote: Lies have helped create a nation with strange
characteristics. We would go to war with India in an instant, yet just one
Indian entertainment channel has more viewer-ship in Pakistan than all
Pakistani channels combined. We will continue to see our people die in
bomb blasts and wonder where these terrorists came from. No one
concedes to fact that these terrorists were bred for our national interest and
strategic depth.
On 14th March, Dr AQ Khan observed: The country is currently at a
dangerous crossroads. There is no sense in looking to the army for rescue.
All military dictators proved to be corrupt, loved sycophancy and destroyed
national institutions. The only institution that can rise to the occasion id
the judiciary. If they do not deliver quick justice without fear or favour, we
are doomed or as the saying goes, our goose is cooked. A grave
responsibility lies on the shoulders of the lawmakers to enact effective laws
quickly to enable the honourable judges to use them efficiently and to save
this poor country from total destruction and disintegration. The country is
indeed at dangerous crossroads either we reach our destination or we fall
into a deep, dark pit.
Asif Ezdi expressed his apprehensions about the next general
elections. Under an amendment to the Constitution made by Musharraf in
2002, a general election is to be held not in sixty days preceding the end of
the five-year parliamentary term but in the following sixty days. This means
that during the time between the end of the tenure of the ongoing parliament
and the beginning of the term of the newly elected parliament the three
month during which election is held the president, acting through a
caretaker prime minister has complete and unfettered legislative powers. It is
mind-boggling how a man like Zardari could abuse that power to influence
the outcome of the election.

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All this does not augur well for the fairness and transparency of
the next parliamentary elections. These elections will be the first since
those of March 1977 and only the second in our history to take place
under a purely civilian setup. The Election Commission will bear a heavy
responsibility. Not only our electoral system but the entire political system
will be put to severe test. The continuity of political process will be at stake.
We only need recall what the 1977 election led to.
Zardaris foremost objective is to win five more years as president
after his present term expires in September 2013, so that he retains the
immunity from criminal process without which he would be in the dock on
corruption charges. He will therefore stop at nothing to obtain positive
results in the parliamentary elections, to borrow Ziaul Haqs immortal
words. Clearly, Pakistan is about to enter what promises to be an even
stormier period of its turbulent political history.
Next day, The News wrote: We have a warning from Maulana Fazlur
Rehman that the government seems unlikely to survive; Opposition leader in
parliament Chaudhry Nisar Ali has warned that the President Zardari is
taking the country into a huge crisis and the PPP is reported to be
considering more protests in Sindh over the appointment of the NAB
Chairman. None of this augurs well for the country. The situation we see
also gives rise to some basic questions. How long can we continue like
this? How long can the country sustain the toll being taken? The chaos on
the political scene means far more than material for TV talk shows or
newspaper headlines. It means that we, in effect, have no governance, and
there is instead, a paralyzed system, which fails to deliver what people need.
For months we have seen failures in this regard. A worsening state of affairs
would plunge us into a crisis from which recovery would be still harder.
Sadly, there seems to be no recognition of this on the part of the
government. Efforts remain focused on bid to remain in power. The interior
minister has been in touch with the MQM leaders in order to persuade them
to offer the support the PPP needs. There is talk of dismissing the Sindh
Home Minister whose comments triggered the latest crisis with the MQM.
But such tinkering will lead us nowhere. While the PPP is desperate to
save itself, what we actually need is a functional government. The
absence of one will only lead to bigger problems for the people.
Zafar Hilaly opined: Pakistan has been stumbling from one crisis to
another without let up for decades and the underlying tensions between the
civilians and the military have brought us to the cumulative mess in

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which we find ourselves today. There appears to be no end in sight to our

uninterrupted decline with the specter of national disaster looming larger
with each passing day.
In such a situation we have to think out of the box, the sooner the
better. Only the combined strength of the civilians and the military for
once working in shared partnership with a shared stake rather that at crosspurposes and in mutual distrust can offer the way out.
On 18th March, The News expressed concerns over the plight of
Pakistanis caught up in various catastrophes around the globe. While
the situation faced by the large Pakistani community in Bahrain, where one
Pakistani national has been killed by protesters and another four have been
injured, draws attention to the risks faced by persons living overseas. It also
brings into focus the role of our missions in other countries. Following the
targeting of Pakistanis in Manama by youth angered by the role of riot police
which includes personnel from Pakistan and allegations of the use of
excessive force by them, expatriates have been gathering outside their
embassy seeking protection. While discussions have reportedly been held on
how to offer this, the Foreign Office spokesperson in Islamabad has said
there are no immediate plans to bring Pakistanis home. A mass airlift out of
Bahrain may not be necessary at this stage, but we hope the situation is
being closely monitored and that preparations are being made to rescue
Pakistanis should the situation grow more volatile.
It is a matter of concern that, in the very recent past, this has not
happened in other places where nationals found themselves in peril.
Pakistanis caught up in the terrifying violence in Libya were first brought
out aboard a Turkish Airlines flight. Those trapped in Tripoli and other
places stated they had received no assistance from the Pakistan Embassy.
Similar complaints have been made by those who recently returned home
after the earthquake in Japan, with the Pakistani mission in Tokyo apparently
doing little to help them even though our diplomats based in that country
must have been aware of the sheer horror of the situation considering that
Japan was struck by one of the worst natural disasters in living memory.
Our Foreign Office and our political leadership need to review the
role of missions overseas. After all, staff is not posted to these embassies and
high commissions simply to enjoy the pleasures of life in far-off lands. One
of its principal roles is to assist Pakistanis based there. Yet we have heard
repeatedly of failures to even visit those in jails or take any measures to help
those in distress. The recent complaints of indifference that have poured in,

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both from the Middle East and elsewhere must not be ignored. There is quite
evidently something amiss with the working of our missions. Steps need to
be taken to correct this and ensure Pakistanis in danger in foreign
countries are not left to fend entirely for themselves. This is all the more
true given that many Pakistani expatriates are poorly educated and lack the
capacity to determine how to safeguard themselves in a violent or otherwise
dangerous situation.
On 22nd March, The News commented: It is difficult to know whether
to classify the latest outbreak of killings in Karachi as a new wave of
violence. The fact is that violence here never fully recedes, or at least it has
not done so for months. Nevertheless, the death of at least 15 people as new
tensions erupt between the MQM and other groups represents a grave
political threat. The latest unrest came as some workers of the Pakhtunkhwa
Milli Awami Party and some of the MQM were killed, following a grenade
attack on an MQM office. As inevitably happens after such incidents, there
were bursts of firing, more deaths across the city and more such attacks.
Given the ethnic and political undertones to the violence, things may well
worsen over the coming days. Certainly, the efforts that have continued
for over a year to bring things under control have failed. This has serious
repercussions given the nature of life in Karachi, where it is essential for
communities to live together; peace is also essential to business activity and
the normal movements of citizens who for too long now have lived in a state
of terror.
That the new spate of violence broke out even as the PPP attempts to
patch up its strained relations with the MQM is itself significant. The failure
to enforce and sustain peace, despite the series of meetings held and the
promises made by the provincial and central governments, makes them look
especially ineffectual. This can only encourage those responsible for
sporadic violence in the city. We still do not know precisely what their
purpose is but far too many innocent people, uninvolved in politics of any
kind, have died because of it. Low-scale violence has continued in Karachi
for far too long now. We hear of eight deaths some days, on other days of
three or four. It is vital that we stop this flow of blood. It is difficult to
comment on exactly how this will be achieved. But the government needs
to come up with a plan and lay it before its allies so that the frightening
sound of gunfire and the ensuing mayhem it brings to communities
everywhere in the city can be brought to an end before we see a still greater
toll taken on peace and harmony in Karachi.

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Next day, The News commented: What the president said amounted
to little more than a reading of the shopping list, the items were ticked off as
bullet points and policy was absent throughout other than in anodyne nods in
the direction of foreign policy. It was not a speech of highs and lows, more a
plateau of uniform mediocrity. The devolution of budgets to the provinces
got an honourable mention the failure to create the provincial capacity to
effectively spend those budgets did not. The Benazir Income Support
Programme was lauded as being our first national safety net the tale
though is marred by the incompetent administration of BISP. Any
economists listening might have experienced a cardiac moment at the
announcement that the economy was back on track. The politics of revenge
were eschewed, murdered minorities mourned and the regulation pleas for
political peace and harmony were duly delivered. When the president sat
down he must have felt pleased that he had managed to get through the event
without having anything thrown at him. Which is perhaps progress of
sorts.
Saleem Safi opined: The Sharif proposal stops at a onetime
conference of the three players. One would go a step further and suggest a
permanent consultative forum. This proposal may well be opposed by
democracy brigades, but I am convinced that this is the key to solution of
our problems. And if we didnt act today, God forbid, we may rue our
decision the same way as the rejecters of Jahangir Karamats National
Security Council proposal did on Oct 12, 1999.
Sher Zaman from Islamabad wrote: The people of Karachi are
suffering once again. Due to the killings, economic activity has come to a
halt. The disruption in financial activity badly affects revenue generation and
thus millions are lost due to deteriorating law and order. A serious and
meaningful interaction between the police, the political parties and the
people of Karachi might restore peace to the city.
On 24th March, The News commented: Once again, it is the superior
judiciary that has made its mark, but whether the mark it has made in ruling
on the appointment of the Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau
can be made to stick to a Teflon-coated government, remains to be seen.
Simply put, the ruling means that neither this nor any future government will
have sole responsibility for the appointment of the NAB chairman, and that
the process of making the appointment will henceforward include the chief
justice. The Supreme Court recognized the incongruity in those who
themselves may be corrupt and the subject of investigation, as being the
ones to appoint the head of the primary body investigating corruption. The
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current dispensation has thus far ensured that the inquisitive eyes of NAB
are averted from its own senior officers, and NAB as it stands today is both
leaderless and toothless a situation that the government is in no hurry to
rectify.
The SC was in no doubt that there was a widely held perception that
NAB in its current format was possibly being used as a cover for corruption
rather than as a device to expose corruption and wrongdoing in high places.
The battle against corruption featured nowhere in the list of
achievements that the president recited to the joint session of parliament
last Tuesday, indeed, you would think that corruption is nowhere on the
government radar. One might think that far from being a matter of minor
importance, corruption is the very large elephant in the room. But no, the
elephant has had a thick coat of invisibility paint applied to it.
Now whether the government will comply with the ruling of the
court and speedily appoint an impartial chairman of NAB having lost the
odious Deedar, or simply remove the irritation by abolishing NAB
altogether, remains to be seen. A government that had an investment in
probity, honesty and transparency would not have allowed matters to
deteriorate to the point at which we find ourselves today. Corruption at
every level has become almost our national defining characteristic, ...an
unfortunate bane of our society to quote the SC ruling. Even if this
government fails to implement the ruling there will be other governments in
the future that will be bound by it. No government is forever, and the life of
this one, even if it goes to term, is now short. It is to be hoped that the
government that follows this one has more respect for the rule of law, and is
able to face squarely the corruption that so weakens us today.
Hilal Murtaza Qazi from Sahiwal opined: It is not the shallow
understanding of the Constitution due to which this government takes
actions such as appointing people who are not suitable for the job to
important posts. It is plain stubbornness and the intention of getting
away with its corrupt practices due to which such people are given
important jobs.
M S Hasan from Karachi observed: In his address to parliament
President Asif Ali Zardari talked about many invisible and non-existent
achievements and improvements his incompetent government supposedly
brought in the areas ranging from economy to governance to foreign policy
to internal security and a lot of other things the nation is sick of hearing
about. No speech of Mr Zardari is complete without making references to

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the vision of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, the two crutches he
dearly holds on to. He should know that this will not work anymore. What is
this mysterious vision, anyway? Mr Zardari had the audacity to assert that
the reforms announced on August 14, 2009 would soon be implemented.
Would he care to tell us why the reforms have not been implemented thus
far?
He asked the domestic entrepreneurs to form private-public entities
with the existing public-sector companies. Who on earth would like to
have a substantial equity sunk in the corruption-ridden public-sector
organizations such as PIA, Steel Mills, PSO and OGDCL etc? He
mentioned the commencement of cargo-train service between Turkey and
Pakistan but did not say a word about how his government would put the
Pakistan Railways back on track.
On 27th March, Dr Farrukh Saleem described the prevalent gloom in
Pakistan. In Pakistan an average of 20 Pakistanis die every single day in
terrorist-related violence. Over the past seven years, total fatalities in
terrorist violence stand at 33,467 Pakistanis. In 2010, 7,435 Pakistanis were
killed in 473 bomb blasts and 49 fidayeen-type suicide attacks.
In Pakistan three out of four Pakistanis make Rs170 per day or less.
Imagine; atta sells for Rs600 per 20-kg, ghee for Rs143 per kilo, tea Rs90
for 200 grams and red chili powder Rs64 for 200 grams.
Now, welcome to the circus. For our politicians Pakistan is one big
circus. MQM is developing a specialty in acrobatics, somersaults to be
specific forward, backward and sideway somersaults plus 360 degree flips,
feet over head. PML(N) is becoming a pack full of tightrope walkers some
walking along thin ropes while others perform publicity stunts specifically
designed to attract attention of voters nothing much else.
JUI has assembled a trained bunch of jugglers. Their head honcho
has become an expert in devil sticking, at times juggling with knives and fire
torches, while his junior lieutenants juggle balls and beanbags. PPP, in the
meanwhile, gets up every morning prints Rs300 crore worth of currency
notes and by the time PPP is finished printing notes its already time to call it
a day.
The Pak Army is fighting on so many fronts, and when it is not
fighting it is either making movies about its fighting or playing the
ringmaster directing and stage managing our political acrobats, tightrope
walkers and jugglers. Our ringmaster has all the political authority in the

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world and yet little political responsibility best of the best some would
argue.
The fact remains that Pakistan is burning. The other fact is that there
is so much combustible material present right now that the conflagration is
spreading like never before.
Who will put an end to the circus and put out the fire? Pakistan
cannot remain Pakistan without drastic reforms economic, social, political
plus legal, and in that order. A trillion rupee annual deficit will burn us all
and not just our skin but our muscles, bones and our blood vessels.
We all know what Pakistanis need: personal security, economic
security and dispensation of justice. The circus must end or Pakistan will be
burnt with her citizens in severe respiratory distress. Our acrobats, tightrope
walkers, jugglers and note printers must come out of their tent and see the
real Pakistan before the tent also catches fire. End the circus and assess the
patients breathing, his airway and his circulatory state before it is too late.
Some of our democrats actually believe that democracy is the art of
running the circus from the monkey cage. And then there are some who
fiercely complain that Pakistani TV has turned our democracy into a circus.
To be sure, the circus was already there, Pakistani TV just shows day-in-dayout that not all performers are up to the mark.
Next day, The News commented on killings in Karachi. Can we
expect an early end to this madness? Things on the ground suggest that
citizens are likely to suffer more of the same in the coming months.
Unable to share in a civilized manner the biggest financial pie that this city
is, the coalition partners cannot afford to sever links between their politics
and the extortion, land and drug mafias. Consider this: the MQM is busy
mainstreaming itself in other parts of the country, especially Punjab, and
cannot lose sight of the bigger picture ahead of the next general election (it
has lost around 65 activists since January this year but continues to cling to
power despite threatening several times to quit the government); the PPP
spearheaded by its home minister in Sindh is trying to venture out of Lyari
and gain ground in Bin Qasim and Malir towns with the help of the banned
Peoples Aman Committee; and the ANP is striving hard to learn to speak
the language of violence so it does not lag behind its rivals.

REVIEW

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The drop scene of Deedar Shahs tenure as Chairman NAB would

have been most humiliating for any political leadership with correct
perception of self-respect. But, Zardari was no Manmohan Singh, who
addressed the nation and apologized when Supreme Court of India ruled the
appointment of Indian equivalent of Chairman NAB, who had been
appointed under similar circumstances.
Zardari, to the contrary, was not embarrassed at all and instead he
hurried to bulldoze his way to reappoint Deedar Shah to convey the Supreme
Court and his political adversaries as to who was the Don around. In doing
that he earned rebuke from the Leader of the Opposition who bluntly
rejected the proposal.
Next day, the Supreme Court issued detailed judgment that ruled
Deedar was disqualified to be reappointed as Chairman NAB. Will this put
the Don to shame? The record shows that he not only enjoys Constitutional
immunity but he is also genetically blessed with immunity to shame.
The reason behind the Scoundrel not feeling the need to mend his
ways is that he has faced setbacks only in the apex court. On political front
he has been able to often out-manoeuvre and out-wit his opponents and with
fair ease. During this period the pressure built on Moonis Elahi over NICL
case paid dividends as Shujaat was constrained to visit Presidency to assure
Zardari of saving his government, of course, for the sake of his nephew.
In the last article Pakistani stage was equated with a theatre, but on
second look it resembled more with a circus and that too when during
closing minutes of a show all participants come on the stage and start
waving at the audience expecting appreciations. Will the members of this
circus be applauded or hooted out remains to be soon?
28th March 2011

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SINDH CARD
Zardari regime has been using the Sindh Card for the last three years
and it was used with all its obscenity during the last two weeks. The two PPP
leaders who were served contempt notices for using derogatory language
about court verdict that disqualified Deedar Shah as Chairman NAB
appeared in the Supreme Court along with large number of PPP MPAs with
the sole aim of intimidating the judges by conveying the threat they could
pose to the solidarity of the federation.
Within the pack of Sindhi cards Zardari has been so far cashing on the
Queen; his deceased wife Benazir Bhutto. He even renamed his son Bilawal
to draw maximum advantage. Encouraged by the results of using Bhuttos
name he was tempted to cash the name of his father-in-law. He filed a
presidential reference in the Supreme Court for reopening of ZABs case.
Other events of significance during the period were Irsa first turning
down Punjabs request to fill Mangla Dam and then asking the federal
government to construct more dams as water in Tarbela was reaching dead
level. The regime also seemed bent upon extracting democratic revenge
from HEC for the role it played during verification of fake degrees.
Somehow, DG FIA, Waseem Ahmed, at last resigned.
In Punjab, the five week long strike of young doctors was called off,
but not before earning plenty of bad names for the medical profession and
the PML-N. Earlier the victory of Owais Leghari of PML-Q in bye-election
of NA-172 had delivered a political blow to PML-N and towards the end of
this period MQM entered politics of Punjab by holding a public meeting in
Lahore.

NEWS
On 28th March, remand of Moonis Elahi was extended by four days.
Cabinet okayed filing of reference before Supreme Court to revisit the
decision of hanging of Bhutto. Ansar Abbasi reported NAB was dying slow
death as six officers have already left and boxes containing documents of
Swiss cases were in danger. Ajmal Pahari and 11 others were held in
Karachi; Ajmal is involved 58 cases of targeted-killings. Next day, PML-Q
candidate Owais Leghari won bye-election of NA-172.
On 30th March, Kazmi was sent to jail on 14-day remand. Taj Haider
and Sharjeel Memon planned to show forces by appearing in the Supreme

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Court along with large number of PPP MPAs and activists wearing Sindhi
caps and ajraks. Exchange of abuses continued in Punjab Assembly.
Next day, the Supreme Court observed that Election Commission
failed to perform its duties and directed tit to update voters lists and delete
37.1 million bogus votes. PPP decided to file a petition for review of ZA
Bhuttos trial before anniversary of his hanging on 4th April. LHC asked
government reply on removal of Raymonds name of ECL.
End of month-long strike by young doctors was announced and then
on some petty disagreement the association changed its decision and decided
to continue strike across Punjab. A UK report made public by William Haig
claimed rise in corruption and lawlessness in Pakistan and the government
muzzling independent media. Prices of petroleum products were increased
by 10-13 per cent. Irsa turned down Punjabs request to fill Mangla Dam.
Five people were killed in Karachi.
On 1st April, Taj Haider and Sharjeel Memon appeared in Supreme
Court with the gang of PPP MPAs of Sindh Assembly, who came all the way
from Karachi to show solidarity with their colleagues. Before the days
proceedings Mirza declared entire Sindh PA would go to jail if any PPP
leader convicted. The court allowed both of them time to prepare and submit
their replies within 14 days and fixed next hearing for 25 th April; both had
demanded sixty days.
The Supreme Court delayed operation of its verdict on judges
appointment till April 11. Rao Shakeel involved in Haj scam was sent to jail
for 14-day remand and Moonis Elahi went to a rest house, which had been
declared a sub-jail. Accountability Court acquitted Saeed Mehdi in polo
ground case and his co-accused Zardari enjoyed Constitutional and therefore
case was consigned to record room.
Increase in petroleum products prices was challenged in LHC;
opposition staged walk-out in Senate. Doctors gave 24-hour ultimatum and
the Punjab government authorized to hire new doctors; deaths were reported
due to non-availability of medical care.
Next day, ATC hearing the murder case of Benazir was informed in
writing that UK has refused to hand over Musharraf and the court
summoned Director FIA to appear during next hearing for not producing
Musharraf as ordered. The regime filed a presidential reference in the
Supreme Court for reopening of ZABs case. Meanwhile, young doctors
continued strike while the government started employing new doctors.

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On 3rd April, Speaking at BISP ceremony Zardari hinted at rumours

about establishment of technocrat government. Jiyalas and jiyalis converged
to Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on 32nd death anniversary of ZAB. Rehman Malik
presented the probe report of Benazirs murder to CEC of the party, which
decoded not to make the findings public. Bilawal said premature release of
the report could hurt the case. He termed the murder of his mother a grand
plot. Police investigations found that Musharraf and intelligence agencies
were not involved in the murder.
Fazl and Shujaat saw ZAB case reference as part of the Sindh Card.
Ansar Abbasi noted that in his ZAB case reference sent to the Supreme
Court, Zardari has surrendered, perhaps innocently, his prolonged fight for
constitutional immunity from criminal and corruption cases by referring to
Islamic teachings to prove the point that no one is above accountability.
MQM leaders met finance and interior ministers to urge review
increase in petrol prices Punjab government dismissed 64 doctors and served
notices to 84 others as the strike continued. Fauzia Wahab was on US yatra
financed by USAID. Four people were killed in Karachi.
Next day, Chief Justice said ignoring PCO judges is akin to reviving
doctrine of necessity; the Court reserved judgment. PPP leaders, Waheed,
Fauzia and others criticized judiciary and media for conspiring against PPP
government. Waheed termed judicial system as enemy and wanted filing of
cases against certain judges.
US held back aid worth $250 million for HEC and World Bank also
contemplated stopping 300 million. Punjab dismissed 13 more young
doctors and doctors in Sindh decided to join strike to show solidarity. Farooq
Sattar said targeted killings in Karachi are aimed at keeping MQM out of
Punjab; he said that after some PML-N members joined MQM in Mianwali.
Zardari insisted that ZAB reference was aimed at correcting history
and washing black spot from the faces of judges. Ghinwa saw no need to
reopen ZAB case. Sethi termed ZAB reference a cunning and dangerous
move. PPPs Shaheed Bhutto group activists tore apart posters of Zardari
and Faryal. Nahid Khan said Zardari cant become Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
On 5th April, Traders held strike to protest against batha (extortion) in
Karachi; for change MQM sided with them. Rehman Malik promised action
on intelligence. The federal government added to the woes of Punjab
government by holding a meeting with young doctors of Islamabad and
accepting all their demands.

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Ministry of information said ZAB reference was sent to the Supreme

Court without the advice of Prime Minister as under Article 186 the
President needed no such advice. This belied the claim of Babar Awan who
had said the cabinet had approved sending of the reference.
Next day, LHC asked FIA not to cross limits and remain within
parameters of law. DG FIA, Waseem Ahmed at last resigned and IG Police
Balochistan was appointed in his place. Zulfikar Mirza also resigned for
health reasons, but Sharjeel Memon was rewarded through his appointment
as minister. Ahmed Raza Kasuri said he would accept the verdict of the
Supreme Court verdict on ZAB reference.
PML-N decided to stage protest in National Assembly HEC
devolution. Devolution of HEC was challenged in IHC. Asian Development
Bank said Pakistan excelled in price hike in the region. Seniors announced
support for young doctors of Punjab. The regime ordered stoppage of Geo
Super telecasts. The government denied the charge saying that signals of the
channel were not received being too weak.
On 7th April, young doctors in Punjab called off their strike after Chief
Minister formed a six-member committee, which would submit its
recommendations to him within two weeks. MQM invited Pervaiz Elahi to
be guest at public meeting scheduled for 10th April.
PPP confirmed that Musharraf and Pervaiz Elahi were not involved in
Benazirs murder. One person was killed and 18 wounded in grenade attack
in Karachi and a police officer was shot dead. PML-N moved National
Assembly against ban on Geo Super. Rafiq Tarar moved a petition in LHC to
declare Musharraf not president. Zardari directed PPP MPAs to improve
relations with PML-Q.
Next day, the Supreme Court ordered recovery of money from those
who performed Haj at government expense. The court was informed that
Rehman Malik has assured that this would be done once he returned to
Pakistan and on that the court directed probe into his involvement as well.
Chief Justice of LHC ordered Punjab chief secretary to appoint a
commission to fix responsibility for death of patients in government
hospitals during the young doctors strike and submit its report in 15 days.
He questioned health secretarys appointment and Chief Ministers silence
during the strike.
Zulfikar Mirza said MQM was involved in targeted-killings and
extortions in Karachi; Wasim refused to comment. He also claimed that

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MQM was behind the killing of Geo TV reporter and pressing for his
removal from the post of home ministry. Meanwhile, 18 police officers
refused to investigate cases of targeted-killings.
ZAB reference was challenged in the Supreme Court. Saad Rafiq
sought references on other issues, including Bhuttos role in breaking of
Pakistan. KPK Assembly supported reopening of ZAB case; PML-N and
JUI-F members staged walkout.
Pemra ordered closure of Aag TV, another channel of Jang Group.
Zardari said government firmly believed in press freedom. Chaudhry Nisar
condemned victimization of Jang Group. A US report said corruption and
discrimination are rampant in Pakistan.
After PML-Q, PTI (Insaaf) was also invited by MQM to take part in
tomorrows public meeting in Lahore. Gilani called on Nawaz in London
and enquired about his health a day after Hasan Nawaz had done the same
about Gilanis son. Government planned to create new setup to replace HEC.
On 9th April, speaking to the officers of the National School of Public
Policy Lahore the Chief Justice said public support for enforcement of court
orders is necessary in a system in which the Executive enjoys majority in the
Legislature and it feels not obliged to abide by legal limits. He said officers
are not obliged to follow illegal orders of their superiors. Zardari claimed
political minds have attained maturity.
PPP also announced that it would take part in MQMs public meeting
on Sunday. Gilani accompanied by Rehman Malik met Altaf Hussain in
London and rejected the idea of technocrats government. Father of 18 th
Amendment, Raza Rabbani commenting on the criticism related to HEC
said vested interests were undermining provincial autonomy. Government
filed a petition for review of verdict on Deedar Shah. Farzana Rajas BISP
was also hit by a scam; hundred appointed fraudulently in the programme.
Irsa warned that water in Tarbela Dam would reach dead-level in a
day or two and asked the government to construct new dams; what a timely
demand! Shahbaz took notice of diversion of 45 percent of Punjabs water
share to Sindh.
Next day, Altaf asked Punjab to save Balochistan and promised
referendum for Saraiki, Bahawalpur and Hazara provinces. He thanked
people of Punjab for making the MQM public meeting a success and the
party held celebrations in Nine Zero. PML-Ns spokesman, however, did not

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see the meeting as big a success as the money spent. Foreign missions
closely observed MQMs meeting in Lahore.
Sindh Home Department report on targeted-killings in Karachi named
activists of MQM, ANP, MQM-H, Lashkar and Sipah, but no one from PPP
was accused. Six more lives were lost in Karachi and ANP gave one month
to the government to end the killings.
Gilani met Zardari and the two agreed to resolve HEC issue through
Parliament. Irsa chief rejected Punjab Chief Ministers accusation that 45
percent of his provinces share was being scrounged for Sindh; he termed it
sacrifice by big brother. Participants of dialogue arranged in Peshawar
advocated devolution of HEC.

VIEWS
Babar Sattar commented on the latest verdicts of the apex court with
focus on the one on judges case. Excerpts from his comments concluded in
two installments on 2nd April are reproduced. The jurisprudential debate
over what judges ought to do in courts has largely subsided across the world.
It is now agreed that judges do not declare what the law should be, but
only what it is. In other words, judges are not legislators or lawmakers, but
adjudicators interpreting the text of the law laid out by legislators and stating
what the text means.
Deedar Shahs appointment has been declared ultra vires because law
required the president to consult with the leader of the opposition before
appointing a candidate to the office of Chairman NAB and this mandatory
requirement was not meaningfully discharged. This is why Justice Shahs
appointment was illegal. But the court went on to produce other outcomes
backed by unconvincing reasons. The first is the uncharitable manner in
which the possibility of Justice Shahs reappointment has been eliminated.
Subtler, but more dangerous, is the insistence of the court that an
administrative role for the chief justice in the process of appointing
Chairman NAB must be carved out even though there is no statutory or
textual basis for the same.
If Justice Shah has a right to be appointed Chairman NAB upon
satisfaction of all other legal requirements, how can such right be taken
away due to someone elses fault? Has the Supreme Court just undone ubi
jus ibi remedium (where there is a right there is a remedy)? Would the court

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even have expounded on the legality of Justice Shahs reappointment had he

not been re-nominated before the announcement of the detailed judgment?
The Zardari-PPP decision to reappoint Justice Shah as Chairman
NAB was ridiculous. Thus, as a practical matter the court stretching the law
to lay this controversy to rest is quite welcome. But principled determination
of legal controversies has no room for expediency. We might be sick of the
trickery employed by the Zardari regime to run this country down. But does
that allow constitutional courts to replace principled reasoning as a basis of
the rulings with crafty strategies to pay a devious regime back in the same
coin?
And then this business of the chief justice being pater familias and
the lord and saviour of the pitiful multitudes simply refuses to go away,
despite much talk about the need for building institutions. The suggestion
incorporated in the NRO case and the Harris Steel case has been repeated in
the Chairman NAB appointment case: the chief justice should also be
consulted before appointing an individual as Chairman NAB.
Now, NAB is an executive agency under the prime ministers control.
Its statute provides that its chairman is to be appointed after consultation
between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; meaning, with
bipartisan support. There is absolutely no statutory basis for the chief justice
to get involved with the process. And yet our apex court demands such a
role. Whence do our judges derive this authority to say what the law ought to
be?
While expounding provisions of the Constitution to delineate the
respective scope of authority of the Judicial Commission and the
Parliamentary Committee, the court doesnt rely on settled principles of
textual interpretation. As a consequence, disparate treatment is meted out
to the role and importance of the Judicial Commission and the Parliamentary
Committee.
In defending the authority of the Judicial Commission (essentially
run by the five senior most judges of the Supreme Court) the apex court
doesnt seem to have applied restraint and taken into account the ageold maxim that no one should be the judge in his own cause. And while
the court seems conscious of the principle of separation of powers and the
limitation it applies to the scope of judicial authority, such consciousness
does not shape the operative part of the ruling.
Let us recall that the Supreme Court opted to hear challenges against
the 18th Amendment despite the constitutional prohibition that no
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amendment of the Constitution shall be called in question in any Court on

any ground whatsoever. While the case remains pending, the Supreme
Court, through an interim order, provided parliament a window of
opportunity to re-amend the Constitution to the courts liking. As this sword
hung over the 18th Amendment, the parliament passed the 19th Amendment to
appease the Supreme Court. Parliament abided by the courts
recommendation that the Parliamentary Committee should give reasons if
it doesnt endorse the Judicial Commissions advice, but it didnt write in the
Constitution that such reasons shall be justiciable as the court wanted.
Through the Judicial Nominations Case the court has now had its way.
The interim ruling in the 18th Amendment case was not a marvel of
jurisprudential merit. But those who followed the proceedings of the case
feared that the dreaded adoption of the basic structure theory and striking
down of a provision of the Constitution was imminent. When the court
found a pragmatic solution to avert such outcome, there was relief.
The ruling in the Judicial Nominations case lacks rigour. First, its
deductions do not flow logically. While allegiance to the principle of judicial
independence is a cornerstone of our Constitution, why assume that should
serving judges not have a veto over who adorns judicial robes judicial
independence will be compromised?
What about all those countries that boast independent judiciaries with
judges having absolutely no role to play in the appointment of future judges?
Second, the ruling confuses principles enshrined in the Constitution with the
mechanics adopted to realize them. Judicial independence can be secured
through multiple ways. Appointment of judges through a rigourous,
consultative and transparent mechanism is imperative to safeguard
such independence.
The court believes that the work of the Judicial Commission will be
rendered nugatory if the Parliamentary Committee has the right to question
its recommendations. Can reasonable minds not reach different
conclusions based on the same information? Sattar thinks the judges on
the Bench were not reasonable.
The test prescribed by the Supreme Court is that it is illegal for the
Parliamentary Committee to consider any information about judicial
nominees that has been deliberated upon by the Judicial Commission. What
independent stream of information does the Parliamentary Committee have
for the consideration of which the Constitution specially created it?

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In effect, each time the Parliamentary Committee disagrees with the

Judicial Commission, it would have traveled beyond the zone of legality
according to the Supreme Court test. Why have the Parliamentary
Committee at all then? To discuss the antecedents of proposed judges, we
are told, and nothing else. And please dont think the court is encroaching
upon the vast powers of the legislature. The eight member bipartisan
parliamentary committee is actually a part of the executive according to this
ruling.
The Supreme Court is a court of limited authority and incapable
of producing elixir for all our national ills. So far it has been the khaki
saviour instinct that has molested our Constitution and political process.
Would it not be a shame if the apex court followed in the stead and allowed
a do-good approach to interpret the Constitution?
Emphasizing the doctrine of limited powers in the much celebrated
PCO Judges Case of 2009, the Supreme Court held that, neither the
Supreme Court itself possesses any power to amend the Constitution, nor
can it bestow any such power on any authority or any individual. It is a
settled principle of law that what cannot be done directly, cannot be
done indirectly.
Shaheen Sehbai commented: With April 11 set by the Supreme Court
for hearing of the NRO review petition and appointment of judges cases, the
PPP strategy to go for an open, full-scale confrontation with the apex
court is now a declared policy. The stage has been set for the final
showdown, a path the PPP bigwigs have, hopefully, chosen after careful
thinking and deliberations.
This strategy could become a make-or-break decision for the current
PPP leadership and appears to be a desperate move. But one thing is certain:
the Supreme Court has been pushed into this battle and it has no option
but to win as the survival of the whole judicial system has been put at stake
besides the honour, integrity and even survival of the judges themselves.
If the PPP thinks, or succeeds, in pressuring, bulldozing, defying or
subjugating the current independent judiciary, the country will roll back
into the era of the Dogar and ZA Bhutto courts. Who suffered at the
hands of those spineless men of straw sitting in what were wrongfully called
Supreme Courts is a part of history but what is obvious is that their main
targets were democracy, the political process and politicians.
So why the PPP has chosen to go back to that era is a million
dollar question. When popularly elected leadership decides that it does not
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need, or want, or tolerate an independent judiciary, who can stop gun-totting

adventurers from using pliant cowards sitting on the SC benches to once
again uproot, maim and disrupt democracy?
One answer can be that this time the PPP thinks it will defeat the
court and use a subjugated bench to first save its top leaders and then
manipulate the judicial process to its advantage, as the Dogar court before
Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was doing, first to serve
General Musharraf and then the PPP. This may be a misguided belief in
some over-zealous or over-confident minds.
Another plausible explanation can be that given its tentative
coalition situation and sensing that it is unable to carry on its agenda in
parliament, the PPP has started preparing for a mid-term election. But it
needs a soft political target and someone to blame for the massive failures in
governance and giving a visionary leadership, which may have strengthened
the democratic process.
Because it has over-stretched the reconciliation mantra for too long,
the party also needs an immediate cause, and an enemy to stir up the
Sindh Card and activate its support base. Instead of targeting the political
rivals, it has also picked up the Supreme Court mainly for the over-riding
reason that the judges have put the personal survival of the partys top
leadership at stake through the NRO case, the Swiss bank cases, the dual
office issue and involvement of near and dear ones of the prime minister in
mega scandals.
The PPP is attacking the SC from many sides, knowing well that
the judges have no guns to pay them back in the same coin. (Those who
have, the PPP concedes to every demand they make). A massive show of
strength, possibly to intimidate the judges, was orchestrated under the
leadership of Zulfikar Mirza in Islamabad in the case against Taj Haider and
Sharjeel Memon on Friday. High voltage statements were issued. Besides a
physical show of the Sindhi ajrak and topi, Mr Mirza surprisingly said
Sindhis were being treated like Bengalis. How and when? He also threatened
that if Taj Haider and Sharjeel were jailed, the entire PPP leadership will go
to jail. What did he mean?
All these belligerent outbursts against the court and the judges were
mixed rather sheepishly with the oft-repeated mantra of We do and will
respect the judiciary. The opening salvo of the PPP strategy was the call
for Sindh-wide protests on the sacking of NAB chief Deedar Shah.
Reopening the ZA Bhutto case is another calculated googly to play psy217

games with the SC judges. Zulfikar Mirza was blunt when he spoke outside
the SC on Friday, attacking Justice Nasim Hasan Shah because his picture
was on the wall of the SC among other chief justices.
All this has been planned while non-implementation of key SC
judgments continues. Delaying tactics are to be employed to get full
mileage out of the Sindh Card, declaring the PPP once again as MartyrsR-Us. The demand for a 60-day extension for Taj Haider and Sharjeel to
prepare their statements was deliberate.
The irony is that the SC judges, the political parties, the
Establishment and the media, all can see through this PPP strategy,
understanding full well what is being done to achieve what purpose. The
court did not accept the 60-day demand and gave the PPP Jiyalas only a
couple of weeks. Not without reason, the SC also suspended the other
hotwire case of appointment of judges till April 11 when a full bench will
start hearing the NRO case. So mid-April has thus been set as the timeline
for this marathon PPP-SC encounter.
On the macro level, grave concerns have arisen because of this
confrontation. This situation has come to the present deadlock because of
just one fly in the ointment the Swiss cases of money laundering and
the dual office case of PPP co-chairman. As the largest political party of the
country, the collective leadership of the PPP has failed miserably and has
been manipulated cleverly by a small group of people to protect the interests
and assets of just one man.
Whereas this elected leadership should have joined hands with others
to address the monumental social, economic and security issues crushing the
nation, the miseries of the masses have been brushed aside by these
confrontational policies diverting attention from the everyday bombings on
the street, the dacoities in the name of price hikes, super-inflation unleashed
by massive borrowing from local and international banks and the political
turmoil being caused within the coalition ranks.
This chaos at the national scene cannot be sustained and the Supreme
Court has done the right thing by clubbing and addressing all these critical
issues together in the next couple of weeks. It is now time that the bluff of
the Sindh Card be called, the judicial proceedings in all these high voltage
cases be ended and clear, unambiguous and courageous judgments be
given.
Let then the chips fall where they may. Let then the countrys
permanent establishment decide on which side they want to stand. Let
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everyone who has to make this country run share the credit, or the
blame, if things come to a grinding halt. This has to be done quickly
because the deadly Middle East virus now gripping monarchies, sultanates,
dictatorships and republics is already looking menacingly at Pakistan.
The poor and the deprived, depraved masses are already on the
streets every day protesting one injustice or the other. Political leaders who
are part of the problem keep shouting about a revolution, probably against
themselves. The security apparatus is thinly stretched to fight many
unnecessary wars. Only two beacons of light, the judiciary and the
media, provide some hope but those trying to protect their own ill-gotten
riches are bent upon destroying both these institutions.
If they succeed, what would be left to prevent a total free fall?
And who will gain from it? Everyone must think hard now: Extremists,
secessionists, gunrunners, terrorists, warlords? Please make up your own
list!
Next day, Noman Ahmed wrote about killings in Karachi. The
conventional process of crime and punishment may not be able to
address this situation. A political consensus backed by mass support of
ordinary people shall be the first building block towards a preventive
mechanism. Monitoring and objective reporting by electronic media can
help in pre-empting crises in the making. And, finally, state response
towards the spread of arms and ammunition shall have to be quick. The
present approach of looking the other way towards stockpiles of deadly
weapons can cause probably the deadliest manmade disasters in this
unfortunate metropolis.
The News commented: For a few days, Karachi has been relatively
calm. But it is hard to say when violence may erupt again Following the
latest killing spree, the chief minister and interior minister have discussed
the situation in the city arising from the death of some 44 people since
March 10. We are told that the police and rangers have been ordered to move
into troubled areas and begin action there. There are vague promises that
calm will prevail and order will return. We wonder how many people are
willing to believe these words, given that promises of a very similar nature
have been made in the past. They have come to naught
We all hope that the latest measures will bring results. But, sadly,
there is also doubt. What is of special concern is the degree of confusion
inherent in Mr Maliks words. He talks of elements involved in Balochistan
being responsible but also says that there are intelligence reports of the
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involvement of members of political parties. We wonder which version is

correct. Mr Malik also dismisses the difference of opinion over the Peoples
Aman Committee between the Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza, who
publicly praised it, and the federal government that banned it after an MQM
outcry, as an outcome of democracy. However, the fact that so wide a
divergence on a key issue exists within a ruling party seems to point to
chaos, rather than freedom. This inability to see things clearly is perhaps
one reason why Karachis woes continue.
We have now been told that key culprits are being held by authorities
and that there are serial killers among them. We hope that there is some
truth to all this and that taking these alleged mass murderers off the streets
will bring some peace to Karachi. Sadly, it is hard to be confident about Mr
Maliks comments. We have been deceived too many times in the past, and it
frequently seems that despite the many meetings held and the interior
ministers arrival in Karachi to preside over them, there is in reality, a lack of
clarity over what is wrong and how to fix it. This is dangerous and does not
augur well for the future.
In another editorial, the newspaper wrote: In a move timed to
bewilder many observers, President Asif Ali Zardari has decided to use
presidential rights bestowed on him by the Constitution under Article 186 to
move before the Supreme Court a review petition seeking a re-examination
of the murder trial of his late father-in-law and PPP founder, Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto. While the verdict that led to the countrys first elected prime
minister being taken to the gallows remains shrouded in controversy, ZAB
was hanged 32 years ago. The man seen as the chief architect of his
overthrow and execution, General Ziaul Haq is also dead. Although there
have been many voices over the years calling for the re-opening of one of
the most unsavoury chapters from our unpleasant history, doing so at this
juncture does not make obvious sense, unless the purpose is to distract
attention from far more relevant ongoing issues or as some commentators
have suggested embarrass the Supreme Court by raising before it all kinds
of awkward issues. This appears to be the thinking behind the move which
has been finalized after deliberations between the president and his aides.
Many legal questions arise. There seems to be a lack of consensus
among former judges as to whether a review can be sought in a murder
case after all this time. At a more practical level, people ask why the
president has suddenly acquired so keen an interest in the case, especially
since far more pressing matters remain unresolved. We still have little idea
for instance, as to who killed ZABs daughter. The suspicion that this is the
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first step in a political game of some kind makes the whole thing seems
especially sinister. Who knows what is being planned, what plots are being
hatched, and why.
In yet another editorial it talked of Sindh Card: There has been talk of
confrontation between the PPP government and the Supreme Court for so
long now, that some of us had begun to think it may not happen at all. But
the indications are now clearer than ever that we may be heading towards a
final showdown and a dastardly attempt to reduce the courts to the
kind of puppet set-ups that have existed in the past, nodding tamely when
political masters speak, and doing their bidding without so much as a whine
of protest. This is the very last thing we need. At the moment, an
independent judiciary offers the only beacon of light for our future.
We have seen over the past months repeated efforts to thwart its
efforts and to ignore its verdicts. As the SC has itself noted, the strike in
Sindh following its ruling on the appointment of the NAB Chairman
amounted to a terrible act of open defiance. There are indications that the
PPP may now be preparing to step up the scale of this defiance and take
matters further. Panic within its ranks is reported to be mounting as the
NRO petition and the matter of judicial appointments comes up for review
with the henchmen who surround the president concerned about a revival of
the Swiss cases and what this would mean for them.
The tactics of desperation are being seen. The astonishing show of
strength put on by Dr Zulfikar Mirza and his supporters as the SC heard the
contempt case against the PPPs Taj Haider and Sharjeel Memon for their
remarks in the case of the NAB Chairman, Deedar Hussain Shah, suggests
that the Sindh Card is to be used in the future. Dr Mirza has made
controversial remarks about Sindhis being treated like Bengalis. None of this
makes sense, but the purpose is obviously to strike at the courts through
street power at its ugliest. The PPP sees this as a battle it must win. The
apex court obviously cannot match such tactics. As an institution, its role is
one of dignity and the ability to command respect. It is precisely these
qualities that the PPP seeks to challenge. We can only hope for the sake of
our collective future that it does not succeed and we do not lose the breath of
fresh air that has wafted our way since the Supreme Court under Justice
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry resumed duties some two years ago.
Kamran Ali from Hyderabad observed: The PPP showed its true
colours when a large number of its parliamentarians (most of whom are
feudal lords and mill-owners) turned up at the Supreme Court on April 1 to

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pressurize the judiciary. Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza, who is not
only a feudal lord but also owns sugar mills, wore a Sindhi cap to play the
politics of provincialism. May I ask what on earth a feudal lord has in
common with a poor Sindhi hari or ordinary sugar-mill worker?
Syed Zain Shah also from Hyderabad asked: It seems that the PPP
believes in politics of intimidation. Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza
and his associates pose as the ultimate symbols of sacrifice. In reality,
though, they are just wealthy people who received party tickets because of
their influence in the little fiefdoms they have created for themselves in
Sindh.
Ali Naqvi from Karachi asked: What did Zulfiqar Mirza mean when
he said the entire Sindh Assembly would go to jail if Taj Haider was
convicted by the Supreme Court? How is it not intimidation? Was it not
tantamount to threatening the judiciary?
Razi Bakhtawar also from Karachi observed: Zulfiqar Mirzas
complain that the Supreme Court did not take notice of Karachis targeted
killings was simply hilarious. Sir, you are the home minister. The targeted
killings in Karachi prove your incompetence, not of the Supreme
Courts. How could he blame his own poor performance on the Supreme
Court?
Rashid Nazar from Lahore wrote: The entire PPP is now basically a
save-Zardari party. Forget about any meaningful changes in governance,
all that the PPP is now concerned with is surviving another two years in
power. Awami politics of the Bhuttos has now been replaced with power
politics of Asif Zardari.
On 5th April, Shaheen Sehbai commented : The top PPP leadership
has lobbed a very loose ball towards the Supreme Court and President
Zardari has staked much of his legal capital on the ZA Bhutto review
case. It will thus soon become clear how the PPP pays for this grave
mistake. Why I say so is obvious. The SC has quickly fixed the reference
case for April 13, right when the other key cases of NRO and appointment of
judges would be in the middle of hearings.
Whatever the legal constraints or realities, the ZAB case is easy for
the SC to dispose of. There has been a general consensus in the country that
the ZAB judgment was bad and his hanging was unjustified. Bulk of the
onus of the tragedy should, and rightly so, fall on the then dictator who
ignored a split verdict and hanged the leader. He is no more to face the
consequences if the SC verdict is declared void.
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Now that the reference has been made, the SC can declare, provided
legally justified and in their own judicial lingo, that the judgment may be
revisited if the PPP or the petitioners want to have a retrial. Let then the
PPP decide whether and when they want to reopen the can of worms in
which a lot of worms will bite the PPP as well.
Together with such a verdict to satisfy the PPP, the SC can also
observe that other cases in which judges gave wrong verdicts but now
feel that they were under pressure or had given a wrong decision for some
other reason, could also be allowed to be reopened, if the petitioners or the
defence so want.
Once the PPP leadership gets such a judgment in the ZAB case, the
party will be left with hardly any justification to further use the ZAB card or
challenge or shout at the SC. The black spots the President Zardari has
referred to on the faces of the judges will then be washed clean. And then,
after this new clean look, when the same SC gives verdicts in other
important cases of NRO and dual offices for the president, it would be
difficult to accuse them of persecuting the Sindhis. The Sindh Card would
thus stand useless and turn into a blank piece of trash.
And all these judgments can come either simultaneously or within a
few days of the ZAB case. The SC could also assert its authority by giving a
timeline for implementation of its judgments so that the government does
not drag its feet on steps that it thinks may be damaging to its leadership,
like reopening the Swiss cases or holding two offices or reappointing Deedar
Shah.
Whatever the SC decides, it has the golden opportunity to silence
the PPP leadership through the ZAB case and bring the current leaders to
justice, as they should be. ZAB should be proved to be innocent while those
who are criminals should get the punishment they deserve.
Next day, Taj M Khattak observed: Although tensions between
government and the judiciary have a long history in Pakistan, the recent
slide in this relationship in its varying manifestations is a serious cause for
concern The PPP continues this undesirable practice of intimidation of the
higher judiciary.
Taj mentioned Babar Awans appearance in the Supreme Court in July
2010, accompanied by a large posse of cabinet ministers and party
politicians and compared the incident of 1997 and the show of force in
2011. he noted that the only difference is that the mob which attacked the
Supreme Court consisted of supporters hailing from Punjab, determined to
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cause physical harm to then-chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah, who is from
Sindh; and now it was politicians and workers of a party with a Sindhi leader
trying to impress a judge who has Chaudhry as his last name. Justice Iftikhar
Mohammad Chaudhry is an ethnic Punjabi. It is Sindh and Punjab which
have ruled or misruled Pakistan whenever the military establishment hasnt
been visibly at the forefront, with politicians from the smaller provinces
readily available as permanent coalition members for petty gains.
Musharraf, who had taken an oath to protect the Constitution and on
numerous commissioning parades administered the same oath to a
generation of officers, surpassed them all by sacking the entire higher
judiciary with total disregard of the Constitution. In retrospect, Nawaz
Sharifs long march for restoration of the judiciary was more a political
ploy than an expression of support for an independent judiciary. He did
so to enable his party to take a backseat in parliament, leaving the Supreme
Court to turn on the heat on the ruling party every now and then.
World over, it is an effective opposition, and not the countrys courts,
which checks unbridled corruption and keeps the government of the day on
the straight and narrow. There is little doubt now that the oppositions
conduct in the last three years has been far from assertive and fallen well
short of public expectations. History is unlikely to be kind to the PML-N,
even if the electorate favours him in the next elections because of the
unpopularity of the incumbent rulers.
The governments latest spat with the judiciary, like some others in
the past, has stemmed from the presidents support for his cronies rather than
regard for merit and justice qualities which are a requirement of his
constitutional office. The strike in Sindh against the Supreme Courts
decision on the appointment of the NAB chairman was unique as it was
probably for the first time that a province-wide shutter-down call was given
by a party in power. It is open defiance of the Supreme Court and a
Machiavellian political move, not just a simple matter of contempt.
The two officials who were issued notices of contempt of court were
accompanied to the Supreme Court by nearly one hundred second-tier
politicians and workers from Sindh, who were prominently displaying their
ethnic symbols. In a style usually associated with trade unions, Sindh home
minister Zulfiqar Mirza warned that the entire Sindh Assembly would
voluntarily court arrests if any harm came to the two whose conduct was
taken a note of by the court

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These intimidating tactics in our legal regime are uncalled-for,

because they could only set dangerous precedents. Already a Karachi-based
political party has marginalized the Sindh High Courts efforts to proceed in
the case of the carnage of May 12, 2007, in the city. Would the government
be able to stop a village feudal from trucking a couple of thousand people
outside a district and session court in a small town where a murder case is
being heard against him? Or, worse yet, what if this becomes the norm
across the length and breadth of the country?
The Sindh home ministers frequent outbursts are utterly
misplaced The Sindh home minister would do well to put his weight
behind targeted killings in Karachi whose numbers are now fast catching
up with the number of causalities caused by US drone in our north-west.
Corruption has spread like cancer in the body structure of the state. The
reconciliation strategy has been overstretched to the point where it has
become a means for the extension of the PPPs rule.
The downside of idolizing an independent judiciary is the ease with
which people seek a judicial review when they see that something is not
right. Islamabad these days has become the most litigious city in Pakistan
mainly because government actions and decisions invariably fail to
measure up to constitutional propriety. If the opposition or any individual
exercises his or her right to go to the court, why should the ruling party feel
upset or call for strikes which turn violent and cause loss of life?
Some political parties in the coalition are leaving the treasury
benches with an eye to the next election. Likewise, the PPP would not be
too unhappy if its remaining term is interrupted and the party can present the
interruption as martyrdom, which would gain it sufficient political mileage
before the elections. Dirty politics will continue to be played in this country,
but let it not be said that the judiciary failed to rise to the occasion. And, yes,
there is a lot of substance to the argument that the individual reasoning and
autonomy of each judge is central to a truly independent judiciary.
Tail Piece: Justice Muhammad Rustam Kiyani, or MRK, as he was
fondly known, was chief justice of West Pakistan from 1958 to 1962 and
was allotted some agricultural land in Sindh on retirement. He soon ran into
serious trouble with the patwari for possession. MRK wouldnt entertain the
slightest thought of impropriety and the patwari had never done a days
honest work.
There was no love lost between MRK and President Ayub, but Ayubs
gentlemanliness was to last to the end. Ayub decided to intervene in favour
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of the good judge by summoning the entire hierarchy of the department

concerned to circuit house in Sukkur on his next hunting trip. Last to be
ushered in was the patwari who came in with his basta (bag). As Ayub pored
over his drawings, lo and behold, the khasra numbers of the chief justices
land had simply vanished, not a trace of it to be found anywhere. MRK won
on his principles but lost out on matters of land to a patwari. Chief Justice
Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry is dealing with a hugely difficult
situation. Let us wish him luck.
The News wrote on shutter-down in Karachi. Extortionists,
kidnappers and bandits seem to thrive in Karachi where most legal
businesses remain on the edge because of the recent surge in crimes. The
effective shutter-down by small shopkeepers and traders on Tuesday reflects
the growing frustration of the business community over the governments
inaction against crime mafias in the city. The bigger trade and business
groups, however, deferred their shutter-down to give the government more
time for a crackdown on criminals. The cracks in the protest strategy are
understandable as closing businesses is never a first choice, but the last
resort especially in Karachi where countless workdays are lost because
armed militants belonging to various political parties often force trade
centres and markets to close. But the biggest problem for Karachis
business community remains widespread extortion and kidnappings for
ransom cases. The old parts of Karachi, the hub of most retail and
wholesale businesses, are the worst affected. The stories of receipts, or
parchis demanding a few hundred to millions of rupees as protection
money or bhatta from victims is now an everyday occurrence for those
who do business in the city. The refusal to pay often leads to armed assaults
or even killings.
Although most political groups have been involved in this activity to
some extent, the recent rise in crime has been blamed largely on the
shadowy Peoples Aman Committee (PAC) of Lyari, the stronghold of the
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the city. Although the PAC, once called a
sister organization of the ruling party, enjoyed the blessings of some key
PPP Sindh stalwarts, Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced the
banning of the group on March 17 to meet a key demand of the estranged
coalition partner, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. But little action has so
far been taken on the ground. The governments inability to curb extortion
and kidnappings, led to protests by traders and shopkeepers last month,
prompting President Zardari to again issue directives to the interior minister
to fight the menace in coordination with the provincial government. But
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political considerations seem to prevent the authorities from going after the
gangs in Karachi.
The truth is that criminals operate under the cover of all the
major political parties in Karachi, which have criminalized politics and
politicized crime. What Karachi needs is even-handed, impartial action. For
this the city needs not just an independent police force but a speedy justice
system. Major political parties, especially the ones in the ruling coalition,
also need to walk their talk and clear their stables of criminals. The first
prerequisites for a flourishing economy remain rule of law and security.
Karachi in 2011 is certainly more dangerous than it was in 2008 when the
PPP came to power. The government needs to do some soul-searching to
find out what went wrong and start corrective measures.
On 7th April, the newspaper commented: The priorities of our
government seem, to put it very mildly, quite peculiar. While the threedecade old case of the hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is being vigourously
pursued, after the president moved a review petition before the Supreme
Court, not even a written application has been lodged seeking the extradition
of former president Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf is being strongly
implicated in the far more recent case of the murder of Benazir Bhutto, and
visiting British Premier David Cameron has said that while no extradition
treaty exists between the UK and Pakistan, as a first step a formal request
seeking the return of the dictator needs to be put in so that the matter can be
considered in London. This seems to be the logical way to proceed
provided that the government is serious about solving the case. The response
by Information Minister Firdaus Ashiq Awan, that court orders are being
awaited in the matter seems somewhat odd, given the gravity of the matter.
A judicial ruling is hardly required to begin discussing the issue with
London but it seems that this was not taken up with Mr Cameron during
the detailed discussions with him in Islamabad. Do our leaders really want
to bring BBs killers to justice, or are we being played games with? Are
the intentions of those who hold power what they seem to be?
Certainly, the situation seems bizarre. Aged witnesses, who in some
cases have confessed their recollection of events is now hazy, are being
called before the court in the ZAB case, far less effort seems to be on to
determine what events led to his daughters death. Is there a lot to hide? This
seems to be the case. Even beyond the murder of Benazir, there are many
who would like to see Musharraf returned to the country to answer
various questions about his actions including those pertaining to the
judiciary. There would certainly appear to be no harm in beginning an effort
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to do so, and using the warmer ties now established with the British
government as a means to move forward and put to an end to a tradition
which allows de facto rulers to escape without having to answer for the
wrongs they have committed or the harm they may have inflicted on their
country and its various institutions.
Amjad from Rawalpindi opined: The government is pursuing its
plans to do away with the Higher Education Commission under the cover of
the 18th Amendment. All arguments which the government has been
extending in support of its devolution plan are devoid of logic. The
people of Pakistan are fully aware of the real reason behind this decision.
Higher education is a very sensitive matter linked with the future of our
children and our country. During the past few years HEC made immense
contribution towards the cause of education by sponsoring Pakistani students
for PhD programmes in prominent universities all over the world. The
commission also successfully controlled the mushroom growth of
substandard private universities in the country. It had played a vital role in
the modernization of Pakistani universities by providing liberal grants for
induction of modern research equipment.
We should have no doubt that doing away with HEC will play havoc
with our education system. To save the future of our children and the
education infrastructure of Pakistan from the nefarious designs of our corrupt
rulers, it is the duty of every Pakistani to rise and resist the implementation of
this plan.
Mubashir Mahmood from Karachi asked: I fail to understand the
policy of the political parties which are now vehemently opposing the
governments decision to devolve HEC to provinces. According to the 18 th
Amendment, the education ministry is to be transferred to the provinces. Why
didnt the political parties raise their voice on this issue when the 18 th
Amendment was unanimously passed in parliament?
Humaira Batool also from Karachi wrote: Handing HEC to people like
those who claim degrees are degrees whether fake or real is like giving a
piece of gold to someone who cannot differentiate between fake or real and
on top of that ask him to break the gold into pieces. At a time when all the
developing and developed countries are focusing on and investing more in
higher education, devolution of HEC in our country with the purpose of
ending the financial monopoly of the body once and for all as has been said
by Raza Rabbani, the Chairman of the Implementation Commission of the
18th Amendment, is sad and unacceptable.
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Lt-Col (r) Sarfaraz Hussain Abidi also from Karachi noted: I wonder if
we can draw parallels between the ongoing blowing up of schools in Fata
by terrorists and devolution of HEC by the enemies of knowledge. I fail to
understand what inconvenience HEC caused to this democratic government
that it is set to remove it from the national horizon. The opportunists in the
government must have their eyes on the forthcoming grant of Rs40 billion to
HEC and large pieces of land lying vacant with every Pakistani university.
Apart from these opportunities, our politicians probably want to settle score
with HEC which committed the crime of verifying their degrees for
authenticity. Indeed, it is the question of the collective ghairat of our
parliamentarians.
Raoof Hasan wrote: The principal organ of the state, the legislature,
has abdicated its responsibility to the whims of the ruling few. It is
manoeuvred to suit their gory cravings. The executive has corrupted itself out
of function. It only works to satiate its corpulent abdomen. The political elite
are busy in their trademark Machiavellian tricks to render the electorate
abysmally dependent on their largesse that they would dole out against the
promise of continuing support at the elections. The tentacles of economic
bondage are digging deeper into the poor peoples flesh causing incurable
hemorrhage.
The judiciary, the only organ of the state that is functional, is being
continually indicted to render it inoperative. There is a villainous intent to
it this being the only way for the incumbent aberration to complete its
tenure, even go beyond. Every directive emanating from the apex court is
being dubbed as a challenge to the supremacy of the legislature. The edifice
of the state rests on inducing a fear syndrome of some invisible forces.
The reference filed by the president asking the SC to revisit the death
sentence awarded to ZA Bhutto, later executed by tyrant Zia, is a doubleedged weapon. While the SC may proceed with speed to undo an historical
wrong, it would instantly deprive the PPP leadership of the relevance of the
Sindh card that it has been brandishing wantonly since taking charge more
than three years ago. The injection of the ethnic vaccine in the conundrum
is bound to add further bite to the exploits of the ruling elite. Their
ravages have depleted the poor of their ability to survive. Weaving further
webs of deceit would soon deprive them of their right to life.
Next day, Ayaz Amir criticized his partys government in Punjab for
mishandling the young doctors. Excerpts from his column are reproduced:
Matters on the doctors front are still not past the point of no return. They are
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very much retrievable if, apart from the proviso of untreated iron in
bureaucratic necks, the Punjab government recognizes the following: (1)
young doctors are the backbone of health services across the country; (2) as
an overworked and underpaid community, they have genuine grievances and
their demands have struck a chord not only in the Punjab health service but in
that of other provinces as well; (3) the movement launched haphazardly by
the Young Doctors Association (YDA) represents a collective breaking point,
doctors simply fed up with their conditions of service and working
environment; (4) this movement has now arrived at a point where it cannot be
crushed by police methods; and (5) nowhere in the world is there a substitute
for trained doctors.
The Punjab provincial health department is purveying dangerous
nonsense when it says that it can handle the situation by replacing striking
doctors with freshly-inducted recruits from private medical colleges or basic
health units. This is the kind of unthinking arrogance which has led to this
crisis in the first place. Doctors are not bus drivers or sanitary workers. It
takes years of education and training to produce a medical officer from a
recognized institution, say, King Edward Medical College or Fatima Jinnah
Medical College.
Matters had been settled between the YDA and the CMs senior
adviser Zulfikar Khoso on March 31st, only a formal announcement
remaining to be made. It had been agreed that house officers would get a raise
of Rs12, 000 a month and other categories of doctors a raise of 20, 000 a
month. The CM was supposed to meet YDA reps and in their presence make
this announcement. What happened? Who sabotaged this move? Or was
untreated iron the problem again?
There are 22,500 doctors in the Punjab health service, of which 2,500
are house officers. The March 31st package if agreed upon Rs12,000 for
house officers and Rs20,000 for other categories would have had a
budgetary impact (I have the rough calculations) of roughly 5-6 billion
rupees. The police pay rise of two years ago had a budgetary impact of nine
billion rupees. The cost of road-building in Lahore alone involves huge sums,
many times more than what it would take to satisfy the doctors. No one puts
in longer hours than government doctors. And no work is more arduous than
theirs.
True, doctors have a bad image problem. Looking at the private
practice of senior doctors too many of us think doctors to be no better than
butchers and cutthroats. But the generality of doctors, those who keep health
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services going, is not like this. Theres also the larger point about the kind of
health service we want in this country. Pakistan is suffering a massive brain
drain, with some of our best doctors seeking greener pastures abroad. Come to
think of it, 4,000 Pakistani doctors went to Saudi Arabia last year; 2,000 more
are on the verge of going.
And why is Saudi Arabia looking for Pakistani doctors? Because
Indian doctors are returning to India, drawn by the higher salaries that doctors
now get there. What do we want to do with our health services? Do we want
to improve them, are we interested in keeping our best doctors here, or are we
closing our eyes to trends that spell ruin for the future of our health services?
Clearly, more is at stake than wounded pride or hurt feelings. This is a
time for leadership, for transcending pettiness of mind and spirit. And if
anyone has to show this leadership, it is the CM, the elected head of the
province. But theres no time to lose, for it is the public which is suffering.
Another point which may be kept in mind: Musharraf had his black coats and
he lived to rue the day he pushed them on the warpath. The PML-N can do
without the provinces white coats up in arms against it.
Dr Qaisar Rashid talked of HEC. Even in the light of the 18 th
Amendment, it is a moot point whether or not the HEC is a regulatory
authority established under a federal law in accordance with entry No 6 in
Part II of the Federal Legislative List. The HEC comes under the Council
of Common Interests under Article 154 (1), which reads: The Council shall
formulate and regulate policies in relation to matters in Part II of the Federal
Legislative List and shall exercise supervision and control over related
institutions.
The question is whether or not the HEC is an institution related to
the CCI because the CCI is related to resolutions disputes like distribution of
water among the provinces. Apparently, the HEC is not related to the CCI
because the division of the provincial funds (including those for education)
will take place under NFC awards. The CCI seems more related to that
distribution mechanism than to the HEC.
The 18th Amendment is silent on whether both the HEC and the
CCI assert relevance to certain entries given in part II of the Federal
Legislative List (like entry No 7 focusing on ...planning and coordination of
scientific and technological research and entry 12 focusing on standards in
institutions for higher education and research, scientific and technical

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institutions), which one should prevail over the other?

Under the 18th Amendment, Article 270-AA allows the legislature to
alter or amend the charter of the HEC through either an act of parliament or a
presidential ordinance to keep the HEC federal. The point is not whether
this can be done or not, but whether there is a will to do it.
Harris Khalique approved of governments decision to do away with
HEC. To think that HEC managers were somewhat divine visionaries and
were exceptionally superior to those running the resource constrained UGC
earlier will be a bit of a misconception. Nevertheless, the issues around
competitive standards and resource allocations have to be addressed by
provincial and federal governments. This can be done by creating a statutory
coordination and quality assurance mechanism including all stakeholders. It
is the right of the provinces to run their institutions and compete freely
in the job market and in the intellectual arena. They understand no less
the challenges posed by the present day and age.
Dr Muzaffar Iqbal commented: Wherever two Pakistanis are
sitting, there is endless talk about the dismal state of the country, the
corruption and incompetence of its politicians, and the unending intrigues
and political drama, but there is never a spark of hope. Perhaps, it is this lack
of hope that has hampered the Jasmine revolution, but then, Egypt was worse
in this respect. There, two whole generations had grown up without hope. So,
was it the intensity of their hopelessness that made change possible? Are
Pakistanis not sufficiently engulfed in darkness?
Revolutionaries must be clear about what they want. Let there be a
charter of minimum, non-negotiable demands with the top item being
regaining sovereignty. It should be written in bold letters: Henceforth, all
drone attacks will be responded to in kind.
Furthermore, all CIA operatives must leave the country within 36
hours. All politicians must declare their wealth to the public within 24 hours
and whatever is not declared should become public property and whatever is
declared should be scrutinized by an independent commission.
In addition, there should be a list of basic national problems for
which solutions must be found within a reasonable time by an
independent council of experts who should have the power to implement
solutions. On top of the list will be the energy crisis, which has been blamed
on corruption, poor planning, lack of resources and just about everything
else. However, there are ways to estimate demand for gas and electricity and

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all that the country needs is a transparent and fast track procedure to meet
this demand.
It will cost money, but money is not the problem here; the problem
is sheer incompetence and corruption. It has been claimed that if Pakistan
were to replace its old grid wires, there will be enough electricity to meet our
needs. And it has also been said that if Pakistans rulers were to stop their
extravagance, there will be enough money to overhaul this grid system.
In Egypt and Tunisia, Jasmine revolutions had strong technological
components: the internet and various social networking platforms. These
platforms were needed because of extreme political suppression; in Pakistan
these are likely to play a secondary role in the presence of relatively free
news media.
Those who started the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions were just
small youth groups; in Pakistan these can easily come into existence
through existing mechanisms and hence, objective analysis indicates that
the time is just right for a Jasmine revolution in Pakistan.
Pakistan has an abundance of educated youth. These young men and
women have great ideas and plans for a different kind of society. All that
this new generation lacks at this point is the initial ray of hope; someone
just needs to provide them that initial spark of hope and there will blossom a
spirit of change.
On 9th April, Babar Sattar commented on ZAB reference. In rendering
an opinion under Article 186, the Supreme Court will be limited to
addressing the question of law raised by the Zardari regime and hence unable
to take into account the factual controversies peculiar to the Bhutto murder
case. Critics argue that the Zardari regimes mala fide intent is apparent in
this choice of means, as it is incapable of serving the desired end. Given that
the Bhutto case cannot be reopened pursuant to a reference under Article
186, this course of action has been deliberately selected to undermine the
credibility of the apex court, argue that the judicial branch harbours an
ethnic bias, and present the NRO decision and other rulings against the
Zardari regime as a manifestation of such bias.
Notwithstanding the vile intent attributed to explain this move
(backed by evidence of the Zardari regimes readiness to play victim and use
the Sindh card every time it gets in trouble), there can be no principled
objection to finding legal ways to reopen the Bhutto case.
Bhutto might be a terrible man who couldnt stand dissent, had a
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feudal mindset and unleashed ruffians upon his critics. But Bhutto was not
tried for creating the FSF, getting his opponents molested or launching an
operation in Baluchistan. He was tried and hanged for the murder of one
man. The demand for reopening the Bhutto case rests on the argument that
his conviction was based on evidence insufficient to establish his
connection to the murder and the death sentence was disproportionate to
the alleged wrong he had committed.
If this contention is correct and there is evidence to establish that he
was wrongfully convicted, his legal heirs and supporters have a right to wash
the stigma of criminality attached to his name There is also nothing to
gainsay that courts make mistakes. The problem of wrongful convictions
and miscarriage of justice plagues legal systems around the world.
But it is not the courts alone that can ensure that the outcomes
produced by a legal system are just. The statutory provisions providing for
procedural and substantive justice, the law enforcement agencies and state
attorneys in charge of prosecution and the judges overseeing adjudication, all
contribute to the quality of justice produced. And thus, all three branches of
government the executive, the judiciary and the legislature are
responsible for judicial outcomes.
Every legal system strikes a balance between demands for swiftness,
accuracy, finality and fairness. Ours provides for a trial and then an appeal
process all the way up to the Supreme Court. It provides for a review of the
appellate decision. And once the judicial remedies have been exhausted, it
allows the head of the state to issue a pardon in exceptional
circumstances under Article 45 of the Constitution.
But the law at present allows the Supreme Court to review its
decision only once. In Mr Bhuttos case such review was granted and the
conviction upheld. Now the court cannot bend the law to undertake a second
review of the Bhutto case merely because he was a popular leader and the
party that he founded, now led by his son-in-law, is currently in power.
The claims of innocence of others who believe that they might
have been wrongfully convicted are no less worthy. What we therefore
need is an institutionalized mechanism to address the problem of inadvertent
miscarriage of justice that readjusts the existing balance between the safety
and finality of judicial outcomes
Sattar mentioned the circumstances in which trial was held and Dr
Nasim Hassan Shahs statement regarding the judgment and then concluded:

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The desire of the Zardari regime to reopen the Bhutto case can actually be
an opportunity to introduce a criminal cases review commission in
Pakistan through proper legislation, which can then be tasked to reassess
the Bhutto verdict and hundreds of others to determine if they caused
miscarriage of justice.
The Supreme Court, in response to the presidential reference, can
educate the federal government on the available legislative and institutional
options to introduce such a safety valve within our justice system without
impinging on the separation of powers and judicial independence. The
Zardari regime also has an opportunity to prove its critics wrong and use the
Article 186 process constructively, as a means to strengthen our criminal
justice system, as opposed to vilifying the judiciary.
Mumtaz Ali Bhutto wrote: We have just witnessed another festival on
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos death anniversary. I use the word festival
deliberately because what transpires at the family graveyard of this branch of
the Bhutto family, at Garhi Khuda Buksh, is nothing short of a political mela
which most of the visitors celebrate rather than mourn the occasion with the
solemnity and dignity that it deserves. This is not surprising since 90 percent
of ministers, senators, MNAs and MPAs who flock to the graveyard are those
who opposed Shaheed Bhutto in his lifetime and some even rejoiced at his
murder.
However, this time around, Zardari and his team have out done
themselves in submerging into the Bhutto ethos by filing a petition in the
Supreme Court for reopening the Bhutto murder case. The whole world
already treats Bhuttos hanging as judicial murder. This includes one of the
judges who passed the death sentence
But the real question Zardari is running away from is: After three
years of his rule, what have the people got? He may run but he cannot hide
from the answer that, the people have got nothing but uncontrolled
lawlessness, rampant corruption, non availability of basic amenities, a
shattered economy, no foreign policy except total submission to US
suzerainty and hollow claims of reforms which break down on scrutiny.
The essence of the current governmental strategy is to rule by
spreading corruption and keep the people entangled in chasing a buck
while the ship of the state is sinking. Even the fate of the Benazir Income
Support Scheme is dismal: Transparency International disclosed that in the
first year, out of the Rs90 billion earmarked for distribution, only Rs17
billion reached the people while the rest disappeared into deep pockets.
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Similarly, the first installment on the Watan Card got worn down from
Rs20,000 to Rs10,000 by the time it got to the intended beneficiaries.
The politicians, who are well entrenched at the banquet of
Reconciliation, are of course parties to the state of affairs and too full to
complain. Then there are those who are left out but living on hope. This is a
totally foreign made, backed and run government, they say, which has
been put in place by removing Shaheed Benazir from the scene.
The sponsoring powers will give full protection to this government
and not allow any change. Others say that any political upheaval now will
bring in the armed forces and another 10 years of military rule so we must
endure the remaining two years of the current agony until elections, with the
hope that it will be fair and free (fat chance).
There are even those who feel that the country is beyond
redemption as Zardari has conclusively destroyed all state institutions
and replaced honest and efficient officials with his jail mates and notoriously
corrupt bureaucrats to the extent that even NAB has been turned into a venue
of protection rather than punishment of the corrupt. So much so that it is now
the task of the Supreme Court to take suo moto notice and initiate action.
Next day, Asif Ezdi discussed the damages caused by the 18 th
Amendment, one of which was being felt now a day in the form of
devolution of HEC. He concluded: Whatever, Rabbani might claim, the 18 th
Amendment, of which he is the profound author, has achieved not so much
the devolution of powers to the provinces as the demolition of large parts of
the state of Pakistan. Last month, he received the Nishan-e-Imtiaz from
Zardari for his pains. Rabbanis award was well-deserved, but for services
performed in a field very different from the promotion of constitutional
democracy; being the countrys most diligent demolition man.
Ahmed Quraishi opined: No other democracy in the world allows its
elected representatives to maintain bank accounts and conduct local politics
abroad, in Dubai and London. There are also the falling standards of personal
integrity of Pakistani politicians. Our democratic warriors include thieves,
looters, credit card thieves, rape suspects, and even accomplices to
murder and to burying women alive in the name of honour (at least in one
case). Lastly, the Pakistani political system is now structured to stifle the
emergence of new faces and ideas.
We cannot rely on time to heal these major flaws in our political
system. The culprits will not step forward to correct themselves and these

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flaws will damage the state. We are already on the path of slow suicide. The
only solution is extra-constitutional intervention by the people and the
judiciary to force change onto a dying political system. Such an
intervention has enabled the Egyptian people, for example, to force changes
in their constitution and political system to root out incompetence and allow
for fresh faces and ideas.

REVIEW
On 1st April, PPP MPAs from Sindh came from Karachi to Islamabad
as part of the plan to play Sindh Card. They wore Sindhi caps and ajraks,
just to ensure that they might not be mistaken as Pakistanis. They did not
hesitate in complaining about the bias of judiciary against Sindh and
threatened not to tolerate it any more.
Will the contempt notice lead to punishing habitual offenders for a
change or will it be yet another self-humiliating act? This depends on the
judges as to how much ridicule they can absorb. Perhaps, it is not mere
capacity to tolerate the insult; judges seemed to have been intimidated by
the threat of dire consequences of Sindh Card.
Swarming of the Supreme Court by PPP MPAs from Sindh was
certainly an obscene display of Sindh Card. It was Scoundrels way of
showing force to deter miscreants just as army organizes flag-marches
when called in aid of civil power. Army units do it to deter unknown
miscreants, but Zardari did it right in front the building where the suspected
trouble makers were sitting.
As already said the presidential reference for reopening of Zulfikar Ali
Bhuttos case is part of the Sindh Card game. The reference has been sent to
the Supreme Court on the pretext that the judges then had given the verdict
under pressure of a military dictator. There may be evidence supporting this
argument but merits and demerits of reopening this case needed to be
debated.
The most important aspect of the reference is the motive behind it. It
is not the one Zardari had announced while addressing the party gathering at
the shrine of ZAB, i.e. to wash the black spot from the face of Judiciary.
The evil design behind this move is to spray more blackness over that face.
The Judiciary of that time has been blamed for giving a wrong
decision under pressure of a military dictator. The exertion of pressure on

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judges has not been confined to that period alone. The judges have been
under pressure before and after that; and the ugliest form of pressure has
been exerted by the present regime.
The pressure to secure conviction ZAB was bad, but he deserved the
fate he met because of crimes he had committed against his political
opponents and the role he played in breaking up Pakistan. On the other hand,
the present regime has been exerting pressure to get acquittal of Zardari and
his gang who have committed crimes serially.
The pressure exerted by Zia may not have had the grace of a military
dictator, but the pressure now being exerted by Zardari regime on Judiciary
has definite touch of a scoundrel. The experience of people of Pakistan tells
that military dictators, like lions hunt, kill by choking and occasionally
growl while eating. Politicians are like hyenas, they hunt and start eating the
prey alive and make lot of noise while eating, perhaps this is a way to relish
a free feast.
Quite ironically, the reference has been a brain child of Law Minister,
Babar Awan, the man who had celebrated the hanging of ZAB by
distributing sweets in Rawalpindi District Bar. He drafted, processed and
filed the reference, according to him, to correct a historic wrong.
Without taking cognizance of other factors, the Babar factor alone
proved that the reference was not meant for undoing any wrong, but to
commit more wrongs to target Judiciary, which somehow has been treated as
main adversary of Zardari regime. It is not filed for the love or grief for
ZAB. In fact, it would remind the people of many sins that the founderfather of PPP had committed and had remained unaccounted for.
The timing of the reference reflected the sinister motive behind it. The
Supreme Court has scheduled hearing of important cases of NRO, 18 th
Amendment, contempt of court and others in the weeks to come. This
reference will be used to divert public attention away from the sins of the
man who now heads ZABs party.
In case the apex court dared dispensing justice and upholding the
cause of rule of law, this reference will facilitate effective play of Sindh
Card. This in turn will help defaming the Judiciary by hurling accusations of
bias and prejudices against politicians from Sindh.
This will also revive the sympathy vote as next elections are nearing.
That was why it was timed just before the Urs of ZAB when jiyals and

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jiyalsi turn majawars and congregate in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh and Zardari as
Gaddi-nashin oversees the conduct of annual ritual.
There were other events which deserved to be commented upon.
Victory of Owais Leghari in bye-elections indicated two ground realities.
One; the claim that media has brought significant change in political
awareness of the people was proved wrong. Two; if PML-N has performed
so badly against PML-Q candidate, it is unlikely to improve its political
standing in the next election.
Those who want positive and meaningful change through ballot have
lot to do as in the rural areas the feudal hold on voters is intact. Similarly,
PML-N too has to rethink its strategy and come out with new ideas rather
than sticking to reactive approach if it has to compete with PPP and host of
other political forces.
It has to go beyond sasti roti scheme which was initiated in reaction to
BISP. It has served no useful purpose; both schemes have wasted more than
Rs120 billion. BISP may have consolidated PPPs vote bank, but the billions
spent on sasti roti have simply been burnt into tanoors without bringing any
relief to masses or adding to the popularity of the party.
The young doctors remained on strike for more than five weeks. Their
demands were genuine but the extent to which they went to get those
demands accepted by the government was not correct. The same was true for
provincial government which showed undue arrogance and secretary health
was blamed by the most observers and even by the LHC.
The policy followed by Irsa is the same as gas load shedding in
Punjab; the latter was meant to damage industry in Punjab and the former
has similar design for agriculture sector. Irsa turned down the request of
Punjab to fill Mangla Dam and a few days later it informed the federal
government that water in Tarbela Dam would fall to dead level in a day or
two and urged construction of more dams. This hardly needs any
commentary.
The devolution of HEC is part of the regimes doctrine of
democracy is the best revenge. This revenge is two-fold: one, to punish
HEC for the role it played during the issue of fake degrees verification; two,
to scrounge the funds and foreign aid provided to HEC.
11th April 2011

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WIN-WIN MOVE
Hearing of the Zardari regimes reference for reopening of ZAB case
started amid theatrics of Babar Awan. His antics, sacrifice of law ministry
and yalghar (invasion) of jiyalas on Supreme Court failed to impress the
judges and they could not resist from admonishing him for substandard
drafting on the reference.
The reference has a lot to do with the review of court verdict on NRO
case. The regime also continued with delaying tactics to stall the court
decision on its review petition. It did not allow Kamal Azfar to plead its case
but the court did not permit Khalid Ranjha to replace him. In the process, the

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false statements earned contempt notices to Advocate on Record and

Solicitor General.
As the budget time neared and support in the Parliament dwindled
Zardari regime sent Hafeez Sheikh to the US where he earned the wrath of
parliamentarians by calling the Parliament as an impediment in taxation and
the request for Rs1.3 billion was also rejected by IMF. At home, Zardari
embraced Qatal League for passage of annual budget but the issue of
Moonis Elahi and some other demands were yet to be resolved.
Other issues kept smouldering if not burning in flares, i.e. bloodletting
in Karachi despite political slaughter of Zulfikar Mirza; victimization of
Punjab through gas and electricity load-shedding; devolution of HEC; and
statements for more provinces. The enlightened like Farzana Bari found time
to worry about Mokhtaran Mai and polygamy. And, the Chief Justice
advised the army officers attending Command and Staff College to stay
away from interfering in this democratic dispensation.

NEWS
On 11th April, the Supreme Court rejected governments request for
accepting Khalid Ranjha as it counsel; it directed Kamal Azfar to continue
after seeking its permission. The Court observed that the request for change
of counsel was only part of delaying tactics. The court also desired
appearance of Malik Qayyum.
LHC accepted petition of Rafique Tarar for hearing in which
petitioner had begged for removal of Musharraf from the list of former
presidents of Pakistan. All the VCs of public and private sectors, 133 in all,
assembled in Islamabad and opposed devolution of HEC.
Moonis Elahi was sent to jail after FIA submitted chalan in the
banking court; the investigators found proofs of transaction of illegal money
through the account of his wife. MQM leader and two MQM-H activists
were among five shot dead in Karachi. JIT report on targeted-killings said
MQM has a militant group; MQM denied.
Next day, Additional AG told the court that the government has not
permitted Kamal Azfar to plead its case of review of NRO verdict and he
requested permission to change the counsel. The court refused to allow
change of counsel and asked Additional AG to plead the case and gave him
two days to get permission, failing which the court would act unilaterally
and dismiss the appeal.
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Kamal Azfar said the government wanted to delay the court decision.
Earlier, Faisal Raza Abidi had disclosed the reasons for delaying tactics
when he had consulted some cooks and they had informed him about the
likely decision of the court.
The court was assured in writing by the AG that the HEC would
continue functioning till new legislation is passed; students in Islamabad
held a rally to protest devolution of HEC. Raza Rabbani termed it a
conspiracy to stop the process of provincial autonomy and was surprised
over court orders. PML-N and Q decided to bring privilege motion against
Rabbani for driving wedge between Parliament and Judiciary.
The court questioned the role of Parliamentary Committee in judges
issue. DG FIA stopped inquiry about Waseem Ahmed. Farzana wanted that
officer sacked who sought Supreme Court help to deal with BISP scam to
check leakage of more evidence of corruption.
Three staff members on census were shot dead during the house count
in Karachi and three workers of MQM were killed separately. PML-F
decided to quit Sindh government over irregularities in census (house count).
Chief Minister said every death is dubbed as targeted-killings. According to
investigation reports some ANP and MQM-H activists also confessed their
involvement in targeted-killings.
CNG stations went on strike for indefinite period over gas load
shedding. Protest rally was held in Peshawar to protest attempt to bomb the
house of provincial head of JI. Rally was held in Abbottabad on first
anniversary of killings over beginning of movement for Hazara province.
On 13th April, Babar Awan appeared in the Supreme Court in Bhutto
reference case and wanted to plead the case. He was told to get his licence
revived; he resigned as federal minister and got his licence revived from Bar
Council. This time he did not go to the Bar with sweets to celebrate the
occasion, but a journalist did ask him a question in this context which he
declined to answer. Ansar Abbasi in his report asked: will he start with an
apology for what he dead three decades ago. Aitzaz said he was not
consulted about ZAB reference.
The Supreme Court observed that despite evidence against certain
accused FIA had not taken appropriate action. The bench after having shown
dissatisfaction over investigation into PSM scam ordered arrest of all those
named in the corruption. Kazmis remand was extended by 14 days in Haj
scam case; he moved court for bail.

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The court was informed that Pakistan has suffered loss worth Rs7
billion in ISAF containers scam. The government has sought record of
containers related to transit trade from Afghan government. Nearly, three
thousand notices have been or in the process of being issued.
Students marched from Assembly Hall to Governor House Lahore to
register their protest against devolution of HEC. Raza Rabbani and Ishaq
Dar, the due that reconstructed Constitution through 18th Amendment,
slammed the criticism of devolution of HEC. Meanwhile, ten people were
killed in Karachi.
Next day, Babar Awan appeared in the apex court in ZAB reference
and the Chief Justice asked him what if everyone starts seeking review.
Babar said the government wanted to correct history; not the revenge. He
was informed that his endeavour to correct history carried lot of errors and
even the Article quoted was incorrect. The court said it would guide him
about the appropriate Article under which such a reference could be sent.
After the hearing Babar avoided answering a question from a media
person that did the regime has sought opinion or the verdict from the court.
Tariq Butt observed that the Chief Justices decision to hold full-fledged
hearings on the reference took the steam out of the government strategy to
scandalize the judiciary and use the Sindh Card.
Kamal Azfar told the court that Advocate Abu Bakar Zardari had
threatened him of dire consequences through his wife if he (Azfar) appeared
before the bench hearing NRO case. Abu Bakar was present in the court as
always during the hearing of NRO case. He denied the allegation when
asked by the court. The court relieved him of the responsibility of pleading
on behalf of the federation as a special case and ordered IG police to
investigate and the incident of threat within two days.
Industrial and domestic consumers in Faisalabad held a protest rally
and besieged gas companys offices. In Lahore, CNG station owners and
employees protested in front of Governor House and a team held talks
inside. Farzana Raja changed stance after news reports and canceled 100
illegal appointments in BISP.
Kazmis bail plea was rejected. Chief Justice told FIA to recover
NICL money. One of the killers of Wali Khan Babar of Geo TV confessed
before a judge. Investigations proved the involvement of political parties
high-ups in targeted-killings, especially MQM.

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On 15th April, Babar Awan and Gilani briefed Zardari on ZAB

reference. Federation lodged a complaint with PBC accusing Kamal Azfar
for indulging in professional dishonesty and sought disciplinary action
against him. Asma Jahangir urged Zardari and Gilani to take notice of threats
to Kamal Azfar.
The regime offered two ministries to PML-Q and the party was
considering the offer and trying to seek consent of Amir Muqam and Faisal
Saleh Hayat. Yet another FIA officer, Asghar, dealing with Haj scam was
posted out. Five people were killed in Karachi. Malik ordered shot-at-sight
the dacoits and extortionists. The authorities confessed that consumers were
billed for 13 months a year in electricity bills.
Next day, while addressing the visiting officers attending the
Command and Staff College said Armed Forces must act within jurisdiction.
He observed military interventions weakened democratic institutions and
democratic governments failed to enforce rule of law. He urged all arms of
state to act in aid of the Supreme Court.
Judicial Commission deferred judges appointment issue till 23 rd April
for want of Law Minister though newly appointed Mulla Bakhsh Chandio
was keen to attend the meeting without taking oath. Zardaris friend Dr Asim
Hussain was elected Senator unopposed. Degree of Chairman OGRA was
also found fake; Sadiq said corrupt officials were behind this propaganda.
Zafar Qureshi, officer in-charge of NICL scam investigation was transferred.
Eight people were killed in Karachi as Rangers carried out operation.
On 17th April, a day after having been elected as Senator unopposed,
Dr Asim was appointed as advisor Petroleum and oil and gas MDs were
fired. Public Service Commission dismissed 28 lecturers in Sindh for their
illegal appointments. Hafeez Sheikh told IMF that Parliament was hindering
tax reforms. Six people were killed in Karachi; Firdous A Awan said Army
operation is no solution to Karachi problem.
Next day, the Supreme Court bench hearing review petition of NRO
case asked the AG to start argument as directed during last hearing, but he
told that the government had not permitted him to do so. Advocate on record
also declined to saying that he had some problem with his ear. The court said
if no one was willing to plead governments case prime minister could be
asked to appear. Advocate on Record and Solicitor General were served
contempt notices for attempt to mislead the court.
The hearing ZAB reference began with the court room jam-packed
with ministers, parliamentarians and jiyalas. The bench observed that the
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point of law needed to be determined and stated clearly; the court wont be
able to proceed if the basis were not correct. Babar told the court that he was
not there to discuss technicalities. Qaim Ali Shah said Babar Awan
represented the voice of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and urged Chief Justice to listen
to him rather than passing remarks.
Zardari regime took yet another step for the well-being of criminals
under trial. President signed the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment)
Bill, 2011 to grant statutory bail to under trial prisoners and convicts whose
trials and appeals have not been disposed within a prescribed time limit.
LHC expressed its annoyance over contradictions in statements of
Pemra chief in the case of closing of Geo Super TV channel. PML-N MNAs
wore black armbands to protest closure of Geo Super. A petition was filed in
IHC challenging Pemra chiefs right to exercise administrative powers.
Meanwhile, Zafar Qureshi was formally removed fro FIA post.
On 19th April, PML-Q remained divided over attractive offer made by
Zardari regime to join the cabinet; reportedly in addition to deputy PM, UN
envoy and seven ministries, the Qatal League wanted the post of Governor
Punjab. This was being done in the name of forming a national government.
MQM decided not to join the cabinet.
The regime insisted on changing its counsel for NRO review and the
court adjourned for two weeks due to illness of one of its Judge. Ministry
sought PMs nod to sack 8 MDs in oil and gas sector. Haqiqi activist was
among two killed in Karachi.
Next day, the Supreme Court rejected the review petition of the
federation on appointment of judges. The 8-member bench said
Parliamentary Committee cannot be superior to the Constitution, which
prohibits formation of parallel institutions.
The government submitted a report before the Supreme Court on the
Bank of Punjab scam worth Rs9 billion out of which Rs4.5 billion were
siphoned by Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. Chairman FBR was blamed for
approving unlawful proposals of Rs1.1 billion.
Cabinet met to revise ZAB reference and endorsed five questions of
law. Ishaq Dar resigned from Implementation Commission of 18 th
Constitutional Amendment due to differences over HEC, devolution and
some other issues. He blamed the government for not acting on consensus as
had been agreed upon to begin with.

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Chaudhry Nisar criticized the government for victimizing Geo TV and

feared another worst NRO in the offing. China signed an agreement with
Punjab for generation of 120MW power. MD OGDCL was removed. Three
PPP activists were among five killed in Karachi.
On 21st April, Babar Awan appeared before the court with five points
of law and requested these should be included in ZAB reference. The
Supreme Court decided a larger bench would hear the reference from May 2.
Later on Babar met Zardari who congratulated him on his five points.
Speaking from the floor of NA Javed Hashmi apologized for joining
the government of Ziaul Haq and asked his party leaders Nawaz and
Shahbaz to do the same for abandoning the nation for ten years. He also
asked Zardari and Nawaz to apologize for supporting military dictators.
Apex court upheld verdict of LHC in Mokhtaran Mais rape case and
acquitted all but one accused. One of the enlightened liberals, Mosharraf
Zaidi, termed the verdict shocking, but he added that the Supreme Court
could not be singled out as police and the society were wanting in many
ways. Asma Jahangir also found faults with the judicial system.
Zardari was empowered to cut deal with Qatal League; as if he is not
allowed to do without empowerment. Two Sindhi nationalist leaders were
shot at and then burnt alive near Shahdadpur. Fifteen people were killed and
35 wounded in bomb blast in a gambling den in Karachi; no religious
extremists were blamed or claimed responsibility.
Next day, the Chief Justice ordered FIA to complete probe into Haj
scam in a week. Tariq Butt reported PML-Q did not trust Zardari and wanted
iron-cast written guarantees in PPP-PML-Q alliance. Rehman Malik assured
security and legal aid to Mokhtaran Mai. Usman Manzoor reported that most
parliamentarians of MQM, which claims to be party of middle classes, are
millionaires and some have tripled their assets in last two years. Six more
people were killed in Karachi.
On 23rd April, Judicial Commission recommended confirmation of
services of 14 additional judges of LHC and 4 of BHC, besides, making
nomination of ten new additional judges for the LHC. The recommendations
were made in an in-camera meeting of the commission.
SCBA secretary accused Asma Jahangir of running the affairs without
the consent of the Bars Executive Committee. She was meeting the highups of the government as well as superior judiciary without taking into

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confidence the executive members. He said that the Bar wont cooperate
with her unless she mended her way.
Babar Awan called on Chaudhry Brothers to deliver the message of
the Scoundrel about power-sharing. Babar Awan rejected that power-sharing
was because of corruption allegations against Moonis Elahi. Asim Yasin
noted that PPP and PML-Q were clueless about power sharing formula.
MQM also considered its options as Zardari wooed PML-Q.
FIA asked ATC hearing Benazirs murder case to declare Musharraf
absconder. Ansar Abbasi reported that report on corruption in Bank of
Punjab submitted to Supreme Court protected the big wigs and accused
minnows. Six people were killed in Karachi.
On 24th April, Chief Justice speaking at the concluding ceremony of
the National Judicial Conference said judiciary regulates state machinery; it
doesnt act against the Executive. He added that public trust in courts is
evident from increase in litigation. He observed that because of the faulty
probe system the courts are blamed for freeing the accused.
Tariq Butt reported that the probe report submitted to the Supreme
Court has made startling revelations of corruption in Bank of Punjab.
According to the finding Rs143 billion were swindled out of which the
directors of the bank misappropriated more than Rs20 billion.
Replying a question regarding Saraiki Province Shahbaz counterquestioned why not create more provinces in Sindh. Media projected his
statement as his demand for Karachi as separate province. PPP, MQM and
ANP bitterly criticized Shahbaz for talking against the integrity of Sindh.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi addressing a public meeting in Khapro said
the PPP has been split into two factions; one faction is intoxicated with
power and there is nobody to resolve the problems of the faction. He said
ZAB and Benazir had given the PPP the face of federal party, but some
unwise people in the party were talking about prejudices.
PML-Q and MQM were ready to join federal cabinet, while PPP
decided to ignore JUI-F. The loyalists of Benazir abhorred the decision to
have alliance with PML-Q. Not only disgruntled leaders of the party, but
also its some senior members close to Presidency expressed their
reservations.
Gilani inaugurated Cadet College in Okara and speaking on the
occasion did some electioneering. He said promised ownership rights to

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tenants of military Dairy Farms land. He also vowed to expand BISP and
claimed the college would enhance literacy rate.
An emergency meeting of the executive committee of the SCBA was
called on May 7 to debate the attitude of the bar President Asma Jahangir.
The requisition for the meeting has been filed by eleven members of SCBA
executive committee vowing that they would run affairs of the Bar without
Asma if she did not change her attitude.
Liaqat Baloch slated Asfandyars for uttering remarks about
blasphemy law during his yatra of Bharat Mata. He said, Asfandyar has
made a mockery of the Constitution. There was no need to raise the issue
when it is already resolved. Meanwhile, four people were killed in Karachi.

VIEWS
On 12th April, The News commented on MQMs public meeting at
Lahore: What may be said about the MQM rally with some certainty is that
by holding it the party is demonstrating a potential to develop a national
voice. It has made moves outside its traditional power base before, most
notably with registering a presence in the last elections in Gilgit-Baltistan. It
is also a party that speaks to the middle class and has not been marred
by the curse of dynastic politics like most other parties. If it were able to
somehow shake off the image of violence associated with it by many, then it
might bring a welcome diversity to our narrow political spectrum.
What is far less certain is how the MQM would achieve some of the
things today being promised by its leader. His offer to mediate between the
beleaguered and much-oppressed Baloch and the government is fine in
principle. But how is he going to do the mediating? Equally fine is the
much-promised end to feudalism, bur to be replaced by what? Where is the
model by which we transition from feudalism to whatever the MQM vision
is of the post-feudal period? For the MQM to be a credible national
political force it has to add a lot more substance to broad and finesounding promises?
Nisar Ahmed Thakur from Karachi wrote: It is the inalienable right of
every Pakistani political and religious party to pursue their agenda in any
part of the country within the established principles as enshrined in the
Constitution. Instead of resorting to the old practices of political vandalism,
and mud-slinging, we must acknowledge each others viewpoint without any
prejudice to promote the much-lacked pluralism in our country. It is high
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time for the MQM leadership to show magnanimity, embrace and

encouraging other political forces in Karachi and shed the perception that the
party practices the politics of regionalism and communalism. In order to
attract more and more people into the partys fold the MQM stalwarts will
have to reciprocate positively and provide a level playing field to other
political forces in Karachi.
Tasneem Noorani suggested 20th Amendment in which five-year
tenure of the government be reduced to three or four years to facilitate
the evolution of democratic dispensation in Pakistan. Having discussed its
merits, he came to this conclusion: The response of the PPP is likely to be,
why such a proposal in their term? Well, one can say that it offers the party a
chance for a graceful exit or coming back again to power for another four
years. It may even be an opportune to go back to the voter earlier, because
one year later public may have become that much more disappointed with
the government. In any case, a four-year term will reduce the chance of the
government will reduce the chance of the government being thrown out.
Unless the PPP wants that because it can then claim that it was not able to
deliver because its tenure was cut short.
The PML-N seems complicit with the PPP in letting things drift the
way they are, because they are enjoying unbridled power in Punjab, their
main, and perhaps only, base. Withy the indisposition of Mian Nawaz Sharif,
the inclination for an early election for the PML-N may be even less
welcome.
Despite the likely reluctance of the major political players in the
field, the logical and the long-lasting solution is to have the constitutional
tenure of the government more in line with the nations temperament and
stage of political development. If we let things slide the way are doing
currently, we may have to restart the process of rebuilding Pakistan, from
square one.
Next day, Tanvir Ahmad Khan wrote: Minister for Inter-Provincial
Coordination and Chairman, Implementation Commission on the 18th
Amendment Mian Raza Rabbanis disclosure that Islamabad is evolving a
new commission raises the hope that the genuine fears of the opponents of
the HEC dissolution can be redressed. But one has to withhold applause till
a number of questions have been answered. Is there a judicious assessment
of the successes and failures of the existing HEC? If so, what metrics of
quantity and quality were applied and by whom? How wide and deep is the
consultation in evolving the new commission? How many of the eminent

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scholars who have followed educational reforms since the Ayub era have
been consulted?
Then there are individuals who have looked at higher education not
only from the viewpoint of excellence, particularly in science and
technology, but also its role in fostering a more enlightened society. Have
they been brought into the loop? Does the government plan to hold nationwide seminars and symposia to ensure a comprehensive review of higher
education?
In the post-Benazir Bhutto era, the PPP is getting increasingly
dominated by elements that distrust knowledge, intellectuals, free research
and an inquisitive and questioning culture. Can Rabbani assure us that his
project would not become another administrative fiat, another sleight of the
hand by an incompetent government?
Tanvir dwelled on these questions and then concluded: Since no
drastic decline in internal and external funding is apprehended at this
moment, the federal government should come out with a white paper on
its plans for devolution in the field of education and the improved
commission that Rabbani has talked about.
Rahimullah Yusufzai commented: If the departure of Dr Zulfiqar
Mirza is MQMs gain, the ANP leaders in Sindh see it as their loss. They
were happy that Dr Zulfiqar Mirza was pointing accusing fingers mostly at
the MQM for its role in the target-killings and were hoping that the killers in
government custody would be prosecuted and their sponsors exposed. The
major ANP worry now is that Dr Zulfiqar Mirzas removal would
demoralize the police officials and make them reluctant to do their job to go
after criminals linked to political parties. Already, a number of policemen
who in the past took action against such elements have been eliminated.
There are many instances of police officials being targeted and killed for
having investigated and nabbed killers having influential connections.
It is going to be a tough balancing act for the PPP to keep both
the MQM and the ANP happy. The priority, however, is to keep the MQM
amused because it is a bigger political party in Sindh and has more street
power than any other party in Karachi. The ANP has been making noises
lately about reviewing its decision whether to continue being part of the
coalition government in Sindh. It has alleged that the promised funds for
development work in the Pashtun localities, almost all of which are slums, in
Karachi have not been provided during the last three years and the problems
facing Pashtuns remained unresolved. The ANP has two provincial assembly
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seats in Sindh and is thus in no position to put enough pressure on the PPP
and the provincial government to accept its demands. However, the ANP has
considerable political clout as an ally and coalition partner of the PPP in the
federal government and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. In fact,
the ANP has been the most loyal ally of the PPP and, therefore, cannot be
ignored.
The PPP until now has managed to keep both the MQM and the ANP
on its side despite the growing rivalry between these two largely ethnicbased parties. It may succeed in retaining their support for the remaining two
years of the governments five-year term because all the parties have a
vested interest in remaining in power. However, the important question is
whether their success in keeping their opportunistic alliance and
coalition governments intact could lead to an improvement in the
lawless situation now prevailing in Karachi. There isnt much hope that
such a turnaround in the situation is possible.
In such a scenario, it is the people of Karachi who would continue to
suffer the daily round of killings and the general lawlessness that brings life
to a standstill and interrupts their ability to earn livelihood Proposals have
been made about making the country weapons-free, using the army to
cleanse Karachi of the various mafias as the scope of the challenge was
beyond the power of the police and rangers and prompting the political
parties to stop patronizing criminals and target-killers. These are measures
which are needed but impractical given the state of affairs in Pakistan, at
least for the time being. One wishes the situation changes for the better and
Pakistan is able to overcome the problems tearing at the fabric of our
society.
S Khalid Husain opined: Zulfiqar Mirzas dexterity in playing the
Sindh card,, and his utterance of vitriol against settlers of all shades and
hues in Sindh, have been well used by the PPP to instill a measure of healthy
respect for the among the principal political players in urban Sindh, who are
mostly Urdu-speaking Sindhis, or the MQM. The dance was
choreographed by the president, of that there is little doubt. The
inimitable signs of presidential choreography appear in every whirl and
swirl.
All the above is not to say that in gaining healthy respect for itself
with the MQM, through the dance almost flawlessly executed by Zulfiqar
Mirza, the PPP does not have the same respect for the MQM. The difference

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now is that no one party has an exaggerated sense of its primacy, or of

the others vulnerability, in urban Sindh.
Where a new sense of unease must now prevail, however, is in the
top PPP ranks. The president is known for not only standing by his friends
but generously rewarding those who have done him a service. The latest
yeomans service rendered is by Zulfiqar Mirza, and he is an ambitious
man, as ambitious as the president is generous. If he is given a seat in the
Senate, while his wife sits on a high rostrum to preside over the National
Assembly proceedings as its speaker, Zulfiqar Mirzas feeling a bit queasy
sitting on the benches in the Senate would be natural.
As for an important slot in the centre, it could also be looking
after the interior of the country, not just of Sindh. If there is at present an
element of unease with some, in the Senate and elsewhere in the power
complex as it is set up at present, the reason is Zulfiqar Ali Mirza.
Ameer Bhutto was of the view that if something is to be salvaged
from the wreck this country is turning into, deep rooted change is
urgently needed. The litmus test of any system is its ability to correct
anomalies and jettison bad blood. This system has failed us on both counts.
The institutions and organs of state that are its supporting pillars are
hemorrhaging under the merciless onslaught of the Zardari administration.
If the judiciary tightens the noose around the government because of
its corruption and misconduct, it is rendered helpless and ineffective by
simply ignoring its orders with impunity. If NAB is an obstacle in the
robbing of public funds and is unearthing ghosts of corruption scandals
past, it has to be neutralized by putting it under the charge of a compliant
stooge or crippled and rendered useless. If the HEC is pursuing members of
parliament who hold fake degrees, it must be done away with. How can the
state function without such vital institutions and organs?
There is often a tendency to cling on to the known and familiar, even
though it is harmful, rather than venture forth into the promising unknown.
This phobia of the new is exacerbated by fear-mongering by old crumbling
orders. Presidents Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt both
claimed that if they were to go, their respective countries would be plunged
into civil war
But in Pakistan, apart from those who have a vested interest in the
stagnant status quo, even some reasonably enlightened elements seem
terrified of initiating any process of change. It is said that revolution causes
too much upheaval and disorder. Did the partition of India in 1947 not
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unleash disorder in the short run? Was it not worth it? Instead of focusing on
the transitory period of disorder, why cant we look beyond it to the fruits
that are to be reaped? The Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions caused
temporary upheaval but the positive change there is already palpable.
In societies where the old failed order is firmly entrenched and
refuses to make way, revolution becomes a necessary instrument of political
progress. Just as cancer cells having completed their natural life-cycle,
refuse to die and instead fester and become malignant, outdated and failed
old orders in society too are a malignancy in the body politic of the state and
need to be removed. Cancer can be successfully treated if detected in the
early stages. Societies too can be saved from ruin provided the requisite
change is brought about before it is too late. The beauty of democracy and
power of the people is that it transforms seemingly chaotic discord into a
melody from which order is born, embodying the will of the people and
imparting legitimacy to representative governments.
There also appears to be an underlying fear in some quarters in
Pakistan concerning the difficulty in evolving a consensus in the framing of
a new order, the sort that was achieved in 1973. If there is indeed any
substance to these fears and our sense of nationhood has disintegrated to
such an extent that we can not even agree on how to save the state from
sinking, then it makes the argument for change even more urgent.
The slide down the slippery slope of fragmentation cannot be
halted by sitting on our hands and pretending all is well We need to
get our priorities right. Hard decisions have to be made, and soon. Anything
that is meaningful and worth having cannot be achieved without struggle
and sacrifice. A better and brighter future awaits the brave people of Tunisia
and Egypt. They earned it by paying a heavy price for it. If we are not
prepared to pay the same price, then we have no right to continue with our
favourite national pastime of wailing on incessantly about the slings and
arrows of outrageous fortune.
On 14th April, Ikram Sehgal wrote: Asif Ali Zardaris political and
personal reasons notwithstanding, he must be commended for trying to
right the legal wrong done against his childrens grandfather and the
party that he now controls by default. Murder most foul was committed by a
hit squad of the Federal Security Force (FSF). Except for the one person
who directly ordered the atrocity, all went to the gallows. Whether Z A
Bhutto gave the orders to Masood Mahmood or the FSF chief invented such
orders to turn approver and escape the gallows is a moot point. The split 4-3

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making the Supreme Court judgment controversial, Bhuttos execution

became a travesty of justice Masood Mahmood conveniently passed the
blame onto Bhutto to escape the gallows. Why was the actual perpetuator of
the crime allowed to become an approver?
The Supreme Court has a unique chance to correct this egregious
legal wrong. The removal of this blot from our legal history will certainly
not only endear it to the PPP rank and file and a great majority of Pakistanis
but restore our judiciarys credibility in international circles.
The Supreme Court can than eliminate the blackest of black
laws, the NRO, from the statute books of Pakistan, and settle many other
legal issues in contention without having to contend with the Sindh Card
bogey. President Zardari has displayed tremendous courage in voluntarily
resolving another controversial issue of consequence, the question of
immunity for the president. In his affidavit to the Supreme Court on Bhuttos
execution, he has invoked Islamic injunctions in unequivocally stating that
everyone is accountable before the law. Charges of corruption and misuse
of authority can no longer be considered off limits because of presidential
immunity.
As one of the pillars of democracy, the media holds the organs of the
state accountable on behalf of public interest. The guerrilla campaign by
the government against Geo TVs various channels must be
unequivocally condemned. Freedom of speech must be defended and
cannot be allowed to be curtailed. The Supreme Court can start addressing
our woes by ensuring that justice about the freedom of speech is not
delayed. Justice delayed will be justice denied.
The News commented on HEC issue. In the context of the provisions
of the 18th Amendment, the devolution of the HEC is a given. It is now,
once the legislation is on the books, that the thinking work that should
have been done in committee has been done retrospectively, and along
with that has come the realization that devolution in this case and perhaps
in other instances particularly relating to education is likely to be
detrimental rather than beneficial. Why this realization has come so late in
the day to so many is a matter for conjecture, but come it has, and with it
more than a suspicion that the government is keen to punish the HEC for
its principled stand on the matter of fake degrees.
It now appears that the action of the Supreme Court in effectively
putting any change in the functioning of the HEC on hold has created a
breathing space in which the matter may be further examined before it is
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formally broken up. As with the devolution of all federal functions

associated with the 18th Amendment, there has been a significant failure
to think through its consequences. Whatever its shortcomings and they
are not insignificant, the HEC is not going to be improved by being divided
into provincial units. There will inevitably be duplication and inconsistency
coming into national standards. Let us hope that the legal breathing space
afforded by the Supreme Court allows better counsel to prevail, and that the
HEC is ring-fenced against galloping devolution.
In another editorial the newspaper talked of regimes delaying tactics
to save the scoundrel. It is sometimes quite hard to make sense of events in
the country or understand what is going on. We appear to be caught in a
bizarre pantomime which follows some surreal script, drafted perhaps by the
powerful overlords who run things in our country. Take the unfolding saga
of who is to argue the governments case in the NRO review petition. The
Supreme Court says the lawyer who put up the case initially must do so
again. Kamal Azfar, the man who fits this description, after being summoned
before the court, now says that the government does not wish him to do so,
has handed the brief in the case to Dr Khalid Ranjha and appointed him
adviser to the prime minister. Rather unnecessarily, Mr Azfar has also
complained about not being given respect as adviser a request by him to
visit the flood-hit areas was ignored. This, of course, has no relevance to the
rather serious matter at hand and the need to get on with the NRO case.
Perhaps, it is yet another delaying tactic, with Mr Azfar now saying such
tactics had been used by the government.
The court for its part has pointed out that in 2010 Mr Azfar had stated
in a letter that he had resigned as adviser and could now plead the case. It
has also reemphasized that the rules state that this should happen. At any
rate, even if Kamal Azfar is an adviser to the PM, there appears to be no
reason why he cannot step down. After all, in a highly theatrical gesture, law
minister Babar Awan has done just this to allow him to plead the ZAB case
re-trial. The matter is now being heard by the apex court. It can only be
assumed that the tactics used in the NRO plea are yet another means to gain
some time. The government has, after all, clearly demonstrated that it
has no desire to follow up on court orders in the matter. What we need is
for the case to proceed, the confusion over counsel for government to end,
and a willingness to abide by court rulings to be demonstrated in a matter
that has already lingered for far too long.
Next day, the newspaper wrote: The real motives behind the PPPs
reopening of the case are open to question. Concerns have been voiced
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that the real intention may be to embarrass the apex court or distract
attention from other issues. So far, the party has only succeeded in exposing
itself by indulging in behaviour that many already consider ludicrous.
Bizarrely, the man who has taken upon himself the role of defending
ZAB in the case, Babar Awan, is well known for having spoken out bitterly
against the founder of the party in the days that led up to his death and even
advocated his execution. His role as part of the opposition to the PPP too
lives on in the memories of many. The fact that this man now holds so much
power within the party even as others known for years of staunch support
for Bhutto and his late daughter have been sidelined can only leave one
wondering at the hypocrisy and deceit involved in the whole affair.
Awan, in typical melodramatic fashion, has said that he will speak
in the voice of ZAB. It is a relief that the late Bhutto, a man admired for his
courage and his refusal to abandon principle, is not alive today to see the
charade, apparently thought up by Awan himself. Awan must also have
considered all the consequences. Inevitably, tough questions about his own
past will come up in court. We wonder what answers he will be able to offer
about his own past or the reasons why the PPP should have allowed him to
plead the case, given the feelings he once had against ZAB. While looking
into history is important, it is also a fact that many will wonder if this is not
a luxury we cannot afford at this time of multiple crises, when so many
problems that concern our present need to be addressed on an urgent basis.
Shafqat Mahmood opined: A recipe for success in life should be
obvious: basic intelligence, good education, hard work and a few lucky
breaks. It works quite often, but only up to a point. Those who reach the
very top have something more: fire in the belly, native cunning, eye always
on the ball and a willingness to pay any price, bear any burden.
I was reminded of this after Babar Awans sacrifice of his ministry to
plead the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto reference to the Supreme Court. Here is a man
accused of distributing sweets after the great leaders hanging. Ijazul Haq
claims that the said Awan was a diehard supporter of his father and was the
stage secretary on Zias first death anniversary. And now, twenty-odd years
later, the same man is going to plead the Bhutto case.
It is not as if Babar Awans chequered past is not known in the party.
Politics is a hard playground and the competition in the parties for a few
crumbs of office is cutthroat. Anything and everything is used to bring a
competitor down. Lies are easily manufactured if evidence of perfidy is not
available, but if it is, no one lets you forget it. So also it has been with Awan.
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When he first made his appearance in the party ranks in the late nineties, he
was not only looked at with suspicion but every possible garbage was
thrown at him. Yet, he has not only survived but prospered.
The reason is that little extra he brought to the table. He was willing
to defend the indefensible, say and do anything that pleased the boss, and
never for a minute let conscience or any other nicety of life, such as
morality or right and wrong, bother him.
These are the qualities that not only he but many others have used to
inch up lifes greasy pole. Another classic example in the PPP is Rehman
Malik. He is everyones favourite: Zardari, Gilani, the Americans, even the
military. The simple fact is that, besides being smart, he has dollops of
native cunning.
For instance, he has a sharp eye for power and is willing to bend until
his head touches the floor to serve those who have power. Stupid things like
ego or self-respect never bother him. Moral values as generally perceived
are conceptual constructs he has never had the time to pay attention to. He
was too busy fighting his way up. From a lowly FIA employee, he is now
the interior minister of the country, and a very rich man to boot.
Lest it is misunderstood because Rehman Malik is very nice to me
whenever we run into each other I say this not in a condemnatory tone but
admiringly. The Babar Awans and Rehman Maliks of this world, who started
with few advantages in life, have a fire in their belly that many others,
eminently good people, dont have. They are determined to succeed, come
what may, and do.
Such people thrive in our political milieu. If our political parties
were collegial enterprises in which everyone could aspire for leadership,
things like education, understanding of policies, probity and uprightness,
loyalty to party ideals and, of course, tactical skills would be highly valued.
But this is not the case here.
Our political parties, with one or two exceptions, are family
enterprises passed from generation to generation like other material assets.
This obviously means no internal party democracy because the leader is
supreme and whatever he or she decides is unchallengeable. People rise and
fall within them seldom for political reasons, but because the leader takes a
fancy to or develops an aversion for someone.
What the leaders generally cannot stand is anyone who disagrees
with them, even if the reasoning is good. They also value people who would

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be ready to do anything and in their estimation further the family enterprise.

At these times, it does not matter what their past is or what nasty political
affiliations they have had. It is their skill and can do spirit that is considered
important.
Shafqat continued commenting on prevalent culture in political parties
and also compared it with the promotion system in military and then
concluded: Life is hard and the road to success not easy. Some would
quibble with the use of the word success to describe worldly advancement. A
good case can be made that real success is spiritual attainment or living a
stress-free life, with greater space for aesthetics and morality.
Fair enough, but in this case, the focus is on career paths and people
who reach the top in their specific spheres of activity. The good life in a
philosophical sense is a different quest altogether. The parameters for it are
otherworldly and satisfaction not easy to calculate. It is the crass material
world that provides easily identifiable examples. Let us then stop and
admire those that have gone up the greasy pole of worldly success inch
by inch. It takes determination and perseverance. Let those left behind
worry about honour and morality.
Ayaz Amir was of the view that On the question of Bhuttos trial
and his hanging, history has already rendered its verdict. Apart from
diehard Bhutto enemies, and their number is not small, most people in
Pakistan consider his trial a travesty of justice and his hanging a judicial
murder.
But Zardari and company obviously have different ideas. Or is it
that their motives are different? And so something about which neither
Benazir Bhutto when she was alive nor anyone else felt the slightest need is
now before their higher lordships further testimony to the Pakistani talent
for frittering away time and energy on the inconsequential.
And the central character of this drama, the star player on stage, is
my imperturbable friend, the very picture of cool, Dr Babar Awan. Nothing
fazes him. Hurl anything at him and it just doesnt stick. Didnt we all
make heavy weather of the fact that Monticello University, from where he
supposedly received his doctorate in international jurisprudence or
something equally fancy, existed only in the realm of the imagination that it
was about as real as President Zardaris graduation certificate? But did any
of this bother him?
A lesser man would have wilted, or felt slightly embarrassed a
rush of colour, say, to the cheeks. Not Dr Awan who remained his cool and
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jovial self, chatting and laughing and not a bit put out by all the snide
remarks about that celebrated seat of learning, Monticello University, which
had to close down, as we were to learn, for issuing fake degrees.
So all the cannons now pointing at him for having distributed sweets
on Bhuttos hanging and for being an acolyte and admirer of Gen Ziaul Haq,
the guy, if we care to remember, responsible for Bhuttos plight, should be
seen in the same perspective as his doctorate. It is not going to bother him at
all, Babar Awan simply not being cut from the cloth where anything like
embarrassment exists. His critics may choke at the throat, not him. His
grandstanding has already begun and before the lights go out on this affair
we should be prepared for more of it.
Pity Mr Bhutto. First his enemies hanged him and now the socalled keepers of his legacy are not sparing his memory. Many a
circumstance since his hanging, not least the transformation of the PPP and
its hijacking at the hands of a crowd Mr Bhutto would have been hard put to
recognize, would have made him turn in his grave. But none, I suspect, more
so than the thought that after all these years who should be defending him in
court but someone like Babar Awan, whose first steps in politics consisted of
Bhutto-baiting
Bhuttos real lawyers during his trial are largely forgotten figures.
Who remembers D M Awan who defended Bhutto in the Lahore High
Court? Even Yahya Bakhtiar is a receding figure from the public mind.
Transcending the past now steps into the breach our good doctor. For his
sense of timing and sense of spectacle, not to mention his gift for the
diversionary move, he deserves the highest accolades.
As for the old PPP and the real PPP, this is a narrative and a
debate which have lost their appeal and, indeed, their relevance. Is Yousaf
Raza Gilani old PPP? He wasnt anywhere near the PPP when Mr Bhutto
was alive. His maternal uncle Hamid Raza Gilani was a Bhutto friend from
Bhuttos time in the Convention League under Ayub Khan. When Bhutto
was forming the PPP he asked Hamid Raza to join him but he didnt, no
doubt to his everlasting regret. He joined the PPP later during the twilight of
Bhuttos prime minister-ship. But then the shadows had already begun to
close in on what still remains the most colourful and dramatic chapter in
Pakistans history. Come to think of it, even President Zardari cant claim to
be old PPP
The PPP had begun to change under Benazir Bhutto. The antiAmericanism and many of the radical slogans which were a feature of the
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partys ethos were discarded, as were the uncles who had been associates
of her father. With her marriage a new power centre within the party formed
around her husband. With her assassination this clique assumed the reins of
the party leadership. Just as Pakistan today is not Jinnahs Pakistan, the
PPP of today is not the party of Bhutto. To some extent it may still be the
party of Benazir Bhutto. But on its flag the most vivid imprint is that of Asif
Zardari. This is how the wheel turns. Such are the ironies of history.
Babar Awan becoming Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos judicial champion, the
Mark Antony who will be reading his funeral oration so many years later, is
less strange than Asif Zardari, through the workings of fate, becoming the
PPPs undisputed leader.
Salman Babar from Lahore opined: Mr Babar Awans decision to
resign and plead the Bhutto murder re-trial in the Supreme Court proves that
he is more loyal than the king himself. However, one must give him credit
that at least he is trying to make up for distributing sweets on the execution
of Mr Bhutto.
Subhan Soomro from Karachi wrote: So now Babar Awan will plead
the re-trial of Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos murder. The PPP leaders seem to have
forgotten how Mr Awan publicly abused Zulfikar Bhutto and Benazir
Bhutto in his speeches and public gatherings. He is on record to have
demanded Bhuttos execution. I have been associated with the PPP for the
last 30 years. The partys co-chairmen and others can forget and forgive
Babar Awans past antics, many faithful party workers like myself cannot.
On 16th April, Babar Sattar observed that HEC seemed to have fallen
victim to follies of the righteous. Even advocates of the HECs devolution
acknowledge that the authority to set standards in institutions of higher
education and oversee research remains a federal power and hence the
suggestion that the HEC will be replaced by another federal commission.
But there are problems with this design.
One, it does absolutely nothing to promote financial autonomy of
provinces or the cause of higher education. Even if the fiscal powers of
the HEC are abolished under the garb of devolution, it doesnt help the
provinces for the HEC doesnt generate any revenue of its own. The source
of its funding is grants from the federal government and foreign partners. So
even if provincial commissions can be the successors-in-interest of the HEC,
who will fund these commissions on an on-going basis other than provincial
governments through their existing budgets? Foreign grants in the realm of
education will remain a federal subject under Part I of the federal legislative
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list. With no new sources of revenue and the abolition of the HEC and the
federal governments responsibility to fund higher education, provinces will
be footing the bill of higher education from their share of the NFC award.
Two, deconstructing an autonomous HEC and distributing its
disjointed components across the spectrum of federal ministries would
actually be against the spirit of the 18 th Amendment. Given that Part II of
the Federal Legislative List covers the HECs primary functions (setting
minimum standards for higher education and coordinating research), Article
154 of the Constitution requires the Council of Common Interests to
formulate and regulate policy in relation to these functions and exercise
supervision and control over the institution implementing such policy. And if
there is to be an autonomous statutory body to deal with some components
of higher education that the federal government and the CCI will monitor
jointly, why tear away other components such as authenticating degrees,
facilitating students in foreign countries, and coordinating foreign grants and
stick them under the cabinet division, the foreign ministry and the economic
affairs division respectively?
Finally, demolishing the HEC and distributing its parts among a
diverse set of federal ministries is bad policy. Granted the HEC has been
the subject of genuine criticism. But critics have questioned the subjective
choices made by this body (choice of projects, speed of implementation,
mechanisms employed to match performance of academics with career
progression and imprudent use of resources) and the claims of its
accomplishments.
Even its harshest critics have not argued that the functions being
performed by the HEC do not belong together or that the HEC as a
public authority is guilty of corruption or malfeasance. Now that the
institution is to be placed under the control of the CCI, let us tweak the
system of checks and balances to supervise the HEC better and enhance its
performance. The HEC is not broken yet. Let us address its weaknesses and
build on its successes. There is no need to reinvent the wheel.
On 19th April, The News commented: Prime Minister Yusuf Raza
Gilani has decided, on the advice of Dr Hussain, to immediately fire the
heads of all the oil and gas companies and orders to this effect have been
given to the Petroleum and Natural Resources Ministry. Dr Hussain has also
made it clear that court cases need to be pursued aggressively and circular
debt reduced at all costs. To make all this possible it has also been decided
that the new heads of organizations that include the Pakistan State Oil, the

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Sui Southern Gas Company, the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and the
Oil and Gas Development Company Limited will be brought in from
overseas. The argument goes that the expertise required to restructure
the sector is simply not available within the country. Other changes in the
working of the organizations are also envisaged. The Sui Southern Gas
Company and the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited will, for example, be
made responsible for the distribution of LPG.
These moves will arguably create a stir in the country. It is hard to
assess if the import of heads is truly necessary or whether the high-salary
packages these individuals are certain to be offered will only add to the
fiscal problems we face in this sector. There is also reason to believe the
move comes as a direct result of the talks in Washington between
Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh and the IMF, where the issue of
reforming the energy sector is reported to have come up strongly. There can,
however, be no doubt that urgent improvement is needed in the running of
the crucial energy sector which quite literally keeps the country moving. We
wish reform had come sooner, perhaps a year and a half ago when proposals
in this regard were first made. Matters should not have been allowed to
deteriorate to this degree. Now we can only hope that things can be
salvaged; that it is not too late to do so and that the improvements that are so
essential to our future can come about as the process of putting things in
order begins.
The old man Roedad Khan chose his favourite topic and added few
paragraphs to Zardari Nama. Isnt it ironic that today the people of
Pakistan, especially the poor, the disadvantaged and the voiceless, expect
justice not from parliament, not from the Presidency, not from the prime
minister, but from the Supreme Court?
The few hours I spent recently in the Supreme Court in the NRO case
made it abundantly clear that the executive is determined to defy the apex
court. Attempts are being made to subvert the peoples will and overturn the
judicial revolution. It is the last desperate gamble of a hated and doomed,
corrupt autocracy.
President Zardari, symbol of the unity of the Federation, has declared
war on the Supreme Court. The governments refusal to comply with the
Supreme Court directive is an alarm call of the most compelling kind. The
fear of conspiracy against the Supreme Court hangs heavy in the air.
Our history can show no precedent for so foul a plot as that which this
corrupt and dying regime has hatched against the Supreme Court.

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Today Pakistan is ruled by a president who lacks credibility and

integrity and is interested only in perpetuating himself and protecting his illgotten wealth at all, costs and cost be damned. The country is breaking
down. It has become ungovernable and would remain so as long as he
remains in power. When he goes abroad or speaks to foreign heads of state,
Pakistanis sit on the edge of their seats wondering how their ruler will
embarrass them next.
Today we are engaged in a great battle for rule of law and
corruption-free politics. With the demise of the NRO, we won the first
round, but the fight is not over. In fact, it has just begun. No military dictator
and no corrupt civilian ruler can afford an independent judiciary or an
independent media. They cannot coexist. Today both are under attack in
democratic Pakistan. The conspirators who have ganged up against the
Supreme Court and independent media must not succeed.
Today nuclear Pakistan lies prostrate and has lost its
independence. It cannot protect the lives and properties of its citizens. It
cannot prevent the violation of its airspace. Why? Because it is now virtually
an American satellite and is portrayed in American media as a retriever
dog. Pakistan has lost its honour, its dignity, and its sense of self-respect.
It is not enough to sit back and let history slowly evolve. To settle
back into our cold-hearted acceptance of the status quo is not an option. The
present leadership is taking Pakistan to a perilous place. The course they are
on leads downhill. This is a delicate time, full of hope and trepidation in
equal measure. Today it is a political and moral imperative for all patriotic
Pakistanis to fight for our core values, to destroy the roots of the evil that
afflicts Pakistan.
After elaborating the point for a while he concluded: If people want
a change, they will have to vote with their bodies and keep voting in the
streets over and over and over. A government like this, which is defying
the Supreme Court, can only be brought down or changed if enough people
vote in the streets. This is what the regime fears most. A bloodless revolution
but a mighty revolution that is what we need today. The feeling of the
nation must be quickened, the conscience of the nation must rouse; the
proprieties of the nation must be startled, the hypocrisy of the corrupt rulers
must be exposed.
Next day, The News observed: The Supreme Court is quite obviously
losing patience with the governments shenanigans in the NRO review plea
placed before it The government has, all along, been playing for a
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delay. Its tactics have in many ways already made a mockery of the entire
judicial process. It also seems clear that it has nothing to say in its own
defence. The logic that follows from these goings on also indicates that it
has no intention of showing good intent as far as the issue of complying with
court orders goes. We have seen this again and again, most notably in the
NRO case which involves the top brass of the PPP.
There are many who believe the unusual ZAB case has been raised
simply to push back the verdict in the NRO matter. But the affairs of the
state cannot continue to be run in this haphazard manner. Almost everyone
has seen through the government tactics and its behaviour can only reduce
further the degree of respect for it and its leaders, even as the apex court
makes it clear that it will not fall for the ham-handed tactics being
employed.
On 21st April, The newspaper commented on expansion of cabinet:
According to reports four slots in the cabinet as full-fledged ministers are
being suggested (to PML-Q), alongside positions as minister of state and in
the provincial setups. A post of deputy prime minister is also said to be
under consideration, while overtures are also being made to the PML-N to
join what would be a national government. The purpose of the exercise,
we are told, is to create a wider setup which can deal with the most
pressing issues we face. Economic recovery tops the agenda, and this of
course is hardly surprising given the failure to extract solid cash from the
IMF during the tough talks in Washington. Worsening law and order and the
energy crisis are other issues to be put before any new, wider body that can
be formed as a result of the latest efforts.
Developing consensus on key issues is always a welcome step. But
do we detect here a hint of distinct desperation on the part of the
government? Is it now after making a mess of matters and some two years
before the elections are due keen to share out the blame and save itself
from standing alone on the chopping board as voters express what is likely
to be anger. There seems to be little other logic in setting up a broader
government at this juncture, especially as ties with allies have weakened and
whittled away over the past months. The exercise will also bring together
parties with widely differing ideologies. Indeed the sight of former archenemies the PPP and the PML-Q around a common table will, if things
happen as is being planned, be rather comical. What is not at all funny is the
sums of money that will be spent on a swollen cabinet. The PPP has already
faced criticism for setting up one of the largest cabinets in the world; and it

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is now set to increase the size of government dramatically once more, in an

exercise that may not necessarily yield very positive results.
Ikram Sehgal commented in the context of Chief Justices address to
students of Command and Staff College. The CJ emphasized that since
Pakistan is being governed by a written Constitution, all powers and duties
of the armed forces must flow from the provisions of that charter, that a
heavy responsibility lies upon the shoulders of their officers to adopt
patriotism and the highest moral and professional standards. Only then you
will be able to defend your country from extraneous threats, he added
The circumstances in Pakistan are usually such that they provoke
the minds and senses of the personnel of the armed forces as they do of
common citizens. It does not help for them to see the apparent helplessness
and inadequacy of the SC to implement its judgments on the one side and on
the other, the long suffering public exhorting them to do something and
being insistent about it (no matter that they turn on their benefactors soon
after they have done it).
This frustration is enhanced when the rank and file see the incumbent
government adopt the simple expedient of repeated filibustering, the
changing of counsels that has successfully hindered the implementation of
the NRO judgment for the last 18 months since late 2009. All the rhetoric by
the SC declaring the NRO to be a black law and those in office affected by
the NRO to be ineligible for office has remained just that, rhetoric. The
ineligible have thus become legitimate and are legitimately looting the till.
The result is that those who should be prosecuted by law for their countless
misdemeanours are themselves prosecuting those who should be prosecuting
them.
While defending the Constitution is the SCs prime duty and one
does not doubt for one moment that the honourable justices have their hearts
in the right place, where is the definite will to ensure the ends of justice are
served? The fact that many of their judgments have simply been ignored by
the government rankles the public mind and even if the public does not
doubt its true intentions it makes both the intelligence and the masses
sceptical about the SCs ability to implement the rule of law. One fears for
the rule of law as this provides fuel for those who encourage the military to
believe that they are the saviours incarnate of the republic. Is it a
coincidence that some controversies miring SC judgments have gained
currency and the SCs pristine reputation has been brought back a peg or two
by clever manipulation of facts with fiction?

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CJ Chaudhry says the welfare of the people must be the supreme

consideration of all institutions and all functionaries of the state, adding that
in adherence to constitutionalism and legal principles lies our salvation and
future development as a civilized nation. The CJ and his fellow justices
have certainly tried but have not been able to stop the loot and plunder
by deliberate and systematic disregard of rules and regulations. The integrity
and sovereignty of the state has clearly been eroded, if the SC does not act,
who will? Given that the government of the day has no intention of listening
to the SC, is it a mystery that the masses hope that they will at least beware
of the rage of angels as represented by the men in uniform?
Shaheen Sehbai wrote: With a PPP coalition with the dying and
discredited PML-Q now almost ready for a takeoff, the brilliance, or some
say bankruptcy, of PPP politics has now been fully exposed, if there still
was any doubt in any mind. The largest party of the country, which has a
creditable record of struggles and sacrifices for democracy, has lost its
political direction, has shown very little ability to govern but has displayed
an unmatched capacity to blackmail and survive. Practically the party is
hostage to the whims and machinations of one person with a twisted and
troubled mind with a bagful of tricks.
Whatever ZA Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and many stalwarts fought,
believed and meant by democracy, certainly does not match up with what
their party has shown by its actions. The current PPP has proved that its
definition of democracy means absolutely no scruples, no principles, no
respect for any institution or any democratic tradition, no larger political
vision except bulldozing and blackmailing individuals and institutions,
cheating political allies and friends in self-interest, buying or bullying
opponents, browbeating those who cannot retaliate and surrendering to those
who can hit back.
The underlying and prime objective of the party has shifted from
the larger goals of democracy, a clean and sustainable polity aimed at
bringing betterment and prosperity for the impoverished people, to survival
of the present gang of leaders, saving their illegal assets and properties at
home and abroad, making as much gains as possible through indiscriminate
and almost daredevil loot and plunder for everybody at the helm.
To make this possible, the partys gung-ho leaders have devised
the strategy of using provincial cards, personal threats, confronting and
browbeating every institution that threatens them, launching deception
plans, diverting attention from critical issues to non-issues, wasting time of

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the nation and the people and keep hanging on to power, by hook or by
crook.
Though government officials deny, people talk about, right or wrong,
that all its major political and economic initiatives have one thing in
common the lucrative prospect of commissions and kickbacks of
millions and billions, whether it is the money-wasting Benazir Income
Support Programme, rental or offshore power projects, stuffing thousands of
PPP workers in collapsing and dying state-run corporations, signing
hundreds of MOUs with Chinese companies or appointments of cronies to
key posts in the financial and corporate sector like the NBP, ODGC, PSO,
petroleum ministry, PIA, Pakistan Steel Mills and dozens more.
After explaining the point further, Shaheen came to Zardaris latest
embrace with PML-Q. In this scenario and faced with the blackmail of JUI
and MQM and no longer a free lunch offered by the PML-N, the PPP has
quickly invented a new definition for the PML-Q, from Qaatil league
(Killers party) to they are not guilty, Musharraf was and big carrots are
being offered to get it on board before the budget.
On its part the Chaudhrys of Q-League have got the chance of their
life Now that corruption cases have caught up with their mainstream
leadership, Moonis Elahi being the poster boy, the desperate Gujratis need
a safe haven and what better place to hide than the Federal
Government, with a prospect of toppling PML-N in Punjab as well. They
will grab even half the carrot at double the price being asked by the PPP.
But once the budget is passed, what kind of minced meat the PPP
will make of the Gujratis can only be guessed. The case of MQM vs
Zulfikar Mirza is a good example. There are many Mirzas in Punjab to take
care of Gujrat if there is need to keep them under the thumb.
How the security establishment is looking at all this is interesting.
Many chirping birds are flying in every TV talk show these days disclosing
what is happening. These birds dont fly abroad but some informed people
tell us the establishment is not creating another IJI with MQM, Imran Khan,
JUI and some Q-leaguers and the birds spreading these rumours are flying
direct to the TV houses from the Presidency to scare Mian Nawaz Sharif and
others.
What is deplorable is how some of the more respected media
persons have started pushing the agenda of the corrupt and the
discredited by raising these bogeys. As the opposition led by Nawaz Sharif
has no plan or vision to stop this rot, the key responsibility comes back on
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the shoulders of the establishment. But where does it stand and what will it
do is a big question.
But those who know say that they will ensure that an independent
Election Commission is set up, a free and strong judiciary stays on course
and its judgments are implemented, the corrupt are punished and
disqualified and a free election is held under a genuinely neutral and fair
caretaker administration, sooner or at its time. Then the chips may fall
where they may. No one should be scared of these scarecrows sitting in
talk shows.
On 22nd April, The News wrote: The role of the eight member
parliamentary committee which under the 18 th Amendment is to review the
appointment of judges became clearer as a four-member Supreme Court
bench dismissed the federations review petition against the court order
setting aside a recommendation by the committee rejecting a one-year
extension in the terms of six additional judges of the Sindh and Lahore high
courts. The verdict should settle the issue of which institution holds
supremacy in the matter. The problems inherent in the grant of powers to a
committee of parliamentarians to overview decisions made by the judicial
commission had already been pointed out by legal experts. The provision of
course posed a threat of eroding judicial independence and the SC judges,
by rejecting the plea, have made it clear they will not allow this to happen.
Senior lawyers have welcomed the move.
While the matter has given rise to controversy for months, it seems
that the need to safeguard judicial independence is essential in our particular
circumstances. The failure to do so over the years has led to all kinds of
problems and essentially resulted in a judiciary subservient to the executive.
Even those of us not well-versed in history have a good idea of the disasters
this caused and the unfortunate traditions it set in place. The apex court is
quite obviously determined to eradicate these and work towards a future
where the role laid down for each institution within the Constitution is fully
protected.
The decision also brings into question what the role of the
parliamentary committee is to be. Experts attempting to defend its existence
have argued that a body able to act only as a rubber stamp serves no
purpose. There can be no real argument with this. The logical thing to do
under the circumstances would be to scrap the body, or at the very least to
clearly re-define its powers, leaving no doubt that the judiciary is fully
empowered to take decisions in matters that have an impact on its working

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without any interference from the outside. It has already made it quite clear
that it intends to do so, and has reasserted this intention through its latest
verdict. It is essential that it be accepted with good grace and the role of the
judiciary as a fully independent body established once and for all. Such a
step could play a crucial role in determining the future of our country and
the manner in which events within it unfold.
Mir Adnan Aziz opined: A states sovereignty and road to prosperity
depends on its ability to make decisions independent of external authorities
and its capacity to govern. Aid dependency is a yoke that inhibits both. It is a
shot that gives an addictive economy a temporary high. Touted as an
antidote, it is a major cause of our present asphyxiation. With an
ideologically bankrupt leadership being the custodian of a non tax paying
privileged class, the solution does not lie in austerity IMF style and taxing
the poor further. Benjamin Disraeli said: To tax the community for the
advantage of a class is not protection, it is plunder.
The merciful rejection by the IMF may have been precipitated not by
our inability to meet the performance bench marks but the post Raymond
Davis ISI-CIA cold war Pakistan today epitomizes the private opulence of
our political elite; as a beggared and battered country sinks ever deeper
under debt and diktat. At this critical juncture the national reconciliation
government is yet another act of shame. The PPP wants to ensure passage of
the budget whereas the Qatil Leagues politics has been reduced to ensure
the freedom of just one man Moonis Elahi. The survival circus continues;
the nation, from Fata to Karachi, may rest in peace.
Lord Acton said: When a rich man becomes poor it is a misfortune.
When a poor man becomes destitute, it is a moral evil. Our rags to riches
politicians could do with a bit of poverty and a thought for Pakistan. This
may allow a semblance of life and dignity to this betrayed land and the poor
made destitute within.
Next day, S M Taha opined: There are some structural flaws in
Pakistans democracy. First, in this system, the opinion of the sane and the
insane counts for the same. Or, in other words, democracy is the form of
government in which heads are counted not weighed. Secondly, political
parties are undemocratic, family sponsored and most of them are centred on
personalities. In the absence of grass-root political nurseries, that is, elected
bodies, at union, town and city levels, cronies and family members get
nominations in provincial and national elections.

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Thirdly, highly skilled human capital is out of the political process.

Last but not least, the federal structure of Pakistan divides along a number of
fault lines that hamper democratic growth in the country. The federation and
its four uneven units are uneven in all aspects; ethnic, religious, resources,
and population. Sectarian and provincial feelings play havoc to an already
fragmented society. Sixty-two years after independence, we still havent
begun the process of nation-building.
These structural flaws prevent the growth of real democracy in
Pakistan. A real democracy is one where society manages diversity, where
society exercises democratic behaviour and constructs a pattern of
democratic morality, where nations attain sustainable economic growth, the
delivery of social welfare services to all citizens, good governance and equal
opportunities to all.
Contrary to these attainable goals, elected governments from Zulfiqar
Ali Bhutto till today have perpetuated corruption, bad governance, economic
meltdown and underdevelopment. Elected governments have bulldozed
merit and snatched the rights of public participation at the grass-root level.
The failure of democracy has led to the rise of ineffective institutions
which in turn have produced patterns of behaviour inimical to
democratic success. Institutional breakdown has caused functional
inefficiency in Pakistan. It is rightly said that a democracy without a sense of
direction is like a ship with a sail, but no rudder.
The call of democracy demands betterment in the quality of citizens
lives. Their lives can only be improved in the presence of rule of law, rights
of equal access to public services, due social justice, and sustainable
economic growth. Desirable and holistic growth is only possible through
participatory decision making. And devolution of power (along with fiscal
devolution) to local government is the right and tested strategy to strengthen
genuine democracy in the country. The present state of democracy in
Pakistan is not really democracy; it is a denial of democracy.
On 24th April, The News commented: The prime minister, while
speaking in Karachi, has referred to a new political alliance in the offing,
though in rather typical fashion he has remained somewhat vague about
precisely what he means or what this new alliance would constitute. We can
however, safely assume, that Mr Yusuf Raza Gilani has in mind a new linkup with the PML-Q that many believe is on the anvil with talks reported to
be in progress between top leaders from both sides

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The building of alliances is a legitimate part of the business of any

democracy. But it is interesting to note how, in our particular political
realm, principles are quickly forgotten. Ideology is a matter that stands
still further away. Retaining power, hanging on to cabinet seats and
enjoying the many trappings of power is all that seems to matter to
politicians who most often put service to themselves above service to their
nation, or the very people who elected them. Till the 2008 elections and in
the months afterwards, the PPP had been scathing in its criticism of the
PML-Q. While ideology is a less and less significant part of our politics, on
this count too the party manifestoes and the speeches made down the years
by leaders, reflect major differences on key issues.
The man behind the PML-Q, General Pervez Musharraf has been
blamed for many of the ills we face today, ranging from the economic
crunch to the energy crisis. But while our political parties evidently see
principle as being insignificant to their working, they should remember
that the people may see things in a somewhat different way. While these
people are largely ignored today, in less than two years time, these same
politicians will be courting votes. Lack of principles is not something the
people forget easily. They recognize too, the degree to which politicians seek
only to stay in power. But all this acts to add to the distrust people feel for
their leaders, and parties need to remember that the politics of optimism may
not go down well with those whose votes they seek when it comes to starting
off their campaigns once again and explaining their actions to people in their
constituencies.
Next day, Asif Ezdi wrote: The Bhutto reference is more than
political gimmickry. It is also continuation of the governments not-sosubtle effort to portray the Supreme Court as having an anti-Sindhi bias
we would do justice to Bhutto not for his sake alone. We must do it also
because we owe it to ourselves as a nation. People who are entrusted with
important positions should know that they will be held answerable for their
deeds, sooner or later.

REVIEW
The PPP leadership has claimed that the intention behind filing of
ZAB reference in the Supreme Court is to wash black spot from the robes of
Judiciary. The real motive behind this clever move, however, revolves
around the win-win feeling it gives to the leadership that has opted for
confrontation with the Judiciary.
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The feeling of victory before the fight comes from the assessment that
if the court decides in favour of the PPP the point of victimization of
Sindhi leaders would stand proved. If not, it will be interpreted as
persistence of their victimization. In both cases it will provide a pretext for
concealing the black spots of corruption on the face of Zardari.
It is because of this attitude of Zardari regime that one feels like
repeating what has been already said in the past more than once. Four
military dictators are accused of causing lot of damage to Pakistan by
disrupting the democratic process. The present military regime, by
allowing the democracy to extract its revenge, would probably cause far
more damage than that inflicted by all the four dictators put together.
While confronting the judiciary head-on, the regime continued
making the so-called reconciliatory moves towards political forces one
after the other. The latest move targeted Qatal League primarily to get the
budget passed in Parliament and on the other hand PML-Q has well-being of
Moonis Elahi in mind.
This move has could mean anything but reconciliation. Somehow, for
Zardari reconciliation means compromise with corruption, with looting and
plundering, bending backward or forward before the strong, suppressing the
weak, obeying the dictates of strong, tolerating drone attacks and targeted
killings. And, at the same time exact democratic revenge from those who
oppose such reconciliatory steps.
The democratic revenge has many forms. One form, or deformation
to be correct, is dissolution of federation in the name of devolution. And, the
devolution itself has many forms which have been manifested by the genius
of Raza Rabbani in 18th Amendment of the Constitution. It was because of
his this display of evil genius that forced Asif Ezdi to call him one-man
demolition squad that has done damage to the Constitution that the two
military dictators could not do.
Gas load-shedding is yet another ugly form of devolution through
which democratic revenge is exacted from Punjab. It has ruined the textile
industry which has been the backbone of industrial sector of Punjab. But,
then the evil genius of the Scoundrel does not dependent on devolution; the
electricity load-shedding is used for the same ends without the pretext of
devolution.
His evil mind is at his best in defying the Judiciary. Even the Chief
Justice has been forced to beg all arms of state to act in aid of the Supreme

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Court. Iftikhar had urged that in the same speech in which he had advised
the students of Command and Staff College to stay away from politics.
In spite of all the humbug the enlightened and liberal secular men
and women spared time for issues like suspected gang rape of Mukhtaran
Mai and challenge the Islamic concept of polygamy. Farzana Bari while
discussing the concept of polygamy dared accusing religious scholars of
misinterpreting Sura Nisa.
She claimed that as meting out equal and fair treatment to two or more
wives is humanly impossible; it therefore implies that Islam forbids having
more than one wife. She further strengthened her argument by saying that
Islam being staunch upholder of human rights it is just not conceivable that
it allows polygamy.
Can Farzana tell that spouses are fair in one-on-one marriages? If
enquired, a large number of men and women will accept to the contrary and
many would prefer to remain non-committal. If so, will Ms Bari agree that
the on the analogy of human rights the very institution of marriage be
abolished as is the tendency in civilized societies?
Why tie a matrimonial knot when it is blatantly against personal
liberties. This legacy of Dark Ages should be done away with. In the
modern era of enlightenment and liberalism where rights and personal
freedoms take precedence over all other human obligations it would be
better if Ms Bari and her ilk start campaigning as such.

Once they succeed in achieving this the problem of polygamy as

well as polyandry will be automatically resolved. All men and women will
have equal rights of choice; a woman as to whose child she would like to
conceive and a man as to whose child he would like to father. Both will also
have the freedom to have variety, as diverse as their urge to express their
personal freedom.
25th April, 2011

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LUTTO TEY PHUTTO

The heading is yet another instance of falling back to the mother
tongue, but this time it is not out of compulsion of running short of English
vocabulary and instead it is a matter of choice. This choice was made by
Mushahid Hussain, who has been editor of English daily newspaper, to
describe the preoccupation of Zardari regime in corruption.
The English translation of the heading would read plunder and
vanish or words to that effect. Mushahids party leaders from Gujarat
thought that there was no wisdom in standing on a side, or sitting like
sweetmeat shop owner, while PPP mob was plundering. Prudence demanded

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joining the plunder; thus they joined the government as coalition partners
and Mushahid had no objection.
Of course, the PML-Q claimed it joined the coalition government in
the national interest. But, if fact this was a dual purpose move made by
Gujarati cousins; to take their share in the ongoing plunder and to conceal
what their brilliant son had done in the past. MQM saw the light and staged
a hasty comeback.
The above reconciliatory move by the regime was a major event on
political front. On judicial front the Supreme Court kept struggling to
dispense justice in cases of corruption, but LHC in dual office case stole the
show by stopping Zardari from taking part in party politics. This gave
Zardaris tout from Thana Chauntra to fan provincial prejudices.

NEWS
The Supreme Court gave two days to the government on 25 th April to
extend service of judges of LHC and SHC. Justice Khwaja remarked that the
court knew how to implement its orders and clarified that now Parliamentary
Committee has nothing to do with the matter.
Another bench hearing a petition ordered completion of ECP. The
Chief Justice remarked that delay in completion of the Election Commission
for the last one year was a clear violation of the Constitution. He observed
that the government has failed to fulfill legal obligations and warned of
repercussions if Constitution not followed.
Sharjeel Memon appeared in contempt case and resorted to favourite
tactics his boss. He asked the court for time because he could not consult his
counsel, Hafeez Pirzada, who was out of country. Memon was told that
Hafeez could not be his counsel because his Chief Minister has asked him to
assist the court. He then asked for one month as he was busy in connection
with annual budget. The court asked him that was he finance minister? After
getting the reply in negative the court adjourned until 27 th April. The Chief
Justice reminded the accused that he was made minister after he picked up
fight with Judiciary.
Rehman Malik, Sherry and Sharmila telephoned Mukhtaran Mai to
sympathize with her over court verdict she did not like because all, but one,
accused were freed of the charge of gang rape. All three of them saw a
potential jiyali in Mai. However, Jamshaid Dasti, who belongs to the nearby
area, praised the Supreme Court verdict.
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Chief Justice observed that court has to examine the State Bank of
Pakistan circular 29 whether it was constitutional and legal, regarding the
written-off loans and the court adjourned the hearing till May 12. Bank of
Punjab report failed to mention Pervaiz Elahis role. Bail plea of his son in
NICL case was rejected.
PML-N office and a PML-N restaurant were attacked in Karachi in
retaliation of Shahbazs statement about more provinces in Sindh. Nisar
alleged new NRO was in the offing as result of deal between Zardari and
Shujaat. Both leaders were close to forming broad-based government after
agreeing on carving out new provinces of Hazara, Bahawalpur and Seraiki.
The government failed to provide trade agreements and MOUs to
National Assembly that have been signed with USA, China and Saudi
Arabia. Fourteen textile bodies of Faisalabad announced complete shutdown
on May 1 to protest unscheduled load-shedding and warned of civil
disobedience.
Mulla Bakhsh Chandio received multi-gun salute on his arrival in
Hyderabad first time after becoming Law Minister. SCBA denied reports
about no-trust move against Asma. Meanwhile, four more people were
perished in targeted-killings in Karachi.
Next day, the Scoundrel and the Saint at last extended services of four
judges of LHC by one year on the last day of the period given by the court.
The bold and not so beautiful Asma Jahangir, however, criticized Judicial
Commission for ignoring rules.
Justice Javed Iqbal observed that nepotism was rampant in Port Qasim
Authority and vowed not to tolerate attitude of Moghlia monarchs. He
passed this remark while hearing a suo moto case of 688 illegal
appointments in grade 2 to 21 by former minister and other government
authorities.
Another MD of Sui Northern was sacked by Gilani on instructions
from Dr Asim. People in Lahore, Gujranwala and Kasur agitated to protest
against power outages; in Lahore they burnt a Wapda office. The issue was
also raised in National Assembly. Meanwhile, four people were killed in
Karachi.
On 27th April, eleven member larger bench was composed to hear
ZAB reference with effect from 2nd May. JI filed a reference for reopening of
the case of Dr Nazir. Five notorious killers were held in Karachi in a major

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breakthrough against the menace of targeted-killings. Six people were killed

in Karachi.
Shujaat met MQM delegation and denied any decision to join the
government. For a change, that wasnt ordinary, Gilani said whatever ISI did
that had his governments approval. Apparently, he seemed to be telling the
Americans, but it was meant for Chaudhry Nisar.
Next day, the Bench hearing the PSM scam remarked that FIA lacked
the courage to nab big guns; it only registered cases against small traders.
The court directed appointment of an efficient officer as Chairman of
Pakistan Steel Mills.
The record of ZAB trial, less audio cassettes, was handed over to Law
Ministry. In National Assembly, Khwaja Saad Rafique said if patronage of
Ziaul Haq was made so was to be foster child of Ayub Khan. He refused to
acknowledge ZAB as Shaheed.
Chaudhry brothers met Zardari at dinner to strike a deal to feast
together in next two year. The list of demands presented to Zardari included
appointment of FIA officer of their choice to handle Moonis Elahis case and
that had already been done.
Commenting on the PPP-PML-Q alliance Muhammad Malick
observed that US was on board and now Nawaz Sharif has to either pull a
rabbit out of the hat or he would get pulled down himself. The rabbit
pulled out the PML-N was pointed out by Tariq Butt. He reported that the
party will enhance close working with disgruntled parliamentarians of
PML-Q.
The Supreme Court sought the details of the cases disposed by acting
NAB chief. LHC reserved verdict on Rehman Maliks pardon in NAB cases.
Appointment of Pemra Chairman was challenged in the Supreme Court.
The government decided to increase the price of electricity by Rs1 per unit.
Talks between Young Doctors and Punjab government failed. Munter
ordered the puppets to ensure safety of Mukhtaran Mai.
On 29th April, the bench hearing the Haj scam case warned FIA to
cancel transfer orders of those officers who were named by the court to
carryout investigations. It said judicial orders cannot be overruled by
administrative orders. Justice Fayyaz termed transfers a bid to render court
orders ineffective. The lately removed officer was also probing Gilanis son.
PPP and PML-Q agreed on Pervaiz Elahi as first deputy prime
minister. Shujaat and Faisal Saleh Hayat met Zardari and the latter offered a
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ministry to Faisal Saleh. Asim Yasin saw Zardari and Faisal Saleh friends
again. Gilani and Mushahids staying away from the deal led to more
speculations. Gilani said legislation would be needed for creating deputy
PMs slot. Firdous said PML-Q was strengthening the state institutions.
Farooq Sattar met Shujaat in the evening to discuss political situation.
The Supreme Court stopped CDA from further balloting of plots and
sought presentation of relevant record. Protests against power outages
continued across Punjab. Asfanyar addressed World Pakhtoon Moot soon
after Bharat yatra and declared he was not opposed to demand for Hazara
Province. Senior MQM member was shot dead in Karachi.
Next day, reportedly, PML-Q has been offered 12 ministerial slots.
Faisal Sale Hayat said the PML-Q was expecting moon from the Zardari-led
PPP from lavish share in cabinet answerable only to Pervaiz Elahi, double
share in forth coming Senate election and favourable term for General
Elections. Shah Mahmood condemned nomination of assassin of Benazir
as deputy PM in PPP government.
Mehtab Abbasi of PML-N termed Zardari Gorbachev of Pakistan.
Qaim Ali Shah responded by saying PML-N leaders are in shock and awe
because of Zardaris political moves, which PML-N leaders have failed to
understand. Meanwhile, prices of petroleum products were increased from
1.8 to 11.8 percent. MQM gave a call for observing a Day of Mourning over
latest killing of their activist.
On 1st May, PPP and PML-Q agreed to form a coalition government in
the Centre, but the document signed gave an impression that it was an
agreement more for electoral cooperation with a view to isolate the common
adversary, PML-N. Both parties also agreed to create Saraiki and Hazara
provinces for fulfillment of the same desire. Seventeen PML-Q leaders will
take oath as ministers, minister for states, advisers and special assistants.
Gilani talked to Altaf and MQM could follow PML-Q soon.
Saleem Saifullah criticized the unholy marriage of convenience of
PPP with PML-Q. He claimed that Zardaris master stroke has sabotaged any
plan for unification of Muslim Leagues and he has virtually isolated PML-N.
Pir Pagara observed that PML-Q was securing its interests. He also asked
that when PM has no powers what would his deputy have?
Shahbaz Sharif termed the alliance a new drama to loot whatever is
lift of national wealth. But, having said that he reportedly rushed to
Rawalpindi to hold secret meetings with military and ISI leaders, along with
Chaudhry Nisar, obviously to discuss the latest political developments
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facilitated by ISI which are aimed at damaging PML-N. From London,

Nawaz told Shahbaz to include Unification Bloc in the cabinet.
Six more people perished in targeted killings in Karachi as the city
remained closed on the call on MQM. One policeman was killed in
Mirpurkhas and 16 buses were burnt during protests in Karachi. MQM held
top level meeting and decided to demand from the federal government an
end to the killings.
Chairman Pemra, Mushtaq Malik, was told by the government not to
turn up on duty on 2nd May. He was summoned to Presidency and told
threateningly to leave the city and not to talk to media. This recourse was
necessitated because his tenure has constitutional protection. Meanwhile, it
was reported that Pemra has 24 officials who had failed in written tests.
Next day, fourteen PML-Q MPs were sworn in as ministers and
ministers of state, according to Tariq Butt Zardari tricked PML-q on the
opening day as most of the ministries doled out were unimportant.
Meanwhile, five people were killed, 39 vehicles were burnt and 98 people
were held in Karachi.
On 3rd May, Zardari met delegation led by Ishrat Ibad; MQM agreed
to re-join the cabinet accepting four ministerial slots. Basharat and Khokhar
were made advisors to PM. Amir Muqam walked out of PML-Q meeting
complaining the ministry he had been given did not exist.
The Supreme Court was told ZAB had faced custodial killing and
hearing was adjourned till 4th May; Babar Awan would continue his
argument. PM approved 2 percent surcharge on electricity bill. Raza
Rabbani resigned as minister to protest formation of coalition with PML-Q.
Next day, MQM formally announced the return of She to the cabinet.
Amir Muqam held a meeting of provincial office holders of PML-Q to
decide resigning a portfolio that did not exist. Bench hearing ZAB reference
asked IG Punjab Police you speak of judges bias, why dont you submit
evidence.
Muncipal authorities confiscated 55 buffalos of Raja Riaz, who
termed it as an act of victimization. Khosa talked of no-confidence move in
Punjab. After LPG price of CNG was also increased. An NICL accused
offered plea bargain for Rs480 million.
On 5th May, Babar Awan said in the court that drama of Bhutto killing
was performed in Lahore; Maulvi Mushtaq signed the death warrant whereas
ordinarily it should have been signed by a magistrate. He also claimed that
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there was no MO in jail to certify Bhuttos death. The court asked him to
focus on points of law. And, 35 million fake voters were deleted from the
lists on court orders.
Q League began cracking afresh; its five Senators sat on opposition
benches and five likeminded rejoined. GA Bilour, Railway Minister told TV
anchorpersons to shut up. Mumtaz Bhutto alleged that Zardari was
harbouring killers of ZAB and Benazir. Two political activists were among
five killed in Karachi. One person was killed in violent protests in Gujar
Khan against power outages.
Next day, the court was told that probe into Haj scam was being
reassigned to transferred FIA officials. The Chief Justice said the purpose of
judicial inquiry is to recover plundered money. Hearing was adjourned until
13th May. Challan of Moonis Elahi was submitted in Banking Court. Three
persons were killed and 33 wounded in grenade attack on a gambling den in
Karachi; seven people were killed in other incidents.
On 7th May, Rehman Malik was acquitted by the court in two cases of
corruption. FIA given two weeks to arrest Musharraf in murder case of
Benazir. Three people were killed in Karachi. Next day, Riaz Pirzada got his
portfolio changed from Minorities to Health, but Amir Muqam refused to
resume charge as minister. Nawaz Sharif returned from London.
On 9th May, favours to Moonis Elahi began with FIA not making the
new piece of evidence as part of the challan in NICL case. During hearing of
ZAB reference the Supreme Court observed that no evidence was found
against Bhutto in 1975. Mohammad Malick called house of democracy a
house of shame.
Next day, Babar Awan was directed by the court to wind up his
arguments in ZAB reference by 11th May after which court would adjourn
hearing for three weeks. The court was informed that Centre and Punjab
were to make Justice Shafi report public.
Two MQM ministers were administered oath. Sindh wrote to IRSA
that water to Punjab from River Sindh should be stopped. Punjab must get
water from River Jehlum only. In NICL case DG FIA was served contempt
of court notice for hindering the proceedings of the court by changing
inquiry officers. Chief Justice said Malik Iqbal did so in Haj case also.
On 11th May, the bench hearing ZAB reference was provided with the
video footage of Justice Nasim Shahs interview. The court directed Babar
Awan to refer it the authority from which it could derive powers to give

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opinion on the presidential reference in accordance with Article 186 of the

Constitution. Babar said that the court shouldnt restrict meaning of the
Article.
Chief Justice said that all by-elections from 19 April 2010 to-date
were conducted in deviation of Article 6 of the Constitution and sought AGs
assistance to resolve this irregularity. This observation was made while
hearing a petition filed by Imran Khan while questioning if the government
wanted return of doctrine of necessity. Meanwhile, Zardari went to Moscow
to defreeze Pak-Russia ties, saying these couldnt be kept frozen forever.
May 12 carnage was remembered in Karachi.
Next day, LHC stopped Zardari from taking part in political activities
and turning Presidency into a place of party office and expected him to
resign from party co-chairmanship. Full court gave this verdict after hearing
the petition of Advocate Dogar challenging dual office of Zardari.
The observers apprehended that the court decision wont be
implemented by the regime as has been the case in many earlier verdicts.
Asma Jahangir saw no harm in politically active President; she was quite
vocal in saying qabool keia (acceptable). Babar Awan rejected the verdict
before even receiving a copy of that.
Ansar Abbasi noted that LHC has conveyed that Zardari did not enjoy
immunity for his political acts. Tariq Butt saw that options of Zardari have
shrunk after the verdict. Ahmad Noorani was of the view that the court did
not declare Zardaris activities as illegal.
Sohail Khan reported that Chief Justice during hearing of ZAB
reference told Babar Awan to get legislation passed empowering the
Supreme Court to revisit ZAB judgment, because under Article 186 of the
Constitution it cannot do so. Babar contended that there was no need for new
legislation. Meanwhile, lawyers observed Black Day over May 12 Karachi
killings
On 13th May, the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court
directed the Cabinet Division Secretary not to transfer, until a final decision
was taken on the matter, the assets of the Peoples Foundation Trust to the
legal heirs of ZAB. The court was hearing plea against Federal Shariat Court
and Ghinwa Bhutto had also filed a petition for her legal share. Another
bench insisted that it must be known as to who got how much in Haj
corruption case. Musharraf announced staging a comeback on March 23,
2012.

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Next day, Gilani addressed an election-related public gathering in

Muzaffarabad and said his government wont topple Punjab government. He
urged the audience to vote for PPP. PPP leaders talked of challenging the
LHC verdict on dual office in the Supreme Court. Three people were killed
in Karachi.
On 15th May, Amir Moqam submitted his resignation as minister to
Shujaat; Zardari talked to him on telephone and assured that his grievances
would be addressed and portfolio changed. Meanwhile, ten persons were
killed and nine wounded in Karachi.

VEIWS
On 26th April, Mosharraf Zaidi commented: There are two lessons
that Imran Khan could have learnt from his cricketing and
philanthropic adventures. The first is that people matter, and therefore,
change can only come about when the people stand up and make it happen.
The second is that no matter how good a leader, a winning team is made up
of multiple points of talent and skill. Only teams can win team sports.
On most days, it is obvious that Imran Khan learnt the first lesson
well, but did not learn the second, at all. The PTI is a collection of nice
young people, from mostly good families, who are almost exclusively from
the cities. That is a demographic that has had almost zero electoral success.
The reason is quite simple. They dont vote. But even if they were to start
voting, what are the chances that Imran Khans peripheral populism would
catch fire and become a national juggernaut? Pretty low.
Without first and second-tier political talent that serves as a
moderator and regulator of Imran Khans negative energy on the one hand,
and an amplifier and projector of his positive energy on the other hand, the
PTI has no hope of being a legitimate and meaningful political force. In
short, the short-term prospects of the PTI challenging the established
political order should be about slim to zero.
This is why it is stupefying to watch Pakistanis who call themselves
liberal (using a generously flexible definition of the term) to absolutely go
potty over any mention of Imran Khan. As he has taken a stranglehold in the
public space over the issue of drones, liberals have been falling over
themselves trying to do one of two things. Either they seek to rationalize
drone strikes, as necessary to fight terror, or they seek to de-legitimize any
agency that Imran Khan might have as a politician. On both counts, PPP
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supporters, including the interior minister, seemed to be the most

distressed about Imran Khan leading a five-thousand-strong anti-drone
rally in Peshawar.
The gamesmanship and politics would be understandable if it was
directed towards a formidable political foe, but Imran Khan represents, by
the calculations of liberal voices themselves, nothing more than an irritant
in the public discourse. The most serious charge against Imran Khan,
that he is a Taliban apologist, deserves scrutiny, because if there is one
thing Pakistan cannot afford, it is equivocal stances on terrorism that claims
innocent lives in Pakistan, or anywhere else.
The misgivings that exist about Imran Khans position on extremism,
terrorism and how to fight these menaces are his own fault. Though Ive not
spoken to him at length one-on-one, Ive heard him speak multiple times on
the issue. He denies the charges vehemently, while seeking a dialogue out of
the conflict in FATA and KP. His emphatic denials of being a Taliban
apologist however ring hollow and empty if they continue to fall on deaf
ears. If a message never gets delivered, doesnt the message deliverer bear at
least some responsibility?
Some, for sure. But not all. Imran Khans political failures are the
topic of many a cocktail party in Defence, F-6 and over drinks during
hunting trips in the deep south of Punjab, and the deeper rural neverland of
Sindh. But such criticism, while often on-the-mark, does stretch the
imagination. Imran Khan, after all, poses no threat whatsoever to the
established political order. Or does he?
One of Imran Khans consistent areas of success, and a topic of
bitter disappointment for both the rural-focused PPP and the so-called urban
Punjab PML-N juggernaut, is urban youth. The PPP is so desperate for
charisma that it is reopening the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case a case that his
own daughter miraculously never touched in two turns as prime minister.
The PML-N has been deluded into a complacent stupor by the armies of
DMG officers, serving and retired, who do nothing but nod their heads in
pathetic deference to the Sharif brothers. Neither party has any confidence
that it can excite young people in the cities the very young that electrified
Z A Bhuttos political career two generations ago, and the ones that briefly
took the Sharifs onto their shoulders on a fateful March night in 2009.
Imran Khan, on the other hand, does excite young people in
Pakistans cities. Part of this narrative is necessarily naive. It is based on a
starry-eyed hope that slogans, national pride and good vibrations can get the
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job of saving Pakistan from itself, done. They cannot. But young people
dont really care for reasoned cynicism. They want something to believe
in. In a country that is urbanizing faster than you can say thaana-kutchehri,
and getting younger by the day, we can dismiss Imran Khan. But we cant
dismiss the energy he is tapping into. It doesnt matter today. But it could.
Sooner than we think.
Three days later, Shafqat Mahmood opined: If governance does not
start improving now, we may begin to sink into a state of anarchy. We
are quite close to this, but are not there yet. If immedi0ate attention is not
paid to improving and reinvigourating the state structure, the decay may
reach a point of no return.
On the economic front, the state finances face an existential crisis.
Again, we are looking for the Americans to bail us out Hafeez Sheikh says
one billion is coming before June but are not ready to take the tough
decisions that will allow us to stand on our feet. There seems to be no
political consensus when it comes to improving the economy or tackling
the challenge of declining governance. This is certainly not the way forward.
Its opposite is. Is there any possibility of this happening.
The lesson to be drawn from global experience then is that the
nations that are ready to tough it out through difficult times and take hard
decisions are the ones that prosper. Those who do nothing wilt and die. We
have a choice to make.
PML-N leaders starting from the Leader of the Opposition in National
Assembly down to the likes of Senator Mushahid now-a-days are quite bitter
about media attention received by Imran Khan. Ayaz Amir is milder version
of those afflicted by Khan-allergy. He wrote about sit-in staged by Imran:
This is the fond hope. Imran Khan had only to call foe a dharna (sit-in)
against drone strikes and regardless of how large or small the gathering in
Peshawar was; the chattering classes have begun excitedly to talk of a
new knight on the horizon.
We should not under-estimate the Great Khans ability to lose himself
in the wilderness, or shoot himself in the foot. He has done it before. But one
thing has to be said for him. A lesser man would have lost heart long
agoso many disappointments and so little to show for them. He has to be
given credit for preserving. Anyhow, there is a vacuum out there waiting to
be filled. Either a brave adventurer seizes this opportunity or we can dine on
cynicism for another generation.

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Kamila Hyat talked of electricity shortage. Chronic power outages

affect many. But these are not the only examples before us of state
dysfunction. And those in power seem to do nothing more than twiddle their
thumbs and make occasional statements promising rapid change It is time
to think deeply about the situation we face. Nothing can be resolved in one
stroke but the process of putting things right needs to begin
immediately. For now, there is no sign of this happening.
On 30th April, Babar Sattar wrote: Do they not realize that given the
ideology, manifesto and political program of the PPP, their party has nothing
in common with the PML-Q, except the shared desire of their respective
leaders to distribute the spoils of office amongst themselves and their
cronies?
Democracy is more than a process. Its pith and substance is a system
of governance that protects and serves the interests of ordinary citizens,
regardless of their political preferences. It is in upholding the substance of
democracy that ineffectual civilian governments falter and as a consequence
cede political space to generals. While uninterrupted political process is
imperative to realize the dividends of democracy, public support for such
continuity cannot be fostered by a ruling political elite visibly unresponsive
to public needs.
The message of hope springing out of Pakistan: Beyond the Crisis
State is the inevitability of change being ushered in by a growing, informed
and assertive middle class together with a free and vocal media. Pakistan is
not ready to suffer another khaki saviour. But neither is it willing to put
up indefinitely with autocratic civilian regimes engaged in a transactional
relationship with ordinary people, reducing them to petty clients. Business,
as usual, is no longer sustainable. Political parties can either become
vehicles for change or get wiped away as agents of the status quo.
Next day, The News talked of FIA mess. The Supreme Court has
expressed displeasure over the transfer of the FIA officials investigating the
Haj scam and has directed that they be reassigned to their duties. Or orders
to this effect will be issued by the court. The main issue at hand involves the
transfer of Zafar Qureshi, the lead investigating officer looking into the Haj
scandal. The reasons put forward by government officials appearing
before the four-member SC bench to account for Qureshis exit seem
rather flimsy and have quite obviously left the judges unconvinced. There
have been reports of letters making untrue allegations against Qureshi and

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statements to the effect that he had been removed after completing his
assignment.
The whole affair is quite obviously a very murky one. What is
becoming clear is that there is a desperate bid to cover up the truth. We
wonder which powerful officials are involved in these doings and who they
seek to protect. It is a true tragedy of our times that even though it is quite
obvious that there has been a great deal of foul play, with ministers and
others clearly implicated, there should be so committed an attempt to cover
up the facts. This clearly adds to the widespread impression that the
government and those who run it have no interest in tackling corruption,
even when it is exposed and media headlines spell out what has happened
for the public to see. Failure to react can only weaken trust in the
government and expose just how determined it is to cover up wrongdoing
using all kinds of crooked means.
In another editorial the newspaper commented: Rumours that the PPP
is linking up with the PML-Q have now materialized as fact The
agreement dramatically changes the political reality in the country. How
things evolve will need to be observed closely over the coming months.
Another meeting between President Zardari and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain
has been scheduled. Signs of tension within both the PPP and the PML-Q
are also emerging, with the prime minister kept out of the talks with
Shujaat Hussain and the apparent presence of some misgivings within the
PML-Q, with regard to the deal.
The purpose of the odd alliance between ideological enemies just
like the talk of dividing Punjab into two or more provinces is obviously to
hurt the PML-N. Preparations for polls seem to be underway and, as they
begin, acrimony between the PML-N and the PPP also grows. This is not a
good omen. The PM has invited the PML-N to help devise economic
solutions, but this is hardly likely to happen in the present environment. We
live in surreal times. The PM, in a speech to the National Assembly,
astonishingly made little reference to the multiple crises that engulf us,
indicating that all is well and that there is no need to worry. Mr Gilani must
be a little out of touch with reality when he suggests that talks be reinitiated
on the ten-point agenda set out by the PML-N in a final bid to make amends
with its former ally. The PML-N is hardly likely to launch a new attempt to
patch up with the PPP, especially as the link with the PML-Q is sealed.
Other emerging developments also tell of the realities we face. It is
becoming clear that the PPP is planning to play the politics of legacy.

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President Zardari has said that Bilawal Bhutto will take on some political
responsibilities later this year. The move seems to be a preparatory step
for polls, and also indicates that the PPP has little to bank on except the
Bhutto name. The party seems quite unable to move beyond the politics of
dynasty. It remains to be seen how far it succeeds, given the situation the
country finds itself in. The emergence of parties such as the PTI as stronger
entities may also play a role in what happens at the ballot, with many people
keen to see new leaders emerge.
Meanwhile, tensions with the judiciary linger on. Whether or not
Chaudhry Shujaat can help sort out matters is still uncertain. The
strained relations between the government and the courts impede the smooth
working of the system and add to the difficulties we face on so many fronts.
They also influence a political climate already fraught with various dangers.
Rapid changes in political line-ups continue to occur and the sense that we
are stuck in a perpetual state of crisis does not go away. Economic disarray,
the energy shortfall and poor governance combine to make the lives of
people harder than ever, with no sign of change despite the insistence by the
government that all is well.
Malik Tariq Ali from Lahore wrote: When Musharraf suspended the
Constitution he claimed that he did so in national interest. During the next
eight years, the dictator handed over thousands of Pakistanis to the US.
Some other events which occurred during those eight years were the murder
of Nawab Bugti, the Lal Masjid massacre, the May 12 massacre in Karachi,
the NRO deal etc. All of this was done in the name of national interest. Now,
Chaudhry Shujaat wants us to believe that he has decided to extend his
support to the PPP-led coalition government in national interest and
that this has nothing to do with the Moonis Elahis case or his temptation
to be in power.
Samad Hasan also from Lahore opined: The PPP and the PML-Q are
now going to form a coalition government. I believe the only purpose of this
coalition is to defeat the PML-N in the next election. Politics could not get
uglier. No wonder politicians are considered opportunists and looked
down upon in our society.
Shujaullah Pasha from Sargodha observed: A news storyquoted
President Zardari as saying that he and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain were
establishing personal and family relations by keeping aside politics, which
would continue from generation to generation. Does that mean all the
allegations of corruption, crime and political disasters that the PPP has

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been leveling at the PML-Q over the past eight years are false? Is
reconciliation the new name for dirty political games?
On 2nd May, Shaheen Sehbai observed: President Asif Zardari has
taken the ultimate plunge in his desperate fight for survival and believes
once he sees off the 2011-12 budget and buys a few months, he will deal
with the ever-demanding Choudhrys of Gujrat and give them lessons in real
politics, or realpolitik, like he did with the PML-N, MQM, JUI and even his
own stunned PPP.
Knowing his track record, the Choudhrys have also tried to build
safety valves and iron-clad guarantees, and the first thing that has been
agreed to is a Dispute Resolution Committee of elders, as each party
anticipates that disputes would come in bundles and hordes. A key real
estate tycoon, who was the main broker in 2008 between Zardari and
Nawaz Sharif, has again played that role.
This unnatural alliance is coming about because both sides are
desperate in their own ways, the one common thread being the looming
fear of corruption cases in which both are deeply entangled and
worried. Both fear the judiciary and want to hide behind executive powers
for protection. Politics, as such, has been made hostage to personal vested
interests and survival.
But this marriage of convenience is fraught with serious dangers
for the PPP and Zardari himself. The Q leaders are not novices in politics
and power plays. Unlike the newbie MQM or brief case-loving Maulanas,
they know what to demand and how to get their pound, nay ton, of flesh at
the right time.
They know that Mr Zardari is in a tight spot and with the alliance,
suddenly from the gutter they have catapulted into the driving seat with all
the blackmailing powers before the budget. Thus the Choudhrys will
squeeze the last drop of blood and keep the sword hanging even later. It is
not a good thought that the much shrewder Choudhrys will dictate a shrewd
Zardari. A battle of power, pelf and self-protection has just begun. Some
indication has been given by Faisal Saleh Hayat on what the Q-League will
go after
Sehbai listed a long list of scenarios and then Added: There are other
aspects of this development as well. The Establishment probably is, and
should be, more than happy that the QL and the Choudhrys are getting into
the driving seat in a PPP government.

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One interesting question Choudhry Shujaat Hussain recently asked a

senior journalist tells it all. The Gujrat leader was seriously worried and
wondering why so far there has been no signal from the usual
Establishment people on what he should do. He is thus not sure whether his
alliance would be liked in the circles which he normally consults before
making such decisions.
But since there has been no signal, it also means that no one has
tried to stop him from going ahead. Mr Zardari does not realize the
significance of this. Once Q-League is entrenched and assumes the decisionmaking role, as deputy PM and in key ministries, the signals may start
coming again and Zardari will be left at the mercy of these political
mercenaries.
The first priority of the Establishment has to be the passage of
the budget because no one wants a disruption in flow of funds. Politics
can wait. Before the budget QL will dictate the agenda. In July Zardari will
start re-asserting and tensions will start rising.
As a joint objective the two sides may go for new provinces in
Punjab and KP but it will be easier said than done as breaking up one
province opens the Pandoras Box for all other provinces and that requires
an overall real national consensus. MQM may favour a Karachi province
while Pukhtoons in Balochistan may want their piece of the cake. Hazara is
already hot and Seraiki province may hit all the four provinces if language
becomes the compelling principle.
The role of PML-N and Nawaz Sharif in all this political
upheaval still remains ambiguous, as the party is confused, almost
leaderless and directionless. The buzz is that assurances have been given that
Punjab will not be touched but who takes such assurances from Zardari or
the Choudhrys seriously. The irony is that everything is being done to
damage the N League, which seems to be in a state of limbo. Others are
happy that if Punjab starts boiling, the system may be packed up sooner than
later.
If Zardari succeeds, he may hurt Nawaz Sharif but he will also
hurt his own party and will have to depend on the Choudhrys, who have
always been available to any wielder of real power, read the boots. The key
for a change will thus go back in the hands of the Establishment through the
QL. The most pathetic plight is of the PPP hard-core and staunch loyalists
who are numb and dumb, so far, but are desperately waiting to speak up.

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They wish the present curse on their party may go away, but only wishing is
not enough.
Asif Ezdi commented: German philosopher Emmanuel Kant wrote in
1784 that from such crooked wood as that which man is made of, nothing
straight can be fashioned. He was making a philosophical proposition. But
what he said is quite literally true of our parliament. Its members have
been elected under a deeply flawed electoral process which places a
premium on corruption; most of them cheat in the payment of taxes; a large
number hold fake degrees; many steal public money; they care little for
national interest; they have been resisting the passage of a new
accountability law with teeth; they are mainly concerned with preserving the
power and privileges of a small ruling class; and they are not public
representatives in any real sense. They are a major part of the problem. From
them little good can be expected.
Ikram Sehgal wrote: Todays parliament has legislators with fake
degrees, and almost all of whom have been elected on bogus votes.
Where is the legitimacy of that parliament? What can be more absurd that
not one of Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos original PPP stalwarts (and almost no
loyalists of Benazir Bhutto) occupy PPP leadership positions in the countrys
governance. Indeed, what is truly absurd is Dr Babar Awan (of Monticello
University fame), who publicly distributed sweets celebrating Bhuttos
unfortunate hanging, is now a born-again PPP loyalist and leading the PPP
charge to get the partys venerated leader exonerated by the Supreme Court.
Talk about poetic justice, a PPP stalwart contends that such is Bhuttos
power that even from the grave he has made Awan resign as federal minister
and take up the cudgels in his defence.
One can be forgiven for accepting Aristotles reasoning in describing
the state of governance in Pakistan. Once the irrational has been introduced
and an air of likelihood imparted to it, we must accept it in spite of the
absurdity. What indeed is the failsafe line between the Doctrine of
Necessity, and what we have currently in place in Pakistan, the Doctrine
of Absurdity?
The old man Roedad Khan has been disappointed by the generation he
belongs to, perhaps because of the fact that only a few are left of them. He
has also ignored the next generation and has now started looking for the
grandchildren to out for with a revolution. On 3rd May, he wrote: There is a
generation of young students coming of age in Pakistan that is educated,
hard working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also

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disillusioned, betrayed, defeated and disengaged. We have a responsibility to

help them believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future and
the future of their country. Can Khan alone inspire them? Does he have
that passion burning within him that will unleash youth power and set the
nation alight? He will lance the poisoned carbuncle and clean the country of
all the mess? That is for sure.
One thing is clear youth anger is on the rise in Pakistan. Young
people have slender prospects of finding jobs, or building a prosperous
future for themselves. Unemployment rates even among the educated are as
high as 80 percent in some areas. Few can travel. Emigration is a frustrating
dream. Things are made worse by cronyism and corruption. Frustration is
brimming over.
In these harsh and difficult political times, the question of
character is at the centre of our national concerns. Of late, in Pakistan,
the question of leadership has come to the fore and the quality of governance
has been held up to ridicule. What is the secret to long-term success? For a
person, party or nation, the element essential to success is character: Fame is
a vapour, popularity an accident, wrote Horace Greeley, riches take wing,
and only character endures.
If a president or a prime minister has credibility and integrity
and if he is believable, nothing else matters. But, as is the case in our
country today, if he has no credibility and no integrity and there is a gap
between what he says and what he does, nothing else matters and he cannot
govern.
We live in a profoundly precarious country. The current course
of events is unacceptable. But the good news is, we are finally uniting and
beginning to channel this anxiety into action. If young people in particular,
take to the streets as they have in other countries and as they have in the
past in this country, in defence of our core institutions, things will change.
The status quo will shift, corrupt rulers will crumble, and people will once
again believe in the power of the powerless. The long nightmare will be
over. It will be morning once again in Pakistan.
The political momentum now rests entirely with the people. They
can smell the march of their own power. At last, people have found their life
mission, something to fight for, and something to die for: fighting
dictatorship, military or civilian. They have also found the tool to achieve
this mammoth task street demonstrations and dharnas. It is time now for
our men and women to assert themselves. Tomorrow will be too late.
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The News commented on the latest political development; or

development of the century. Mr Yusuf Raza Gilanis displeasure over the
idea of a deputy prime minister and his pointing out of the fact that there is
no constitutional provision for such a post may have led to the decision that
Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi will initially take oath as senior minister, though it
is possible he may later be elevated. Whether or not this happens, Elahi and
his party chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain will obviously be delighted to
suddenly find themselves promoted from the back of the political line-up.
How people react to this development may be key to what the future
holds. Supporters of the PPP may not be delighted to see their party allied
with a force which they consider an arch-enemy and which some believe is
linked to the murder of Benazir Bhutto. It is ironic that a man she identified
as being linked to a plot against her is taking over as senior minister. How
the move pans out for President Zardari remains to be seen as political
events take another sharp turn, adding to a general uncertainty surrounding
the future.
On 4th May, Rahimullah Yusufzai observed: On a day when the
world was following the riveting story of Osama bin Ladens death in a
secret US Special Forces operation in Pakistan, a group of Pakistani
politicians, oblivious of the momentous event that had taken place some
hours ago 71 kilometres away in Abbottabad, were making merry at the
Presidency in Islamabad. President Asif Ali Zardari, in yet another
political somersault in his career, was administering oaths to 14
ministers belonging to the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid, a faction-ridden
party that he had not long ago condemned as Qatil League (Killer League)
for its alleged involvement in the assassination of his wife Benazir Bhutto.
This should explain the priorities of the set of politicians now
ruling the country. The oath-taking was an effort to maintain the majority
of the PPP-led coalition government in the parliament through the induction
of the PML-Q nominees in the federal cabinet. The priority was to save the
government and prolong its rule. Saving the country wasnt a concern, at
least not for the time-being and not until the task of securing a stable
majority in parliaments treasury benches was achieved.
Trust the politicians to justify anything and everything they do.
This is what the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Q
leaders did as they made a largely unconvincing explanation to make a case
for their new alliance, which is opportunistic without doubt.

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Something unthinkable happened as the PPP and the PML-Q

(not the whole lot but the Q-Leagues mainstream faction led by the
Chaudhrys of Gujarat), joined hands to first ensure the passage of the
coming budget in parliament and then jointly rule the country for the next
two years before the next general election.
This unnatural alliance and the ones brokered before it by the
PPP with the PML-N, the MQM, the ANP and the JUI-F have been grandly
labeled as national reconciliation. The PPP politicians never tire of
arguing that the national reconciliation is being pursued in the national
interest. They dont admit that, but the common people are certain that
personal interest is the motivating factor for all these strange power-sharing
arrangements
Rahimullah dwelled what PML-Q had been saying and then added:
After pocketing the PML-Q, he is now in a better position to lure more
factions of the divided party to his side to strengthen the PPP-led federal
government and put an end to the blackmailing tactics of the other coalition
partners. The MQM, a demanding ally, is said to be considering a return to
the federal cabinet, and this shouldnt come as a surprise considering the
partys past record in making and breaking alliances.
The PPP and the PML-Q could also attempt a political change in
Punjab, a province which has always been the big prize and is presently in
the hands of the PML-N. Punjab could become the battleground for the PPP
and the PML-N and their allies as the former would be keen to realize its
ambition of capturing the Takht-e-Lahore after having failed in an earlier
effort to oust the PML-N government in Punjab.
Once the PML-Q MNAs and Senators have been accommodated at
the federal level, their colleagues in the provincial legislatures would also
want to become part of the ruling coalitions. The lust for power appears to
be intense in Punjab and one should expect the beginning of horse-trading in
the province, sooner rather than later. In Balochistan, the PML-Q lawmakers
are already part of the 51-member cabinet in an assembly that has 65
MPAs. In fact, the PML-Q had the largest number of MPAs in Balochistan,
but splits in the party meant that the lawmakers made their own deals with
the PPP and enabled it to lead the provincial government. In Sindh, any
PML-Q lawmaker still not part of the government could be easily
accommodated.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the ANP will have to be persuaded to
make room in the provincial cabinet for the PML-Q nominees if a
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decision is made to expand the coalition. Cabinet berths for PML-Q

lawmakers in the provincial cabinet would likely come from the PPP quota
as it has made the alliance with the PML-Q without involving the ANP in the
equation. The PML-Q legislators may not refuse cabinet berths in KhyberPakhtunkhwa, unlike PML-N MPAs who declined to join the provincial
government after the 2008 general elections when the relationship between
the PML-N and the PPP was warm and friendly. However, the issue of
creation of a Hazara province could become a hurdle in the induction of
PML-Q lawmakers into the cabinet of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The PML-Q has been spearheading the campaign for separation
of Hazara division from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and making it a province.
The ANP isnt opposed to the idea publicly, but it would still want to keep
the province intact and is keen to make administrative changes by creating
two new divisions in Hazara and Malakand to weaken the demand for a
separate Hazara province.
Keeping in view the ongoing and future political deal-making, it is
obvious that the biggest concern of the ruling parties is to stay in power and
not the critical security and economic issues confronting Pakistan. As things
stand, the remaining two-year life of the parliament would be used by the
ruling parties to prolong their rule instead of finding solutions to problems
afflicting the country.
Moez Mobeen from Islamabad wrote: The PPP-PML-Q political
marriage is the new solution presented by the political establishment of
Pakistan. Such is the bankruptcy of the political elite when it comes to
providing solutions to the problems of the masses that all they can come up
with is a new permutation of the old faces. Isnt it the basic responsibility of
the government to manage peoples affairs in the most befitting manner?
There is a consensus from left to right that the PPP government has been an
abject failure.
Next day, Ameer Bhutto commented: Zardaris alliance with the
PML-Q to get the budget passed, failing which his government would have
been shown the door, will no doubt unleash a fresh round of applause from
the usual bunch of starry-eyes, awe-struck so-called experts and analysts as
yet another stroke of genius on his part. It matters not that political and
ethical principles as well as all important considerations of national and
public interest are nowhere in sight, but as long as it produces the effect of
rescuing the government from collapse, it is a stroke of genius for

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some, even though the nation is already expressing revulsion at such a

brazen sellout on both sides.
All we heard in the run-up to this unholy alliance was how many
seats in cabinet will be awarded to the PML-Q, who will get the most
lucrative and powerful portfolios and who will be deputy prime minister or
senior minister. With the crown prince of the PML-Q sitting in prison
under charges of corruption, one could be forgiven for believing that
there is a whole other aspect of this accord between the PPP and the PMLQ that public eyes are not privy to. But what will the country and the people
get out of this alliance? If either side had even a trace of ideological
foundations and commitments or even an iota of concern for the people they
purport to represent, there would have been give and take on issues of public
interest rather than wrangling over cabinet posts and portfolios.
Ameer went on to briefly what the two new coalition partners had
been doing during the last three years. He then added: The scent of the
Bhuttos has disappeared from the Peoples Party. Truth be told, the
process of jettisoning all traces of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from his own party
was initiated by Benazir Bhutto herself. She severed ties with the old guard,
who created the party along with her father and who were senior and
ideologically committed office bearers and workers on whose shoulders her
father rose to power and acquired international fame, to make room for the
very elements that her father struggled against and some of whom even
celebrated and distributed sweets when he was hanged.
His vision and unbending principled stand was watered down and
diluted in the name of political expediency. After Benazir Bhuttos murder,
the new leadership not only completed the elimination of Zulfikar Ali
Bhuttos aura from the party but embarked upon replacing Benazirs
influence with those whom she and her father bore contempt for and made it
a point to keep at arms length.
Adherence to personality cults is an archaic concept and new leaders
must evolve a new outlook and vision for the future based on sound morals
and principles, but this lot has failed to do so simply because it has no
vision, no fresh message of hope. The only crutch they have to lean on to
survive in power is the Bhutto name and they cannot face the people without
literally hiding behind the portraits of Bhuttos to conceal ugly realities. But
now even that spell is wearing off. People demand results and solutions to
their mounting problems which hollow old slogans and appeals to drained
out emotions cannot provide.

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In all this, the silence of the jiyalas is deafening. Is there no one left
in the whole party with a conscience, if not at the ministerial or
MNA/MPA/senator level, who have supped full at the banquet of power,
then at the grassroots level? No one who still retains some vestige of
commitment to the principles of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto and
feels genuine pain in seeing their new party leaders embrace their mortal
enemies? Where are all those who wailed and beat their chests hysterically
when Benazir was murdered? Where are all those who make it a point to be
photographed offering fateha and shedding crocodile tears at the tomb of the
Bhuttos in Garhi Khuda Buksh every so often?
How can they watch in criminal silence as their party is
mercilessly dismantled from within, something even military dictators
failed to do? This poignant silence is a crushing indictment of our society as
a whole; we have come to value personal gain more than principles and selfaggrandizement more than heeding our conscience.
But what will happen after all the using and being used is
done? The PML-N, MQM and JUI-F know only too well how things unfold
in alliances with this government. This new alliance is the most unnatural
one yet in the last three years. Troubled times lie ahead, not just for this illfated alliance but for the whole nation, for we have forsaken principles and
values based on honesty, truth and justice to pursue expediency and a quick
buck. That is why, instead of opting for clean and capable leaders, we prefer
dishonest and corrupt ones who loot public funds and throw a few scraps our
way as well.
On 6th May, Abdullah Hussein from Lahore wrote: Some friends of
mine are planning to collectively write a book about the recent events on the
political stage of the country. They have asked me some questions, to which
I have no answers. So I am throwing them open to the readers. Will
Mushahid Hussain be an active member of the lutto and phutto
organization from now on? Will Faisal Saleh Hayat, hitherto Raja Rentals
nemesis, sit down with the good Raja to claim his share of the kick-backs
from the rental power producers in the name of friendly relations? Will the
good Mirza from Sindh finally give up hounding That Party? Will Maulana
Fazlur Rehman, in due course of time, tell Azam Swati, who is always
bragging about his wealth, to go back to America, and sit down to count
some newly granted PoL licences, including some diesel, and hold his peace
forever? Will President Zardari, whose nostrils start flaring at the whiff of
money, demand his cut from Moonis Elahis foreign account before he frees
the young chaudhry with a presidential pardon? If anybody can supply the
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answers to the above, I am sure we will have a smashing thriller for the
perusal of the public, which is already starved of entertainment with the
closure of Geo Super, the only sports channel in Pakistan.
Mehreen Zahra-Malik said it all in first two paragraphs of her article.
Picture this: a magician, creating illusions and pulling a rabbit from a hat.
Now mix with this image a second image from the fable of the Emperors
New Clothes, which turn out to be invisible, leaving the emperor naked in
public. Two illusions in one: of an emperor wearing magnificent but illusory
robes and a conjurer producing a rabbit from a hat.
Now picture the PPP government shedding old rags stained by
terrorism, inflation, price hikes and power outages and putting on a sparkling
new patchwork ensemble of several-point agendas and enemy-turned-allies.
Picture President Zardari pulling out of a hat a national reconciliation
government that will extricate the country from its myriad messes and pave
the way for long-term reform. While the government parades around in its
amazing new duds, how many of us know its completely naked and the
rabbit its holding up is dead?
Next day, Dr Aslam Piracha from Islamabad wrote: Whenever
Moonis Elahi is presented before the court, a huge crowd of PML-Q
supporters is present outside the court raising slogans in his favour and
showering rose petals on him. Do they really think that by doing so they
could get a judgment in his favour? Moonis should concentrate on hiring
good lawyers and fighting the case in a court of law. I also think that
Mushahid Hussain should come forward and guide his party members
on how to behave in public.
On 8th May, Adnan Adil opined: In Pakistan, pragmatism and rank
opportunism has proved muck stronger that any ideological rhetoric
and it will keep the two parties united and satisfied. For the time being, the
PPP-PML-Q united front has created political stability of sorts and enhances
the chances of the sitting assemblies completing their five-year tenure.
Aoun Sahi wrote: Political pundits have been rather prolific with
their comments on the former foreign minister. Majority of people think he
sided with the establishment at a time when the government needed his
support. He was given a signal that preparations are underway for a
technocrat government and he was promised a big role. But, the
establishment compromised on the issue of Raymond Davis and dumped the
politicians as was done in the past, says Sohail Warriach, a Lahore-based
senior political commentator. He is known as an honest person and is a
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spiritual leader but does not have enough resources to make a new political
party. Perhaps he can join hands with Imran Khan. Otherwise, to me, his
future looks very murky. Qureshi himself is mum on the future plans I
will take the right decisions at the right time.
On 11th May, S Khalid Husain observed: A PPP-PML-Q deal has
happened. The deal is as worthwhile for democracy, good governance and
economic recovery in the country as a deal between Ali Babas forty
colleagues and the Pirates of the Caribbean would be. The PML-Q sticking
to the deal will hinge on the deal within the deal, to get Moonis Elahi off the
hook. Interior Minister Rehman Malik has already hit the road on this by
reportedly assigning FIA personnel of the Chaudhrys pick on the case.
For the Chaudhrys, getting Moonis Elahi out of his corruption mess
is more central than any political concern. If Moonis is convicted he could
be in for a long time. If the Chaudhrys get to keep him out of jail, for which
as last recourse a presidential pardon would do nicely, nothing could be a
more fruitful outcome for them.
The Chaudhrys of Gujrat are a matter-of-fact lot. They understood
that without Musharraf and the army to prop it, their party was headed
towards nothingness. The deal with the PPP offers the Chaudhrys party
a lifeline. Many of its members who were readying to wing their way out,
and many who have gone over to the unification block favouring
unification with the PML-N, or to the PML (likeminded), are beginning to
drool at the prospect of power, even if shared, after the deal with the PPP. If
enough of them return to the PML-Q fold, the Sharifs goose in Punjab
would be about ready for the oven.
The PML-N and the PML-Q were in agonizingly tedious negotiations
to unify, or to have a power-sharing deal. The negotiations were
compounded by the PPPs bait laden enticements to the PML-Q, and further
compounded by Pervez Elahis son the much touted, by dad and uncle,
Pride of Lahore, Moonis Elahi, being in the clink. The Chaudhrys
probably concluded that the most feasible way of getting Moonis off the
hook would be in a deal with the PPP, which has a proven track record of
getting all kinds of people in all kinds of trouble off the hook, if it served its
purpose.
Hence the Chaudhrys opted to serve the PPP purpose. The PPP
purpose is to keep the PML-Q alive and kicking, to counter the PML-N in
Punjab, particularly after one of PPPs leading Punjab stalwarts, ex-foreign
minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi jumped ship, and is hoping to
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pull a ZAB on President Asif Ali Zardari, like the one pulled by the real
ZAB, ex-foreign minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, on President Field Marshal
Mohammed Ayub Khan
The Makhdooms appear restless. At least two of them,
Makhdooms Shah Mahmood Qureshi of the PPP and Javed Hashmi of
the PML-N, have broken ranks with their parties. The third, Prime Minster
Makhdoom Raza Shah Gilani is said to be unhappy with the deal with the
PML-Q. The fourth, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Minister of Commerce, is
nowhere to be seen nor heard. Now, he will be required to share the senior
prefix to his ministerial rank with another and, as an added insult, with a
non-party another.
Makhdoom Javed Hashmi of the PML-N has clearly had enough
of the Sharifs style of leadership. He has not quite split, but he has clearly
displayed that there has to be reason for him not to do so. His comment one
needs a doctorate to understand the PPP co-chairmans moves is a
backhanded compliment, which can be interpreted to mean whatever is the
need of the time. It is more a snipe at the Sharifs political acumen.
The Makhdoom is unhappy playing second fiddle to the Leader
of the Opposition, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who in turn, is said to be
unhappy at the top slots, both in Islamabad and Lahore, being blocked
permanently, for others in the party by the two Sharif brothers. Such a
situation in any progressive, professionally managed corporation would be
cause of acute disgruntlement among the corporations best managers.
The Makhdooms behavioural pattern in the last few weeks, the
disenchantment of many in the PPP with the deal with the Chaudhrys, the
number of wings seen being exercised for possible take off in both parties,
are signs that the PPP, and the PML-N, are both ripe for more breaking
of ranks by their loyalists. But the PPP co-chairman holds a trump card
beyond the PML-Q and the MQM deal in hand.
Enter Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. He is the trump Bhutto card in the cochairmans hand. If the review of the Bhutto hanging case does not prove an
effectual attention-grabber, and if the deal with the PML-Q does not produce
the desired results, this card, when played, would end all arguments, or so
the diehard loyalists of co-chairman believe. There is, however, the question
of age and timing before the trump card can be played to best advantage.
Until then, time has to be bided with deals or whatever, with whoever.
Next day, The News wrote: With the swearing in of two new MQM
ministers and a minister of state from the party in addition to the PML-Q
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men who entered cabinet ranks days ago, the federal cabinet has swollen to
45 threatening to reach the mammoth proportions of the decision-making
entity which was cut down in size amidst considerable rhetoric only months
ago Though with the latest developments the PPP may have secured a
firm hold on power, it must remember that the true test of success will be
based around the issue of how far it succeeds in resolving the multiple
issues we face and the increasingly complex foreign relations we must deal
with. We must hope that despite the differences of opinion on many issues,
the cabinet can move towards this goal and demonstrate that it is capable of
working together as a unit that puts the interests of the nation ahead of the
interests of any single political party or group.
On 13th May, The News commented on LHC decision on Zardaris
dual office. It will be fascinating to see how the president reacts. By
tradition, presidents have been expected to keep aloof from politics and treat
all parties as equal. However, among legal experts there appears to be some
ambiguity as to what the Constitution says specifically on the matter. Article
43 of the Constitution bars anyone holding the office of president from also
holding a post that brings monetary benefit, but is not absolutely clear as to
positions that do not bring remuneration. Just as important is the matter of
how the verdict can be enforced. Much of what happens at the top echelons
of leadership is dependent on personal integrity and a willingness to follow
broad principles. When this will is missing, it becomes extremely hard to
implement rules against a man who sits in the place occupied today by Mr
Zardari. That is why so many people ask so often if he should indeed be
occupying the top office in the land at all.
The sense of uncertainty which may now follow is something we
could do without, especially at this time. Not many people can hope the
president will do the honourable thing and quit as head of the PPP. Past
record suggests he may also opt for underhand means to get around the
verdict, by appointing a figurehead co-chairperson, while covertly
continuing to handle party affairs. Much can be done without making
official announcements and it is not easy to monitor what happens at the
presidency. An appeal against the verdict may also be on the cards but
regardless of what happens we see a new scene open in our ongoing political
drama with all heads turned now towards Islamabad as a response from Mr
Zardari is awaited.
Next day, Dr Irfan Zafar from Islamabad wrote: Former law minister
Babar Awan has said that the verdict of the Lahore High Court ordering
President Asif Ali Zardari to stop his political activities is in violation of
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fundamental human rights. I request the honourable former law minister

to save at least some sycophancy for the many other bosses he might
have to serve in the near future.
Salman Babar from Lahore did not agree with the notion that the
president indulges in politics as he holds a political office in addition to
being the president of this country. All he is doing is making the likes of the
Chaudhrys of Gujrat and the rulers of Karachi happy. This, definitely, is not
politics. This is cooperation. Also, kudos to the legal expert who says that
the Constitution allows the president to take part in politics.
On 15th May, S Iftikhar Murshed opined: Unless the system is
overhauled, Pakistan will continue to be run by the same set of political
leaders or their heirs. Without exception they have an insatiable thirst for
power but do not realize that authority is a sacred trust and should only be
accepted in humility and in accordance with the spirit of the Latin saying
Domine, non sum dignus (Lord, I am unworthy.) Such humility cannot be
expected from the morally bankrupt leadership of the country.
Next day, The News commented on the role of FIA in hampering the
administration of justice. The Haj scam is a national disgrace and one that
we should rightly expect to be rigorously investigated and if found guilty the
perpetrators must be punished with the full might of the law. But what do we
see? Two of the investigators namely Jawed Bokhari and Hussain Asghar
who were investigating on the orders of the Supreme Court have found
themselves transferred; and the man who transferred them had the barefaced
cheek to tell the Supreme Court that they were transferred ...in good faith
and that he was unaware of the sensitivity of what they were investigating.
That the DG of the FIA should be unaware of the sensitivity is nothing
short of preposterous nonsense. He would have known perfectly well what
the two men were investigating and either on his own initiative or at the
behest of someone else he had them removed. The chief justice observed
that there had been no progress at all in the investigation since the removals.
There followed a smokescreen of submissions from the FIA regarding
postings, summaries and notifications that served to confuse as well as
obscure and the investigation is to all intents and purposes, stalled. The DG
FIA submitted a report on the transfers to the court which it
unceremoniously rejected followed by a prompt admission of guilt not to
mention incompetence by the DG FIA. Matters are now adjourned to May
27. Expect little progress between then and now.

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REVIEW
Zardaris yet another reconciliatory move, which resulted in PML-Q
joining the coalition government, was widely criticized. The criticism from
PML-N and others like it was quite natural, but there were loud statements
of dissent within the ranks of PPP and PML-Q.
Some parliamentarians of PML-Q preferred to continue sitting on
opposition benches. Shah Mahmood Qureshi of PPP condemned nomination
of assassin of Benazir as deputy PM in PPP government. He was referring
to Parvez Elahi who would be Gilanis deputy in deliverance of good
governance.
Qureshi stopped short of saying that it was a classic coalition of killers
for sharing the spoils. If Zardari had termed PML-Q Qatal League in 2008,
there are also many who suspect his and his gangs role in the murder of
Benazir. Qureshi or someone else might say this after some time; till then
they must appreciate that Zardari has made a timely move to get annual
budget passed and save PPP government that too without facing any
nonsense from PML-N.
PML-N rightly feared about the electoral aspect of this unholy
coalition and apprehended losing ground in next general elections. This was
evident from the irritated attitude of its leaders and partys contacts with
Sindhi nationalist parties. But, if Qatal and Maqtool did nothing more than
plundering, PML-N could gain a bit and that wont be attributable to its own
efforts. PML-N, however, is right in sticking to its principled stand
irrespective of the consequences.
That much about PPP-PML-Q reconciliation and before coming to
LHC verdict two other events are worth commenting upon. The Scoundrel
and the Saint at last extended services of four judges of LHC by one year
on the last day of the period given by the court. Both had no shame in giving
up their egoistic stance.
Hearing of ZAB reference was adjourned with direction to Babar
Awan to tell the law under which the court could give its opinion. Out of
court son of one of the victims of Bhutto Khwaja Saad Rafique, refused to
recognize ZAB as Shaheed. The one way to formalize his Shahdit, however,
is to notify through a Presidential ordinance that all those hanged by Tara
Masih were Shaheeds.
Before receiving a copy of LHC verdict Babar Awan rejected that.
His argument was that to take part in politics is the basic right of every
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citizen and to stop Zardari from taking part in politics he first has to be
stripped off his citizenship. Babars crooked mind deliberately ignored the
fact that certain basic rights are not exercised in certain situations.
To quote, all soldiers are forbidden from taking part in politics at the
time of passing out and once a citizen is elected as President he
automatically becomes Supreme Commander of armed forces.
Unfortunately, Zardari happens to be the Supreme Commander of armed
forces of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Babar also made a deliberate attempt to fan provincial prejudices by
saying that there has never been good news from Takht-e-Lahore for smaller
provinces. He accused LHC of being biased against Sindh; whereas he
should have appreciated the five judges who dared calling Sindhi spade a
spade. But, any morally sound viewpoint couldnt be expected from men
like Babar Awan.
16th May, 2011

BUSINESS AS USUAL
Attention of media and the masses remained focused on Osama
Episode and spate of terror attacks in its wake. The events since May 2 had
shaken the people of Pakistan but, these were intense enough to cause any
ripples in the business of politics.
The lack of reporting from that front did not mean that nothing
happened on this front. The business on this front not only continued
unabated, but in fact showed signs of flourishing with PML-Q joining the
multi-company enterprise.
The business of corruption remained on the rampage. The Executive
continued defying court orders with impunity. All possible measures were
taken to conceal the plundered public wealth. The PPP did not relax in
pursuit of its democratic revenge.

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NEWS
DG FIA submitted reply to contempt notice and apologized
unconditionally on 16th May; the court showed dissatisfaction over the
explanation. Sindh Assembly passed a resolution asking Zardari to continue
political activities in the Presidency. Next day, Khwaja Asif stated before the
court that allotment of LPG quota was carried out on political basis
disregarding commercial considerations. Nawaz on second day of his visit to
Sindh met nationalist leaders in Hyderabad. Speaking on the occasion he
urged trial of generals and judges who protected Musharraf. IMF agreed to
defer RGST till next year, but insisted on imposition of agriculture income
tax.
On 18th May, intra-court appeal was rejected in contempt case
involving seven judges of LHC and PHC. They were asked to return one
years emoluments and the government was directed to cancel their
appointments as judges. They will now be formally charged and proceeded
against in contempt case. Asma Jahangir criticized the verdict.
Apex court directed the trial court not to give any exceptional
treatment to Moonis Elahi and decide his bail requests on merit. Salim
Saifullah alleged that Shujaat-led faction of PML-Q was threatening Likeminded Senators after they have decided to support Ishaq Dar for
Chairmanship of the Senate. Meanwhile, two persons involved in targeted
killings were held in Karachi.
Next day, parliamentary committee looking into NICL scam was
informed by FIA that Rs24.4 million were transferred to the account of Amin
Fahim. PML-Q minister, Rana Tauseef, was accused of four bank loan
defaults. The Supreme Court bench that heard a petition filed by Imran Khan
gave three weeks to the government to form Election Commission.
Balochistan High Court suspended removal of Pemras regional chief, Gul
Muhammad Kakar. IHC was moved against Dr Jabbars deputation in Pemra
by his DG.
On 20th May, Faisal Raza Abidi declared that Zardari wont stop
politicking in Presidency. IHC rejected plea against acting chairman of
Pemra. Wikileaks revealed that Shahbaz Sharif had agreed to removal of
Chief Justice Iftikihar after his restoration. Violent protests against power
outages were held across the country, which were more pronounced in
Punjab.

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On 21st May, two lawyer brothers were among four killed in Karachi;
SCBA announced countrywide observance of Black Day on 23 rd May. Next
day, PML-N leaders admitted that party was facing isolation and Nawaz had
woken up late. Babar Awan invited Nawaz Sharif to contest polls on PPP
ticket to ensure his winning. Public debt jumped to Rs11 trillion. PPP
government borrowed more money in four years than others did in 60 years.
Foreign debt was also up by 45 percent. Several former ministers, including
Tariq Anis and Tariq Aziz were still using transport of their former
ministries.
On 25th May, the Supreme Court gave DG FIA two days to repost
Zafar Qureshi and sought FIAs report on the NICL case that was submitted
to the parliamentary committee last week. Eight FIA witnesses denied
making statement against Moonis; they did it before a magistrate.
The apex court rejected governments review petition about additional
judges appointment as it found no justification bfor reviewing its judgment.
Amir Khan of MQM-Haqaqi, who was freed couple of days ago, joined
MQM after he had apologized to Urdu speaking Imam Khomenei. Gas and
electricity prices were increased.
Next day, the Supreme Court asked the State Bank the law under
which loans were waived. LHC ordered DG NAB Punjab to stop working as
period of his contract had expired in April. Permra refused to obey BHC
orders regarding reinstatement of Kakar.
On 27th May, hearing of contempt case against Sharjeel Memon and
Taj Haider was adjourned till 1st week of July. The court did not allow
change of counsel during the hearing. The bench hearing Haj scam case
ordered suspension of deputy chief of ANF. The Supreme Court ordered the
arrest of all members of jirga who settled a dispute through wani in Sukkur.
Bhutto will be sardar of Zardaris; Asif Zardari appointed his son Bilawal
Bhutto as head of the tribe. Traders in Karachi held a protest rally against
Bhatha mafia. ANP activist and two policemen were killed in the city.
Next day, two policemen were among six killed in Karachi. On 29 th
May, Babar Awan, Rehman Malik, Kaira and Firdous launched ferocious
counter-offensive agains Nawaz Sharif for pressing constitution of an
indeperndent commission to probe Abbottabad attack. Nine people were
killed in Karachi.
On 30th May, Chief Justice said the big people manage loan waivers
and their factories keep running but poor peoples houses are auctioned. He
asked the State Bank to ensure transparency in discursing loans. The court
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hearing the case of Benazirs murder declared Musharraf a proclaimed

offender after he failed to appear before it despite repeated notices. Fifteen
percent surcharge was imposed through ordinance on all types of income.
Gas price will be increased from July.
On 1st June, the Supreme Court directed State Bank of Pakistan to
recover waived loans. Next day, the State Bank of Pakistan issued circular in
compliance with a Supreme Court order directing financial institutions to
provide a record of loans waived since 1971 and identify persons responsible
for disbursing loans. The circular was approved by the court. Public
Accounts Committee asked bureaucrats not to comply verbal orders of
President and Prime Minister.
Inquiry report into Harris Steel Mills case was submitted in the
Supreme Court. The report found credible evidence against Babar Awan and
Malik Qayyum. The report also brought out doubtful role of Latif Khosa in
the fraud case. The Court sought government stance on 686 illegal
appointments in Port Qasim Authority and separately a reply in Rs2 billion
fraud in NBP fund.
On 3rd June, the Supreme Court charged DG FIA with the contempt of
court. He was also charged with hampering the proceedings of the court.
Pemra issued notices to GeoNews, Dawn News, NewsOne and Dynya
Newsfor provoking anti-national sentimentsamong viewers by sensitizing
events unnecessarily. Five persons were killed in Karachi. Next day, JI
staged a sit-in in Karachi to protest against price hike, law and order
situation and interference by the US. Two ANP activists were gunned down
in Karachi.
On 5th June, Owner of Haris Steel Mills denied paying any money to
Babar Awan to get court relief. He accused Punjab government for
victimizing his family for not giving statement against Pervaiz Elahi. He
claimed that Shahbazbought their Rs4 billion property for Rs700 million.
Gilani ruled out mid-term polls. More Haqiqi leaders joined MQM.
Next day, the Supreme Court ordered Pemra to issue licence to Geo
Super within 24 hours and confirm in three days. LHC set aside Haj policy
and canceled allotment of quota to tour operators terming it illegal and
directed revision of the policy.
Chairman Senate declared Maulana Haideri of JUI-F as winner for the
slot of leader of the opposition in the Senate. Ishaq Dar of PML-N had got
24 votes against 18, but the chairman declared the required number of votes
invalid to ensure Maulanas victory.
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Flood Inquiry Commission submitted its report to the the Supreme

Court in which corruption in Irrigation Department was blamed for the
havoc caused by the floods. The commission found no evidence about
involvement of politicians. The court ordered translation of the report before
making it public.
On 7th June, the Supreme Court ordered implementation of flood
commission recommendations. The Chief Justice took notice of recovery of
bottles of wine from Attiqa Odho and not registering an FIR against her; the
case was registered and a team was sent to Karachi to arrest her. PML-N, JI
and Likeminded staged walkout from Senate over nomination of Haideri as
Opposition leader. Taking part in budget debate Khwaja Asif accused rulers
of bringing the country to brink. Punjab withdrew Elite Force from VIPs.
Four people were killed in Karachi and a PPP leader escaped attempt on life.
Next day, the court was informed during hearing of NICL case, by
secretary establishment that FIA official Zafar Qureshi was transferred on
verbal orders of Prime Minister and Rs41 million were deposited in Amin
Fahims account. The Chief Justice ordered arrest of all culprits and take
strict measures against all absconders; failing which be ready to go to jail.
The court reserved verdict on contempt charge against DG FIA.
The apex court asked NAB to provided details of pending cases of
Bank of Punjab. LHC served notice to Haj Ministry after accepting a
petition complaining non implementation of its order for allotting Haj quota
afresh. The annual report of Accountant General of Pakistan for the year
2010-2011 observed that Rs35 billion were either missing or embezzled.
Nawaz Sharif canceled his visit to Quetta after flight was repeatedly delayed
on the behest of the regime; PIA claimed delay was due to technical fault.
Nine people, including PPP activist, were killed in Karachi.
On 9th June, Zardari appointed four retired judges as members of
Election Commission and also named members of Council of Islamic
Ideology. An ATC sentenced two DSPs and seven policemen were sentenced
for 32-year imprisonment each in lawyers burning case during Lawyers
movement.
PML-N protested in NA over governments role in sabotaging Nawaz
Sharifs visit to Quetta. Punjab government was blamed for stuffing
government departments with PML-N men. Punjab suffered petrol shortage
on third consecutive day. Six people were killed in Karachi.
Next day, the bench hearing Haj scam asked secretary to reappoint
Hussain Asghar, IGP Gilgit-Baltistan to FIA. ANP asked PPP to stop
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favouring MQM in Sindh. On 11th June, permanent arrest warrants for

Musharraf were issued by the ATC hearing Benazirs murder case. The judge
was transferred soon after the vissue of warrants. Banking court indicted
Moonis Elahi in NICL case and the hearing would commence from 18 th
June. Three people were killed in Karachi. On 12 th June, Shahbaz urged
establishment of system based on justice. Javed Hashmi said Quraishi would
be welcomed in PML-N. Petrol shortage persisted in Punjab and AJK.

VIEWS
On 18th May, Huzaima Bukhari and Dr Ikramul Haq commented on
LHC judgment on Zardaris dual office. Irrespective of their internal
regulations, all parties that have the privilege of forming a government have
to follow some fundamental ethics. These require that all party activities
including meetings should be held at the party premises or in the
confines of members properties. The presidency, the prime ministers
secretariat, governor houses or chief minister houses for that matter all
government premises are run on taxpayer money, meant purely for the
functioning of the government and not for any activity that falls outside the
precincts of governance.
This principle, according to press reports, has been violated
perpetually during the last three years by the federal and provincial
governments alike. The Chairman Public Accounts Committee on November
13, 2008 took strong exception of this and observed: The PPP should not
hold meetings at the president or prime minister house. Such meetings
should take place at the partys office or Zardari house. However, he did
not mention who had been paying for the PML-N meetings allegedly held at
Punjab House in Islamabad.
All the parties in power have demonstrated complete indifference
to public criticism regarding the use of government premises for their
meetings. The nation has a right to know how many meetings were held at
the presidency, prime minister house, chief minister house or Punjab house
over the last three years using taxpayer money.
One wonders if the PPP or PML-N were depositing the expenses
incurred on these meetings in the government treasury. If not, they were
(mis)using taxpayer money on party activities. By organizing meetings on
government premises, the public office holders are guilty of misconduct.
They are accountable to the people of Pakistan with respect to the amount
incurred during these meetings and other private functions. To avoid further
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tarnishing their image and legal proceedings, they must pay back these sums
to the government treasury from their party funds immediately.
Next day, The News commented: Politics in our country sees all
kinds of twists and turns which unexpectedly bring former foes together or
create new realities on the national scene. We have in recent weeks seen this
already as the PPP and the PML-Q link arms, beginning a new and some
would say uncomfortable jig, as partners. PML-N Chief Mian Nawaz
Sharifs visit to Karachi and meetings with the leaders of Sindhi nationalist
parties appear to be intended chiefly to counter this move. Till now, Sindhi
parties as is the case with nationalist forces in other provinces have
remained somewhat wary of the PML-N, seeing it as a pro-establishment,
Punjab-centric body hostile to their own interests. Any change in this would
of course be welcome. In his meetings with Qadir Magsi of the Sindh
Taraqqi Pasand Party and Rasul Bux Palejo of the Awami Tehreek, Sharif
emphasised he was eager to hear the views of the nationalists. By all
accounts he did so, listening carefully to their perspectives. Expressing his
own views, Sharif attacked the PPP for its failure to keep promises and no
doubt this failure is immense.
He also lashed out against the MQM, asking nationalists to fight
urban extortionists. Here we would advise caution and not political
expediency, even if such statements resonate well with certain groups.
Karachi is too sensitive and too big a matter to be dealt with in the light of
immediate political aims. Karachi, and consequently Sindh, has paid a huge
price as a result of politicians doing just that. The challenge is to develop a
social and political vision to create ethnic harmony so that the oppressed, no
matter which ethnic group they come from, could make a collective bid to
rid themselves of oppression, both at the hands of those that claim to
represent them and those that constitute the other. Sharifs comments about
generals and judges who protected military dictators cannot be faulted for
being too off the mark generally speaking. It is our failure to hold
accountable those whose ambitions of power and privilege have time and
again wreaked havoc on this country; but again perhaps it is time for our
politicians to go beyond devising rhetoric about what happened in the past to
suit the ups and downs of the present. What they should do instead is carve
out a vision and a political course that is not subject to change depending on
how far or near the elections are.
It has yet to be seen how his rather unexpected overture will be
received by the nationalists. But undoubtedly the PML-Ns latest strategy
will ruffle feathers within the PPP. The province has long been considered
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the personal fiefdom of the party, most notably by President Asif Ali Zardari,
who has used the so called Sindh card on more than one occasion to further
his own interests. But there are reports from the province of growing
disgruntlement with him. Nawaz Sharif in fact tried to capitalize on this,
asking why the murder of Benazir Bhutto remained unsolved. The issue of
continuing drone attacks, among others, was also raised. It will be
fascinating to watch events in Sindh in the future, and see how things shape
up. The PML-N initiative can also be seen as a response to the recent MQM
rally in Lahore. But for obvious reasons the PPP and the MQM will both be
displeased as the PML-N enters the political arena in Karachi, and the rest of
Sindh, and demonstrates a new zeal in its search for allies for potential gains
in the next elections.
On 22nd May, Masood Hasan wrote about rampant corruption. There
is no chance that we will put a man on the moon, but were we to collect the
reports of all the scams that have been an intrinsic part of our national life, I
daresay we could easily climb our way to the moon and back before you can
say Moonis. Some even go so far as to suggest that its hard to say which
came first, Pakistan or the scams? Of course, all countries have scams, but
with us there is a quality difference. Not only can we sniff out a potential
scam, we can also plan it meticulously, pull it off effortlessly and involve
enough important people (or notables, as they are called) to ensure we never
ever get caught with or without our pants down. We also ensure and
having faith in this corrupted land, that no enquiry ever comes to fruition. As
and when these face-saving pantomimes are ritually enacted, we ensure
through strategic alliances that the findings are never made public.
Thus, the crooked prosper and the not-crooked suffer. Oh, yes; we
make huge commitments and promises, assure everyone that the crooks
would be bought to justice, the guilty would be appropriately punished and
all heinous crimes would be stripped to the bare truth and then revealed to
all. Never will such infamy be ever repeated in a land that is pure as the
driven snow but, as any Pakistani will tell you, this is simply hogwash
enacted by thousands of scam-masters. Within hours of the startling scam,
it is business as usual. The black waistcoats remain neatly pressed, the
medals won for wars never fought remain shining and the glory of the
masters of Pakistan remains up there amongst the stars. Rotters are feted,
dined, fussed about. The more crooked you are, the more this jaundiced
society welcomes you. The biggest scam of all is that someone has run away
with our conscience, and it is not Double Shah.

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A cursory look at the list of scams, a mere random glance reveals a

mind-boggling number of the most audacious criminal acts, with the
identifiable but never punished notables now living lives of luxury and
respect conferred on them by the system, which in turn is run by other
crooks. Its a perfect fit and its worked like magic all our blighted 60-plus
years. The crooks having made their billions and ensured generations after
them a life of ease and sloth, write edifying essays in the national
newspapers, preach the values of moral high ground, and act as innocent as a
newborn lamb. Others write books of poetry, sanitized memoirs, and plans to
guide Pakistan to a great future. They are also regulars on all the infernal TV
chat shows, seminars and conferences and are applauded by their long line
of supporters and sycophants. And so the republic without wheels runs on
and on
There are so many scams that, had we been people with half an
iota of self-respect, we would have collectively committed hara-kiri or
exposed those who had robbed this country and its trusting poor people. But
shame is always in short supply here and things like apologies, forgiveness
or accountability are but words without substance. A couple of Umrahs and a
Haj thrown in take care of most sins and the biggest sinners weep the
loudest. This is hypocrisy taken at a new level and it is now as old as the
hills. We repent only because we want to resume the pillage. As for what
happened before, who cares? The money is safely in the banks, the
properties are flourishing, the mistresses are happily ensconced in luxury
and sin, the wives are breaking down the doors of Harrods and the sons are
driving luxury sports cars at US campuses and making out with pretty
American chicks. Careers are assured, the confidence and swagger that
comes with illicit money obtained easily defines the next generation and the
mission of looting the land is more hallowed than the 1940 Resolution,
which no one can quite remember.
Next day, Shaheen Sehbai observed: Serious thinking is going on in
top PPP circles that the domestic and international environment is now
perfect for the party to go for snap mid-term polls in the country and grab
two-third majority in both the houses of parliament.
PPP stalwarts, both within Pakistan and those traveling abroad, offer
strong multi-dimensional arguments in private conversations to support this
line of thinking, especially after the May 2 Abbottabad attack which has
left the military and security establishment reeling and, they think,
almost unable to interfere in the political process because of the massive
international and domestic embarrassment they had to go through.
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The PPP stalwarts also argue that since the top military leadership
has been reluctant, unable or not proactive in pushing for implementation of
the main anti-government/PPP judgments of the Supreme Court, particularly
in the NRO, NAB and FIA cases, the momentum of the judiciary has been
broken and the PPP can enforce its own agenda without fear of any
meaningful challenge.
Thus, all big or small challenges thrown by the judges have
already been successfully countered by effective use of the Sindh Card,
the Topi and Ajrak and deploying the resources of the Sindh government.
More such judicial threats will also be countered in the same and more
aggressive manner.
According to this line of thinking, the government has kept the civil
bureaucracy almost under its thumb with frequent and repeated
transfers of top bureaucrats not enabling them to settle down or contribute
or assert in any policy making. In addition, its own cronies have been put on
key positions, thus keeping full executive control of lucrative positions.
With the security and judicial establishment out of its way, or so the
PPP think tanks feel, President Zardari has brilliantly manipulated the
political parties, allies and opponents alike, and thus the political situation
has become absolutely perfect for quickly going for the kill by ordering a
snap election and sweeping the scene.
The allies have been kept at a distance but not pushed so much
that they may break away. So the MQM, although it has been treated like a
stepchild, has been made to look like amateur players who have made
themselves almost the butt of jokes by off-again, on-again relations with the
PPP. They have been in and out of the cabinet and still their key demands
have not been met. They are now back again in the government.
The JUI is angry but not to the point that Maulana Fazlur
Rehman would throw away the perks and privileges that he enjoys. So
the wily Maulana has removed himself from the scene and is enjoying
foreign travels at the government expense, staying away from embarrassing
situations like the Osama killing or Raymond Davis fiasco or the war
between the PPP and the Supreme Court.
To keep both these not so trustworthy allies on the alert, Zardari has
now removed his gloves and welcomed the Chaudhry brothers into the
government, no matter how bitter or embarrassing it may have been for the
PPP rank and file. He has bargained with the Chaudhrys to keep his

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government intact and could reach a deeper understanding on electoral

adjustments to corner the PML-N in the Punjab.
Balochistan and the ANP have never been PPP problems and
whatever the election results in these provinces, Zardari knows that he
would be able to cobble together governments of his choice and get their
votes.
The PPP think tanks feel the potentially strong challenge of the
PML-N has been effectively dissipated more by the laid-back politics,
failure, miscalculation and/or over-confidence of Mian Nawaz Sharif to read
Zardari in the first place and focusing too much on the diminishing threat of
a military intervention.
Nawaz is obsessed with and has targeted a politically dead
Musharraf more than a deadly and alive Zardari and thus his party is
now paying the price of pushing itself into a self-inflicted isolation. His
latest attempts to activate his party by meeting Sindhi nationalists or Balochi
hardliners is seen as an initiative, too little, too late and again at the wrong
place at the wrong time.
PPP thinkers feel that by keeping away the great bulk of PML-Q
electable leaders, Nawaz Sharif has lost the opportunity to gain ground
in the Punjab. The incumbency factor in the Punjab will be a liability and
the PPPs aggressive push to appease the southern Punjab by supporting the
Seraiki province would cost the PML-N substantially. They believe the
PML-N may not even be able to get the seats they have right now.
Outsiders in the current parliament like Imran Khan, Jamaat-eIslami and some others are brushed aside by the PPP as of no
consequence in electoral politics though they may have some nuisance
value on the streets, but that too not much to worry about. The dharnas of
Imran Khan are described as dharnis with not more than a few thousand
odd participants gathered from all over. They pose no real threat to anyone.
PPP strategists do not consider the huge issues of Osama killing,
Raymond Davis fiasco, high prices, unemployment, load shedding etc as
of any real threat to their electoral prospects because they believe elections
in Pakistan is a totally different ball game, a science in which issues do not
count but people, personalities, alliances and administrative power is what
matters. With the PPP succeeding to manage all these relevant factors, a
sweeping victory is thus not difficult.

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This line of thinking in the PPP has almost convinced President

Zardari to go along it as he is being told that this situation, in which the
Army and agencies are lying prostate, political opponents are in a state of
disarray and allies are in abundance and willing to oblige, may not be
guaranteed for long.
The key and a very strong factor at the moment is the full
backing of the Obama Administration to the Zardari set-up because the
Pakistan Army, specially General Kayani and ISI chief General Shuja Pasha,
are on the US hit list and they may stay under US pressure. It is possible that
if they become unmanageable, Zardari may replace them.
People who interact with key US leaders frequently in Washington
say there is a growing feeling in the Obama Administration that a
corrupt Zardari regime may be a better bet than a rigid and hard-tomanage General Kayani or General Pasha. The refrain from top State
Department and Pentagon officials is that the Army must be brought under
civilian supremacy and thus whenever a statement is issued, support to
democracy is its integral part, says a regular visitor from Pakistan who
meets these officials.
While all of this may sound sweet music to the Zardari-Gilani duo
and their think tanks, there is a strong counter argument, which carries
equal if not more weight. It goes like this: Some people are trying to set
up Zardari to order an early election by painting such a rosy picture only to
break the stronghold he has managed to maintain so far. The moment he
orders a new election, an interim set up will take over, Election Commission
and local bureaucracies will become relevant, law and order will be a prime
object and for that the role of the Army and the agencies will be revived and
they will swing back into action.
Staff solutions that are always ready on the GHQ shelf may be
dusted off and put into practice. Judges may be given the vitamins they need
to order enforcement of their judgments and Executive and the Army may
abide by the constitutional orders of the courts to intervene and enforce these
verdicts. Within days, power may slip away from the Zardari camp. The
imaginary and much feared nexus of the Army and the Judiciary may try to
delay the elections to carry out the much-needed accountability. The angry
and disheartened PPP rank and file may be revived with a new zeal and the
latest out-of-the-blue statement by Sanam Bhutto may just be one indicator
that an alternate and more marketable PPP leadership may be in the works.

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As Zardari is in the habit of kicking everyone on the back, someone is

trying to push him to kick a live bomb.
Adiah Afraz talked of Imran Khan. The only places where you
would find unflinching support for Imran Khan and plenty of counter
arguments for the left and the right and the liberals of all kinds, are the
places of learning and education; the places where you find young people
who compete for grades, write research essays and dream of making money;
who are fond of books, sports, American TV serials and social networking,
and have ideals for a better future for Pakistan. Diverse combination of
things, I know, but better than rigid and self-made markers of good and bad.
These people are not necessarily against girls and girlfriends either, and
believe that Pakistan has much more sinister things to worry about than
considerations of a cricket sensation s love life in the 80s.
And these are the people who tell you that Imran Khan is a
cricketer par excellence, an orator who inspires them, and a philanthropist
who makes them optimistic. These are the people who would post on
facebook those pictures of him sleeping on the floor in the middle of a sit in;
unafraid, undeterred, and without bulletproofing or security of any sort. And
these are the people who don t turn, right or left or a beetroot red when you
tell them that you think Imran Khan should win the next election. They
simply turn around and say. You think so too?
On 25th May, Raoof Hasan wrote: This charade has gone on for too
long with each member of the ruling coterie blaming the other for the
calamities that have befallen the country. In actual effect, each one of them
is more to blame than the other as all of them are guilty of both
hypocrisy and corruption. Leaders born in the laps of dictators are laying
claims to being democrats it is a different matter that they dont introduce
a democratic culture in their party ranks which continue to be managed
along dictatorial lines. Be it written-off loans or using official positions for
financial gains, all of them are guilty of having used the tricks of the
political trade for their personal aggrandizement.
Trickery and duplicity can take you so far. Beyond that, the path
is strewn with pitfalls that cannot be traversed by people of mediocre
mettle and debatable integrities. The path beyond would be traversed by
individuals who display the qualities of fortitude in adversity and maintain
their dignity in trying circumstances. This is the path for no ordinary mortals
whose ranks are swollen with myopic and self-perpetuating proclamations
cloaked as service to the people. Lets be done with it. Lets get on course to

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accountability those who go around pontificating to others. Lets unmask the

faces behind the face.
On 28th May, Zafar Hilaly wrote pen picture of Imran as politician
and termed him modicum of hope. What was it that prompted several
thousand of us in the oppressive heat of a relatively windless Karachi day to
stand, sweat and listen to a host of mostly uninspiring and unknown
speakers in the dharna against drones organized by Imran Khans PTI?
For me, at least, it was not anti-Americanism, which seems to have
our populace firmly in its grip. When mindless, our hatred of America, like
our love of the Arabs, can be self-deluding and destructive. Nor am I certain
that if the drones stopped wreaking their havoc, all would be well. There are
some who will find America insufferable, come what may. But it would not
be a bad thing for those who react thus to pause for reflection. Because
getting it right may determine our fate.
As it happens, drones are an excellent contraption for the type of war
that is being waged today. The trouble is that, like all weapons, when they
are pointed in the wrong direction the results can be disastrous.
Unfortunately, this is what has been happening. The number of civilians
killed in drone attacks is unacceptable. Besides, for every TTP foot soldier
eliminated by the drones, two more are radicalized. Nor was it the promise
of being exposed to Imrans spellbinding oratory that served as an incentive.
The precious thing in speeches is the pauses, and in that respect Imran is not
a gifted speaker, whatever may be his leadership qualities.
Imrans plaints against the prevailing corruption in Pakistan are
also not novel. All readily concede that the corruption that exists today has
never been equaled before. Daily revelations of thievery at all levels of
government confirm this trend. Actually, so inured is the public to the
crooked ways of our politicians (who even when bought refuse to stay
bought) that they dont expect anything better from any of them. Hence, to
hear someone go on and on the subject is tiresome.
Besides, while Imran has been upright, in the past he has been more
rhetorical than substantive in his views on key internal and external issues.
Happily, though, he has moved away from generalities. He now has
specific remedies and a well-thought-out policy, which is just as well. We
have had enough of populism in the past and we cannot afford it anymore
our condition is too dire and the situation too complicated for simplistic
solutions.

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What, then, draws the public to Imran Khan? Ironically, its his
artlessness and political naivety which sets him apart from the run-of-themill conniving politician and, above all, his honesty. And if we add to this
brew a dash of modesty and shyness, they make for a refreshing change.
Here is a man, a growing number reckon, who is indeed different from the
archetypal corrupt, bloated and bombastic politician.
It is heartening to see how many among his supporters believe that
their hopes would not be quelled by one or two failures. They seem to be in
it for the long run. The crime is not to fail but fail to give triumph a
chance, said one especially articulate fan. In other words, going down with
him was far preferable than standing with the likes of the Zardaris,
Sharifs and Chaudhrys. Win or lose, they seem to be saying, our leader
Imran Khan will still be around and not in a squalid cell or on the run abroad
as a declared absconder, which would surely be the case for the others
Being on the right side and losing, another went on in a similar vein, is
sometimes what is required in politics. Its a sentiment that resonates
powerfully with ones own.
Pakistan is in a dire crisis. The Economist may believe that there is a
lot of ruin left in this country but what it seems to have misjudged is just
how quickly ruin can overtake Pakistan. Two more years of the present
regime should, by any reckoning, be sufficient to complete our downfall
and, if not, what passes for elections thereafter should sound the death
knell of democracy. Imagine the kind of (mal)-practices that the electoral
process will be subjected to by bosses of the likes of Zardari, the
Chaudhrys and the Sharifs. Talk of casting out devils, we are being asked to
accept them, live peacefully with them and, worse, elect them.
Of course Imran will have no easy sailing. Practical politics, it is
said, consists of accepting facts. Imran Khan has instead ignored plenty of
facts. He has no deputy of any public stature to speak of; no real party
structure and no ready source of funding. This last fact may prove to be a
fatal handicap, considering what his opponents are prepared to spend. Mr
Zardari, in particular, has a war chest that would match anything that parties
in far richer countries possess. Also conspicuously absent in the PTI is the
biradiri/zaat phenomenon that is so marked in our politics and welds
together supporters of the other parties. But Imran does not think so. There
is a wave. I sense it will sweep all before it, he says. And his optimism is
infectious.

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Imrans current situation is different from Z A Bhuttos at a

similar stage of Bhuttos political development. Bhutto trumpeted
socialism and a peculiar variety which he dubbed Islamic socialism as his
partys political creed. But, as we know, Bhutto was as much of a socialist as
Ayub Khan was a democrat.
Imran, in contrast, disdains such affectations. A good, clean,
competent government and an independent judiciary operating within
the confines of the present Constitution is what he seems to feel is
required; everything else will follow. Its a simple enough recipe and much
easier for the public to digest than the flowery rhetoric and turgid phrases of
most party manifestos. He senses that what the people want arent circuses
any more, but bread, jobs, etc., and a modicum of hope. Thats the
revolution, which he speaks of and, come to think of it, that would amount
to a revolution in our present way of doing things.
But even such a minimalist approach to government presupposes a
leader who is up to the task. Is Imran up to the task? His supporters will
readily confess that they dont know. I rather suspect that he is. While
the World Cup victory is still his main thing in the public mind, his cancer
hospital has shown that he can perform wonders when sufficiently
motivated. The fact that he is fully familiar with the world outside Pakistan
also means that he can conduct himself well when the time comes and the
responsibility falls on his shoulders. Thats almost as important as knowing
the internal situation well and being able to navigate within it.
We live in a volatile world with the worlds attention focused sharply
on the countrys multiple crises and its ability to steer the country out of the
big mess. It is looking desperately for positive signs. In the current line-up
Imran stands out as the one with a far better potential, even though he
is untested in governance at the national level. Anyway, assuredly he
cannot be worse.
Next day, Jamil Nasir pondered about tackling corruption.
Astonishingly, we are highly tolerant towards this specie of corruption
on the argument of low salaries of the public officials. We, perhaps, do
not have the proper understanding and appreciation of the damaging impacts
this brand of corruption may have for economic development and state
building. It erodes the peoples confidence in state institutions and enhances
the levels of perceptions about the pervasiveness of corruption in a society.
Hence the high ranking among the list of corrupt countries, which, in turn,
has negative implications for investment, trade and economic growth.

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Mr Kaushik Basu, the chief economic advisor of India, realizing the

negative impacts of bribery, has come up with a simple but novel proposal to
contain it. Mr Basu has divided bribes into two basic types i.e.
harassment bribes and non-harassment bribes.
Harassment bribes are those bribes that people pay to get what
they are legally entitled to get. What Basu suggests is that in such cases the
act of giving the bribe be declared a legitimate legal activity. According to
him, a person entitled to get a refund from the income tax authorities, if
compelled to pay bribery to get the refund cheque issued, is victim of
harassment bribery. The giver of harassment bribe is not happy over the
payment of bribe money for obtaining his genuine rights but he keeps mum
as the law of the land treats him as guilty as well.
If the law is amended to the effect that bribe giver is not considered
guilty of crime rather all punishment of the act of bribery is heaped on the
bribe taker, the bribe giver will have incentive to disclose the act of bribery,
the argument runs. The change in law on these lines will deter the bribe
takers from indulging in bribe and incidence of bribery will be reduced.
However, the downside of this proposal is that false charges of bribery may
be leveled against public servants to blackmail them. But Mr Basu suggests
that this loophole can be plugged by increasing the punishment for
blackmail and false accusations.
Besides the simple and novel proposal of Mr Basu, Professor
Bhagwati (who is also from India) has time and again argued that it is the
over-regulation of the economy that becomes the chief reason for
rampant corruption. He says the bureaucratic corruption owes its genesis
to the permit raj prevalent in India. Cumbersome rules, convoluted
procedures and lots of licensing requirements for import, export, produce,
and investment etc gave a lot of opportunity and potential of corruption to
the Indian bureaucrats and the politicians
India is also witnessing a social awakening on the issue of
corruption Things are also deteriorating day-by-day in Pakistan as
well. Corruption is crippling our economy and society. We need to take
corruption head on and not pussyfoot around the issue. We need to flesh out
a concrete anti-corruption strategy by exploring workable alternatives to
tackle this issue.
The insights from our neighbouring country may at least provide
some food for thought for devising such a strategy. Our politicians, social

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activists, civil society, media and the economists need to articulate

corruption as the most daunting challenge Pakistan is faced with.
On 30th May, Dr A Q Khan remembered the dreams he had while
making Pakistan a nuclear power. He wrote: Instead of benefiting from
our achievements, both at the domestic and international levels, our
rulers initiated a series of blunders. The first was the freezing of the
foreign currency accounts of both locals and expatriates. One has to totally
lack foresight to undertake such an action or to listen to such advice and act
accordingly. It caused total lack of confidence in our nationals abroad, who
could transfer billions of dollars at a single call.
The second blunder was the supersession of a highly competent
officer, Gen Ali Kuli Khan. I met him a number of times when he was chief
of the general staff and I was highly impressed by his qualities and
background. Instead, a commando was appointed army chief and the result is
there for us all to see.
Even worse than these two blunders was the entry into politics of
those known to be corrupt and incompetent, followed by the friendly
opposition. There is a well-known expression, Once bitten, twice shy, but
that refers only to people of understanding. Solemn promises made to the
public were broken without compunction and a game of I dont see; I dont
hear and I dont understand was played out. This policy and only this
policy is the root cause of our present malaise.
This friendly opposition has taken us nowhere. Not a single
problem has been solved. On the contrary, the country is in the worst stage
of its history. I believe it would be best for the country if all the old party
leaders retired and cleared the field for young, energetic, educated leaders to
save the sinking ship.
If that is not done, it is up to the public to dump all the old parties
that have proved themselves to be unworthy and form new ones, join
hands with each other and save the country. A good place to start is with
Imran Khan. Young, honest people should come forward and work together
for the good of the country.
It is sad and disheartening that all our Herculean efforts and
achievements have gone down the drain. Only a few selfish looters are
enjoying life while the majority of the people suffer from unemployment,
hunger, load shedding, price hikes, suicides, murders and kidnappings.

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Patriotic Pakistanis are having sleepless nights over the situation and
one is compelled to think that Mr Bhuttos dream of Pakistan becoming a
nuclear power is no more than a mirage. The dream has definitely gone sour.
We, the public, are extremely worried while our rulers seem to be
completely unworried. The party goes on undisturbed. In short, instead of
benefiting from the achievements of May 28 and 30, 1998, we are worse off
now than we were 13 years ago.
The present alarming situation in the country demands
immediate cooperation between young, energetic and educated people to
get together in the larger national interest. Mr Javed Hashmi, Ahsan Iqbal,
Imran Khan, young workers from the Jamaat-e-Islami, Mr Shah Mehmood
Qureshi, Sen Safdar Abbasi, Mrs. Naheed Khan, Mr Haneef Abbasi, and
others likeminded people should join hands to form a credible block.
Many of my colleagues, acquaintances and I would, if asked, be
happy to offer advice in finding solutions to economic, educational,
agricultural, water and energy problems. Our country does not need to be a
colony or enemy of any other country. We should follow a neutral policy
friendship with all, animosity with none. National interests and mutually
beneficial trade should be the yardstick of our friendships. No aggressive
designs against any country and no permission to anybody to use our land
for aggression against anyone should be the rule.
Ours is a beautiful country, blessed by Allah with many riches,
manpower and scenic beauty, and together we can turn it into a prosperous,
advanced and well-developed homeland. We should look ahead. There is
very little time left, and we should not waste it. We should turn Pakistan
into a true Islamic welfare state.
On 3rd June, Ayaz Amir opined: Islam is not the state religion of
Pakistan, denial is. And our national emblem should be the ostrich, given
our proclivity to bury our heads in the sand and not see the landscape
around us as it is. We need a drastic change of course, thats for sure. The
kind of civilian leaders we have, their quality we know. No hope for any
miracles from that quarter. As for the military side, Kayani has begun to look
too much like a dated product, a rep of the old order. He has outlived his
usefulness. His extension may have been a Zardari political masterstroke,
serving to protect his flanks, but otherwise it wasnt a bright idea.
We need a change of guard, both political and military, the
coming of some rebels to the fore. This is Pakistans foremost
challenge...dependent, however, on divine grace because the political
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spectrum, from one end to the other, presents the aspect of a desert, the level
and lonely sands (echoes of Shelley) stretching far away.
On 5th June, Adnan Adil wrote: In recent days, Imran has made
efforts to make some sort of an alliance with different left-wing political
groups headed by Abid Manto, Farooq Tariq and Dr Mubashir Hassan, but
he failed because these groups were not comfortable with his support for
Taliban and other Islamist groups. His only ally seems to be the Jamaat-eIslami, which is struggling for its survival in the wake of the mushroom
growth of other Islamic organizations.
However, Imran Khans appeal among a large section of the
young people cannot be discounted. His party has set up its offices all over
the country. He has been untiringly visiting every nook and corner of the
country to organize his party. Unlike other smaller parties, Imran gets a great
deal of coverage both in print and electronic media and is a major
contributor to the ongoing political discourse. In a recent by-election, his
partys candidate won a large number of votes in a by-election of Lahore.
Though he lost the election, it was enough to put Nawaz Sharif on the alert.
Imran Khans influence on the political narrative and setting the
political agenda coupled with his popular appeal among the young people
make him a significant political actor and potential threat to both
mainstream political parties, the PPP and the PML-N, besides the ANP. Even
though his party is small, its effective enough to keep the rulers under
pressure on issues like corruption, poor governance and subservience to
American policies. Imran Khan, like Asghar Khan, may survive only as a
leader of a small political party, but the influence and impact of the two
Khans on the Pakistani politics cannot be overlooked.
Adnan Rehmat opined: To become a politician of contention Imran
needs to stop playing macho crotchy cricket. And to become the national
skipper he needs to first become a player who can make it to the
national 11 of parliament. Then we shall see if hes the messiah he thinks
he is and we hope he can become. Until then give us Zardari and Sharif any
day.
On 8th June, The News wrote: The findings submitted to a threemember Supreme Court bench by the commission set up by it to examine
the numerous breaches of embankments along the River Indus which
aggravated the damage inflicted by last years floods, have revealed a little
bit more about the manner in which our administrative set-up works and the
favours that are meted out to the influential at the cost of ordinary people.
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The four-member commission headed by Muhammad Azam Khan has pinpointed acts of negligence by the irrigation departments of both Sindh and
Balochistan, with the report detailing the poor upkeep of key dykes, and
corruption which has permitted people to obtain land based along the
structures, thus encroaching on areas meant to hold heavy spillovers of
water. Mismanagement has been particularly noted in the case of the
breach of the Tori Bund near Jacobabad, which led to massive flooding
that ravaged vast areas in neighbouring Balochistan. The failure to build
drainage channels while constructing roads has also been taken into
account.
It is vital that the recommendations made in the report be
implemented. The court has already issued orders in this regard. The
government should follow them without delay and must not disregard the
matter. Past records of administrative work indicate that this could well
happen, leading to more havoc should another calamity strike. Preventive
measures to avoid this have clearly been identified in the findings. The court
and the commission have done us all a favour in undertaking this task.
The rest now lies in the hands of the government and especially the
irrigation department which needs to close the many loop-holes that exist in
our flood-safety situation.
Next day, The News commented on growing tensions between PPP
and PML-N. There have also been fierce attacks on government
performance by members of the PML-N during the ongoing debate on the
budget the shouts and slogans of protest amidst which the budget was
announced reflect a growing loss of patience and tolerance. This is hardly
surprising given that growing hostilities have been festering for some
time and the level of public disenchantment with the governments
performance only fuels angst.
Disturbing reports suggest that more trouble may be afoot, and that
it could break out at a most inopportune time. According to a report in
this newspaper, the presidency may be devising a plot to reopen cases again
the Sharif brothers as elections come around. The cases are being
deliberately held back, we are told, till what the government sees as the right
time to inflict maximum damage on the PML-N, and thus create an uneven
playing field around election time. What the government does not appear to
realize is that in doing so, it would be weakening an already struggling
system of democracy and inflicting greater damage on it.

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This is characteristic of the short-sightedness we have seen again

and again from those who lead our country. Putting forward opposing
views and criticizing each other is a standard element of any democracy. The
process helps bring before people the problems that exist and offers them
more information based on which they can make informed choices. But
adopting devious tactics to undermine leaders can serve no useful purpose.
Strains of the kind we see now make it harder to keep the system working
smoothly and thus add to the many problems we already face as a nation.
Ayaz Amir seemed very angry over suo moto notice of the recovery of
enlightenment spirit recovered fro Attiqa Odho. He bitterly criticized
everyone from Zia to Chief Justice who tried to impose Islam on use of
liquor and then concluded: Saudi Arabia has not been able to eliminate
drinking altogether. It is possible to get the forbidden nectar in the land of
the ayatollahs. And these are two of the harshest regimes on offer. But we
should learn from our own experience. We have seen prohibition make a
monkey of the law. Who benefits from this hypocrisy? Apart from the
police and the smuggling fraternity, it is hard to think of anyone else.
Politicians, many of them, will imbibe but trust them not to have the
courage to revisit the impracticality of prohibition. Preferring make-believe,
they will continue to hide behind self-righteousness. Their lordships, out to
reform so much, could do worse than step into the breach. Instead of
training their heaviest cannon on a sparrow, and a delicate one at that,
shouldnt they look at the wider ramifications of this vexing subject?
On 11th June, The News wrote: The gargantuan scale of corruption
and mismanagement of the national finances has been exposed by the
auditor general of Pakistan in his latest report. It says that Rs35 billion was
either embezzled from the public purse, irregularly spent or paid, or,
astonishingly, it was simply missing. To place this in perspective, the
budget for education in the coming fiscal year announced in Punjab on
Friday was Rs25 billion or Rs10 billion less than what had disappeared
between the cracks nationally in the last year. Put yet another way, Rs35
billion is close to the sum required to fund the solution to our education
crisis, and it has disappeared into the pockets and bank accounts of
bureaucrats, contractors and political back-scratchers. The level of detail
provided by the report is such that individual cases of mismanagement
or corruption are identifiable. The AGP noted the Rs236.45 million of
unauthorized payments made by the law ministry to lawyer associations. It
will be remembered that the then law minister, Babar Awan, toured the
nation dropping bundles of money on bar councils; none of which was in the
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form of officially authorized payments. The interior ministry has failed to

provide any record or receipt of Rs515.51 million generated by the issuance
of 88,838 arms licences between March 2008 and June 2009. Perhaps
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, a man known to be nimble with his sums,
could enlighten us as to the whereabouts of this money.
At the parliamentary level, Rs252 million air tickets have been issued
to MNAs as per their entitlement, but there is no record of how or if they
used the tickets, cashed them in, or returned them. The Frontier
Constabulary in Peshawar has been playing fast and loose with public
money as well. It has made irregular payments of Rs248.73 million whilst
purchasing vehicles, and retained Rs2.69 million in unauthorized and
presumably unlawfully collected monies from private and public sector
organizations for whom it was supposed to be providing security. Perhaps
the most incredible fact revealed by the AGP is that the Rs248.73 million for
vehicle purchase was actually deposited in the private bank account of the
inspector general of the FC. A sum of this size would attract substantial
interest even if deposited for a relatively short time interest that would
accrue to the account holder which, in this case, is a private individual. The
AGP has recommended disciplinary action against those responsible but
the chances of that ever happening are remote. The corruption, ineptitude,
and thievery exposed by this report are not the product of some hidden
foreign hand. It is the hands and fingers of our own public servants that are
robbing us. They will continue to do so as long as they are allowed to.
Babar Sattar observed: The priorities of our decision-makers are
inexplicable. Even the smallest organization with a limited lifecycle puts in
place a human-resource plan. Here we have the future of a country of 180
million at stake and we dont wish to invest a penny in developing their
faculties to distinguish right from wrong, earn themselves a decent living,
develop a civic sense of responsibility and acquire the skill-set to administer
the country and compete with the rest of the world? How hard is it to grasp
the fact that providing education is not simply about the states responsibility
to uphold an individuals fundamental right but a mandatory human resource
requirement to prevent Pakistan becoming a menagerie? Pakistans median
age is 21.6. There are more than 25 million children who should be in
schools but are not.
Imagine what a jungle well turn this place into within a decade-anda-half when these 25 million enter adulthood without any education,
comprehension skills or ability to earn a living. Through the 18th
Amendment, parliament has written down in the Constitution that not only
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does each Pakistani between the age of five and 16 have a right to free
education but also that it is mandatory for the state to ensure that he gets
one. A year later there is no law providing for such mandatory education.
And now the money being allocated for education by the centre and the
provinces is proof in itself that the constitutionally mandated fundamental
right of Pakistani children to free education will continue to be thwarted.
Why is this not the burning issue for all those across the political
divide who wish for the 18th Amendment to be implemented in letter and
spirit? Is the meagre educational allocation an IMF and US conspiracy to
push our upcoming generation, and consequently our future, into darkness?
Do our political parties and our legislators not understand that what we have
in place is an educational apartheid, and what it is breeding is intolerance,
bigotry, desperation and violence, along with an intellectual drought that will
sound the death-knell for Pakistans future? Is Atiqa Odhos possession of
two wine bottles a more consequential matter of public importance
deserving a suo moto notice than 25 million children of school-going age
being left in a lurch? There is anarchy on the one hand and painful selfreform on the other. The choice is ours, and time is of the essence.
Ironically, Babar despite being a lawyer expected the Chief Justice to decide
about budgetary allocations.
Ameer Bhutto commented: What is left of Pakistan? There is no
visible administrating authority. A free-for-all prevails, in which the
politicians in power are looting the state in broad daylight, vital state
institutions are decaying due to neglect and the appointment of cronies who
only cover their sponsors criminal tracks, the government has done its best
to sideline the judiciary by flouting its authority and the houses of
parliament have been reduced to a joke. The hapless citizens do not know
whom to fear more; criminals or those who are supposed to protect them
from criminals but are themselves out of control. The remaining vestiges of
sovereignty have been sold to foreign masters for the sake of power.
Consequently, while the people of this country stew in the
sweltering heat without electricity, without water, without petrol or gas,
without security, without access to adequate educational or medical
facilities, without solace or succour and without any ray of light or hope of
relief from the painful battles they wage every day just to survive, those
who wield the reins of power make hay while the sun shines and pander
to their foreign masters who sustain them in government.

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In just the last month, we have had to endure These are symptoms
of a comprehensive collapse. Such a status quo is unsustainable. Pressure is
building towards a climactic explosion which will blow away much
debris, but is also likely to irreparably damage the edifice of the state.
The important question is who is attending to the national interests of
Pakistan?
Countries have to be governed. Problems and crises need to be
resolved. Policies and plans have to be made for the future. Laws, structures
and systems have to be evolved, refined and updated. Development work has
to be carried out. The writ of law has to be established. There appears to
be no one doing any of this crucial work.
How can this mess be set right? There are corrective mechanisms
that can fix a system or jolt it upright, but a society that possesses the
wherewithal to deploy such mechanisms would never let things deteriorate
to such an extent as this in the first place. The process begins with the
electorate making the right choices at the polls based on merit, past
record, and a sound manifesto for the future. But that does not happen here.
Our choices are ruled by personality cults, which charlatans and their
puppeteers find convenient to manipulate, leaving the people writhing in
agony till the next election. But given the chance to remedy their mistake,
the electorate repeats the same mistake all over again. This is what has been
happening since 1988. We are told that the electorate will mature in time and
learn to properly use the vote. The problem is we do not have the luxury of
time, like most western democracies which developed over several centuries.
Struggling in a sea of crises, we have to either swim or sink today, not a
hundred years from now.
The second option is honest and sincere leadership that can pull us
out of the quicksand. We do not have that either. How can we, when the
electorate falters at the first step of the process? Despite the examples of
the Shah of Iran and Saddam Hussein, our rulers prefer to stay in power with
the support of foreign powers rather than the support of the people, like
Irans President Ahmadinejad. That is why they serve foreign interests rather
than national or public interests. In an almost comical development, the
Sindh Assembly recently banned smoking hukkas, as if that was the only
vice left in society!
The nation can expect no good from this lot. When all else fails,
the system and state institutions can rescue and resuscitate the country,
provided they are vibrant and effective. But the system is not allowed to
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function here as it should and institutions have been rendered hollow and
ineffective through years of manipulation by successive governments. The
constitution, parliament, laws and courts have atrophied under the influence
of those whose intentions and purposes are not identified with national
interests. If even this option fails, then there have been instances in history
whereby intervention by military rulers has provided the requisite jolt that
has saved countries from ruin
The last option is a mass public uprising along the lines of Tunisia,
Egypt and other Arab states. When people lose confidence in the system and
those who run it, they come out in the streets and take matters in their own
hands. The people of Tunisia and Egypt even shattered the age old myth that
revolutions cannot occur without strong leadership. But there are no signs of
such an uprising in Pakistan. People protest sporadically and burn tires
because of power outages and water shortages but there was not a squeak
out of them over issues of national sovereignty like the Raymond Davis
issue or the US Navy SEALs operation in Abbottabad.
The government has turned us into a nation of beggars. Instead of
questioning why millions are spent daily on lavish presidential and prime
ministerial palaces while even after almost 10 months, the flood refugees
have not been fully rehabilitated; people are content to live off handouts.
Those who used to, in the name of honour, kill any man who so much as
glanced at their women folk, now send their women to stand in lines outside
banks all day and suffer unmentionable humiliation for a few rupees of
charity. This once proud nation has become addicted to taking the path of
least resistance, even if doing so piles on more misery and insult upon them.
So if the electorate cannot make the right choice at the polls, the government
is not sincere with the national cause, the system and state institutions are
atrophied and useless, the army is not willing to intervene and people are not
ready to come out in the streets, then whats left?
We have pretty much run out of options as far as corrective
mechanisms go. Decay, left unchecked, can only generate more decay. How
will this country survive the crises it faces? How will it withstand the
menacing storms that loom over the horizon? I now begin to understand
what Pervez Musharraf meant when, in his farewell address to the nation, he
said Pakistan ka Khuda Hafiz.
On 13th June, Asif Ezdi commented on reconstitution of Election
Commission. The reconstituted commission now has an opportunity of
undoing these wrongs; whether it will do so remains highly doubtful,

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especially as long as Mirza remains the CEC. But it is not simply one mans
doing. The problem is much bigger and more deep-rooted. Our ruling elite
has completely perverted the countrys electoral system and acquired a
virtual stranglehold over it, further consolidating their grip on political
power. They now have a strong vested interest in keeping things as they are.
The results are reflected in the composition and performance of the
legislatures which are packed with looters of public money, tax cheats,
loan defaulters, fake-degree holders and an assortment of other shady
characters. The same discredited lot and their progeny and hangers-on get
elected again and again. Once they are elected, their first priority is to
expand their wealth, power and privileges and that of their class. The 18 th
Amendment strengthened dynastic hold further by scrapping the
constitutional requirement of intra-party elections and transferring the
powers under the defection clause from the elected leader of the
parliamentary party to the party head.
An electoral system that produces such public representatives as
we have in our country is not just broken; it is rotten. Simple tinkering,
such as the five-year strategic plan announced by the Election Commission
last year, will just not be enough. The solution lies in taking steps that break
the monopoly of the countrys political dynasties. This is not as difficult as
might seem at first sight.
Two steps would go a long way. First, we need legislation that
introduces meaningful elections in the political parties, not the kind of
cosmetic measure which Musharraf adopted in 2002 with the aim of
neutralizing Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto. Second, we should replace
the present first-past-the-post system for elections to the National and
Provincial Assemblies with proportional representation. It will reduce the
influence of rich locally influential politicians and strengthen programmebased political parties, besides producing legislatures in which the party
strength more accurately reflects the support they enjoy in the electorate.
Needless to say, the initiative to take these measures cannot be expected to
come from our present rulers. It has to come from outside parliament.

REVIEW
The helplessness of the superior judiciary was evident from its
frequent bursts of admonishing of various officials of the Executive for not
fulfilling the mandatory obligations of prosecution. FIA officials have been
the main culprits in this context in recent past. They failed in investigating
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properly and in certain cases deliberately obliterating the incriminating

evidence.
On every occasion the court has been claiming the show of restraint
on its part and at times threatening to punish the culprits for their willful
obstruction in enforcement of rule of law. These facilitators of corruption
never felt the need to mend their ways, because they knew that the exercise
of so-called restraint was nothing but admission of Judiciarys helplessness
to proceed against organs of powerful Executive.
Confronting an embarrassing situation in administering accountability
of the powerful Executive, the Judiciary is criticized when it tries to
establish rule of law in other segments of the society. It is accused of
showing unjust harshness towards the weak while absorbing all the insult
from the powerful.
During the period the Chief Justice took suo moto notice of not
registering an FIR against Attiqa Odho, who returned from abroad with two
bottles of wine. A few days ago an air hostess was detained when a similar
recovery was made from her baggage. The Chief Justice took notice of this
discriminatory application of law.
The enlightened and liberal intellectuals like Ayaz Amir and Babar
Sattar felt that action on the part of Chief Justice was unwarranted.
According to them the lady had committed no serious crime by bringing
couple of bottles containing the enlightenment spirit, which merited
personal attention of the Chief Justice.
The liberal forces, including those ruling the country, perhaps were of
the view that her act should have been condoned in the spirit of exercising
her right of personal freedom. It was however unfortunate that Musharraf
took yet another U-turn and shunted the lady out of his party; whereas he
should have appreciated for practicing his concept of enlightened
moderation.
14th June, 2011

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BLACKSMITH NAWAZ
The war on terror related events since May 2 caused the kind of
humiliation to the military establishment which Zardari-led PPP had been
longing for since it came to the power. These events worked as scabbards for
the bayonets about which Zardari had been having nightmares despite being
the supreme commander of the armed forces.
The outsourcing of responsibility of fighting war on terror to military
leadership bore the intended result. The military, beaten and battered by
militants, Americans and critics alike, was now hiding behind Zardari for
political support. Resultantly, he seemed to be standing at the summit of
political power and enjoying every bit of it.

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This worked as tonic for arrogance of the man. Zardari went to

Naudero and addressed Nawaz Sharif disdainfully from his power base. He
said, Oblacksmith who the Hell are you to criticize my generals. He,
however, advised Nawaz to get some lessons in politics and offered him free
tutoring.
Within few days of his midnight speech at Naudero Zardari-led PPP
won majority in AJK polls. This victory, though marred by the allegations of
rigging and malpractices of all kinds, yet resulted in enhancing the arrogance
of the Scoundrel. He claimed the results proved that popularity of the PPP
has increased.

NEWS
On 13th June, top military brass assembled in Presidency and in a
meeting chaired jointly by Zardari and Gilani the sought refuge against
criticism to which they have been subjected. DG FIA, against whom
contempt case was pending, was transferred; no new DG was posted. Petrol
shortage problem in Punjab was aggravated by gas load-shedding. Thirteen
people were killed in Karachi.
Next day, Chief Justice asked ECP to clarify the status of post-18th
Amendment bye-elections. Chief Justice of LHC took suo moto notice of
extra-judicial killing by police and sought report on all encounters since
2010. Abusive language was used in Punjab Assembly on second
consecutive day. Q-Likeminded joined hands with PML-N and exservicemen met Nawaz Sharif.
Young doctors were baton charged in Quetta. Fifteen people were
killed in Karachi; MQM walked out of National Assembly to protest killing
of its activist. ANP and MQM delegations met in Governor House after
spending the day in accusing each other for targeted killings.
On 15th June, PPP MPs protested in Punjab Assembly the statement of
Rana Sana in which he had quoted lawyers saying that Babar Awan was a
black sheep in their ranks and they considered him fit for slaughtering. The
house was turned into fish market but at the end of the day Speaker arranged
reconciliation between Raja Riaz and Rana Sana. Senate passed a resolution
condemning Rana Sana and demanded his removal as minister. Governor
wrote a letter to CM for action against Rana Sana.
The debate on budget ended with Saad Rafique saying that the nation
has become victim of the dictators in suits. PAC asked for report on petrol
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shortage in two days. OGRA issued show-cause notice to companies for oil
shortage. PPP and PML-Q agreed to extend alliance to AJK polls. Former
chairman was reported to be running NICL affairs from jail. One person was
killed when angry students stoned Press Club in Multan. Death toll in
Karachi in three-day killing reached 38; out of which 24 were killed in
Orangi alone.
Next day, the Supreme Court issued contempt notices to Interior
secretary, Establishment Division secretary and principal secretary to PM for
transferring Zafar Qureshi an FIA officer who was probing the NICL scam.
The court has asked them to file their replies by June 23.
Nawaz kicked of election campaign for AJK polls. He addressed a
public gathering in Kotli in which he blamed generals for foiling plan to
resolve Kashmir issue. Babar Awan mulled moving the Supreme Court
against Rana Sana; Sana asked Babar to mend his ways.
Fazalur Rehman band Zardari agreed to evolve joint strategy on
important political issues. Five people were killed in Karachi and the
government gave orders to Rangers and police to check violence in the city.
Rehman Malik claimed that situation in the city was under control.
On 17th June, Finance Minister while winding up the debate on annual
budget urged parliamentarians and businessmen to pay taxes honestly; 16
PPP parliamentarians boycotted speech over agriculture tax. Fazl met Nawaz
and invited him to APC on Kashmir, who agreed. KPT leased land worth
Rs25 billion for Rs540 million to two housing societies. PTI appealed to
Chief Justice to take suo moto notice of MPAs housing scheme. People
protesting against power load shedding clashed with police in Rawalpindi.
On 19th June, Shehbaz complained of discrimination in power, gas and
petrol supply to Punjab, he was not only too late in raising his voice but also
forgot to mention water along with power, gas and petrol. Another NICLlike scam was in the making in which assets worth Rs100 billion of
Telecommunication Foundation were being plundered. Fourteen people were
killed in Karachi as Rehman Malik and Qaim Ali reviewed law and order
situation.
Next day, Nawaz addressed an election rally in Bhimber and he
accused Zardari of promoting politics of plunder in Pakistan. Babar Awan
accused Nawaz of talking in Bal Thakerays language and Haider Abbas
Rizvi flayed Nawaz for anti-MQM remarks. Babar Awan sought Supreme
Court probe into Rana Sanas threat; he claimed Punjab executive has
contacted outlaws to kill him. Eleven people were killed in Karachi.
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On 21st June, the Supreme Court gave one month to government to

appoint NAB chief and save the institution. The court warned that if
chairman wasnt appointed the Bureau will become non-functional. In
missing persons case the court asked as to why were Pakistani citizens were
handed over to other countries, of course, without getting any convincing
reply. LHC declared Haj Policy 2011 unconstitutional in its detailed
judgment.
Nawaz blamed the government and agencies for ruining Pakistan and
said former was continuing with record corruption. He said it during his
address to an election rally in Dhirkot, AJK. He also reiterated his demand
for accountability and resolved to arrest Musharraf one day.
Zardari went to Naudero to mark 58th Birthday of Benazir from
where he has been delivering political speeches since coming I into power.
He asked: who is Maulvi Nawaz to hate generals and love soldiers. He saw
no difference in thinking of Nawaz and Mulla Omar and declared that
Maulvi Nawazs mindset was being defeated. He advised Nawaz to learn
from him, meet him in private or accept him as his teacher.
Gilani was more concerned about Punjab than anyone else. Rehman
Malik threatened to retaliate if Opposition continued attacking PPP. He said
he knew how to frame charges and pursue those. Asma Jahangir asked the
government to challenge Armys grip on power. Umar Cheema reported that
save-Moonis operation was intensified by posting favourite police officers in
the FIA. Imran Khan and Senators accused PPP of misusing BISP. Pakistan
was ranked 12th in failed states index. Seven people were killed in Karachi.
Next day, Nawaz addressing an election rally in Planderi said the
hands should be broken of those who break law and the constitution. He said
militancy was increasing because of the one man show and accused Zardari
of plunging the country into darkness. Shahbaz said Zardaris politics and
conspiracies would be buried in Naudero.
Nisar congratulated Army for having new spokesman in Zardari, but
warned against dangers in dividing militarys rank and file on the lines of
religion and secularism. He added that having friend like Zardari Army
doesnt need any enemy. He slammed Zardari for making mockery of
Islamic values and saw his fate no different from Musharraf.
President did not issue notification to remove six PCO judges as
ordered by the Supreme Court and instead sent a reference to Supreme
Judicial Council under Article 209 to establish whether these judges are, or
not, guilty of misconduct after taking oath under PCO. The Supreme Court
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reprimanded FIA for not booking National Bank officials and summoned 16
directors who were given performance awards. Investigation officer of FIA
denied involvement of Moonis Elahi in NICL scam.
Banking court acquitted ARYs Haji Abdul Razzaq and banker
Hussain Lavai. Marvi Memon resigned from party and parliaments
membership for failing to come up to the expectations of his voters in
stopping her party from joining the government. Two ANP activists were
among eight killed in Karachi.
On 23rd June, during hearing of NICL case the Chief Justice vowed
not to allow loot and plunder of public money and assets. He warned that if
the government wanted top officials to be tried the apex court would oblige.
He expressed anger over not reversing investigation officer and gave one
week to secretaries to reply to contempt notices.
PML-N and PPP remained busy in election campaign in AJK. Nawaz
accused rulers of converting Islamabad into corruption market and Gilani
termed Kashmir as Pakistans jugular vein. Shahbaz told Zardari that the
nation was aware of latters cunningness.
Next day, Chief Justice said corruption in lower courts was eroding
faith of litigants. He asked high courts to directly supervise lower judiciary.
Opposition in the Senate said the government has lost credibility. Lahorites
protested prolonged power outages. LPG price went up by Rs5 per kg.
On 25th June, in defiance of the apex court orders on contract
employments, the Sindh government appointed Wasim Ahmed as additional
chief secretary of the province. MQM boycotted AJK polls after polling in
two constituencies of Karachi and one in KPK was postponed. The part also
complained of pressure to withdraw its candidates for these seats. PTI
launched Remove Government, Save Pakistan campaign in Multan. Five
people were killed in Karachi.
Next day, AJK polls were held amid tense atmosphere created by the
two main rivals; PPP and PML-N. Scuffles were reported from Lahore,
Rawalpindi, Muzaffarabad and other places; two persons were killed and
several wounded. The polling in one constituency of Lahore was postponed.
PPP managed to win 21 seats in 41-seat house and end ten-year rule of
Muslim Conference. Polls were held for 38 seats. PML-N won eight,
Muslim Conference four and independents two. All participant parties
complained of rigging.

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Altaf Hussain bitterly criticized the government over postponement of

polls in two AJK constituencies of Karachi due to which MQM had decided
to boycott the entire polls. He accused PPP for pressing his party to give up
one seat of Karachi and on refusal the polls were postponed. He blamed
Zardari regime for stabbing its sincere ally in the back and urged Chief
Justice to declare the polls as null and void.
Senator Zahid Khan of ANP termed Benazir Income Support
Programme as the biggest hub of corruption. Akbar Bugtis grandson was
among five killed in a shoot-out in a house in Defence area of Karachi; nine
more were wounded.
On 27th June, MQM filed a petition in Sindh High Court seeking
deferment of AJK polls. Later in the day, the party announced to quit the
government at all levels; even Governor Sindh sent his resignation to
President. Khurshid Shah welcomed MQMs decision to sit on opposition
benches as his party approached Muslim Conference and independents for
formation of government in AJK. Shujaat talked to Altaf for reconciliation.
Ansar Abbasi reported that after AJK Zardari was working for similar win in
Pakistan using diversions, twists and media management as key tactics. He
hoped for securing second term while considering Nawaz Sharif politically
nave.
Babar Awan told the Supreme Court hearing ZAB reference that there
was no restriction on the bench to revisit the case. He claimed that the then
Chief Justice heading the bench was biased against Bhutto and said under
law no co-accused could be hanged to death; Chief Justice said co-accused
gets punishment at par with the accused under law.
Next day, thirteen provincial and three federal ministers of MQM
resigned. Meanwhile, Sindh High Court asked MQM to move AJK High
Court first. Shujaat telephoned Altaf but the latter regretted to stage usual
come back. Altaf contacted Fazlur Rehman and both agreed to work
together. PML-N cautiously welcomed MQM on opposition benches. Nawaz
announced that fair polls would be impossible under Zardari.
Cabinet approved devolution of seven ministries to provinces, but
federal ministers will stay. Babar Awan concluded arguments in ZAB
reference case. He told that Maulvi Mushtaq felt threatened by Bhutto. Chief
Justice remarked only trial court can revisit case on the basis of new
evidence.
Three more witnesses denied recording statements against Moonis
Elahi; PML-Qs decision to join government was bearing the desired results.
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LPG price increased by Rs5 per kg for the third time in two weeks. NA
committee was informed that electricity crisis wont be solved until 2014.
Balochistans MPA Yar Mohammad Rind and his son were sentenced for life
in kidnapping for ransom case. Nine people were wounded in grenade attack
in Karachi.
On 29th June, the bench hearing ZAB reference asked Attorney
General not to repeat what Babar has said; he requested time for preparation
which was granted. Chief Justice vowed not to decide the issue haphazardly.
Chief Justice urged the government and public to help judiciary in war
against corruption. Transparency International Pakistan was stopped from
producing 2011 Corruption Index.
Government planned to increase gas tariff by 15 percent and 100
percent for fertilizer units. Protest rally was held in Mirpur against rigging in
AJK polls; a day earlier similar protests were held in Nakial. ANP demanded
division of Karachi into six districts; PPP has already planned similar
division.
Next day, ECC approved three-day a week load-shedding at CNG
stations in Punjab and two days in Sindh. Gas price raise was deferred.
PML-N held a meeting and rejected results of AJK polls due to rigging.
Rehman Malik apologized for whatever he might have said that annoyed
Altaf Bhai. Gilani said MQM was still a friend. Imran Khan said mid-term
polls were inevitable. Nine people were killed in gang-war in Karachi.
On 1st July, the Supreme Court rejected presidential reference
regarding PCO judges and asked President to relieve them immediately. The
bench hearing NICL case suspended transfer order of ADG, FIA and Zafar
Qureshi was back in his seat. The apex court rejected plea to suspend LHC
decision on Haj quota.
PAC gave ruling for disciplinary action against three retired generals
for their involvement in NLC scam. Presidency denied receiving resignation
of Ishrat Ibad. Rehman Malik went to Saudi Arabia to seek help for saving
its alliance with MQM. Qaim Ali said dialogue with MQM was on. Ten
people were killed in Karachi.
Next day, Establishment Division canceled the transfer order of Zafar
Qureshi, the investigating officer of NICL case, in compliance with the
orders of the Supreme Court, but transferred all the subordinate officers
assisting him to far flung area. Zafar wrote to DG FIA that these transfer
orders amounted to interfering in the investigations and he was told that
these were routine transfers.
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Nawaz at last realized the need to have alliance; he welcomed MQM

on Opposition benches. Differences were reported between government and
military over nomination of AJK prime minister. Gas price summary sent to
Prime Minister for approval; 15 percent increase in domestic, 18.43 percent
in industrial, 69.05 percent in CNG stations and 96.06 percent in fertilizer
units was proposed. Six people were killed in Karachi.
On 3rd July, Shahbaz invited opposition parties for alliance saying
unity is the only way to get rid of corrupt government. JUI-F urged PMLN to change mind on midterm polls. Gilani said time for snap polls have
passed and suggested to opposition to prepare for Local Bodies polls. Five
people were killed in Karachi; Zulfikar Mirza warned the terrorist of his
return with danda.

VIEWS
On 14th June, Shaheen Sehbai commented: The Pakistan Army corps
commanders have pushed the hapless and helpless Pakistani nation
between a rock and a deep ditch. The rock is the Army itself, armed with
guns and a lot of arrogance. The ditch is the corrupt sea of vision-less
politicians who cannot see beyond their stolen billions and rightly or
wrongly have acquired power and perks they will not let go of.
In an almost defeatist and vengeful tone the 1,032-word political
statement coming out of their meeting tells the people that from now on
Pakistanis will be at the mercy of the politicians, who the commanders, in
their heart of their hearts believe are corrupt and incapable of handling these
life and death matters of state. So they want to wash their hands off
matters and let the people and their leaders drown fighting each other.
They will watch from the sidelines and when a collapse becomes inevitable
they will step in and take over, blaming everybody else.
This is almost a political strategy to bring down the system, instead
of supporting the system, as the commanders have pledged in their
statement. It is like pulling out all the fire engines from a burning house
and telling the inmates to fight the fire with their hands and empty
buckets
The Army leadership has taken a highly defensive position after the
repeated debacles, which were not engineered by the politicians but were
self-inflicted because of either incompetence or sheer carelessness. The
politicians have taken extra sadistic pleasure at the pathetic plight of the
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security establishment and have rubbed more dirt into its face. It is this
attitude, which has forced the Army leadership to talk back, and lecture
everybody on how to handle the disasters caused by lapses on their part.
But lapses can be forgiven and prevented with better security
management. What cannot be forgiven is the failure of the Army to clean
up the mess it has left in the political arena and by refusing to stand by
national institutions, which if strengthened could have provided some hope
and direction to the country and generated confidence in the systems, both
democratic, judicial and civil.
For instance the present Army leadership was part and parcel, in
fact the spearhead of the dubious political arrangements which were
forged by the falling dictator Pervez Musharraf to protect his power. These
were arrangements, like the NRO, which were extremely toxic for the
country, but were pushed with vigour and enthusiasm. Until Musharraf was
around, there may have been a justification, or a de facto compulsion, to
continue.
But once he was gone, the Army leadership failed to undo those
dirty deals although privately all the top generals would express extreme
repulsion at the leadership which grabbed power and deliberately tried to
demolish all crucial institutions, including the parliament, the judiciary, the
media and the bureaucracy. Was it incompetence or complicity?
An even greater incompetence or complicity was not to back the
judiciary against blackmailing by politicians who continued to destroy the
economy, implode state-owned enterprises with crunching cronyism, looting
billions and whenever challenged by the judges or the media, hurled this
card or that card and pushed the complicit Army to back off. They did, ever
so willingly. These politicians also easily coerced the executive and almost
rendered political parties impotent by keeping critical powers with unelected
and/or incompetent party heads. No one raised a finger.
Knowing that the politicians were corrupt and had no intention of
correcting their course, the Pakistan Army, as the guardian of internal
security, had to provide firm and unflinching support to corrective
mechanisms within the system, if they really wanted democracy to take
hold and get going in the right direction. They never bothered.
Instead, they allowed corruption by not only looking the other
way but strengthened the impression that they were partners in crimes
by getting extensions in their tenures and condoning every atrocity that was
unleashed by the power-drunk politicians in the name of democracy. What
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was so undemocratic about creating independent accountability forums or

properly investigating white-collar crimes? No one interfered because that
would have been politically incorrect.
While this lack of support to institutions and the democratic system
strengthened the undeserving and visionless political mafias, security lapses
and blunders suddenly brought the Army, navy and the air force under
tremendous pressure, thus taking away from them whatever will and
potential there was to stop the rapid implosion of the system.
The politicians, who always felt threatened by the Army, got
repeated God-given opportunities in shape of Abbottabad, PNS Mehran,
Kharotabad, Saleem Shahzad and Clifton episodes to blast the khakis,
bringing them almost to their knees, almost to this point when they are
publicly pleading their case in long and unnecessary explanations in their
defence.
It is a known fact, and the politicians, the civil society, the judiciary,
the media and even the Army, admit that repeated martial laws and
dictatorships have brought Pakistan to this sorry state. It was then the
duty of all of these institutions to help in picking up the pieces and rebuild.
If one or more of these institutions resisted this process of improvement,
others should have forced them in the larger national interest.
Sadly only the judiciary, parts of the media and portions of civil
society joined hands while the major players, led by corrupt politicians
continued to resist. They were helped by some apologists who laughed and
applauded the fraudulent politics and trickery that was perpetuated on the
nation, as if playing tricks and succeeding was a great national service. The
Army unfortunately took the side of these corrupt tricksters.
Now when the chips are down and there is tremendous pressure
from within the ranks of the Army on its leadership to change course, there
is little goodwill left to forgive and forget. The trick brigade is laughing its
heart out.
The demand of the corps commanders that the nation should stand by
it at this critical time is basically reasonable and should be supported but
when the commanders accuse people and parties of perceptual biases they
are ignoring some bitter realities and condoning their own share in
making and perpetuating these perceptions.
What has the Army done after all to undo the wrongs done by
General Musharraf against all the political parties and leaders? Was the NRO

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a deal to undo the wrongs done to PPP or was it a deal by Musharraf to save
his own skin by joining the loot brigade? What did General Kayani do to
remove fears and concerns of Mian Nawaz Sharif so that he could play
his due political role without fear of another military takeover?
The Zardari-led PPP was so tainted and corrupt that it had no legs to
stand or assert its will on the Army after it was surreptitiously allowed back
into the corridors of powers. That was easily done by the Army leaders but
have they accepted the civilian supremacy in reality or is it not just a
smokescreen that Army wants to support the system?
Was it not the Army responsibility to clean the dirty mess it had left
over the years and when the courageous judiciary took up this cause why did
the GHQ drag its feet and not assure the unarmed judges that their moral and
legal authority would be upheld by those who have the powers to implement
their orders. Why did they allow shameless and mindless politicians to
defy the law, mock justice and act like mafias, prolonging the agony of
the nation? It was the extreme of the insult of apex court as dozens of its
decisions were not implemented by the government.
These and many such questions remain unanswered despite the
1,032-word communique of the corps commanders. Their stance on the
Pak-US policy is also a big question mark and reflects a growing schism
within their ranks as it is now towing the populist line while for the last
many years they have been doing what Washington has been asking. Now
when the public mood is changing they have shifted the burden on the
civilians to devise a policy, issue orders and they will do whatever they are
told. It is almost certain, these orders will not be implemented and if so
done, blame of any failures will be easy to pin on civilians.
Still not all has been lost. The security lapses are a professional
hazard which every army, intelligence agency and institution has to face and
can be forgiven. To gain the trust and the confidence of the people and the
nation, the Army has to play its role in building up of critically
important institutions like the judiciary, the media, civil society, the
parliament and the bureaucracy. It has to be either with the corrupt or against
them. If mafias and gangs take over everything, in the name of democracy,
what needs to be done?
The answer is strong institutional checks. Anyone who attacks or
tries to undermine these institutions should be condemned and declared an
outcast, through the existing legal and political systems. If political
blackmail in the name of the Sindh or Punjab card is attempted, it
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should be crushed by all legal and constitutional means. And the army
should stand behind these decisions, with force, without being apologetic.
Only then it will get back respect of the nation.
In one of my meetings with a top general sometime back, I asked
about the Sindh Card and what it meant to the Army. The answer was a
dismissive sweep of the hand accompanied with the words: What Sindh
Card? If we act not a soul will move carrying the Sindh Card. We know
how big this bluff is.
But ultimately the general sahib and his team surrendered to the
bluff became the butt of jokes and are now offering apologies seeking
our support. Support they will get but where should the 180 million people
caught between the bluff and the bluffers go?
Next day, Zainul Abedin opined: What is happening is not an
aberration. A state that has ideologized violence of various kinds in the name
of values and beliefs, constitutionalized theocratic superstitions,
intellectualized unreason through education and propaganda, brought up
sectarian and ethnic vultures that thrive on hatred and feed on the flesh of
the other a state that for decades has rented itself out to the highest
bidders to fight their wars and clean their filth, a government that comprises
thieves, swindlers, fakers and murderers; a political culture where the stature
of a politician depends on how may large swathes of population he holds
hostage, how many people he can get killed in a day and how many
institutions here and abroad he can do business with this has been our
sorry lot which would be the undoing of any people.
But couple it with the states colossal failure to ensure, both in
economic and social terms, a human level of existence for the majority of
its subjects, and you get some idea of the nature of the beast. Imagine this
beast fully aroused at a time when the state has to rent itself out, yet again, in
a war whose weight is proving to be too much for it to bear but whose
weight it must obey, and you have a situation which would put to shame
Hamlets lament on his times.
The toll on our institutions is terrifying, with things falling apart with
a rapidity that frightens them, demolishes the myth of their invincibility and
exposes their utter irrelevance to any idea of a possibility of a new
Pakistan arising out of the ashes of the old that is on fire. The spirit of
Cain has come to possess them in the same measure as that of their failure to
gain real legitimacy which cannot be the work of force alone.

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Long-time renegades from their basic responsibility that of making

little things of life possible for those they rule and theoretically protect
they will now seek refuge in unbridled force wherever they can, against
those who run afoul by raising questions of legitimacy. And when
institutions crumble, in the darkness that falls the little Cains they
harbour within them will kill not only at their masters bidding but also
for money, mirth and revenge. It shouldnt be very difficult in a land
vanquished by Cain.
Mir Adnan Aziz observed: Politics, as a rule, has some fundamental
principles. These are honesty, dedication, and a demonstrated will to serve
the people. Our politics lacks this basic set of rules. It is an embodiment
of mere rituals and rhetoric. Evolving from a one-off habit to a total
abdication of principles and responsibility, it has become a farcical display
of hypocrisy and deceit. An allegory for the political mindset and our
national apathy, this culture has become a transparent charade with neither
the politicians nor the people believing in it.
Today in Jinnahs Pakistan we have a ritual and rhetoric charade
created to obscure the darker realities of our collective lives. The beastly
Sialkot, Kharotabad and Karachi killings epitomize our alarming
regression as a society. It is also the trickle-down effect of a virtually
unaccountable Executive. Created by the blood of millions, we share a
common identity. Ironically, loyalty to such an identity is neither intrinsic
nor unbreakable. It has to be earned by the legitimacy of ruling institutions;
more important, by the part the nation plays to ensure the same.
Greed and covetousness was once the hallmark of a few; today it
has replaced political ideology. Tragically, the country is at the mercy of
these politicians. An even greater travesty is that they are interlocked in an
insatiable lust of wealth and power. The business of governing has become a
business for personal gains. The scam is brazen, the utter impunity
frighteningly stark. Meanwhile, all we, the nation, do is ponder the
Shakespearean quote, Is it not strange that desire should so many years
outlive performance? The greatest tragedy of this sham democracy might
yet be the silent submission of the masses, ensuring that desire outlives
performance.
On 16th June, M Zeb Khan observed: Now that the country faces
complex and formidable challenges, the leaders have to find reasons for
the institutional decay and take bold steps to build them on modern
lines. In this regard, a national commission, with people of competence and

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integrity, be constituted to reinvent the entire government. The commission

must be fully empowered with a strong backing from all political parties.
Once in place, the commission should examine in detail the dynamics of
local conditions and try to find out indigenous solutions. For example, if the
word haram is instituted in place of embezzlement and
misappropriation, it would help prevent many people from indulging in
corrupt practices due to its psychological impact. There are many such
ostensibly minor but impressive cultural and structural innovations that can
make public sector institutions strong and vibrant.
Next day, Dr Muzaffar Iqbal observed: Pakistan has a strange
history of strongly directed, self-centred, military rule followed by a
democratic drift into an abyss; it is, once again, in the midst of a drift, like
a ship without a captain. If logic dictates historical necessity, then the next
military coup should not be too far.
This is not a forecast, just a possible outcome of the current so-called
democratic experiment, which is perhaps the greatest watershed in the
political history of this unfortunate nation where genuine leadership has
been as rare as the legendary Huma bird. One does not need to turn to
fortune tellers to see where the country is going; the drift itself is so
obviously toward a certain chaos which will leave nothing intact in an
already fragmented polity.
One can understand how the ruling party has led the country into this
state, but it is hard to understand the impotency of the official as well as
unofficial opposition. In more concrete terms, all that the country has is
empty bombast, being issued from the frothy mouths of the entire spectrum
of those who constitute opposition.
The froth intensifies with each US drone attack; each extra-judicial
murder adds to the empty chatter of those who are outside the government.
Recall Imran Khans sit-in stint over a month ago: he gave one whole month
to the government and vowed to march onto Islamabad if drone attacks did
not stop. Then he disappeared from the scene. Look at the statements being
issued by the Jamaat-e-Islami leadership: it is always the next drone attack
after which they will do something.
And if anyone had any hope in the official opposition, then it is
sufficient to see what happened to Nawaz Sharifs three-day ultimatum for
the constitution of a commission to probe the Abbottabad event. In fact, one
must be living in a fools paradise if one is unable to see that Nawaz
Sharif is a broken man, a lion without teeth. Yet, all of these are merely
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etceteras in the long march of history; Pakistans real dilemma is graver than
the failure of individuals; it is its chocking political environment which has
not allowed any real political development over the last 64 years.
Pakistan never had a chance for the independent growth of a
political culture based on talent, commitment, and vision. Part of the
problem is the psyche of its people: Pakistanis have always been looking for
a messiah, a hero who would come and take them out of their abysmal state.
Since the expectation has been there, false hero-cum-messiahs have come
and gone, without solving anything. In fact, every such messiah has left
behind a bigger mess.
Since there has never been any growth of a genuine political culture,
people have always voted for a Bhutto or a Sharif and having done their
part, have waited for the messiah to deliver. Since there is no concept of a
genuine political process that allows individuals to come forward, grow,
learn, and eventually provide leadership, the half-literates who come forward
as candidates during elections all remain hostage to a dozen or so tiring faces
who hurl the generality of their rank and file like cattle. No one has a voice
except their masters voice and no one represents anyone but their own
bosses and their interests.
This state of political underdevelopment could have been rationalized
20 years ago, but now that there is a sizeable young and educated
population, it is hard to rationalize and understand Pakistans political
vacuum except by recourse to an overwhelming hopelessness that is spread
all over the country. This death of hope is not circumstantial; it is
embedded in history and it projects onto a future which is turning
increasingly bleak by the day.
The state has nothing left; neither sovereignty nor institutions
which can be relied upon: the judiciary is only able to pass verdicts which
may be good for the books but which have no practical utility; the executive
is utterly rudderless; passive and subordinate to the dictates of its American
masters; the official opposition is impotent and the unofficial opposition is
without the necessary public support which can translate its foam into
substance.
In such a situation, people like Imran Khan, who used to evoke hope,
have themselves become so hopeless in their empty rhetoric that it is better
for them to leave the political arena and do something more respectable.
That something more respectable and meaningful is now the only hope left
for Pakistan and it is none other than what Mawlana Mawdudi abandoned in
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1955: to train a new generation of Pakistanis through a well-thought of

generational plan in the art of governance. This is still possible in
Pakistan and this is the only hope for this country which is visibly falling
apart by the day.
What this means in practical terms is a rigorous programme of
education, involving a very large number of young men and women, leading
to the growth of a politically conscious generation of honest and talented
young people who are deeply committed to a certain vision for their country
and who, moreover, understand the complex realities of our post-modern
world. This new generation of Pakistanis should have analytical tools to
examine the history of their unfortunate country without becoming
emotional. They need to evolve into a cohesive social and political force
which can give birth to a Pakistani Spring in a decade or so. In that
native spring lies the hope for a polity now hopelessly drifting in dangerous
waters.
In order to start that process, we need some elders, some wise old
men and women who are not interested in immediate returns, whose vision
is embedded in a long historical process and who can provide a nucleus for
the young generation. People like Imran Khan, if he still has anything
real to offer to this country, can also be part of this process. In fact, he
can lead this generational process if he is able to come out of his self-created
cul-de-sac.
On 18th June, a day after Finance Minister delivered closing speech on
debate on budget, Yusuf S Shirazi wrote: According to Mr Dominique
Strauss Kahn, Managing Director of the IMF, globalization has led to a
lethal cocktail of high unemployment, strained social cohesion, and
political instability, which, in turn, has affected macro-economic stability.
In Pakistan, thus the 10 percent poorest in the country consume four
percent of the national cake while the richest 10 percent gobble up 27
percent of it.
On the other hand, Pakistan has been a haven for those engaged
in smuggling, under-invoicing, and evasion of taxes in the name of free
economy. According to a recent report of the Federal Board of Revenue and
World Bank, 57 percent of the economy is untaxed. The countrys total
revenue is about Rs1.5 trillion and if this 57 percent untaxed economy is
taxed the total revenues will be about Rs2.5 trillion. This would more than
compensate the aids, loans, and credit Rs0.38 trillion our country has
been plagued with since inception. The total debt of the country has reached

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a mind-boggling figure of Rs11 trillion now as against Rs4.7 trillion four

years ago in 2007 due to non-payment of loans.
In fact, now even the donor countries have started saying that aid
recipients such as Pakistan should rely, first, upon its own resources. Such
constructive criticism of our tax machinery is a blessing in disguise for we
must get our house in order to win back our sovereignty and become
masters of our own destiny.
Thus Pakistan has to rethink her strategy from foreign policy to
economic and social strategy. If all these resources are put together and
prudently employed, Pakistan will be free from reliance on the donor
countries and earn socio-politico economic freedom. This will encourage
investment, production, and export, creating employment for the masses and
make them self-reliant. Access to foreign countries through full utilization of
resources will lead to increased competitiveness and, as such, access to the
world markets on its own merit. It is local access to the local economy and
not access to US aid and IMF programmes which will lead to selfreliance
It is thus Localization local access to the local economy not
Globalization a lethal cocktail...of macro-economic stability which
will help the Pakistani economy. Local access to our economy will create
employment, provide the bread, clothing, and shelter promised to the masses
of people and not reliance on the donors at whatever cost, for aid and loans
undermine our nations sovereignty.
Nest day, Raza Rumi observed: PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif is
aiming to seize the moment by leading a campaign calling for wide-ranging
military accountability and its overgrown powers of policymaking. The PPP
with greater stakes in the system appears defensive and is doing the PR job
for the sanctimonious national security institutions. It is too early to
determine whether Nawaz Sharif is seeking a structural transformation
of Pakistans governance culture or is merely hankering for
acceptability within the power matrix. Similarly, it is not clear whether the
PPP is reluctant to lead a campaign for military accountability, fearing that it
may just fail like in the past. Nevertheless, the third moment in 40 years has
arrived which may result in a much-awaited rationalization of civil-military
relations in the country. It is neither feasible, nor advisable to pressurize an
overly-engaged army on the eastern and western borders. At the same time,
for the future of Pakistan, it is vital to reset the parameters of power and the
manner in which it is exercised in Pakistan.

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On 21st June, The News wrote: There is opacity about the business
dealings of our president and his extended family that is reminiscent of
armour plating. The latest of his dealings to emerge concerns 2,400 kanals of
land him and his son Bilawal own in the Margalla Hills area. As reported in
this newspaper, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has approved
changes in the zoning regulations of Zone III, currently defined as being
within the protected Margalla Hills National Park area, which will allow the
land to be used for commercial purposes. These may include farm-housing, a
golf and country club, medium-rise apartments, and the ever-ugly and noisy
wedding lawns. The CDA chairman insists that this particular tract of land,
part of Zone III, was actually outside the boundaries of the National Park
and therefore not subject to the regulations that control development within
it. The approval of the change in use of the land is going to magnify its value
many-fold, and the Zardari clan will have scored a significant fiscal gain.
There will be those who argue that this is nothing more than good
business. He has held the land since the mid-90s, long before the presidency
beckoned and if he benefits from a change in the zoning laws, all well and
good. But where did the impetus for the change come from? Why, none
other than the cabinet had referred the case to the CDA and sought
variation in the zoning regulations. Other Zardari associates are also
interested in the rezoned land, at least one of them until recently, a federal
minister. The CDA Zoning Regulation 2005 defines the whole of Zone III
as: Margalla Hills National Park as notified under section 21 of the
Islamabad Wild Life (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and
Management) Ordinance 1979 and other protected ranges, forest areas and
un-acquired land falling between Margalla Hills and the north of Murree
Road shall constitute this zone. That at least is clear as day but how that
came to be changed is as clear as mud.
Next day, Mubashir Mahmood from Karachi wrote: Instead of being
apologetic for his irresponsible behaviour during the budget session of the
Sindh Assembly, Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq who was
caught on camera watching an Indian TV show using his Pad during the
session is criticizing Pakistan Muslim League-Functionals MPA Marvi
Rashdi for being disrespectful to senior legislatures. Our political leaders are
not at all serious about solving peoples problems. In the past too we have
seen many members of assemblies sleeping or chatting during sessions. It
also goes to show how much importance is given to an issue as
significant as the budget by our elected representatives.

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On 23rd June, The News commented: There may be some degree of

accuracy behind what the leaders say, but perhaps there are other, more
dignified ways of expressing these grievances. Mr Zardaris diatribe,
highly unsuited to his position as president, simply makes Pakistan look
even more dysfunctional than it already is.
There is something particularly distasteful about the breakdown of
trust between two parties who after the 2008 election had proclaimed
themselves great allies. The disintegration of this friendship has been bitter
but what is sadder still is that this has happened even as Pakistan
lurches from one crisis to another. There is nothing wrong with having
differences of opinion. But what we need right now is some degree of
cooperation among our top leaders, a readiness to put the concerns of their
country beyond their own interests, and a willingness to jointly explore
means to recover from what is a truly precarious situation. Exchanging
accusations will not help resolve these issues or create the calmer climate we
need for this to happen.
Dr Qaisar Rashid talked about the dream of civilian supremacy. One
of the main hindrances on the path to civilian supremacy in practical
terms is an indulgence of politicians of all hues in corrupt practices
one of the greatest weaknesses of the political institution. Corruption spawns
inequities in society and is therefore despised by everyone. That is why
corrupt politicians are reviled and consequently they lose support in public.
The malpractice of misappropriation of national funds for the growth of one
someones personal bank accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere undermines
the credibility of politicians and they are believed to be unable to run
countrys affairs. The weakness of one institution as a result of corruption
becomes the strength of another. When the army meddles in the political
domain on the pretext of saving the country from corrupt politicians, people
heave a sigh of relief.
Under the present government, the National Accountability
Bureau has been deliberately defanged. Presently, there is neither a
chairman of NAB at the centre nor a director general in the regional office of
Rawalpindi. Shirking responsibilities of this sort is tantamount to
encouraging corrupt practices in society and discouraging anti-corruption
forces. Consequently, the political institutions will become still weaker than
they are, and could offer a justification for another military intervention.
Another obstacle is the lack of democracy at the grassroots level.
Ironically, the local government system is not being practiced by the present

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democratic government. People cannot prize democracy if they dont get

involved in the system and figure out the worth of democracy. Nawaz Sharif
stumbled and fell owing to that reason. For example, during his second stint
as prime minister, he did not hold local body elections. As a result, when he
was overthrown, people had no platform from which to express solidarity
with him, even if they had wanted to do that, and voice their opposition to
the abrogation of the Constitution.
The democratic value of the local government system is not being
realized by the present government either. The government of the PPP is
perhaps overconfident as a result of its success in dealing with the NRO
tangle. The country is in critical need for reforms. The army should be made
accountable to parliament and directly answerable to people in the court of
law. But if parliament protects corrupt politicians and denies basic
democracy to people, the dream of civilian supremacy cannot be realized.
Next day, The News wrote: Its now official: the PPP and the PMLN have returned to the zero-sum view of politics they shared in the
1990s There is no doubt that Zardari should not be the one to defend the
PPP against Nawazs onslaught. This is an insult to the chair of the
president, which is a symbol of the federations unity. It also brings into
focus Zardaris lack of respect for the court ruling against using the platform
of president to work for partisan political purposes. It is also unbecoming of
the president to publicly defend the military against allegations. As for the
PML-N, their claim of being engaged in principled politics rings somewhat
hollow and there are several indications that the Sharifs are in the business
of politics to win. In the last days of the Musharraf regime, the happy
coincidence of smart politics and principles helped the Sharifs ride a wave of
populist support back into power. By opposing a deeply disliked Musharraf
and supporting an intensely popular chief justice, they succeeded in
becoming heroes while playing politics.
But once in power, the reality check of office always sounds its
knell. Even today, much of the PML-Ns criticism of the PPP is valid also
for the Punjab government: an autocratic leader; fiscal mismanagement;
inability to provide basic services, rampant crime; and so on. The PML-N,
therefore, may also want to look within before it takes digs at the PPP, even
if much of the criticism may be well deserved. The public is by now wearily
familiar with both parties bags of tricks. It may be time to embrace maturity
at a moment of great threat to the state itself. As the third transition to
democracy draws closer to its end, our leaders must not forget that what the

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people have given them, the people can take away unless they put the
peoples concerns above their own interests.
Dr Muzaffar Iqbal opined: As the two main political parties of
Pakistan sharpen their teeth, dulled by greed and mutual bargaining, let it be
said once again that it is too late to fool people; there have been noora
kushtis one too many for people to take the current reciprocal diatribes as
anything but false. The lions of Punjab and Sindh may rest assured that they
might be the only contenders in the ring, but those who hopelessly watch
them cannot take their fight seriously. If the gallery is full, it is not because
people are genuinely interested in their rotten politics; it is just because
Pakistanis have not lost their hunger for superficial fun.
The performance of Nawaz Sharif, now on his first leg of Azad
Kashmirs tour, is so poor that one cannot even be amused. It is as if one
is listening to a broken record filled with self-pity, defeatism, selfconstructed past glories, repeated apologies to the army (I am not criticizing
anyone), repeated mention of what he thinks he achieved during his previous
stints, and helpless pleas to be given a chance once again.
Nothing concrete comes out of these speeches. There is no indication
of a policy whether foreign or domestic that he intends to implement if
he comes into power. There is no indication of how he will tackle problems
faced by the country, such as power shortage, poverty, corruption. There is
nothing, except empty rhetoric filled with self-pity: my heart aches, my
heart aches about Pakistan! Ache it may, but that is not what a politician is
supposed to be telling his audience, gathered from here and there in busloads
to listen to him.
Pity the nation has nothing but these nauseating faces that have
destroyed Pakistan through mismanagement and corruption for as long as
one can remember. The ruling party has nothing different to offer.
Comfortably enjoying its secure position in the absence of any real
opposition, it has no fear from any quarter, at least not until the next general
elections when unpredictable results may rock the boat. But until then, all is
well. The presidency has a full grip on the party, the parliament, the senate
and the sheepish elected members of the two houses. Those who could not
stand the corruption and feudal control left. The smoothly oiled machinery is
yielding what it was primed for.
The boss is happy as well, despite his little uproar over the May 2 nd
drama. Actually, the Americans never had it so good: a political setup so
fine tuned to the dictates of its wishes that it does not even need to send its
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emissaries on urgent missions; a military fully supportive of the idea of a

long-term American presence in the region. Thus configured, the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan is rolling along at full speed toward its disastrous
future
There is no ray of hope in this gloomy scenario. Carefully
considered, the situation seems to be a direct result of lack of genuine
leadership in Pakistan. This has been the case since 1948, a long and
barren stretch of time which has shaped the present state of this country and
which continues to shape its future. There is not even a process through
which a new generation of leaders can come to the forefront. All avenues
have been suffocated. The only possibility to salvage the situation is a
violent reawakening of masses through desperation, but even that scenario is
only remotely possible since masses are struggling to merely survive.
Survival has been made difficult by successive military and civil
regimes. The middle class has all but disappeared and there is an increasing
gap between those who have and those who do not. The wretched and the
poor are dispossessed to such an extent that they do not even have a
consciousness of what they are dispossessed of; such is the scale of
Pakistans tragic millions. There is not even a poet left to say, with
dismay: this is not the dawn for which we had hoped for, as one from the
previous generation was able to say. In the absence of even a poetic protest,
one can only hope for miraculous resurrection and awakening, a possibility
that keeps ones hopes alive to some extent, even if it is not grounded in any
rational consideration.
Mir Adnan Aziz wrote: Indeed, we all know about the malaise that
plagues us. Our sin is that we have accepted the same. We keep asking
ourselves what the solution to our problems is. But the issues at hand are not
so complex as to baffle an ordinary mind. What solution does one need to
perform a given task with honesty and responsibility? What enables those
who act otherwise to survive and thrive? Those who plunder the country go
to extraordinary lengths to provide for and protect their kith and kin. On
an individual level we seek the best for ourselves. Just imagine the due
diligence that goes in tying a nuptial knot or other facets of our personal
lives. What makes us elect a known cheat to public office and why do those
in positions of power or otherwise bypass everything humane in matters that
affect the country or society at large?
An independent election commission is a precondition for fair
participative elections. We have a political system that was spawned by the

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infamous NRO. We allowed it to happen; that was our greatest undoing. The
election that culminated in the fox guarding the hen-house had a staggering
37.18 million (45.67 percent) bogus votes out of a total of 81.21 registered
ones. This is apart from fake degrees and false asset declarations. Expecting
anything else than corruption and cronyism from the resulting entity is, if
anything, a fallacy. Monetary and intellectual corruption has been the bane
of every society. Our country falters because we have allowed it to triumph.
Legislature is a fundamental component of democracy. How can a
parliament lacking the capacity to monitor the executive or influence
policies be deemed democratic? A strong opposition signifies a strong
political system. With all the political parties sharing power, parliament is
left totally devoid of the necessary checks and balances. Our political
opposition has played, if not more, then at least an equally dubious role in
ensuring the present pathetic state of affairs. Another crucial factor, the
judiciary, has a constitutional jurisdiction to ensure fundamental rights and
hold public officers accountable. In our democracy, the executive has flouted
almost every Supreme Court decision.
All signs point to a disastrous continuation even after the next
election. The manipulation of the system has been more blatant than ever
before; our collective apathy ensures the same. It is only when each and
every single one of us thinks of himself as a precipitator of this malaise and
works towards undoing the same, that we shall see change. Lament, ad
nauseum as it may sound, is an attempt to needle nationalism, evoke
empathy, awareness and responsibility; if a shred survives somewhere within
us all.
On 27th June, The News commented on Chief Justices statement
about the need to improve performance of lower courts. At the moment, the
long delays, corruption in the running of the courts and a lack of
adequate supervision means that litigants mistrust the lower courts and
faith in the countrys judicial system remains low. This, of course, is one
reason why we have so many appeals to the higher courts, overburdening the
Supreme Court and making it more difficult for the institution to function
effectively. During this important meeting, the chief justice gave many
examples of cases that had been pending for years, including that of the rape
of a girl that had not been settled in six years. This factor is, of course, the
main feature of the reason for peoples dissatisfaction with the process of
justice and their failure to gain access to it in all too many cases.

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One problem has been that in the past too little attention has been
directed to this issue. As a result, things have gone from bad to worse over
the years. The lack of faith in the system of justice is one reason why we
see a descent into chaos with people resorting to mob justice in various
places. There have been numerous incidents of this, with suspected criminals
being brutally punished by people who perhaps fear there is no other way to
save themselves from robbery and other crime. The increase in verdicts
delivered by jirgas is also a problem that arises from this, resulting in a
situation where barbaric judgments are meted out more and more frequently.
Things cannot continue as they are. For this reason, it is good news that the
chief justice has put the issue so high on the list of priorities and seems to be
doing everything within his power to bring in genuine change. Most people
who deal with the courts do so at the lowest levels, and it is from here that
change must start. Things will not alter overnight. But the commitment
shown to bringing reform will in time yield results. This is why the process
initiated is so important and the chief justices commitment to it so
significant.
Jamil Nasir commented: The anti-corruption strategy needs to be
multi-pronged and should essentially include elements like improving
economic governance, deregulation, simplification of procedures, egovernance, civil service reforms, a strengthened auditor general office with
major focus on systems and performance audit and tackling corruption, a
strong, autonomous, competent and politically non-partisan accountability
agency to investigate and prosecute corruption, a public information
campaign against corruption, and above all whistle-blowing legislation.
Whistle-blowing is emerging as an effective tool to fight against
corruption. Countries around the globe are developing legal regimes that
encourage good faith whistle-blowing against corruption, and protect
whistle-blowers from retribution. Article 33 of the UN Convention against
Corruption mandates that each party shall consider incorporating into its
domestic legal system appropriate measures to provide protection against
unjustified treatment for any persons, who report in good faith and on
reasonable grounds to the competent authorities any facts concerning
offences established in accordance with this Convention.
It is a matter of fact that the first person who notices the act of
corruption, mismanagement or patronage is generally the guy who either
works inside the organization or is directly associated with such an
organization. Employees of an organization are better placed to raise their
concerns about corruption but at the same time, they are the biggest losers
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when it comes to disclosing such goings on, particularly if they are not
backed by legal protection.
The fear of retribution becomes a big hurdle in their disclosure. If the
law gives the whistle-blowers confidence and security, corruption can be
confronted from the inside of the organizations as well. Such an approach
will essentially be proactive as alarm bells will ring before acts of corruption
actually take place.
Unfortunately, the inside and proactive approach has not properly
been experimented with in our country. A lack of inside involvement in
implementing the anti-corruption strategy, in a sense, denies organizations
vital opportunities to deal with the problem of corruption before it causes
real damage.
Asif Ezdi saw Nawaz Sharif caught in a time warp. In an unusual
reversal of roles, which is not easy to explain, the PML-N has emerged in
recent months as the main critic of the countrys military leadership.
Criticism of the militarys role in the countrys domestic politics is of course
justified and necessary. A military dictator who topples a civilian
government is guilty of high treason and must be brought to justice under
Article 6 of the Constitution. Nawaz Sharif is therefore absolutely right in
demanding that Musharraf stand trial for having subverted the Constitution.
But some of Nawazs recent utterances in which he has implicitly
held the military responsible for the history of confrontation between
Pakistan and India betray a poor understanding of the dynamics of the
relations between the two countries and raise doubts about his suitability
to hold the office of prime minister for a third time as he aspires to. It will
suffice to mention three of these statements:
First, in a press conference in Karachi on May 16, Nawaz was quoted
as saying that Pakistan must stop treating India as its biggest enemy.
Second, in a speech given in Lahore on June 10, he said that the army
must give up its India-centric obsession. (This is also what Obama
said last month).
Third, in a speech at Bagh on June 22, Nawaz said that Vajpayee had
assured him in Lahore in 1999 that the Kashmir issue would be
resolved within the year, but the effort failed after Musharraf launched
his ill-fated adventure in Kargil.

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Nawaz clearly needs a refresher course in history. He seems to

have forgotten that it is India, not Pakistan, which is in illegal occupation of
Kashmir and that it was also India which imposed the 1971 war under a
carefully prepared plan to break up Pakistan. Musharrafs Kargil adventure
was of course a huge folly but Nawazs belief that Vajpayee was willing to
settle the Kashmir issue on any terms other than the territorial status quo
also has no relationship with reality.
Nawaz seems to be caught in a time warp. His point of reference
for everything is 1999 when he was deposed from power. This is also
evident from his oft-repeated boast that he conducted nuclear tests in 1998
despite massive international pressure. That is true, but it is history. The
challenge Pakistan faces now is getting access to peaceful nuclear
technology as India has got and which is being denied to us by Washington
at Indias behest. But Nawaz seems to be unaware of this vitally important
issue. At least he has not raised it in any of his meetings with visiting US
officials.
Nawaz Sharif claims to have learnt from his past mistakes. But it
seems that he has not learnt enough. In his public speeches, he has not
spoken once about the major obstacles to the countrys development and
progress: a broken education system, galloping population growth,
unchecked environmental degradation and a ruling elite that does not pay
taxes. Clearly, he has a lot to learn.
Next day, The News commented: Whatever the PPP may have
gained in the AJK elections, it has apparently lost on the national scene
with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement finally quitting the federal and
provincial governments. The seriousness of the move although questioned
by many analysts and seen by observers with skepticism, and not without
reason was evident in the resignation of the longest-serving governor of
Sindh, the MQMs Dr Ishratul Ebad. The MQM has come to this breaking
point rather late in the day. It enjoyed the fruits of power for over three
years, both at the Centre and in Sindh. It had a strong say in many matters
and the climax was reached when it forced the controversial Dr Zulfikar
Mirza, Sindh home minister at that time, out of the cabinet. The PPP showed
a lot of tolerance keeping the MQM in the alliance then. On its part the
MQM also showed extraordinary patience by sticking with President Zardari
though they were duped on various issues that also included the holding of
local bodies elections. Are the AJK polls the proverbial final straw? The
MQMs decision this time does appear to be final; Altaf Hussain has
described it as the beginning of the end of the PPP government. Though
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President Zardari and Interior Minister Rehman Malik may still make some
cosmetic moves to persuade the MQM to review its decision, the chances of
this happening now appear to be few as the PPP and Zardari seem to have
decided to say goodbye to the MQM, rather than the other way round.
For months the PPP had been cementing its ties with the MQMs
opponents in Karachi and the ANPs senior leader Haji Adeel may have let
the cat out of the bag when, minutes after the MQMs decision, he said it
was all about Karachi, its local bodies polls, the fresh delimitation of
constituencies and the larger issue of who would control Karachi. There
have been reports that, on a deeper level, a tactical alliance between the ANP
and the well-trained cadres of Amir Khans Mohajir Qaumi Movement may
be in the offing after the leader surrendered to Altaf Hussain. It appears that
at this point when Zardari feels he has touched his zenith in political trickery
and is floating high in the sky with a demoralized army establishment, a
scattered opposition, a strong backing from Washington, a conglomerate of
opportunists gathered under his wings to provide him with the numbers in
parliament and the upcoming Senate election in his grip he can dump those
who have irritated him.
Yet the MQMs decision, if it holds, may offer other forces a
chance to realign themselves. The voices from the PML-N heard after the
MQMs announcement are mellow and suggestive. A breakdown of law and
order in Karachi, if it happens as it is feared, may provide the establishment
with another opportunity to reassert its role. Further provocations by the PPP
like reappointing Dr Zulfikar Mirza and his likes in Sindh could lead to
emotions flaring up. Any crackdown on the MQM may become a launching
pad for the opposition to cause enough turmoil on the streets for the
government to start shaking. All this would fit in with the strategy of those
who do not want the PPP to sail through the Senate elections in March and
grab a two-thirds majority. It is time for all to take cautious steps and tread
very carefully as an overconfident PPP government, backed by a meek and
embarrassed establishment, may tend to overstep its bounds. At the same
time, it has to be said that a dictatorial regime in the garb of a democratic
setup does little to serve democracy and those who do not believe in the
system of checks and balances may ultimately find the ground cut from
under their feet.
On 29th June, The News commented: For a country thats already
confronting innumerable domestic crises and mounting pressure from the
West to do more against extremists, - an effort that requires consensus and
joint endeavours above all - instability and fission on the political front
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doesnt ring well. Already, the PML-N has expressed hope that the MQM
will join it in collectively challenging the AJK election results. While the
prime minister has argued on several occasions that the time for midterm
polls is long gone, the PML-N sees the latest developments as a fresh
opening to call for early elections. Imran Khan has also launched a campaign
to remove the government while the ANP has boycotted the National
Assembly and Senate over the PPPs sidelining of the party in the KP
government. Even if the PPP government survives these myriad assaults, the
fate of Project Democracy hangs by a thread. It is this fate that the custodian
of the transition to democracy, the PPP, seems to care the least about.
Mohammad Malik wrote: The popular perception holds that right
now the armed forces are too deep in the hole to even think about any
desperate action. The series of humiliating professional lapses have
devastated their public image. Their civilian supreme commander, no matter
how controversial, is one tricky variable and not someone to be taken or
dealt with lightly. The US is no longer the good old buddy and wants the
defence establishment to change according to Washingtons wishes. The USled world opinion hardly appears in the mood to brook any adventurism
because foreign leaderships have a lot at stake directly in this theatre, both in
terms of financial and energy interests, but also taxing political
consequences in their own electorates. The economy is in a shambles and
with the current economic czars there is no danger of it improving in the
short term. Once again: is the military possibility now an impossibility?
Contrary to the prevailing perception, we were never closer to a
forced round of a khaki-inspired solution to the myriad problems being faced
by the country. The khaki and civilian minds think differently. What were
unforgettable incidents for us civilians are mere tactical failures at the end of
the day for the army, which need to be assessed and factored for in the
future. For the strategist, these are transitory in nature regardless of their
immense short-term fallout. Official statements coming out of corps
commanders meetings reflect the growing sense of the us-them syndrome.
Background interviews with the top brass reveal a sense of hurt at
being ...viciously attacked by the politicians and the media at a time when
thousands of us are laying down our lives. Do you know that since OBL, 28
young officers have already been martyred in anti-militant operations? You
guys have treated us worse than the Americans, as one highly emotional top
general put it.
The army chief will either have to do something historic to justify
his historic extension in office or be relegated to a position of shame
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amongst his peers. The armed forces have been hit as an institution and
desperately need the revival of their image, and will definitely want to retake
their traditional position in the power equation. The situation is fast
evolving. The executive is already flaunting the orders of the Supreme Court
and will definitely not obey any major orders on matters of significance,
such as the NRO. Judicial mayhem is on the cards. Nobody has the numbers
to democratically vote out the extremely corrupt and overbearing federal
government or for that matter those ruling the roost in Punjab and KhyberPakhtunkhwa. So how do you stop the pillage of national wealth? The
economy is in its death throes and the present ruling dispensation does not
have the ability to change its course. We are looking at disastrous inflation
and unemployment down the road. Political forces are fighting it out for
power and not for the people (the surprising MQM split is hardly
surprisingly for the power corridors).
On 1st July, Harris Khalique wrote about Karachi. The MQM gets
angry with its senior coalition partner on some administrative step it
takes that goes against the MQMs interest or some unfulfilled promise
that was made by the PPP high command when it wooed the MQM back into
the coalition at some point or in the present scenario the postponement of
elections for Azad Jammu and Kashmir legislative assembly on the two
refugee seats in Karachi that were bagged by the MQM during the previous
elections.
However, the actual issue remains the turf war in Karachi between
the MQM, PPP and ANP with the issue of the administrative division of
Hyderabad also tagged along. At times it becomes latent but continues to
be the main apple of discord between the MQM and its political adversaries.
The PPP enjoys support among the citizens of all ethnic and linguistic
denominations but its definite electoral support comes from the Baloch,
Sindhi and Katchi communities in the city.
Some crime rings in places like Lyari and Malir also take refuge in
the PPP folds. But there are other constituencies as well where a large
number of those who speak Urdu, Punjabi and Gujarati as their first
languages would vote for the PPP. A fresh delimitation of constituencies
will increase the PPP seats and consequently its power in the
metropolis
The real power that the MQM enjoys is not supported by
demographics anymore if we compare it with the late 1980s. There are a
host of reasons for that. Rural-urban migration and comparatively small

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family sizes of middle and lower-middle class urban supporters of the MQM
being the first two. The MQM continues to draw power from its ability to
bring city life to a halt through its rank and file that consists of armed and
cantankerous youth.
The MQM has to revise its political paradigm if it is really serious
about countrywide politics. Sitting in opposition as a genuine political party
for a change and acting as one rather than behaving like a militant pressure
group would do it good in the long run.
Ayaz Amir observed: Those in the business of politics and politics
is the foremost passion in the Islamic Republic, that and the drumbeats of
false piety have to realize one thing: wishes, alas, are not horses. And
merely expressing the wish for change is not going to deliver it. The
political class, if it is so keen about it, will have to work for change. But
there are precious few signs of anything along those lines happening.
The PML-N was the party in waiting. It is still the party in waiting.
But to enter the lists next year and grab the prize on offer it will have to
put things together. What will be its clarion call, the bugle it will sound? It
has to go to the electorate with something compelling. A one-point agenda of
Zardari-baiting this is my feeling, and I could be wrong is not likely to
be enough.
After all, having been in office in Punjab it is its performance
there that will count. What has it to show for itself? This is the challenge
before it: putting together a stirring election narrative, something that
touches people, making them think daring thoughts.
How much of a factor will Imran Khan be? More and more people
predict that the young are going to root for him. Perhaps they will, because
the established parties and let me not name names have engendered a
sense of weariness and anger. I keep meeting people who shake their heads
and say that the burger crowd in cities denizens of Defence, etc. will go
Imran Khans way. But does he really have that spark which will set
people on fire? Will electable candidates gather around him? Looking
angry and always looking angry is one thing, but then you should also have
something to say...something beyond the regular broadsides against
corruption and its attendant ills.
If the president has to be beaten at his own game, his opponents
will have to be smarter than him. It has not paid to underestimate him. It
will not pay merely to mutter imprecations against him. The arrows shot at
him have done him little harm. Some sharper ones have to be found.
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If a week is a long time in politics, three-and-a-half years in

power in the context of Pakistani politics is almost an eternity. Powerful
governments with convincing majorities have not been able to last as long.
What we are seeing is a party with no majority in the National Assembly
cobbling together the most unlikely alliances and sticking to power.
There is not much on the credit side of the PPP government but
sometimes, when the odds are stacked against you, mere survival
becomes the highest virtue. Would anyone two years or a year ago have
given the president the ability to complete his term? But on this score, if no
other, he has proved his detractors wrong. This must be taken into account
when we take stock of the current situation or lay any bets on the shape of
things to come next year.
The past, in one crucial respect, has already been stood on its head.
Who could have thought that of all the forces on earth the PPP, historically
an anathema for the armed forces, would emerge as the foremost defender
and champion of the army and what we call the agencies? Time was when it
was rumoured about Gen Kayani that he was averse to meeting the Supreme
Commander alone, without witnesses. How distant that time seems. I know
this is pretty depressing stuff. But the point is worth repeating that mere
frothing at the mouth is of little use in this most practical and merciless
of games called politics.
Next day, The Nation commented: The prices of fuel and natural gas
seem to be at cross-purposes with each other. While the Oil and Gas
Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has recommended a cut of oil prices
domestically, which is supposed to reflect the decline in prices on the
international market, the government seems bent upon taking back with one
hand what it is giving with the other. This is by virtue of the raise it is
planning for gas, even though the government itself had linked gas prices to
international oil prices. It makes no sense to raise gas prices when oil
prices have gone down. It makes no sense at all when international gas
prices have also gone down, as they have by $61 per ton. The proposed
increase would be gradually, with an increase of 10-15 percent for domestic
consumers, 15-20 percent for commercial consumers and 100 percent for
fertilizer factories. As fertilizer production is, perhaps, what is keeping the
economy afloat, such a step would either mean a direct increase in the cost
of agricultural products across the board, or a collapse of production if the
farmer tried to avoid fertilizer.

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It should be kept in mind that Pakistans agriculture has meant that

we are able to feed ourselves. If it was lowered because farmers found
fertilizer too expensive to apply, that ability to feed itself would be
compromised. Another result would be the climbing of prices. Millions
more people would slip into poverty as a result of loss of food security. With
elections looming, the IMF, which proposed the policy in the first place,
would hope that a government anxious to avoid this would be more
amenable to US demands, on the excuse that its support was essential at
international finance institutions, especially those belonging to the
Washington Consensus.
The government should ensure that reductions in fuel prices are
followed by those in fares, both inter-city and intra-city, not to mention other
transport fares. If it does not do so, the transporters will merely earn
abnormal profits, leaving the inflationary effects of past raises where they
are. Under the circumstances, it must pay attention to the ordinary citizen,
who is also a voter, and protect his interests. That would mean keeping gas
tariffs under check, and rolling back the inflationary effects of previous oil
price increases. Instead of doing so, the government hopes to do what it
has not for more than a year and satisfy the IMF, and for which it plans
to raise electricity tariffs yet again. Apart from helping solve the national
economic problem, this would help restore national independence.

REVIEW
Naudero is the base of Zardaris political power and within that
Bhutto familys graveyard in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh is the secret of his
political prowess. He is fully cognizant of this fact and that is why he, like a
seasoned majawar, ensures performance of rituals of an Urs on every
birthday and death anniversary of his wife and her father.
He was there on 58th Birthday of his wife. This years ritual, however,
was markedly different from the previously held functions in Naudero. The
man, who used to go there to complain about sounds of boots he heard and
the bayonets he saw in dreams, this time, began with donating blood for
Army personnel, though no general was reported wounded on battle front.
Having done that, next day he turned his guns against the critics of his
new-found love for the generals. Some observers noted that Zardaris
outburst against critics was the result of General Kayanis personal request

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for political support for the Army which had been subjected to severe
criticism of late.
It meant that the Army, which had been feared by corrupt politicians,
was now seeking shelter behind the Don of the corrupt. Zardari relished
extending protection to generals; it was indeed a feat never performed by a
politician in the history of the country. Nisar was wrong in congratulating
Army for having new spokesman; Zardari was defender of the Defenders of
Pakistan.
After getting into the shoes of de-juro as well as de-facto Supreme
Commander of armed forces of Pakistan he looked around the arena if there
was any adversary was still standing on his feet and needed to be floored by
him. He could spot only two; some sections of the media and the PML-N.
He ridiculed both of them.
His verbal outburst was more like that of boxers who do so at the
weighing-in ceremony. The Scoundrel had all the intent to maintain his
winning streak. The first round of his next bout with PML-N began with
AJK polls and as was expected of him he performed well in that round not
withstanding the indulgence in foul play.
AJK polls were indicative of what would happen in next general
elections in Pakistan. Some of the likely features as displayed in these polls
would be seen at a much larger canvas. The Scoundrel would feel no shame
in cheating forming alliances and betraying. He wont spare anyone as he
didnt spare MQM in AJK polls.
Election commission will continue acting as stooge of the forces in
power, thus allowing continuation of malpractices. It is not expected to bring
any change that would help holding free and fair polls. It wont even update
the voters lists and thereby deny the unpredictable youth the right to vote.
The political culture would show no signs of refinement. The electoral
norms would remain unchanged ensuring the same people entering
assemblies; only the doors used could be different. The only expected
change would be that tempers would be very high next time.
The Scoundrel would use his political acumen to produce favourable
results as he did through using Manzoor Wattoo in AJK polls. For similar
ends in Punjab, the rumours about Parvez Elahi replacing Gilani as Prime
Minister could be translated into news as Zardari is capable of surprising
everyone on the pretext of reconciliation.

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The philosophy of reconciliation does not always mean

reconciliation, but it certainly has the designs to the contrary. Parvez Elahis
appointment as Prime Minister would be intended to create problems for
PML-N in forthcoming polls and driving a permanent wedge between two
major factions of Leaguers.
4th July, 2011

ODD COUPLES
After February 2008 polls many Pakistanis wished patch-up between
PML-N and PML-Q so that two-party system could take roots for political
stability in the country. That wish did not materialize primarily due to
Nawaz Sharifs uncompromising attitude.
Zardari was conscious of this possibility and he pre-empted it by
seducing PML-N to join federal government. To this end he also distanced
PPP from PML-Q by calling it Qatal League, though under NRO deal
facilitated by the US he was obliged to accommodate PML-Q in coalition
government along with MQM and ANP.
Because of the bitterness so created no one could ever think of PPP
and PML-Q sitting together on treasury benches. Similar impression already
existed about PML-N and MQM, because Nawaz Sharif had suggested in
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London APC not to form any alliance with MQM for what this party had
done on May 12, 2007.
Therefore, PPP-PML-Q and MQM-PML-N equations had become
two glaring impossibilities in Pakistani politics. Yet, three years later
Pakistanis have seen the impossible happening. The credit of making these
odd couples belonged solely to the evil genius of Zardari.
The aim of all these making and breaking has been to find a suitable
combination (coalition) to defy the superior judiciary that has been giving an
impression to punish the corrupt political leaders. Zardari at last found the
best partner in PML-Q and the two have now joined hands to keep the
judges under thumb.

NEWS
On 4th July, Shahbaz held meeting with Farooq Sattar in London and
Ishaq Dar met Ebad in Dubai. Gilani said grand alliance would be no threat
to his government; he held a meeting with Shujaat and vowed to maintain
contact with MQM. Pakistani politicians converged on to London; entire top
leadership of MQM and Shahbaz, Chaudhry Nisar and Rana Sana were
there. Fazlur Rehman, Rehman Malik and Dr Asim will soon be there while
Zardari was already there.
Zafar Qureshi investigating NICL scam was suspended after a
meeting of PML-Q with Rehman Malik; the officer was transferred back to
his post only a day before in pursuance of orders on the Supreme Court.
Inquiry has been ordered against him for giving statement to media. PML-Q
was gaining maximum advantage of the situation created by the exit of
MQM from ruling coalition.
ECP informed the apex court that 37 million fake voters were
removed from the lists and the court ordered preparations of new list with
photographs by the end of this year. Election Commission of AJK
announced polls on Karachi seats on 20 th July and SHC disposed off the
petition of MQM.
The Supreme Court summoned Rana Sana on Babar Awans petition.
IHC ruled that persons having dual citizenship could not contest
parliamentary elections and directed for necessary legislation. Rally
demanding rights for Mianwali turned violent. Protesters snatched weapons
from Police that in turn opened fire; two people were killed and DCO was
among 22 wounded. State Bank asked government to contain borrowing.
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Next day, the judge of the Banking Court ordered recording of the
statement of the manager of Moonis Elahi, who refused and defence counsel
supported his act. This led to exchange of hot words between the judge and
defence lawyers. The judge refused to hear the case and sent it to LHC and
Moonis to sub-jail. Outside the court Shujaat cried of victimization and
termed Zafar a mere stooge. Nawaz mulled special NA session on NICL
scam. Gilani ruled out government-Supreme Court row over Zafar.
Sharjeel Memon submitted his reply in contempt case; showing all the
arrogance and defiance at his disposal he refused to apologize for what he
did. PPP observed Black Day to condemn military coup of 1977. PML-N
MNA, Anjum Akeel fled abroad with the help of police to avoid arrest over
Police Foundations land scam. Death toll reached four in Mianwali and
strike was called off after negotiations. Fifteen people were killed in Karachi
and authorities banned pillion riding.
On 6th July, the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of Zafar
Qureshis suspension and transfer of four FIA officers, who assisted him in
investigations of NICL case, to far flung areas. Attorney General was
directed to appear before the court on 7 th July with necessary information
about suspension of Zafar and transfer orders of four officers. Nawaz said
government was making mockery of court orders and Zardari was following
Musharrafs footsteps.
PML-N and MQM joined forces against the ruling coalition; the
decision was taken in a meeting between delegations of two parties led by
Ishaq Dar and Haider Abbas Rizvi. Shah Mahmood Qureshi met Nawaz and
the two leaders agreed to maintain contact.
Speaking at seminar on de-radicalization in Mingora Gilani said
establishment has been with government since 2008. General Kayani said
Army is answerable to people and Parliament. Reportedly, PPP was still
trying to woo back MQM and Zardari was in contact with Ebad. Twenty-two
more people were killed in Karachi; Qaim Ali Shah ordered stern action
against violators of law.
Next day, 45 people were killed in Karachi bringing the death toll to
77 in last three days. MQM leaders said partys activists were being
punished for quitting the government and joining Opposition; police and
Rangers were being blamed for inaction. The party decided to hold protest
rally on Friday and transporters announced strike.
Zardari called for meeting on law and order and sent Rehman Malik to
Karachi. He announced surgical operation soon after his arrival at the airport
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and vowed to foil any attempt to topple the democratic government. He

announced induction of 0ne thousand FC troops. Police had been already
ordered to shoot at sight. A meeting was held late at night which was
attended by Qaim Ali and Rehman Malik. Earlier Sharjeel Memon asked
Chief Justice as to why he wasnt taking suo moto notice. Nawaz was for
requisitioning NA session.
The Supreme Court directed suspension of any probe against Zafar
Qureshi till further orders and cancellation of transfer of the four officers of
FIA recently posted out to far flung areas. The Chief Justice during the
hearing remarked addressing the Attorney General that the reason behind the
recent actions against FIA officials could be found out by appointing a
judicial inquiry which the government wont like.
The Supreme Court over-ruled the verdict of LHC that had annulled
Haj policy. Another bench disallowed Additional AG to appear on behalf of
Law Minister Rana Sanaa in hearing of Babar Awans petition against him.
In missing persons case the court was informed that Masood Janjua and
Faisal Faraz had been killed by al-Qaeda. PPP Punjab recommended
disciplinary action against Shah Mahmood Qureshi for meeting Nawaz
Sharif without prior permission.
On 8th July, violence escalated from torching of buses and vans to
burning of shops and houses. Residents started fleeing from troubled
localities. MQM cancelled the rally because of the persistent incidents of
firing. Thirty-three more people were killed in Karachi bringing the toll to
110. Rangers launched the much awaited operation and 173 suspects were
held.
Zardari ordered revival of Commissioner System which MQM had
been strongly opposing; ANP welcomed the move. Manzoor Hussain
Wassan was appointed new home minister for Sindh. Rehman Malik
remained in contact with Altaf and Asfandyar. Gilani appealed for calm in
the mega city.
US Ambassador took notice of the bloodshed in Karachi and urged
upon all stakeholders to resolve differences amicably. Imran Khan blamed
PPP, MQM and ANP for killings in Karachi and termed MQM-PML-N
alliance a hoax. PML-N and MQM submitted NA and Senate sessions
requisition jointly.
Imran Khan urged the Supreme Court to hold Prime Minister in
contempt for creating hurdles in court directives. Babar Awan was acquitted
from kidnapping and ransom case after out of the court settlement. Khosa
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ignored CMs nominees for VCs of three public universities. JUI-F hinted at
joining Opposition alliance.
Next day, violence subsided after operation by Rangers and this
respite allowed Rehman Malik yet again to claim victory against enemies
of Pakistan. The death toll reached 119. Zulfikar Mirza was appointed as
senior minister of Sindh. MQM requisitioned Sindh Assembly session.
Wasan asked Rehman Malik to stay away from Karachi. Nawaz backed
Army action.
Six secretaries of Punjab were summoned to give briefing to Governor
on floods, but all of them refused to do so. PML-F joined Sindh government.
Gilani vowed not to let Punjab government fall. PPP won Jaffarabad byepolls for provincial assembly.
On 10th July, Zulfikar Mirza celebrated the first day as senior minister
of Sindh by thrashing a reporter of Geo TV and hurling threats at him. Mirza
reportedly met Afaq Ahmed of MQM in jail and offered him to play the old
role. Qaim Ali said Afaq would join PPP. Five Divisions of Sindh were
revived; MQM vowed to challenge the decision in the court. Telephone lines
of Nine-Zero were disconnected. Seven more people were killed as Karachi
crawled back to normalcy.
Next day, in pursuance of three ordinances issued by acting governor,
Nisar Khoro, commissioners and deputy commissioners were posted in
restored divisions and districts in Sindh. Seven people were killed in
violence in Karachi. MQM office was attacked in Lyari. JI offered help to
PPP in Karachi.
Zardari said all options were open for peace in Karachi except
deployment of Karachi. Rehman Malik said peace has been restored in
Karachi and in future stern action would be taken against those who try to
disturb that. Pir Mazharul Haq asked MQM to stop day-dreaming and stop
crying when no action has been taken so far.
The Supreme Court ordered demotion of 879 police officers who were
given shoulder promotions. Justice Javed Iqbal remarked that political
influence has damaged police force. DG FIA went abroad to evade Supreme
Courts orders for reversion of four investigation officers.
On 12th July, Altaf Hussain accused Zardari regime of conspiring
against Army and ISI in connivance with the US. Shujaat Hussain went to
Nine-Zero, but failed to woo MQM. Price of LPG was increased by Rs18
per kg. Next day, Sindh Assembly passed four bills in no time to entrench

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Commissionery system; the passage was pushed through despite rumpus by

MQM MPAs. Ordinances promulgated by Nisar Khoro were challenged in
the Supreme Court on the plea that Acting Governor could not do so.
The Supreme Court all departmental actions against Zafar Qureshi
and ordered submission of transfer orders for the reversal of four
investigating officers in the court. Secretary Information was also directed to
take notice of the propaganda in the media to defame the judiciary launched
by Chaudhries of Gujarat over NICL case.
After a meeting at Shahi Syeds residence Zulfikar talked to media
men and told that he had met Afaq Ahmed twice and termed a political
prisoner of the stature second only to Zardari and true leader of Urduspeaking people. He called Altaf Hussain a criminal and a killer of hundreds
of people. He also said that prisoners from Karachi were shifted to interior
Sindh on his order.
US diplomats in Pakistan were mobilized to facilitate reconciliation
between PPP and MQM. Rehman Malik said wives and girlfriends have
killed more people that those killed in targeted-killing in Karachi. Governor
State Bank, Shahid Kardar resigned because of government policy regarding
random printing of currency notes.
On 14th July, MQM activists held rallies against Zulfikar Mirza; 14
people were killed and 27 vehicles were burnt in Karachi in the morning.
Rehman Malik tried to defuse the issue by apologizing, but MQM rejected
his apology. It was followed by issue of written statement issued by Zulfikar
in which he regretted if he had hurt anyone; this too was rejected and MQM
asked him and Shahi Syed to leave Karachi within 48 hours.
ANP distanced itself from the statement of Mirza. Zardari summoned
Rehman Malik and Zulfikar Mirza to Presidency. The protests spread to
interior Sindh and Punjab and Balochistan. Altaf Hussain appealed to the
people to return to their homes but not before the toll had reached 15 dead
and 40 vehicles burnt. Video of Zulfikar Mirza was released late at night in
which he apologized in round-about manner.
The Supreme Court gave a day to restore Zafar Qureshi with warning
of terrible consequences. Chief Justice remarked DG FIA violated judicial
order. Khalid Ranjha termed Moonis ad against judiciary. Reportedly, the
regime decided to remove PCO judges as ordered by the Supreme Court.
Next day, Zardari telephoned Altaf Hussain over Karachi violence and
sent special plane to bring Mirza to Islamabad. MQM rejected video taped

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regrets of Zulfikar Mirza. Jiyalas held rallies in support of Mirza. At the end
of day Altaf Hussain assured help to the regime and Zardari warned Mirza.
Observers felt Ishratul Ebad could withdraw his resignation.
PTI slammed Mirza for violence in Karachi. ANP demanded judicial
probe into the violence. Commissionrate system was challenged in the court
and contempt plea against AJK polls postponement was withdrawn.
Meanwhile, MQM decided to support JUI-F for Senates opposition leader.
The government refused to reinstate Zafar Qureshi and Supreme
Court gave another chance up to 17th July. Meanwhile, secretary interior
summoned four FIA officials who had assisted Zafar and was speculated that
they could be pressed to become approvers against him. CM Punjab wrote to
PM for implementation of 18th Amendment. Supporters of Anjum Shakeel
got him freed from police custody in Islamabad; Rehman Malik took notice
and ordered arrest of SP and SHO of Shalimar Police Station.
On 16th July, head of PIA Labour Union, Ahmer Ali Shah (a jiyala),
was among six more people killed in Karachi. Altaf Hussain said Ebads
return would be only under strict conditions and he was still willing to
cooperate with PML-N. PML-N parliamentarian Anjum Aqeel surrendered
at Police Station Kohsar on party pressure; authorities claimed he has been
arrested in pursuance of Rehman Maliks earnest desire to enforce law of the
land.
Next day, eight people were killed in Karachi. Rehman Malik saw
foreign hand behind violence in Karachi and blamed Israeli weapons for
killings in Karachi. He also predicted good news on reconciliation with
MQM soon. PIA flights were disrupted due to strike over killing of its
unions president; a body was formed to nab his killer. Brother-in-law of
Ahsan Iqbal of PML-N was arrested by police in a raid at dance and drink
party in Lahore. Muslim Conference announced support for MQM in polls
for AJKs Karachi seats.
On 18th July, Altaf told Ishrat to go back to Karachi and resume duties
as Governor Sindh in the interest of democracy and national interest. Zardari
thanked Altaf and arranged special plane for Ishrats return from Dubai. The
PPP decided to return the good-will gesture by withdrawing its candidates in
polls for two seats of AJK Assembly from Karachi. Wassan claimed his
dream has come true and Faisal Raza Abdi Ishrat has returned because of the
policy of his leader. Shahbaz Sharif said MQM did what it thought was the
best. Ahsan Iqbal remarked it isnt easy to stay in opposition.

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The Supreme Court sought reaction of Prime Minister and Interior

Minister over that why the court orders were flouted so far in reinstating
Zafar Qureshi heading FIA team probing NICL scam. Chief Justice
reminded Attorney General that the court has been persistently showing
restraint; AG was given one week to submit replies.
Bashir Bilour disclosed that Railways was left with two-day fuel. He
warned that Railways would Insha Allah collapse soon if a reasonable
amount of funds was not provided. Malik clarified his remarks about
Israeli involvement in killings in Karachi. Anjum Aqeel was handed over to
FIA for investigations.
Next day, Hina Rabbani Khar was sworn in as Foreign Minister. The
Supreme Court was informed during hearing of a case that 57 law
practitioner in Rawalpindi Bar held fake degrees; the court sought relevant
record. Petition was filed in SHC for registering FIR against Zulfikar Mirza
for giving a statement that provoked and resulted in killing of 15 people.
Zardari welcomed Ishrat back in Governor House. Ten people were killed in
Karachi.
On 20th July, shifting of prisoners back to Karachi from interior Sindh
was ordered after a meeting of Governor and CM. Zamir Sheikh observed
MQM titanic hitting hard the Zardari iceberg. PML-N issued show-cause
notice to Anjum Aqeel. Latif Khosa got the long sought briefing from
Punjab government. Bashir Bilour got Rs9 billion to accomplish the task in
his hand, i.e. freezing the operations of Pakistan Railways. The government
filed a petition in the Supreme Court regarding appointment of Chairman
NAB.
Next day, Opposition walked out of National Assembly over forced
change of agenda. MQM was allotted opposition seats in Sindh Assembly.
Raza Haroon was designated as opposition leader. PML-N and MQM held
talks in the chamber of Opposition Leaders.
On 22nd July, MQM staged walkout from National Assembly and
Senate over killings in Karachi; ten people were killed and more than thirty
wounded in the morning. MQM leaders said the killing of their workers was
carried out under government supervision and Mirza was running killing
brigades. Siraj Durrani met Governor and asked MQM to rejoin the
government. By the end of the day four more people were killed.
On 23rd July, Zardari formed 4-member committee to hold talks with
MQM and MQM warned against sabotaging peace efforts as 11 more people

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were killed in Karachi. Khosa reciprocated his briefing by approving VCs of

two universities. Musharrafs property details were submitted in ATC.
Next day, 24 more people were killed in Karachi as Ishrat made
contacts with leaders of PPP and ANP to control the violence. Pillion riding
was once again banned as shooting and arson spread to more areas. PPP won
six reserve seats in AJK Assembly and PML-N and Muslim Conference got
one each; MQM supported PPP.
On 25th July, the Supreme Court heard important cases of two scams,
NICL and Haj; neither the viewpoint of Prime Minister was submitted nor
did DG FIA appear as had been ordered by the court. Chief Justice observed
that political defiance of the apex court had begun and he ordered production
of DG FIA in the court duly handcuffed.
The court verdict on Zafar Qureshis suspension was reserved. The
court directed the government to restore previous Haj probe team. The court
also rejected the governments plea seeking more time for the appointment
of NAB Chairman and it virtually ceased to exist.
Police launched house to house search in Malir where 16 people had
been killed in latest violence. The operation was concluded successfully
with arrest of a youth and recovery of a pistol. The violence claimed five
more lives. Zardari chaired a meeting to review law and order situation in
the mega city. Compensation plan for the victims was approved. In the
meeting representatives from Lyari suggested that Bilawal should represent
their constituency instead of Nabeel Gabol which accepted by Zardari
gleefully.
Mohsin, a Don of car-lifters gang, sent an audio tape to Ansar Abbasi
and wished to reveal the names of politicians and government officials
involved in a network spread over Lahore to Peshawar, but only to the Chief
Justice of Pakistan. He is presently in a jail in KPK.
Next day, the bench hearing Haj scam case enquired about the issue of
notification for re-instatement of Hussain Asghar as investigating; Secretary
Establishment, Sohail Ahmad started advancing excuses. Chief Justice
ordered him to present the notification by 11:30 or face the consequences.
When the bench resumed the hearing the secretary presented the notification
and the court ordered DG FIA to facilitate Hussain Asghar to resume
investigations of Haj corruption; the officer had been sent to Gilgit as IG
Police.

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Sohail Ahmad, who had obeyed court orders quite reluctantly, was
made OSD before he reached back his office not too far from the Supreme
Court. Shahbaz Sharif observed that the government was on warpath with
the Supreme Court to hide corruption. Nawaz said the present government is
a threat to the system. Imran Khan condemned government action against
Sohail Ahmad.
PPPs Chaudhry Majeed from Mirpur was elected as new Prime
Minister of AJK. Gilani assured his party MNAs to withhold development
funds of PML-N MNAs. Chief Justice expressed concern over vacant post of
Chairman NAB. Eleven people were killed in Karachi as trio of sponsors of
perpetration of violence vowed to launch peace offensive as desired by the
Don, who had gone to Dubai to celebrate his 56 th birthday. Oxfam warned
that Pakistan was unprepared for flash floods.
On 27th July, the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of punishing
Sohail Ahmad by making him OSD and asked AG to advice Prime Minister
not to resort to defiance of court orders. Chief Justice asked AG to obtain
written reply from the chief Executive. Later, full court meeting was held in
which judges resolved to defend the Constitution.
In turn, PM chaired cabinet meeting in which Babar Awan was
especially invited to brief on legal aspects. Babar emphasized that the
judiciary must remain within limits. The cabinet decided that no one would
be allowed to encroach upon PMs authority. Gilani said those wishing
institutional clash would be disappointed. Imtiaz Safdar Warriach warned
institutions to mend ways.
PML-N held party elections; Nawaz was elected President unopposed
for four years and Javed Hashmi as senior vice president, despite his regrets
to seek any party office because of poor health. After election Nawaz vowed
to fight solo and Shahbaz vowed to crush idols of corruption. Meanwhile,
the government apprehended that Zafar Qureshi could summon the ladies of
Warraich family in NICL scam. Sindh government launched peace drive as
nine more people were killed in Karachi.
Next day, the Supreme Court rejected Prime Ministers request for
more time to submit his reply, however, the court granted last 24 hours. The
Chief Justice asked the government to stop playing hide and seek with the
court over Sohail Ahmads reinstatement. Meanwhile, it was reported that
Hussain Asghar had been ordered by the regime not to leave Gilgit-Baltistan
till 30th July.

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Zardari and Gilani discussed legal issues with coalition partners as

judiciary-government standoff deepened. Reportedly, the regime has decided
to move Parliament over orders of the Supreme Court. Concurrently, the
regime launched Babar Awan on ceasefire mission through backdoor
diplomacy. Presidents of Pakistan Bar and SCBA lined up behind judiciary.
Plot to assassinate Shahbaz Sharif was unearthed. Amir Moqam
agreed to join the cabinet. In his interview to BBC Rehman Malik blamed
Taliban and al-Qaeda for violence in Karachi as five more people were
killed. Samaa TV team was subjected to fire and their vehicle was set on fire
in kati pahari area. PPP, MQM, ANP and almost all the parties condemned
the incident for which Police has accused an ANP-linked group.
On 29th July, the government succeeded in brow-beating the apex
court which once again took refuge behind shelter of judicial restraint. The
Court suspended notification under which Sohail Ahmad was made OSD
and government to reinstate him in seven days or make his proper
adjustment. Despite stepping back, the judges feared strike from the
Parliament and the all of them were told to remain in Islamabad.
A high-level meeting chaired by Zardari and Gilani decided to guard
the government against the judiciarys pressure through the parliament. It
resolved that parliament is the supreme of all the institutions and all efforts
will be directed to ensure its supremacy and strengthen it. Zardari had
convened the meeting ostensibly to discuss political situation in the country,
but it focused on the stand off between the executive and the judiciary.
Asma Jahangir said the judiciary would go to any extent to defend
rule of law. Sardar Yaqoob was elected President of AJK. Babar Awan
promised good news for Saraiki people in the month of Ramazan. Two
lawyers of PML-N were among 11 killed in Karachi.
Next day, Nawaz said the Parliament wont be allowed to be used as
shield to protect corrupt rulers and the government wont be allowed to harm
judiciary. Gilani said we will implement court orders. Chief Justice said
no fear or favour allowed in provision of justice.
Accountability Court quashed SGS case and acquitted all accused in
ARY reference. State Bank reduced interest rate from 14 to 13.5 percent.
Chairman and President of National Bank resigned over corruption
allegations. Seventeen people were killed as PPP and MQM staged joint
peace rally in Karachi. Jang and Geo TV offices were attacked.

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On 31st July, mullas of Qasim Mosque decided at midnight that

Ramazan moon has been sighted and Peshawarites would fat on 1 st August.
Eleven people were killed in Karachi despite the much hyped peace rally;
seven terrorists were held.

VIEWS
On 6th July, TheNation wrote: It is a matter of great shame that the
PPP-led government continues to defy Supreme Court on a variety of
cases. Its recent decision in a string of attacks on the independent character
of the SC has been the suspension of the Additional Director General FIA
Zafar Qureshi who was taking firm action in the NICL scam, had recovered
Rs1.75 billion from the looters and most importantly was leading
investigations in an impartial manner.
The reason given for his suspension was that he had written a letter to
the DG FIA and had asked him to cancel the transfer orders of four officers.
It was charged that the contents of the letter had been disclosed to the media
deliberately. In fact, as explained by him he had only written the letter to DG
FIA and had never tried to politicize the issue. Truth is that the
government has given him marching orders because it does not want the
investigations to go in accordance with rule of law. There have been
reports that the decision to show the door to Mr Qureshi was taken
immediately after Chaudhry brothers meeting with Prime Minister Yousuf
Raza Gilani and Interior Minister Rehman Malik. All this game appears to
be in play to protect Moonis Elahi, who is already in custody and suspected
to be one of the main culprits in the entire scam.
It bears pointing out that the Supreme Court had earlier cancelled the
transfer notification of Mr Qureshi and had ordered him to carry on with the
investigations. Satisfied with his performance, the SC wanted him to take
the investigations to their logical end as quickly as possible. So far three
federal secretaries are in the soup facing contempt of court proceedings,
while DG FIA Malik Iqbal for his brazen act to remove investigation officers
has already been indicted with contempt charges. Indeed one fully agrees
with the argument of the Supreme Court that the main attempt of the
government has been to replace truthful and conscientious officers
carrying out the investigations, with errant ones.
The government will deal a big blow to its credibility and cause a
serious judicial crisis which would be detrimental to democracy as well as
the stability of the present dispensation. The Supreme Court has already told
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the government that its patience was wearing thin and that it wants rule of
law to reign supreme. The government must not forget that it was the same
judiciary that bravely and successfully stood its ground against
manoeuvrings of General Musharraf and came out as a winner. The way
forward lies in respecting its orders.
Next day, TheNation observed: Karachi is still bleeding with no
respite in sight. Men are falling like the withered leaves of trees every day.
Sirens of shuttling ambulances have become a way of life for the
Karachiites. City hospitals are under emergency. Police had failed long since
to control the situation. Even Rangers failed to separate the warring factions
and at times the army had to be called in to stop the bloodshed. Yet the
situation has worsened and every passing day witnesses the situation
deteriorating in what people used to call the city of lights. The key question
to which nobody could find an answer is after all who is responsible for
it? The three main stakeholders, the PPP, the MQM and the ANP have
refused to take any responsibility claiming individually that their party
workers, activists and leaders were being killed. If their claims are to be
believed, then who is behind this destruction? Even if this argument that
those behind all this are Indian RAW, American BlackWater and Xe
Services, the fact remains that they do not use their personnel and those who
carry out the vicious operations are local people.
From sectarian strife to gang wars, from suicide bombings to target
killings and from rioting to night attacks, the situation has come to such a
pass that it is hard to see whether normal political initiative would work.
What is the leadership of PPP, MQM and ANP doing to make this once
peaceful city return to normalcy? How far this blame game would continue
with no solution in sight? Has the federal government done enough to bring
these stakeholders to the negotiating table to ponder the countless killings?
What result could we see of the oft-repeated assurance of peace of Interior
Minister Rahman Malik? So far we have only seen an alarming rise in target
killing incidents. During the past two days well over two dozen innocent
people have been gunned down. The time is running out. The federal
government must act fast and if the solution is to hand over the city to
the army, it must be done.
In another editorial the newspaper added: Since the PML-N has
been in the forefront calling for mid-term general elections, one would
have assumed that its intensified criticism, well deserved no doubt, of the
ruling leadership at the federal level was directed towards that end, and that
the efforts to form a grand alliance of opposition parties was the required
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link in that chain. Mian Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N leader, however, when
giving an exclusive interview to TheNation on Tuesday, discounted that
possibility. He was thinking in terms of a popular movement or an in-house
change to compel the federal government to come to the right path.
Apparently, the decision on which of the two options to adopt would be
taken in consultation with the other parties joining the alliance, if his party
was able to sort out differences with the would-be allies and succeeds in
bringing about that unity.
Both a popular movement and an in-house change have their
own flaws; the former because it would disturb life, setting afoot an
unpredictable and, perhaps, unpalatable chain of events, and in the
conditions of today could even destabilize the country; and the latter because
it would, in the ultimate analysis, result in the formation of another PPP-led
government, with its Co-Chairperson as President. Thus, perhaps, only
change of a few faces operating under the same tutelage!
Instead, one way open to the PML-N and other opposition parties,
which are critical of the government, is to put it under constant pressure in
Parliament through their elected representatives. They should highlight the
evils of corruption flourishing under the patronage of the present
government, its disrespect of institutions like the defiance of the judiciary
and weak-kneed attitude to the defence of our sovereignty on the floor of the
House. Demanding the end of these evils, they should also obtain firm
assurances that the problems of the people would be adequately attended to.
Thus, they stand in much greater chance of ushering in an era of good
governance in the country. And the good omen is that PML-N and MQM
have decided to join hands and work for setting things right through
entirely constitutional means, while sitting on opposition benches.
Another course of action merger of the various factions of the
PML into one party that had been suggested in these columns was,
unfortunately, rejected by Mian Nawaz. Despite the efforts of Pir Pagaro
and the willingness of all other factions, the PML-N had been the only
hurdle to putting that idea into effect. Now, alas, that opportunity has been
lost, as the strains between the PML-Q and PML-N have further developed.
The PML-Q, having been spurned by the PML-N, has joined hands with,
and become part of, the government that Mian Nawaz and his party men are
targeting. In the face of the realities of the present situation, it seems that the
only course that promises a worthwhile change in the government approach
to issues of national importance appears to be persistent parliamentary
debate on these issues.
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Azam Khalil wrote: While planning continues between the leaders of

the opposition parties, it does not mean that the PPP and its coalition
partners are sleeping. For all practical purposes, the government has so
far succeeded in keeping the opposition divided with its policy of
national reconciliation a move that will continue to haunt the opposition
parties, even after the next general elections.
Next, the ruling party has planned to not only unsettle its political
adversaries, but will also ensure that all the strong points available with
the opposition are neutralized before the polling day. To achieve this,
they are planning to establish a new province in Punjab that will seriously
dent the political muscle of the PML-N.
In addition, the PPPs decision not to allow local government
elections in Sindh is bound to take a political toll on the MQM. In case
local government elections are held in Sindh, it would provide a perfect
launching pad to the MQM for the general elections; it is a proposition that
has not been accepted by the party for obvious reasons.
Also, the government may try to redraw the map of certain
constituencies in urban Sindh, which will deprive MQM from the present
advantages that it has in the National Assembly. Besides, it will try to ensure
that the religious parties do not gather on one platform and thus may take the
risk of inviting a few elements to join the PPP before the elections. Left on
their own the religious parties do not command a mass following.
As things stand today, the country will not only witness an extended
political campaign for the elections, but will also see the date being pulled
closer thereby meaning that early elections may be held in Pakistan. The
government will, probably, benefit from this decision because it may not
allow the opposition to be united and become a force to be reckoned with
like when the IJI was formed against the PPP. While the opposition remains
divided, it will be in the governments interest to put its plan in place. That is
to provide relief to the common man and tackle with some pressing
economic problems.
Anyway, the dynamics of general elections guide us that the
government or the opposition may have elaborate plans of their
own. But something extraordinary can take place that may disturb the
scheme of things that are being planned by government and opposition.
It will be up to the entire political leadership in the country to ensure that
things do not get out of hand to an extent where it may become easy for
someone to take advantage of the situation and defeat the democratic forces.
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They must remember that free and fair elections and submission to the will
of the people is a requirement for Pakistans progress. Any force that tries to
ignore or sidetrack this truth will damage the countrys vital interests.
One hopes that in the coming weeks and months the people will not

see an increase in sharp rhetoric by the politicians that will give rise to social
upheaval, since it always carries the potential for intervention by antidemocratic forces that, of course, is not in the interest of the political
parties and the nation.
On 9th July, TheNation commented: Karachi that once throbbed
with life for 24 hours seven days a week was seen deserted in most of the
localities, with an occasional bus plying on their roads and forced to pay the
price for its daring to step out of its terminal, a motorist rushing to the safety
of his home or a vendor of goods desperate to sell his wares but risking his
life for the survival of hungry family. And as the news spread all over the
town, the relatively securer areas witnessed traffic jams, as the people
wanted to make for their homes to escape the trigger happy lot should they
also want to create chaos in their localities as well.
But one wonders why the political stakeholders PPP, ANP and
MQM either wielding power as the ruling parties or carrying the weight
and influence of the opposition, have stood idly by letting the city of lights
fall into complete darkness! The MQMs complaint that its workers are
being targeted as punishment to the party for leaving the government
deserves to be properly probed. The public knows very well that successive
regimes have used this mini-Pakistan as battlefield for years to teach a
lesson to their rivals. President Zardari who has called a meeting to discuss
the situation would only be hearing views what the participants want him to
hear. A meeting of political parties which have stakes in the city must get
together and for the sake of the country bring this mayhem to an end. The
big businessmen are compelled to take their capital elsewhere in the country
or outside Pakistan; a common denizen of Karachi or an ordinary
shopkeeper has no choice but to stay put, as poor Karachi bleeds!
On 15th July, Dr Haider Mehdi observed: The trouble is that
traditional political leadership in the country still suffers from the
psychological ailment of seeking the Wests patronage for its political
existence and they cannot escape from it. When compared to the other
personalities in Pakistani politics, he (Imran Khan) is a saint, the columnist
maintains.

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Imrans rising popularity can be attributed to the fact that he is

not seeking US-Western support and partnership for the success of his
political ascendancy and political agenda: Khan made often pointed and
critical statements on US policy, which he characterized as dangerous and in
need of change in a meeting with former US Ambassador Anne Patterson
last year, reported the Christian Science Monitor. At last, Pakistans
problematic and difficult political process has given birth to a leadership,
which is independent, nationalist, rational and forward-looking, and free of
US-Western bogeymen.
In addition, the PTIs political agenda is being written in bold script
acknowledging the prime importance of the social contract in a democratic
set-up the ultimate goal of serving the masses interests. For the last six
decades, it has been the failed social contract that has plagued
successive political leaderships and consequently failed Pakistan. Now, it is
in this social contract that PTI will have its success and create a
revolutionary democratic Pakistan.
Khurshid Akhtar Khan wrote: The optimists among us opine that we
have reached the rock bottom and the only way now is up. But the public
takes everything lying down waiting for a messiah that may never come.
Nations have to carve their own destiny. It took a few unknown young
people only a few weeks with the help of Twitter to throw out Hosni
Mubarak of Egypt and his decades-old system. It is the people and the
leaders in the Middle East that are waging campaigns to change the system.
Our forefathers secured this homeland through a democratic struggle that
was based on principles, an ideology and a vision for a fair and judicious
system of equal opportunities and rights for all citizens. Our leaders have
consistently failed us. It is time for our people to cease following our
self-styled leaders and commence leading them.
Dr AH Khayal opined: The administrative authorities are in action in
Karachi. But they cannot achieve what only the politicians can collectively
achieve. If the politicians sincerely resolve to establish peace in Karachi,
they do so in a jiffy. But unfortunately, the politicians have themselves been
at war with each other. However, there is a difference between the weapons
used by the Karachians and the weapons used by the politicians. Whereas,
the Karachians use military weapons, the politicians use their tongues as
their weapons.
Sometimes, a politicians tongue fires an abuses-laden missile at his
opponent. To avenge the verbal insult, the opponents tongue fires back

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abuses, which are more corrosive than the abuses he was hit with.
Obviously, if the politicians are fully occupied abusing each other, they
can have no time to bother about Karachi.
During its entire history, Pakistan has had various breeds of
politicians. All these breeds have been utter fiascos. Pakistan desperately
needs a breed of unique politicians, who can pull it out of the well of disaster
into which it has been sinking inch by inch ever since its birth.
On 17th July, TheNation wrote: The reaction of the PML-N leadership
to the forced release of its MNA Anjum Aqeel Khan by his hooligan
supporters from the custody of the Islamabad police The PML-N, which is
second to none in giving tickets to winning horses, has since the last
general election come down heavily on wrongdoers in the ranks of its
parliamentary parties, obtaining the resignations of those found to have fake
degrees, as well as a ladies reserved-seat MPA accused of credit-card fraud.
The party seems to have realized that there is no smoke without fire, and
members exploit their high position for the basest of purposes. This means
that PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharifs statement that the party will not
support criminals makes sense, as does his direction for a party report on
the incident of Mr Anjum Aqeel Khan.
The PPP governments reaction so far does not give any assurance
that this incident will not be used for political persecution. The SP and SHO
have been suspended, and raids are being carried out to get those who helped
Anjum Aqeel Khan escape. This is not a time to carry out partisan revenge,
but to ensure that the supreme national interests are upheld. That means the
PPP should look to its own ranks where it should purge itself of
wrongdoers. If necessary, the cleansing must start from the very top. The
PPP should realize that this lawlessness is the result of the process started
when it began a collective defiance of Supreme Court orders merely to save
individuals from the consequences of their actions and preserve the proceeds
of their corruption.
On 20th July, TheNation commented: The process of the return of the
MQM to the federal and provincial governments started on Monday, after
President Asif Zardari spoke on the phone with MQM chief Altaf Hussain,
with the proposed return of Sindh Governor Dr Eshratul Ebad to his
provincial capital, and to his post The MQM needs to consider the
political wisdom of playing politics while their city is in turmoil. The
MQM must also consider why it has placed itself in the position of the boy
who cried wolf, and how much credibility the PPP will place in any further

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resignations, as it believe that a phone call from the President will win over
Altaf, and thus the party. It is also not known what will be the fate of the
commissionerate system, which the MQM had opposed both while in
government, when it prevented it, and out of government, when it protested
its re-introduction.
Dr Haider Mehdi opined: Pakistan needs to espouse a revolution of
the masses, as in other countries where the people are seeking change,
freedom and social and economic justice. We need to completely disengage
our nation from the politics of status quo and embark on a struggle for
political renaissance, transformation of our political culture, self-reliance
and independence, equality of nations in a global system, economic and
social justice domestically, and an end to state violence, poverty and
deprivations that have been inflicted on common citizens ad infinitum. We
need to create a brave new world of our own, on our own, pushed forward
by an imaginative and visionary political-economic management, dynamic
self-reliant and self-sustained planning, and in constructing a culture of
tolerance, mutual all-inclusive conflict-resolution structures at all levels of
society with peoples socio-political engagement. This is a tall order in
nation building, which is practically outside the domain of ideological
capitalism and the US-Wests promoted politics of status quo (at times
termed political stability) aimed at maintaining the traditional political class
in power to do the Wests bidding at indigenous peoples expense.
The vital questions are: Who will lead us to such a cherished
dream of a political renaissance and peoples revolution? How will we
get there? Let us for deliberative purposes, consider some options: Can the
Zardari-Gilani PPP regime transform itself into a revolutionary nationalist
political movement and deliver Pakistan out of its six-decade bondage with
the US-Wests ideological capitalism and foreign policy global agenda? Can
the PPP top leadership disengage itself from the US political patronage? Can
the PPP disown America and NATOs war on terror? I am afraid not. The
problem is that hens lay eggs only they do not spit out pearls. Wheelers
and dealers can make modest adjustments in their stated interests, but they
can never turn into saints or political revolutionaries. The PPP leadership not
only lacks the political vision required for such a dynamic national
enterprise, it is so absolutely inadequate in its management and competency
level even to imagine, let alone undertake, such a massive and impelling
initiative. The partys three-year political performance (as well as past
record) prove that in talon meh tel nahin (you cannot hope or expect them
to have this kind of capability).
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Can the PML-N, the second largest party in the country, salvage
Pakistans present predicaments? I think not. Its political manifesto and
strategic approach to national management affairs is a half-mix of so-called
pragmatism and vested interests wrapped in a half-baked loaf, neither fully
cooked nor eatable. Its leaderships confusion and perplexity is bewildering.
So, a peoples revolution aimed at altering the status quo in the country is
beyond the possibilities of the PML-N leaderships political capabilities and
ideological premises.
Can Jamaat-i-Islami, the most organized political party in Pakistan,
resolve the countrys ever-multiplying problems? Unfortunately, Jamaat-iIslamis leadership is neither charismatic nor dynamic. It is a highly
ideologically indoctrinated political organization and the Pakistani voters
have never in the past, nor are likely in the future, entrust it with national
leadership.
Can MQM, a truly peoples grass root political outfit, rescue
Pakistan? Not a chance. MQM still has a long way to go to attain national
stature, and its leaders modus operandi (rightly or wrongly) has always
been a question mark in the publics perception.
Is Imran Khan and his Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), the most potent
political force presently, a CIA-implant in Pakistan? Rationally
speaking, that does not seem to be the case: The CIA wants the war on
terror to continue, but PTI does not want Pakistan to own this war and calls
for its halt immediately. The US-NATO wants to impose a military solution
in northern Pakistan and Afghanistan, but PTI wants a political resolution of
the conflict and a settlement with the Taliban through dialogue, compromise
and political means. The US-NATO and their allies wish to continue the
Islamist bogey indefinitely, but Imran Khans party opposes this ideological
pretext as bogus and without merit. The CIA wants the drone attacks to
continue, but PTI wants an immediate end to them against the Pakistani
citizens and Imran Khan considers such attacks as violation of the countrys
sovereignty. And so on and so forth.
The American political establishment considers global politics as a
marketplace and will pay any price to acquire what they wish, that is, their
political modus operandi! I will bet top dollar that Imran Khan is not for
sale and neither is the PTI!
And that is what Pakistan needs now: Personal integrity, leadership
credibility, honesty, ethical and principled national politics and a qualitative
change in its decades-old alliances the US and Western powers in which
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the nations sovereignty is upheld and dignity is restored! That is how

peoples revolutions are made! Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insafs national political
manifesto is one of change, freedom and social justice. Decide for
yourself. What do you deserve?
On 26th July, TheNation wrote: Rocket and bomb attacks, target
killing and indiscriminate series of firing have become a norm in Karachi
and indicate that there is no writ of the government Despite the fact that
those involved in this painful battle are local, it is clear that there are
foreign elements that are providing funding and supplying arms and
ammunition. As long as weapons in such a large quantity would remain in
unsafe hands, there is no possibility of peace returning to the City of Lights.
Should one believe that whatever is happening in Karachi is the end result of
a political conspiracy to convert the beautiful metropolis of Sindh into a
graveyard? It must be recalled that in 1980s, Nooriabad Industrial Zone was
the hub of production activity but due to extortion mafia, industrialists
abandoned their units and migrated to Gadoon Amazai and later shifted to
Punjab. Now the residents of Karachi have started shifting to other parts of
the country since they are convinced that city is not worth living.
The most unacceptable situation is that no one is ready to accept
responsibility as far as federal and provincial governments are concerned.
Calling meetings, appointing commissions and issuing statements have
never resolved an issue of this proportion. Therefore, President Zardaris
four-man committee or calling a meeting in Islamabad would not lead to any
solution. One possible solution could be to hand over Karachi to the army
for a combing operation to de-weaponize its population and eliminate no-go
areas. If two of the three main stakeholders believe this would help, why is
this not being done by taking the third partner into confidence that the
proposed operation would not be any group specific? What needs to be
feared is the chances of Karachi lawlessness spreading to other cities of
the country. Is anybody bothered about it? Apparently none!
Next day, Ashraf Mumtaz observed: While the government, like
other state institutions, is supposed to act in aid of the Supreme Court, it
has proved to be the major impediment. It is not clear what is behind the
governments stubbornness and who is advising it to pursue what clearly
appears to be a confrontational approach.
Maybe it is testing the patience of the apex court. Or, it is trying to
show that it doesnt fear the sword of justice and the likely consequences of
its recalcitrance. Opponents of the present setup allege that since the

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government has failed to deliver on all fronts it is now trying to create a

situation that leads to some action against it which makes it a political
martyr.
A government which is facing countless problems should have been
focusing on solving them. Opening a front against the judiciary is not the
right approach. Whosoever is asking the government to follow this
dangerous course is doing a great disservice both to the ruling party and
the country
What the government is doing to court orders should be sufficient to
explain the kind of situation the common man has to face to get his rights.
They have to go from pillar to post but nobody listens. The helplessness of
the people can be gauged from the fact that they have started talking
about the need for military intervention. Some say that at least the army
should play its role under Article 190 of the Constitution to force the
government to implement all court orders. Unless that support is visible, the
situation would not change.
Former Army Chief Gen Mirza Aslam Beg is among the people who
are making such a demand. He thinks that the situation has deteriorated to
an extent that there is need for an interim setup which should address
all major problems of the country before thinking of fresh elections. When
even a former army chief feels that his institution should support the
judiciary and help it get its verdicts implemented, there should be no reason
to disagree with him.
In case the government was allowed to go on defying court
orders, the country would plunge into anarchy. When the rulers are under
no obligation to follow what the court is telling them to, other people would
be justified in following suit and disrespecting the law.
But imagine for a while the situation the common man would have
faced by disobeying the court orders. Gen Musharrafs example should
always be kept in mind in such situations. He sacked judges and imposed
emergency, steps the Supreme Court had prohibited him to.
Within months, he was out of power and even out of the country.
So afraid is the former president of the present judiciary that he is less likely
to return to Pakistan as long as Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is the Chief Justice
of Pakistan. To come up to the expectations of the common man, the
Supreme Court would have to show in unambiguous terms that it would
not let anyone violate the law and the Constitution, no matter what the
price.
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Terence J Sigamony wrote: The bureaucracy finds itself entangled

in a show of strength of two institutions. The bureaucrats who defy the
apex court orders face contempt of court notices but if they go against the
federation they are either transferred or made OSD.
The government seems to be in no mode to implement the apex
court orders, while the Supreme Court instead taking concrete action
persistently showing judicial restraint and simply wants compliance of its
orders and when that does not happen the authorities are directed to take
action. And if they dare to take action they have to face the music.
Around 14 top officials have been removed, transferred or made
OSD in corruption cases including National Reconciliation Order, Pakistan
Steel Mills, National Insurance Company Limited and corruption in Haj
arrangements and seven have been suspended so far due to wrong policies of
the government.
On 28th July, TheNation commented: The executive seems to have
embarked on a course of confrontation with the judiciary, and the
Secretary Establishment, who complied with the Supreme Court order and
issued a notification for re-posting Hussain Asghar in the FIA, has been
punished and sidelined as an OSD. It is noteworthy that Article 5 of the
Constitution obliges all citizens to be subject to the rule of law and Article
190 makes all executive authorities bound to assist the judiciary. Thus, it is
quite clear that the Secretary was acting according to law and in line with the
counsel given by the Quaid-i-Azam to civil servants that they are servants of
the state and not any individual or political party and that they must act
fearlessly. Accordingly, the governments is a dangerous move that in the
Pakistani context, merely appears to be an invitation for an extralegal,
unconstitutional takeover.
As the SC has already pronounced, these forces could not take
over with impunity; for this time they would not be given the required legal
cover for such actions. The Secretary Establishments fate illustrates the
dilemma faced by every permanent official in the executive. If they obey
their political masters, who have the power to punish them by depriving
them of prized postings or reward them with undue promotions, they at
times run the risk of falling foul of the law. And they might face the wrath of
the Supreme Court, which has moved beyond simple dressing downs, which
once used to suffice, to actually ordering the removal of officials.
As a result, the federal government finds itself on a dangerous
collision course with the SC The government must avoid the path it is
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going down, and let the chips fall where they will. It is not befitting of the
executive to act as a mere instrument to save individuals from facing the
consequences of their actions, even if these individuals hold high offices.
Next day, TheNation commented: A full court meeting headed by
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has expressed resolve that come
hell or high water the constitution will be protected and under no
circumstances will the government be allowed to disobey the courts orders.
One wishes it Godspeed in its just cause to establish rule of law.
No one in the country wants to see the judicial crisis get out of
control but the situation, courtesy governments brazen foot-dragging is
only assuming horrific proportions by the hour. At the same time, while
hearing the Hajj scam case, the Supreme Court issued a 24-hour deadline to
the Prime Minister to restore the Secretary Establishment Sohail Ahmed
which has now expired In fact despite the Supreme Court orders, the
defiance by the Prime Minister is very much disturbing. There is an
impression that the PM is creating roadblocks in the way of the judiciary
partly because of his son who happens to be one of the accused in the Hajj
scam case. It is but incomprehensible why he stated on Wednesday that his
authority was being encroached.
The truth is; it is the executive that has been trying to clip the wings
of the judiciary in all sorts of sordid ways. He went to the extent of saying
that he was not a working professional but a politician. One wonders
whether being a politician mean disobeying the rule of law with
impunity. On the other side of the spectrum, the loud mouthed PPP big shot
Babar Awan, who parrots almost with finesse everything his big bosses utter,
has stated that the institutions must work within their framework and that the
Supreme Court should refrain from issuing summons of government
officials. Mr Awans comments are outrageous and deserve to be condemned
strongly as such remarks in fact amount to testing the patience of the court
and provoking it merely for the sake of it. Democracy is prevailing and its
spirit gives the Supreme Court complete liberty to summon government
officials. Mr Awan is making it sound as if dictatorship was prevailing.
It bears pointing out that so far the government has defied the
Supreme Court on at least 18 cases, ever since the historic NRO
judgment was passed. This is a deliberate attempt to create political unrest
in the country and directly challenging the writ of the apex court. And then
we have Mr Babar Awan delivering a sermon that the institutions must work
in their framework. If the orders are not obeyed, the Supreme Court as it

387

stated on Wednesday would only be forced to assert itself to get its verdicts
implemented.
On 30th July, the newspaper added: Notwithstanding the Prime
Ministers remark that the government wants to avoid any clash with
institutions, there is enough evidence to establish that it has, in fact, taken up
arms against an important pillar of the state: the judiciary that is charged
with ensuring that the rule of law prevails in the country, protecting the
fundamental rights of the citizens, dispensing justice, etc. When the
government keeps defying the Supreme Courts clear and unambiguous
verdicts, even when the lapse is pointedly and repeatedly brought out by the
court, the media and almost every section of society, there is no other
conclusion that could be drawn, but that the executive is in open
confrontation with the judiciary.
Somehow, the political leadership fails to realize that the drift of the
ominous standoff of the two institutions carries within itself the germs of
countrywide chaos. The lawyers bodies, the Supreme Court Bar Association
and the Lahore High Court Bar Association, have warned the government
that if it does not implement its orders they would adopt any means to assert
the authority of the court, including the movement like the one launched to
restore the illegally deposed judges. Opposition, retired judges and civil
society have counseled obedience to the court. The government must
remember that it is unheard of in the democratic world that orders by
the highest judicial authority in the country are disobeyed.
While there are all the indications that the army is in no mood to
intervene in the matter to let the democratic process sort things out, the
PPP government by carrying the matter too far might by default be
compelling the armed forces to act. Otherwise, letting the confrontation go
on would be an open invitation to the disregard of the law of the land by the
rest of the country. Former COAS General Aslam Beg believes that the army
would readily respond to the SCs request to intervene.
Though the NRO was pronounced null and void end-2009, several
other instances of SCs defiance have occurred since then, building up
tension between the executive and the judiciary, though the court has all
along showed remarkable patience. The one question that lies at the root
of all these cases is billions of rupees corruption by those occupying the
top position in the governing hierarchy. Things began heating up when the
Haj scandal case came up for hearing again in which billions of taxpayers
money was siphoned off by influential persons to their own bank accounts

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Could one hope that the government would show political wisdom and
maturity and bow before the Supreme Court to save the nascent democracy
and prevent chaos in the country?
Next day, General Retd Mirza Aslam Beg once again urged the Army
to uphold the Constitution. He wrote: Civilian supremacy over the
military can be established only by a sovereign Parliament and an
independent judiciary. So, the armed forces must support Parliaments
resolution, demanding cessation of the drone attacks that the Americans
flouted, as it was helpless. Also, the political parties have the shared
responsibility to help the military establish the supremacy of the civilian rule
and support the government to build a sovereign Parliament, an independent
judiciary and the institutions to deliver above board accountability.
However, the most disturbing aspect of the present regime is the
appalling state of affairs. Nobody knows who is responsible for what.
There is no foreign policy to determine our relations with the USA, India
and Afghanistan. The fiscal policy is so wayward as to precipitate
resignation of the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan. The state organs,
such as the railways, national airlines and Steel Mills, are bankrupt and on
the verge of collapse. Yet, there are no clear-cut policies or plans to arrest
this dangerous drift.
At the same time, Parliament and the politicians show no urgency
to arrest this drift, while the courts of justice are blatantly defied and
humiliated; the process of accountability remains suspended and the armed
forces are watching this dangerous drift waiting for the worst to happen,
similar to the Egyptian turmoil, which ultimately resulted into military
takeover and a bigger chaos, so aptly described by an observer: It is a
revolution without cadres, with no party, no leaders, no precise ideology.
The army has gone from hero to hate mode. We are in a terrible mess now.
Our present drift may also lead to a terrible mess, if Parliament,
politicians and civil society continue to watch the drift. It was in this
scenario that I had urged the armed forces to intervene in support of the
Supreme Court and to establish the rule of law. As a result, some heads in
the top leadership may roll, but Parliament will continue to function, sanity
will prevail and the government will complete its tenure. This is the way
forward. The next elections, therefore, would be crucial and must be free and
fair. Should these elections be held under this very government, or under a
caretaker government, is the moot point, to be discussed and decided. Free
and fair elections would arrest this dangerous drift and usher the country in a
new era of parliamentary democracy.
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After a long time, we have a democratic order in Pakistan, which

is no more threatened by the nexus America, Army and Adaalat. It is a
comforting sign of the birth of a new order, as ordained by Allah: The Good
and the Evil cannot be equated, although, at times, the Evil may prevail, but
ultimately Good will surmount; (Al Quran).
Jalees Hazir opined: The Zardari-led government is fighting a war
that it is sure to lose. Pakistan has changed and it is no longer possible to
govern it with the outmoded elitist mindset that the President and his team
bring to the job. The rule-of-law has taken root in the public imagination as a
yardstick and the Supreme Court has emerged as a repository of hope for the
people. The number of civil servants that refuse to follow the illegal orders
of the government is growing, and they are being marked as heroes. Those
using the institutions and offices of the state to promote petty personal ends
are also being marked by the people for a sorry end.

REVIEW
The unprecedented tolerance shown by judges of the superior
judiciary for defiance of the court verdicts by the Executive amounted to
self-humiliation, or self-emollition. But, judges craze for self-torture has
resulted in degrading of the institution of judiciary in which the people had
reposed lot of hopes.
The restraint shown for the criminals amongst the Executive has
utterly disappointed the masses. Bureaucrats like Zafar Qureshi and Sohail
Ahmad, who were punished and humiliated by the chief executive, were
certainly having second thoughts about their honest and upright approach.
During hearing of a corruption case on 25 th July the Chief Justice
remarked that the Executive has started defying the apex court. His
observation was correct, but late by more than two years. The Executive was
now openly and contemptuously ridiculing the court verdicts. This has
happened due to timid approach of the Supreme Court adopted on the
pretext of judicial restraint.
Sohail Ahmad and Hussain Asghar episode showed that the Executive
virtually coerced the Supreme Court to get a favourable verdict. In other
words, the Zardari regime has succeeded in intimidating the superior
judiciary; a feat that could not be performed by military dictator Musharraf.
The courts interim order of 29th July gave an impression of having
been passed under duress as it was far more accommodating for
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Executives demands than meeting the demands of justice. It wasnt at all in

line with the remarks of the judges passed during last two hearings. The
judges seemed to have overlooked the fact that they were not dealing with
school boys but a lot of hardened criminals led by Zardari and Gilani.
The point can be comprehended clearly when seen in the background
of a telephone call of Hillary to Zardari, Gilanis meeting with Kayani and
high level meetings of the cabinet and governments coalition members. All
these were linked to court hearings one way or the other. Gilani had spoken
clearly about taking the court verdict before the Parliament if it were not to
his liking.
This could not have been possible without first taming the Army.
Zardari had accorded it first priority and how he accomplished that has been
mentioned in previous reviews more than once. Having secured his most
vulnerable flank Zardari focused on other adversaries, especially the
superior judiciary.
Zardari regime is close to doing to the judiciary what it has done to
the Army. While combating against the judges he did not ignore political
adversaries whether sitting on opposition benches or with the government as
allies. PML-N in opposition and MQM out of allies stood out in this context.
Whereas Babar Awan and others took on PML-N, Zulfikar Mirza was
trusted to tackle MQM single-handedly. During the period under review he
reminded MQM the partition days when their ancestors had arrived naked
and starved and Sindh had provided them food and shelter.
His outburst reflected the feudal mentality of Sindhi politicians.
Sindhi waderas have yet not accepted the refugees; in fact, they quietly hold
Pakistan related migration causing loss of their resources. They completely
ignore the contribution of non-Sindhis in socio-economic development of
Sindh. On the contrary, Punjab absorbed more that thrice the number of
refugees so comprehensively that the locals and refugees meshed into one
community in no time.
MQM reacted violently to the remarks of Mirza, despite the fact that
when it comes to use of indecent language its own leaders outclass all other
politicians. Not long ago Wasim Akhtar had literally abused Punjabis. Long
haul in power has added to their arrogance. AJK election pitched the two
packs of scoundrels in a brawl, which observers thought would be match of
the century.

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Zardari, the Scoundrel, was quite successful in conveying the message

to Altaf that if partnership as lesser partner could be troublesome for
MQM, the animosity (opposition) could mean much more in terms of dire
consequences. Altaf read the message clearly and told Ishratul Ebad to beat a
hasty retreat to the Governor House.
Power addict MQM found itself helpless before Zardari, the baron of
power-politics. It had no option but to comply with barons commands. This
revealed the myth of Zardaris policy of reconciliation; he knows how to
exploit the weaknesses of his adversaries. Another aspect of his policy is that
the safest commodity in Karachi through all the fits of violence has been the
US containers passing through it.
Zardari also did not ignore the disgruntled within PPPs rank and file;
Shah Mahmood was one the latest inflicted by this ailment. Zardari
appointed thirty-four years old Hina Rabbani Khar, a graduate in hotel
management, as Foreign Minister of Pakistan. This surprised the observers
as Pakistan was passing through a period in which diplomacy required
expert handling.
This, however, shouldnt have surprised anyone if working of
Zardari regime had been kept in mind. Presently, the foreign policy of the
regime revolves around compliance of the dictation from the US and that
can be done by Zardari-Haqqani duo quite adequately and efficiently.
A third person as foreign minister can cause embarrassment as had
happened in the case of Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Therefore, the regime
needed a dummy foreign minister and for that there could be no better
choice than Hina; anyone who has the know-how of show-room setups
would appreciate the choice.
1st August, 2011

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DREAM RELATIONS
The period under review began with the Saint (Gilani) oozing with
confidence after the strategy of the Scoundrel (Zardari) had succeeded in
extracting a favourable verdict from the apex court on the issue of transfers
of bureaucrats. In spite of that the regime did not stop maligning the
Judiciary.
Defiance of court orders continued vehemently. Zafar Qureshi was
reinstated but his first attempt to enter CIA Lahore office was foiled. Then
Rehman Malik graciously granted him the permission, but he found his
investigating team and case files missing. Meanwhile, Hussain Asghar was
kept captive by Gilgit-Baltistan government, which is a new addition to the
operatives of the Scoundrel.
On political front, since appointment of Wassan as Home Minister of
Sindh PPP-MQM affairs have turned into dream relations. He has been
having all kinds of dreams about MQM. The relations, however, have had

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touch of a sex scandal rather than a love affair. And, each time MQM has
returned without going through obligatory hilala.
With the setting in of Ramazan the political mafias backed by secular
and moderate parties pursuing reconciliatory politics indulged in rampant
bloodshed in Karachi. More than hundred, mostly innocent, have been killed
while political bargaining between PPP and MQM continued in Islamabad
and Karachi.

NEWS
On 1st August, Sohail Ahmad was posted as secretary Narcotic
Control; the regime thinks he had obeyed court orders under influence of the
drug called honesty. PML-N members of National Assembly and Senate met
with Nawaz Sharif in the chair and decided to vehemently oppose any
resolution that the government tried to bring against the judiciary and
considered tabling a resolution for independence of judiciary. The party also
issued a White Paper on defiance of court verdicts by the government.
Contrary to apprehensions of the most observers, the government
tabled no resolution related to the Supreme Court in the National Assembly
and instead Gilani in his address bubbled with confidence and he vowed to
protect democracy, constitution, judiciary and bureaucracy; all these have
been bashed by the regime in the recent past.
The Supreme Court took up the petition filed by Chaudhry
Muhammad Aslam, former protocol officer of Benazir, in which he had
prayed for registration of FIR against Rehman Malik and Babar Awan in
murder case of Benazir for they had taken away the reserve vehicle. He had
earlier filed similar petition in LHC. The court sought from the AG reports
of Scotland Yard, UN Commission and Police in two weeks.
Twenty-six people were killed and ten vehicles, six shops and a hotel
were burnt. Opposition parties staged walkout from National Assembly to
protest governments apathy over killings in Karachi and Quetta. HRCP
report alleged involvement of political leaders in the violence in Karachi.
Next day, ten more people were killed in Karachi. Rehman Malik
once again promised action against those involved in killings and ordered
aerial surveillance of the city. FC troops were given police powers. The
regime also converted the law and order issue into a prize winning scheme;
kill a criminal and get handsome prizes.

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Altaf gave 48 hours to the government for restoring peace. He asked

people to buy one months ration as the government has failed to restore
peace. MQM members walked out in Parliament after terming the killings in
Karachi a massacre. MQM decided not to join AJK government. Meanwhile,
bail application of Hamid Saeed was rejected.
On 3rd August, Altaf Hussain in his telephonic address asked Army to
come to Karachi and restore order in the mega city. He also urged
international community to take note of the situation in Karachi and put
pressure on those who are responsible for stopping the bloodshed. For a
change he and his party leaders have forgotten to call Karachi as our city;
this is a significant achievement of Zardari.
Sindh cabinet met in Presidency with Zardari in chair to deliberate
over situation in Karachi. In all three meetings were held during the day.
Sindhi politicians decided that to impose presidential rule in the province
by imposing restriction on CM and let Zardari do all the talking.
Shujaat proposed all parties conference for formulating a plan. PMLN demanded briefing of parliamentarians by various heads of intelligence
agencies. Tehreek-e-Insaf demanded for governor rule in Sindh province
owing the violence in Karachi. Foreign Minister of Commonwealth
telephoned Ishrat and commended his and Altafs efforts for peace in
Karachi.
The Supreme Court took notice of non-compliance of its orders
seeking de-notification of PCO judges and fixed hearing of the case for 5 th
August. According to the Supreme Court the second FIR can be lodged in
the Benazir Bhuttos assassination case.
Next day, a word from British foreign ministry drove sense into
warring parties in Karachi as no major violent incident was reported, except
killing of two persons including a policeman. Fazulr Rehman opposed Army
deployment while PPP and PML-N resorted to mud-slinging in the National
Assembly during debate on Karachi. Rehman Malik said no minister was
involved in targeted killings in Karachi. Sindhi nationalists condemned Altaf
Hussains speech and he apologized if he had hurt anyone in his yesterdays
telephonic speech. PPP suspended Enver Baigs basic party membership for
working against party interests.
On 5th August, the Supreme Court had directed to issue the
notification for the removal of PCO judges. Babar Awan, representing the
Law Secretary, said Prime Minister was busy in other issues, especially
Karachi violence. Chief Justice said: The government was trying to
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undermine the authority of the court. Babar Awan requested that two days
should be given to issue the notification; that was granted.
Charging the PPP with unleashing a massacre in Karachi, Farooq
Sattar demanded the government to form a judicial commission to
investigate the events surrounding targeted killings in the port city. He
presented list of 500 criminals in the NA. Later, Zardari called Ishrat to
Islamabad amid rumours of yet another patch up between PPP and MQM.
He was not asked to attend conferences held in Presidency to discuss
situation in Karachi, which appeared to be exclusively PPP affair.
PML-Q submitted a resolution in Punjab Assembly secretariat
regarding Saraiki province. PML-N held a meeting with Nawaz in chair and
decided to oppose creation of new provinces on ethnic and linguistic basis
and support it for administrative reasons all over the country. Gilani said
consultations with stakeholders on the issue were on. Meanwhile, Bashir
Bilours ministry got Rs11 billion for his excellent performance as Minister
Pakistan Railways. OGRA hiked LPG price by Rs9 per kg.
Next day, twelve more people were killed in Karachi. Ishrat held
meetings with PPP leaders, including Babar Awan, Rehman Malik and Qaim
Ali to strike a deal using blood of innocent people as bargaining commodity.
In 12-hour marathon meeting the PPP agreed to reverse its administrative
orders and issued ordinance to restore local government system in Karachi
and Hyderabad.
Imran Khan kicked off his Hakomat Hatao, Mulk Bachao drive by
staging a sit-in in front of National Assembly building. Enver Baig resigned
from basic membership of the PPP. Railway mulled stopping more train after
getting ten billion rupees grant.
On 7th August, ANP and Sindhi nationalists rejected restoration of LG
system in Karachi and Hyderabad and termed it first step towards division of
Sindh on linguistic basis. They party gave strike call for 8 th August. Zardari
intervened and third ordinance was issued restoring LG system in entire
Sindh; ANP welcomed the decision.
Speaker decided not to include PML-Qs resolution about Saraiki
province in the agenda of Punjab Assembly. Babar Awan warned against
blocking of the resolution. Javed Hashmi termed Saraiki province a far cry.
Shahbaz vouched for new provinces in all federating units. CH Balochistan
opposed the idea of new provinces. Deputy speaker on NA wanted inclusion
of D I Khan in Saraiki province.

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Parliamentarians accused IB and Interior Ministry of bugging their

telephones. MNA Nausheen said IB is better equipped than ISI for this job
and she hinted at IBs possible involvement in Saleem Shehzads murder.
The regime at last de-notified PCO judges. Raja Riaz claimed Chaudhry
Nisar has deserted Sharifs. CNG price was increased by 13.55 percent.
Gilani formed a committee on unscheduled power outages. Four people were
killed in Karachi.
Next day, the Supreme Court declared Zafar Qureshis suspension
order void ab initio and ordered him to resume investigations of NICL scam
with a warning to DG FIA to refrain from interfering in investigations. The
court also appointed Justice Rabbani to inquire into media campaign that
was aimed at maligning the Supreme Court, apportion blame and
recommend action.
In a conference held in Rawalpindi Corps commanders expressed
concern over security situation in Karachi, but expressed satisfaction with
steps taken by the government. Rehman Malik met Ishrat in Governor House
and he announced that non-computerized arms licences would become
invalid after 31st August. Five people were killed.
PML-N demanded commission on new provinces to be created on the
basis of broad-based formula applicable to whole of country. The party
rejected division on ethnic basis. All parties except PTI rejected this
proposal. Shutter-down strike was observed in interior Sindh over
somersaults of the regime over LG system on the call of nationalist parties.
On 9th August, six people were killed in Karachi; PPP MNAs decried
the killings. Nationalist parties of Sindh met on the platform of National
Front and decided to resist Zardari-led PPPs attempt to divide Sindh.
Another strike was called for August 13. ANP walked put of NA to protest
restoration of LG system in Sindh. ANP demanded division of Balochistan.
PML-Z submitted a resolution for Bahawalpur province.
Next day, four people were killed in Karachi. Zardari met separately
with Chaudhry Shujaat Fazlur Rehman and exchanged views with them on
the political situation in the country. Zardari took them on board over PPPs
decision to restore LG system.
Almost all the Federal Ministers from Sindh raised strong voices
against unilateral decisions of the government to tackle the political as well
as law and order issues in Sindh with particular reference to Karachi with
Prime Minister in the cabinet meeting. Zafar Ali Shah said Rehman Malik
and Babar Awan were not acceptable in Sindh.
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Shahbaz met Gilani and discussed issues of electricity and education.

Government mulled opting for review petition on Zafar Qureshis
reinstatement. Zafar would complete investigation of NICL case before his
retirement on September 30.
On 11th August, Fauzia Bihram of PPP and Noor Niazi of MMA
clashed in Punjab Assembly over partition of Punjab when resolution on
Punjab Assembly was not entertained. Later, two resolutions were submitted
in secretariat for creation of Thal and Bahawalpur provinces. ANP MNAs
walked out of Assembly over LG system in Sindh. PML-N and PML-Q
(Likeminded) agreed on forming political alliance. Two persons were killed
and five wounded when police opened fire at affectees of Hunza Lake. Five
people were killed in Karachi.
Next day, five more were killed in Karachi; Rehman Malik said
enemies in FATA were fueling unrest. National Assembly constituted
committee on Karachi and Balochistan. Gilgit-Baltistan government refused
to relieve IGP Hussain Asghar in defiance of the court order, of course in
connivance with the federal government, to cause delay in investigation of
Haj scam. Three account holders involved in NICL scam disappeared; it was
feared they have been murdered to protect the future prime minister of
Pakistan, Moonis Elahi.
On 13th August, Zafar Qureshi was pre-empted from holding the
meeting he had called for in FIA office in Lahore. Bomb hoax was raised
and offices closed for scanning. If the war on terror could be exploited to
come into power by striking NRO deal why cant bomb hoax could be used
to save future prime minister of Pakistan from the courts.
Nationalist parties observed strike and held protest rallies across
Sindh. In Karachi, one of the rallies was fired upon. One person was killed
and several wounded; in all ten persons were killed and eight vehicles burnt
in the mega city. Amin Fahim stated before the ATC that sun room latch was
opened on the suggestion of Safdar Abbasi. Shahbaz said in a public
gathering that he was getting life threats from Zardari. Nisar threatened to
quit PAC.
Next day, Safdar Abbasi termed the statement of Amin Fahim given in
the ATC as a lie; he said he never opened or suggested to open the larch of
sun-room of Benazirs vehicle. Rehman Malik ruled that Zafar Qureshi who
has been reinstated by the Supreme Court may be allowed to use FIA offices
in Lahore as the message has been conveyed as to who is the supreme; he or

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the apex court. The regime generously distributed civil awards amongst
party leaders and its allies.
On 15th August, following the precedent set by Qasim Mosque in
moon-sighting, a section of red-cappers of KPK decided to hold flaghoisting ceremony on August 15, coinciding with the Indian Independence
Day. The ceremony was postponed after widespread criticism.
Zafar Qureshi was allowed to enter the premises of FIA as directed by
Rehman Malik not on Supreme Court orders but only one out of five
members of his investigation team was available to him and the case files
also went missing. Rehman Malik ordered JIT formation on bomb hoax in
FIA Lahore building.
Petition was filed for contempt cases against Prime Minister and
Rehman Malik for not posting back Hussain Asghar as ordered by the apex
court. Nisar criticized Zardari for dolling out civil awards within PPP and its
allies. Wassan had another dream that MQM ministers were staging a
comeback as five more people were killed.
Next day, Zafar Qureshi informed the Supreme Court that he was told
a day before that there would be bomb alarm; when the court asked DG he
denied knowing about that. The court asked him if knew that false alarm is
cognizable offence and ordered action against the concerned official. The
court made DG FIA part of Zafars team, cancelled leave of all the officers
of investigation team and sought record in the court. Meanwhile, Ishrat met
Zardari and Gilani to iron out final details for the return of MQM to
Zardaris political haram. Nawazs statement about similarities of Muslims
and Hindus was widely criticized.
On 17th August, DG FIA produced the case record before the bench
hearing NICL case. He also informed the court that he would resign rather
than working under a junior as directed; Chief Justice told him not threaten
and approach appropriate authority for resignation and till then start working
as ordered. Later in the day DG FIA resigned.
When asked about bomb hoax, DG said he has not been able to find
the facts. The court then asked Director FIA Lahore, Waqar Haider who said
it was reported by AD Khwaja Hammad. He in turn let the cat out of bag and
told the court that he was instructed not to allow Zafar enter office because
there was lot of pressure from the top. The court ordered formal report
during next hearing to proceed further for taking appropriate action against
culprits.

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The court also said that Zafar would continue working on the case
even after his retirement due next month. Babar Awan as counsel of Moonis
Elahi moved the court against Zafar Qureshi about impartiality as
investigation officer because he had received threats from Moonis.
Raja Karim, a former PPP MNA, was among 15 killed in Karachi.
Nabeel Gabol said the mega city was in the grip of anarchy. He alleged that
leaders of political parties oversee the land grabbing. According to his
observation Wassan was having so many dreams because he sleeps most of
the time. ANP and JI invitees did not attend iftar-dinner at Nine Zero.
DCC met and mulled urgent steps to quell militancy one of which
was to set up National Crime Data. It was not known whether corruption
would be included in the list of crimes. Nawaz demanded early polls. Death
in Police custody sparked riots in Layyah. Zardari granted remission to
prisoners; welfare of criminals has been the hallmark of his regime.
Next day, 35 people were killed and more than thirty were kidnapped
in Karachi; Gilani ordered indiscriminate action against troublemakers;
Zardari summoned Sindh ministers to his den in Islamabad and Rehman
Malik was sent to the city to add insult to the injuries. In Islamabad, Gilani
responded to Nawazs demand and said elections would be held on time.
Amir Sohail was inducted in PML-N; observers saw it as move to counter
Imran Khan. Some PML-N activists in Wazirabad joined PML-Q.
On 19th August, 23 more people perished in Karachi which has been
the scene of democracy extracting the best of revenge since the return of the
Scoundrel. In one of the incidents late at night a bus carrying police
reinforcements was attacked killing five and wounding 40 others.
At mid-day, Rehman Malik claimed bring peace back to the city
saying that no one has been killed since mid-night and only 12 dead bodies
were recovered. He also claimed getting freed 16 kidnapped persons. His
boss held a meeting in Islamabad and formed a committee to suggest
measures to bring situation under control.
In the evening, two scoundrels talked on telephone and the one
speaking from London complained about leaking of intelligence reports in
which his gang was named for targeted killings and the other from
Islamabad asked him to join the government. Both of them agreed to keep
the Army away from democratic revenge.
Next day, seven people were killed in Karachi. Rehman Malik
claimed arresting more than hundred target killers. He promised to bring

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those before the media. PPP and MQM held intensive consultations,
considered various options and decided to maintain status quo and tackle the
situation politically. General Kayani said Army is ready to help
government on Karachi.
On 21st August, eleven more people were killed in Karachi as
bargaining between MQM and PPP continued for the control of the mega
city. Gilani ruled out army action and arrived in the city to chair a meeting
which was boycotted by MQM and ANP. Nationalist parties in Sindh
demanded early elections.

VIEWS
On 2nd August, TheNation wrote: In the face of clear evidence to the
contrary, Mr Gilani claimed that his government had implemented, in letter
and spirit, all decisions of the apex judiciary and would do so in the future.
In support of it, he pointed to the views of recently retired judge of the
Supreme Court, Justice Javed Iqbal, who is reported to have said that the
government complied with the court directives. Without naming it, the
Prime Minister focused on taking to task the major opposition party
PML-N ruling Punjab for its acts, which he perceived as in stark
violence of law. He repeatedly came back to it for its transgressions that he
maintained his party had committed. Mr Gilani declared that the government
would protect democracy, the Constitution and the judiciary.
But this was not the first time the Prime Minister has shown
respect to the judiciary and claimed his government was fully
implementing its verdicts while according to PML-Ns record it has flouted
17 SCs decisions so far. There is, therefore, little chance that this time
around he would honour his commitment. Earlier, President PML-N Mian
Nawaz Sharif held a press conference in which he said that his party had
decided to defend the judiciary and charged the government with trying to
use Parliament to hide its billions of rupees of corruption but his party would
give it tough time. He praised the Supreme Court for taking notice of the
rampant corruption in the country.
While, no doubt, the Prime Ministers words have temporarily cooled
down the situation to some extent, things would most likely heat up again
when another corruption case comes up before the court. The relief,
therefore, is only for a short while. And since buying time is the
governments principal objective to enable it to complete its term, it

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would not mind showing respect to the judiciary, asserting it would

obey its orders and, at the same time, doing everything possible to evade
compliance. It must not forget that nothing could be more damaging to
democracy and, indeed, the state.
Two days later the newspaper added: The killings in Karachi go on.
With eight more killed on Tuesday, the toll over the last two days reached
36. To add a different element to the situation, MQM chief Altaf Hussain,
according to a private TV channel, has called on followers in the city, which
his party counts as a stronghold, to store a months rations. This has created
scare all over the city. The situation is grave and needs to be handled with
due care. Meanwhile, the Sindh government gave police powers to the
Frontier Constabulary as well, while both Rangers and police patrolled the
city. Altafs statement on the face of it represented a cop-out, a refusal
by the MQM to take any responsibility for the situation even though it
had withdrawn the resignation of its Sindh Governor, and thus paved the
way for the return of its federal and provincial ministers, who had also
tendered their resignations.
The crisis as in Karachi should be intolerable for the government
even if it was happening in a remote and isolated part of the country. It is
even more intolerable when it occurs in the countrys most populous city, its
financial and industrial capital, and its sole port. The government should
involve all the stakeholders in the process of seeking peace in the city,
including political parties, both in and out of government, as well as other
civil society organizations. There will remain another aspect, which can only
be covered if the culprits are not just arrested, but also brought to trial and
punished. The IGP Sindh may have told the Sindh Chief Minister in a
meeting that 91 target killers had been arrested, admitting 191 target killings,
but catching them is not enough. They have to be tried and convicted, to
break the image of impunity they have earned.
The federal government also must not think that it has done its duty
by sending Interior Minister Rehman Malik to the city to hold meetings and
issue loud but empty promises of peace in days. The situation there is
intolerable, and it is about time that a thorough investigation of foreign
involvement was made. There are too many enemies of the country for this
aspect to be ignored. And this is an aspect where the federal government,
which is directly in charge of foreign relations, is solely responsible,
whereas its responsibility for law and order is also there, as a failsafe for the
provincial government. It should always remember that this problem

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cannot be cozily sorted out within the coalition, but needs all parties to
work together to end the bloodshed.
On 5th August, the newspaper commented: That the gun-trotting
enemies of peace have for years been ruling Karachi without any serious
effort being made to restore sanity, which should prove lasting, is giving
sleepless nights to the people. Karachi, once the thriving port town and
commercial and business centre of Pakistan, now presents a picture of
desolation, with deaths daily raining on the citizens; anyone daring to go out
of the house risks being shot dead. According to a conservative estimate, the
total death toll this year alone is well over one thousand. The people are now
raising questions about the wisdom of the ruling political setup to bring the
culprits to book and put an end to the mayhem, especially as they are
convinced that activists of their own parties are involved. It is of no less
concern that the disturbed situation serves as a fertile ground to exploit
for foreign agencies interested in keeping the country in a state of chaos and
uncertainty.
One would have liked the leaders of different political parties, with
stakes in the metropolis, to put their heads together to work out a permanent
solution. Peace thus arrived at would also serve them best. But, having failed
to do that they are opting to invite the military to control the situation,
something they had best avoided. However, since peace is paramount for
restoring normal life and revitalizing the economy, the government should
straightaway be calling upon the army to take charge of the citys law
and order. Now, the MQM and PML-Q have joined other political parties
the PPP, the ANP in demanding that the army should be called in.
President Zardari, who has been authorized by the coalition partners in the
Sindh government to decide upon the future course of action to meet this
blood-soaked challenge, should act swiftly. Any lull in the situation cannot
hide the existence of the bands of killers; without bringing them to justice
there is little likelihood of achieving lasting peace.
At this critical moment one expects political leaders not to lose their
cool and keep restraint while making any comment in order that things
might not get worsened. It is, therefore, surprising to hear a person of the
political acumen and stature of Altaf Hussain talk of Sindhis as slaves of
banias (Hindu businessmen) in the past. Similarly, his plea to the Indian
leaders, that in case of discrimination against muhajirs, a term applied to
Urdu-speaking migrants to Pakistan who were forced to leave their hearth
and home in India under most trying circumstances at partition, to
accommodate them is not only misplaced, but also raises needless alarm.
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Since he is also calling for the military to intervene, and it must be stressed
that the military has, undoubtedly, a national outlook, a situation of
discrimination is not likely to arise. There can be no question, though, about
his remark that muhajirs, have been here since then, and that they are as
much citizens of this country as anyone else.
Next day, Inayatullah wrote: The irony of it all is that the Karachi
administration is in the hands of the political party, which, along with its
coalition partners, wields power at the national level. The government, thus,
has all the federal and provincial resources at its command. But all that is
seen by way of response, however, is the holding of meetings and the issue
of a string of statements, which carry little weight. The Interior Minister
makes an appearance on the scene and with mock seriousness playing on his
face, and announces yet another round of induction of the paramilitary
forces. They play their unwholesome part and then fade away. The debate
in Parliament does some time take place, but peters out after a slanging
match of inflammatory incriminations: A lot of hot air with little light at
the end of the day.
In this blighted country, attention keeps shifting from one crisis to
another. And these crises keep continuing all the time. They coexist in all
kinds and shapes. You name it, and you find it here social, cultural,
economic, judicial and political; grievous problems and more problems, but
with little solutions. Suddenly, Balochistan hits the headlines. Sabotage,
clashes, disappearances and killings become the tragic concern of the day.
Reports, editorials, and political statements litter the print media. Anchors on
the TV channels collect fiery protagonists and make them talk furiously.
After years of such unproductive exchange of virtual fire, the public is
beginning to be fed up with these shows.
Take another continuing crisis: The defiance of the higher judiciary
by the federal government. Call it patience or extraordinary restraint on the
part of the Supreme Court, the government has mastered the art of defiance
of its orders by resorting to delays, procedural complications and preverification. As a part of the latest tactics, not only has it not complied with
the court directive to de-notify PCO judges, it has taken to questioning the
legality of the order itself. (You can indeed wake up a sleeping person.
However, can you do it with a person, who is wide awake but is pretending
to be asleep?) A former Chief Justice of Pakistan says that he is
surprised at the governments bull-headed attitude and for this
defiance. That is a clear case of contempt for which the apex court should
issue a notice to the government asking for an explanation.
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My citation of the above mentioned conduct of the government

clearly brings out the unfortunate fact that in this country the custodians of
law and order themselves do not believe in the rule of law. And law is
what the highest court of the country lays down. Possibly, the worst
demonstration of the disregard for laws and rules is to be found in the way
merit has been mutilated
With the three coalition partners in government all the time wanting
to protect and add to their turfs in the city of Karachi, one can imagine how
the law enforcement agencies have been manipulated to further partisan
interests. Frequent changes of personnel and mutual bickerings among the
political parties have played havoc with the department. To expect that this
agency could, or would deal fairly with the people of the city or effectively
control the local land, drug and other mafias, would be utterly unrealistic.
Add to this situation, the known fact of unhindered issue of licences of even
prohibited arms to millions of people, during the last few years. One hears,
off and on, talk about de-weaponization in Karachi
One thing is clear now. The present rulers cannot manage or control
the situation in Karachi. Altaf Hussains call to the military may not be the
best option, but something drastic needs to be done. The Sindh government
needs to be wound up and replaced by a neutral and competent cabinet.
One of the first tasks of this interim government should be to put the
administrative house in order; the first priority being the purging of the
police, of undesirable characters, induction of personnel on merit and putting
the right man at the right place. It is good that the DCOs and Commissioners
have been brought back. Honest and competent hands should hold these
offices. A cleansing and consolidating exercise should be followed by the
preparations for new elections. An equally vital step would be the
appointment of an independent Election Commission headed by an
experienced and courageous Supreme Court judge or an outstanding retired
civil servant (as has been the case in India). The army need not come, but a
meaningful nod from Kayani is called for.
On 8th August, Ikramullah opined: The issue of the creation of new
provinces at the moment appears to be less governed by administrative
compulsion and more by political goals with an eye on the next general
election. Anyhow, all the national and regional political parties are preparing
to cash maximum votes in their favour in case the new provinces in Punjab
(Saraiki) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Hazara) are created. Meanwhile, MQM
will be more than happy to have an administrative arrangement placing

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Karachi under their control without disturbing the present setup. As for
Balochistan, there is no demand for the division of the province.
As far as the federal government is concerned, they will be relieved
if the focus on Karachi, including handing it over to the army, is
diverted to the debate on the creation of new provinces. There could be
no better way for Islamabad to divert attention from the deteriorating law
and order situation and bloodbath in the city of lights, while the police and
Frontier Corps battles with the mysterious mess in the Sindh capital.
Next day, TheNation commented: As the Sindh governments earlier
decision to restore the local government system in Karachi and Hyderabad
alone, leaving the rest of the province to be governed under the
commissionerate system, came in for severe criticism from the ANP and
Sindhi nationalist parties, it had second thoughts and rushed to introduce
LGs all over the province. Apparently, the government realized the intensity
of the reaction and the oddness of running two different administrative
systems in the same federating unit and Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah
had an ordinance immediately drafted and then himself took it to the
Governor after midnight on Monday. The Governor, after discussing the
matter with him, issued an ordinance to that effect, which became public
around 03.00am. Thus, the commissionerate system remained in force in the
province only for 28 days. In first introducing LGs in Karachi and
Hyderabad and later covering the entire Sindh, the PPP did not consider it
worthwhile to consult the ANP, an important coalition partner both at the
centre and the province. In these twists and turns, the present PPP
leadership demonstrated, once again, its tendency to pursue policies on
an ad hoc basis, going along with a particular party when it suited its
interests, but when the situation took a different turn it would not hesitate to
jettison that party and opt for another partys recipe for a particular problem.
The sole aim to remains in power!
Interestingly, the issue of most critical nature for which all this
process of reconciliation had begun was to bring peace to the troubled city of
Karachi. There seems to be no talk of it at all now, unfortunately, while
the cycle of killings continues. The handing over of Karachi to the army to
control the law and order situation and deweaponize he city, the only
solution to which all the parties had agreed after other means had failed,
seems to have been dropped by the wayside. Both the PPP and the MQM
need to explain their positions to the anxious public, particularly the latter
since in the last round of upsurge in target killing it was a vociferous
complainant that its workers were being indiscriminately targeted.
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Both the ANP and the nationalist parties are opposed either to the
introduction of LG system in Karachi and Hyderabad or to the whole of
Sindh; for, in their view, commissionerates served the interests of the people
better. There were shutter-down and strikes in the interior of the province in
response to the nationalists call and gherao of PPP Ministers and leaders
houses, accompanied by a flurry of activity to block the latest measure.
ANPs provincial and central leaders are putting their heads together to
decide the future course of action, but they intend to insist on retaining
commissionerates and have restrained their Minister in the provincial cabinet
from working till the issue is resolved in their favour. But the big question
is the wanton deaths in Karachi, and unless the government sincerely and
wholeheartedly addresses this problem, neither the people would have the
satisfaction of peace, nor the government could function smoothly, the LGs
or no LGs.
On 12th August, the newspaper added: In a classic display of bad
governance, the PPP-led ruling political setup at the Centre has been shying
away from dealing with the basic problems of the people and, instead,
raising those issues that are of little relevance to the conditions of today.
These issues, certainly, are of no concern to the man in the street and
can wait for better times to be taken up. And all this to divert the peoples
attention from the real issues! For instance, as Karachi continues to bleed
profusely, with the leadership failing to get the hang of it, it turns to
peripheral matters to hide the shame of incompetence from the public. Little
does it realize that in this age of awareness the media and the Internet its
weaknesses stand roundly exposed. Besides, the problems that affect the
people every minute the mounting inflation, rank insecurity, paucity of
medical aid, poor schooling, virtually no public transport, debilitating
shortage of power in this hot and humid climate have dampened their
desires for the so-called higher things of life; they remain involved in
keeping body and soul together. They are interested only in solutions of
these issues, and not whether there are commissionerates or local bodies; in
Karachis specific case, their first priority is peace and security.
The PPPs new fad, creating a Seraiki province, has opened
floodgates of demands for carving out more provinces out of the existing
ones. The rowdy scenes witnessed on the floor of the Punjab Assembly
yesterday, where this issue came up, constitute a standing shame for the
public representatives, who in democratic order virtually hold the fate of
the nation in their hands. An understanding approach and sobriety in
debating vital issues is of essence. It is a great pity that the myopic wish of
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the rulers to stay in power has opened this Pandoras Box, which is nothing
but the eagerness of local leadership to have the perks and privileges of
power. If the calls for new provinces, on linguistic, ethnic or administrative
grounds, were to be positively answered, we would see all the existing four
broken into different units, whose running would further burden the
exchequer that has already reached the breaking point. The whole idea is a
non-starter.
What the rulers should at present be wholeheartedly addressing
is the frightening situation in Karachi. With the people laced with lethal
arms, both provincial and federal governments are finding it hard to restore
peace. The Sindh government has shown its inability to implement the
Interior Ministers decision, announced before the media, that all licences
would expire by September 30 and need renewal. The leadership does not
have the courage to go either for the option to call the army to quell violence
or for a thorough campaign to de-weaponize the city. With the main
contentious points unresolved, there is little chance that any lull in target
killing could prove lasting!
Next day, Anjum Niaz wrote: Take note of what a Swiss Bank
insider, recently retired, says: Pakistan is a poor country but Pakistanis are
not. According to him 28 trillion (28,000,000,000,000) of Pakistan rupees
are deposited in Swiss Banks. A Pakistani tells me if our rulers were to
bring back their money and invest it in Pakistan, the next 30 year
budget will be tax free; we can generate 6o million jobs; we can build four
lane roads from any village to Islamabad; we can ensure forever free supply
to more than 500 social projects; we can provide Rs20,000 per month as
financial assistance to deserving citizens for 60 years; we can end our
dependence on the World Bank and IMF loans. Failure to get the loot back
by the Supreme Court and the khakis is the reality on the eve of our 64 th
Independence Day.
Babar Sattar opined: It is about time we realize that while the elites
might have led our country astray to begin with, the society at large has
acquiesced in living within a predatory state and acquiring a predatory
character to survive and thrive. Our parochial instincts, insular vision and
lop-sided priorities are transforming our state and society into an
inhospitable place for our future generations. And individual fortune, success
and effort might not be sufficient to confront the challenges created for the
value set of our children by depraved communal ethics and public morality.
The cost of supporting reckless policies and hedonism in Pakistan is not all
tangible and that much of the damage it is causing might be irreparable.
408

Old man Roedad Khan kept coaxing Pakistanis to act. This is one of
those moments in history when all that is needed is for someone to push
open the door. I have no doubt that the present corrupt political system
would disappear in a violent upheaval since it carries within it the seed of its
own destruction. At this moment, when the nation is standing on the
escalator of corruption and anarchy, right-minded citizens cannot afford to
stand frozen in disgust and dismay. We cannot merely look upon the political
developments in sorrow and upon our politicians in anger.
Why is there no outpouring of revulsion and anger towards these
corrupt rulers? Our people are good at being long-suffering and patient,
but not very good at being angry. Now they are really getting very angry.
Public disgust has risen to epic levels. Anger is wafting across the country.
Indignation will soon lead to action. When hunger and anger come together,
people, sooner or later, take to the streets and demonstrate Lenins maxim
that in such situations voting with citizens feet is more effective than voting
in elections. When the indignation begin occupying Jinnah Avenue, in front
of parliament or on Constitution Avenue opposite the Supreme Court, the
wheel of history will be set in motion. Things will begin to change.
The ossified political parties are out of sync with the spirit and
essence of times and are fast becoming irrelevant. There is a vacuum
awaiting a star who has both integrity and credibility. Destiny is
beckoning Imran Khan, a whirlwind of a leader, harbinger of change, a
man of unbounded vitality. More and more people are looking up to him to
deliver shock therapy to the corrupt, encrusted, two-party duopoly running
the show in Pakistan. Today, he alone has that passion burning within him
that will unleash people power and set the nation alight. Hopefully, he will
lance the poisoned carbuncle and clean the country of all the mess. Mark my
words, he is destined to change the political landscape of Pakistan.
On 18th August, Matthew Green commented on situation in Karachi.
The government response to the current outbreak has a repetitive feel.
As usual, Islamabad has ordered paramilitary rangers to sweep
neighbourhoods in search of perpetrators. Talks have been held with city
politicians. Rewards have been offered for mobile phone pictures of
suspects. But most believe it is only a matter of time before the next bout of
killing.
There is another side to Karachi. Say goodbye to split ends in 14
days promise banners advertising shampoo, appealing to a growing middle
class. Well-heeled diners pay Rs300 ($3.50) to enter the eateries at the new

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Port Grand mall, developed on a forgotten patch of seafront. Bloodshed

may shut shops for a day but the city never pauses for long.
Such resilience is the citys greatest asset. The question is whether its
wells of tolerance run as deep. A unified, thriving Karachi would be a
beacon of hope for a more peaceful Pakistan. For now, the chasms
dividing the city, and the country, grow a little deeper with each freshly dug
grave.
Why distance does not matter for the citys most potent electoral
force. In the cut-throat world of Karachi politics, one man reigns supreme.
Altaf Hussain, head of the MQM, exerts an almost mesmerizing hold
over his followers. His feat is all the more remarkable because he has not
set foot in the city in 20 years.
Operating from a house in north London, he addresses rallies in
Karachi by telephone. Tens of thousands sit cross-legged in rapt silence as
his voice is broadcast from 4,000 miles away. Party lieutenants bestow gifts
on newlyweds in his name. Altafs acolytes defend his absence by pointing
to the fate of Benazir Bhutto. His philosophy is enshrined in a zigguratshaped monument adorned with a sculpture of a fist and the slogan:
Distance does not matter.
Personality cults are a staple of Pakistani politics but the MQM
phenomenon is unique MQMs white-collar activists view their party
as a bulwark of secularism against the extremism. Espousing a middleclass work ethic, they believe the MQM can serve as an antidote to the
deadening grip of Pakistans feudal-style politics.
To its critics, the party is more akin to a crime syndicate. With its
history of internecine violence, it is blamed for the deaths of hundreds of
opponents. Some residents say that thugs enforce protection rackets to fill its
coffers and that some members are in cahoots with land-grabbers and
worse.
As the rival Awami National party has gained strength through an
inflow of Pashtun migrants, the MQM has become embroiled in a bloody
and ethnically tinged power struggle ANP activists are convinced that
the MQM wants to deny the Pashtun a rightful share of power but
demography, they say, is on their side. One of my colleagues has eight boys.
Even if six are killed, two will survive, says Bashir Jan, a senior ANP
official. I have seven children, he adds, and laughs.

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Mowahid Hussain Shah wrote: Thanks to venal elite, the colonial

method of divide and rule is today re-emerging as divide and loot. In 1971, it
cost half the nation. In 2011, the perils of ethno-nationalism, tribalism, and
provincialism are risking the rest of what is left. It is being witnessed during
the month of Ramazan in August, exactly 64 years after Pakistan was created
during Ramazan in August 1947. It is a plot to divide and destabilize
Pakistan by trying to sub-fragment it.
The real threat to the nation comes from its own autocrats, who are
igniting ethnic emotions and fanning secessionist embers as a tool of
political manipulation. By doing so, it undermines the values of Muslim
nationhood and the founding vision of the Quaid and Allama Iqbal When
the rights of Pakistani citizenship are not empowered, then divisions along
ethnic, tribal, and lingual lines are easily enflamed. It fosters a dangerous
Us versus Them mentality
It is a misleading argument that one area is backward because
the other area is more advanced. Disparity often discounts factors of
culture, tradition, and geo-strategic placement. The island of Java, for
example, juts out in the 17,000-island nation of Indonesia.
Who then stands to benefit from the Balkanization of Pakistan? The
barracudas in the bureaucracy-cum-political oligarchy would like nothing
more than to subdivide the nation so that they can allocate lucrative
portfolios to themselves and their kith and kin. The problem is never
solved by robbing Peter to pay Paul. On the issue of timing; why now?
The sudden upsurge in playing the ethnic card seems orchestrated. The
quisling class, with its proven track record of opportunism and going with
the flow, has little hesitation in joining the jackals.
What is wrong with the concept of one nation and one destiny? In
the Caribbean region, there are several small island nations mostly remote,
obscure, and insignificant. But only when they band together to play cricket
as one, under the banner of West Indies, do they become world-renowned.
An acclaimed documentary, Fire in Babylon, tells their inspirational story of
the collective fight for dignity and unity.
Bad leadership builds walls. Good leadership builds bridges.
Sovereignty can easily be eroded from within, through slow poisoning, but it
is harder to detect. It is much easier, however, to point at encroachment of
sovereignty by external forces.
The pitfalls of provincialism are not adequately weighed or vetted. It
can set the stage for more lethal conflicts. It marginalizes those not of
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similar ethnicity, as the majority living in that province. It opens a can of

worms. In Pakistan, there is plenty of talk glorifying individual talent; but
very little about teamwork. A nation easily divisible by ethnic, lingual, or
tribal lines becomes a non-nation.
Next day, TheNation commented: Indifferent to the nations
agonizing groans, the cruelty of man continues to wreak havoc on Karachi,
cavalierly playing with the lives of its inhabitants and mercilessly putting
their belongings to the torch The death toll has kept growing. The loss,
immeasurable though as far as the worth of a single human being is
concerned, runs into millions, in material terms, when vehicles and houses
come crashing down, reduced to ashes. If nature is indifferent, no less
callous have been, and there lies the tragedy, the leadership in power, the
political parties enjoying control over the forces of violence the rioters
and influence in the governance of the city and, indeed, the custodians of
law and order. The stakeholders are engaged in political wheelingdealings, rushing from one meeting to another, settling terms of sharing
power that, in their terminology, goes for reconciliation. Nothing could be
more devastating to the soul, and nothing could be more shameful for the
rulers.
It is hard to draw a true picture of the blighted city as it exists at
present. One could imagine the dead bodies of active workers of rival
political parties or ethnic groups lying on street corners in an advanced stage
of putrefaction and shoved into gunny bags. An innocent passer-by, who had,
with some trepidation, stepped out of his house to shop for iftar for his
family, shot dead and sprawling on the roadside alongside a bleeding victim
of the cruel circumstances asking for help; a half-burnt corpse of a young
college-going student, with his mind full of vague aspirations for life that, in
his blithe ignorance of the dangers accosting him at every turn, was cut short
and lying in the wreckage of the car he was driving; a poor bus driver,
perhaps the sole breadwinner of a family of seven, slumped over the steering
wheel of his minibus these must be common sights in the city that once
throbbed with life round the clock.
Yet, the rulers are looking at Karachi as if it was a distant place
of little concern to them. No gruesome tragedy, no criticism, no pleading
for life; nothing seems to move them. Their attitude would suggest that they
have lost the game; bringing peace is not within their power. Yet, as
everyone knows, all they have to do is to restrain the bands of party thugs
and, if they want us to believe that their parties do not harbour such
bloodthirsty goons, let Karachi be controlled by the Army.
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On 20th August, the newspaper added: The only possible conclusion

that one can draw from the highly meaningful observations, It is not today
that Karachi has come to such a passall political parties have arms and
they are using it, is: There is nothing to worry about, killing each other
ruthlessly has been going on for long and is an accepted norm of the city, let
us relax and see, and if you have the blood of a murderer running
through your veins, enjoy, from the secure heights of power, the sight of
gangs mowing down their rivals. Karachi, after all, is a gangland, the murder
of 48 one day, 31 on the next and so on should not make anyone lose their
sleep. A perceptive reader, who has been keeping up with the brutal
developments taking place, unchecked, in Karachi, would not be surprised to
know that the words quoted above are of no less an authority than Manzoor
Wassan, the man especially put in charge of the preservation of law and
order in the province of Sindh and the security of life and property of the
people living there.
Thanks to Mr Wassan, the situation that has led most political
analysts to warn that it has reached the tipping point, but is so complicated
and no one could dare intervene has become clear. These analysts have
openly been saying that the gun-trotting gangs operating in the city
belong, mainly, to the three major political forces the PPP, the MQM
and the ANP and unless they decide to rein them in, there would be no
peace there. The pity is that no attempt is being made to put a halt to the
ongoing massacre, while the gangs have recently added rockets and hand
grenades to their arsenal and are throwing them at the living quarters of their
rivals, thus giving another dimension of indiscriminate murder to the game
of target killing. Mutilated bodies dumped in gunny bags, however, would
continue to be found, as witnessed on Thursday.
It is pathetic to note the politicians with direct stake in Karachi
failing to move beyond holding meetings and telephoning each other,
with Prime Minister Gilani directing Interior Minister Malik to rush to
Karachi and maintaining that he has already issued instructions to Chief
Minister Shah and law-enforcement agencies to calm down the tempers.
This exercise has been going on for a long time, endlessly long for the
terror-stricken residents of the city. Strangely, the simple logic of restraining
their gangs and making them hand over their weapons to the law
enforcement agencies does not strike them, let alone cleansing the police
force of partisan elements and devising a mechanism that could ensure
lasting peace in the sprawling town that, alas!, was called the hub of
Pakistans industry and commerce in the now forgotten past.
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Two days later, the newspaper commented: Talking to journalists on

Saturday, COAS Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani also said the army was willing
to go in if so ordered by the government. Therefore, it is the government Mr
Gilani heads, which is dragging its feet. One wonders how Mr Malik has
concluded that the city is peaceful, while people were killed on Saturday; yet
the government thinks the military should not be called in. It seems that the
government will go on refusing to accept any responsibility no matter how
many people are killed. Both federal and provincial governments need
reminding that the basic purpose of their existence is to provide security
to the masses, not ministerial perks and privileges for themselves, and if
that means using the last resort of the state, they should, especially when the
law enforcing agencies, including the paramilitary forces, do not seem to
have done anything to bring peace to the city.
The federal government will have to take tough decisions about
Karachi, including its de-weaponization, if it hopes to restore the peace
there. Mr Malik must be taken up on his claims that target killers have been
arrested. No doubt criminal gangs have played a role in providing the foot
soldiers in the current violence, but the brains must be sought among
those offering them protection, even if that means reaching into ruling
political parties.

REVIEW
Karachi is in the grip of unprecedented bloodshed perpetrated not by
the obscurantist, religious extremists, Islamic fascists or savages, but by the
enlightened, democratic, secular and tolerant forces that the people have
been made to choose by the superpower. That implies that it cannot be
termed terrorism; at worst it can be called a fit of democratic revenge.
Zardari pursuing a policy derived from contradictory doctrines of
democracy is the best revenge and reconciliation has for the first time
confronted Altaf Hussain; an adversary of his repute and caliber. Both claim
ownership of Karachi as our city. Both have well established Dens in the
city Bilawal House and Nine Zero but they prefer to operate from distant
hideouts in Islamabad and London respectively.
The present row between the two that started during AJK elections in
which MQM revolted against the big brother of the ruling coalition forced
Pir Pagara to recognize Altaf Hussain as our pir. He was also impressed by

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opportunism of Chaudhries of Gujrat and termed PML-Q Ali Baba and forty
thieves.
The two Dons made rapid moves and counter moves for the control of
Karachi for which MQM and PPP preferred different types of local
government systems. Apparently, the spate of ordinances issued about LG
system in Sindh happened to be a classic example of spit-and-lick habit; but
in fact Zardari seemed to have forced MQM to fall back to his haram of
coalition government.
Concurrently with reconciliatory moves the democratic revenge
continued with all the ferocity at the disposal of two sides. Targeted killings
and kidnappings followed by throwing of mutilated dead bodies in bags on
roadsides. MQM has the honour of introducing this form of exacting
revenge.
A day before the killings on 18th August, five dead bodies of PPP
supporters from Lyari were recovered and the manner in which Sharjeel
Memon described their condition on TV indicated the urge for revenge. In
less than 24 hours Urdu-speaking men were picked up from various places
and killed.
The two Dons never left their respective dens in London and
Islamabad. Both seemed absolutely unperturbed about the bloodshed and
occasionally summoned their gang members for feedback and to issue fresh
directives. Their concerns were evident from their telephone conversation;
one was perturbed about leaks of FIA and IB reports that pointed fingers
towards his gang and the other asked him to return to the coalition
government.
This is dream situations for the Dons leading their respective gangs
of criminals, but for people it is worse than nightmarish. The residents of
mega city silently wish and pray that at least one of them takes care of other
if not both the devils perish in the ongoing encounter. They hope that some
noble soul would come to get rid of the remaining devil.
For that their last hope rests with the Supreme Court and the Army.
Most Pakistanis have started urging them to act, but Army can act only if the
government wants it or the Supreme Court directs it to act as such. The
government wont do what it did in Swat. There is a difference between
Swat and Karachi; in the case of former military crackdown was against
Islamic fascists but in the latter case the target would be democratic forces.

415

That will not be liked by the foreign sponsors of democratic forces

bunched together in the present democratic junta ruling Pakistan. Army
wont dare waging Jihad against armed activist of secular and moderate
political parties; jihad is permitted only against Islamic fundamentalists; a
production of mulla and madrassa.
In any case, employment of Army in the presence of this government
will lead to more bloodshed with no guarantee of any positive outcome; thus
the status quo is likely to prevail. Army leadership will also avoid extra
constitutional act as it could provide an excuse to America to marshal
international community for direct intervention.
The Don seated in the Presidency has been conscious of the criticism
he could be subjected for the failings of his regime and he has been making
diversionary moves to distract potential critics. The debate triggered by the
spanner of creation of more provinces has drawn the focus away from the
real issues.
Creation of more provinces from existing federating units is a genuine
requirement for facilitating better governance, but that has been mixed with
evil designs and thus unlikely to be implemented or made considerably
controversial and delayed. The oppressed masses are not much impressed
as it would be for the families of ruling elite which have expanded and need
more portfolios of ministers and chief ministers.
Amid hectic engagement with his political rivals as well as partners
and his critics Zardari did not give judiciary any room to dispense justice
independently. He continued exploiting Americas war on terror by
promising to deliver more while fulfilling his evil designs about plundering
Pakistan.
His regimes coalition partners, ANP and MQM also availed the
opportunity for fulfillment of their respective vested interests and recently
PML-Q has joined the gang. On its behest bomb hoax was raised to save the
brilliant son of Gujrat who has been accused of stealing, not cattle, but
billions of rupees in NICL scam. The Zardari-led Sindhis and Chaudhries of
Gujrat have made a deadly gang of looters and thieves.
Meanwhile, Zardari rewarded members of his gang on 64 th
Independence Day by dolling out national civil awards like booty. Even a
senior PPP leader felt prick on his conscience who said they have made the
highest civil awards like PTV awards; more appropriately, like Zee TV
(Zardari TV) awards. Whatever the criterion, the awardees were in the good
company of actress Meera.
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It also goes to the credit of Zardari that like a powerful Don he has
bulldozed through all the dissent within his party. Some the stalwarts who
disagreed with him like Safdar Abbasi, Naheed Khan, Aitzaz Ahsan, Shah
Mahmood and Enver Baig were axed mercilessly; others like Nabeel Babol
are waiting in the line of fire.
22nd August, 2011

BODY BLOWS
During the period covered in last review Imran Khan had organized
second sit-in in Islamabad on second Saturday of Ramazan in connection
with his campaign of Hakumat Hatao, Mulk Bachao. This event of political
significance was completely ignored by electronic and print media.
This act of voluntary news censoring was quite intriguing especially
in era in which about a dozen kids pelting stones are shown as breaking
news. It cast enough doubts about the so-called independence of fourth pillar
of the State. Presumably, invisible force of rupees or dollars or combination
of the two had played behind the scenes.
It marked the beginning of a revenge season in which the evil forces
in political arena delivered body blows on each others in frenzy. PPP
government in Sindh promulgated three ordinances to revert back to
bureaucratic system of local administration just to punish MQM for
walking our of Zardaris political haram.

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Nationalists jumped into the arena and nearly stole the show. Then,
five young men from Lyari were kidnapped, tortured and murdered. Random
kidnapping and killing of Urdu-speaking people followed with speed of a
boxer. Malik rushed to the city and ordered release of 18 abductees. Chief
Justice took suo moto notice of killings and General Kayani visited Karachi.
On 28th August, Dr Zulfikar Mirza delivered the upper-cut and sent
MQM and Malik reeling. MQM stepped back, gathered its wits and held a
retaliatory press conference but it lacked partys fire and flare. Mirza was
not deterred; he maintained the impetus of his onslaught.
Body blows produced the intended result; MQM showed the desire to
fall back to Zardaris hara. PPP made reconciliatory moves; first canceled all
the ordinances and reverted back to the LG system of Musharraf era and
then made frequent contacts, but blows delivered by Mirza became
unbearable for MQM. Mustafa Kamal entered the arena to hurl some blows.
MQM also ended its boycott of media and on 9 th September Altaf
decided to join the competition, but he put up very poor show during his
video conference. He invited more trouble from almost every political party.
Then, next day appeared on TV screens; he too disappointed the nation
seeing a begging bowl in his hand.

NEWS
On 22nd August, 13 more people were killed in Karachi. Petitions were
filed in the Supreme Court and SHC begging deployment of Army to restore
peace in the city. The Supreme Court sought video footages from TV
channels showing killings. Asma Jahangir addressed lawyers in Karachi and
she termed Lyari Peace Committee as PPPs Bhatha collection committee.
Differences over the strategy to control killings emerged in the PPP.
Rehman Malik and Zulfikar Mirza exchanged hot words during the meeting
chaired by Gilani. Both of them were told to appear before the media and
deny the occurrence of verbal encounter and Mirza was once again
summoned to Islamabad by the Don. Late in the evening, Gilani approved
operation by Rangers and Police in nine troubled spots of the city.
MQM blamed Lyari Peace Committee for the bloodshed and Farooq
Sattar announced observance of day of mourning on 23 rd August; traders and

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smaller parties supported the MQM call for strike. Altaf Hussain demanded
resignation of Gilani if cant control situation in Karachi.
Next day, strike was observed in the city except by the killers. Altaf
thanked people for making the strike a success. Six people were killed as
Rehman Malik ordered the bhatha mafia to leave the city because surgical
operations has been planned against them; a few hours later the directive
was amended and mafia was told to stop its activities for a while.
Late at night, the Core Committee of PPP put its weight behind the
action plan devised by the Sindh government to purge the port city from
target killers and extortionists through effective and optimal utilization of
Police and Rangers. Zardari talked to Asfandyar on telephone during the
meeting of Core Committee.
Asma Jahangir supported the regimes decision not to call Army; she
announced that lawyers would oppose deployment of Army. Sharjeel
Memon hinted at playing into foreign hands to exert added pressure on
MQM. Surprisingly, MQM loud-mouths went missing from TY screens.
Javed Hashmi urged for collective wisdom to solve problems in Karachi.
The Supreme Court was informed by the lawyer representing the
Interior Secretary that its order about Husain Asghar could not be
implemented because of the law and order situation in GB; moreover, the
officer himself was not interested to serve in FIA. The court gave another
two weeks to implement its order.
On 24th August, operation and threats from bhatha mafias continued
concurrently as Karachi experienced relative peace. One person was killed
and 72 criminals were arrested from nine troubles areas but Lyari was
remained generally untouched. Nine SHOs were changed and 17 more were
likely to be changed. Shahi Syed said ANP welcomes the operation but it
would remain inconsequential till the Rangers reach the torture cells and
expose those to the public and punish all those linked to those cells.
Zardari called Ishrat to Islamabad take MQM into confidence about
the impartiality of the operation and further bargaining. Munter met Qaim
Ali and discussed the situation in troubled city. The Crusaders put pressure
through Britain for PPP-MQM reconciliation as the unrest in Karachi
threatened the supply line to Afghanistan. MQM was reported to have
agreed to new formula of reconciliation amongst stakeholders.
JI chief accused MQM of conspiring with foreigners. Wassan
appeared before the media wearing a fancy hat giving look of a leader of

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drug mafia from Mexico rather than a law-enforcer concerned about the
gravity of the situation. PML-N leaders visited Karachi. MQM invited PMLN leaders Mushahidullah, Parvez Rashid and Saad Rafiq on iftar party.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan took suo moto notice of Allama Tahirul
Qadris statement about killings in Karachi. He observed Executive has
failed; formed five-member bench; fixed the date of hearing for August 26
and summoned IGP Sindh, AG Sindh and presidents of SBC and SHBC.
PAC Chairman, Chaudhry Nisar dissolved all sub committees in the
wake of appointment of Akhtar Buland Rana as Auditor General of Pakistan.
Nisar alleged that appointment of controversial person was aimed at making
the PAC ineffective; he said the NA body could not be subjected to
governments agenda. Meanwhile, FIA traced links of Moonis with
embezzled money in NICL scam.
Next day, a lawyer was shot dead and 15 suspects were held in raids.
Bars in Karachi condemned the murder of Murtaza Chenai. Rangers were
given additional police powers for three months regarding clearance of nogo areas, targeted killings and bhatha collection. PPP and MQM wrote
letters to foreign diplomats accusing each other for killings in Karachi.
Qaim Ali chaired meeting on Karachi operation. Sindh government
circular said APC has been called for August 26 and in the evening Sharjeel
Memon announced no such meeting has been called. Farooq Sattar and
Haider Rizvi met Registrar Supreme Court and sought advice how MQM
could help the court hearing as aggrieved party.
Threatening letter was found in car park of the Supreme Court after
MQM leaders had met the Registrar and Babar Awan had just left. Letter
said there would be bomb blast in the building tomorrow (the day of hearing
Karachi case). Unknown terrorists had also threatened to kill Chief Justice
and Zardari. Bracketing of the two was quiet intriguing; was it to do
anything with tomorrows hearing of suo moto of Karachi.
PML-N team led by Shahbaz spent busy day in Karachi discussing the
situation and consoling the families of the victims. Shahbaz suggested joint
strategy to end killings. Gilani said killings in Karachi were not something
new; he claimed that across the board action was being taken.
Gilani also acquitted his son of corruption charges linked to Hajj
scam. About Chief Justices letter about Auditor General he said Ran
Bulands only fault is that he is from Multan. Zafar Qureshi briefed NA body
on NICL; he said Moonis Elahi was involved in money laundering.

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On 26th August, Babar Awan appeared before the five-member bench

on the behalf of the federal government; while, the chief secretary and Sindh
IGP the Sindh government. The Sindh AG on behalf of chief secretary and
IGP presented two reports. According to the reports, 500 FIRs were
registered, while 232 cases were registered and 306 people were target killed
in one month in Karachi.
Justice Tariq Pervaiz said that there were many incidents, which have
not been reported and if those are included the number of cases would be
higher. The chief justice also expressed his dissatisfaction over the reports
and ordered for detailed reports. The court ordered Sindh Advocate General
to submit copies of Daily Situation Reports (DSR) from July 24 to August
23 and the briefs of FIRs. The IGP has also been directed to file the details
of injured persons and loss of properties and whether people have been
arrested and the responsibilities fixed.
The CJ observed that the AG should have consulted the ISI, military
intelligence and Intelligence Bureau for getting a complete picture on
Karachi. The CJP told the attorney general about the sensitivity of the case,
directing him not to take it in a light manner. One strike in Karachi incurs a
loss of Rs25 billion, he said.
Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq informed the court that he had
tried to contact all the intelligence agencies heads but was only able to talk
to FIA and IB, who say that Karachi unrest is a provincial matter. The chief
justice advised him to not get into the absurdities of jurisdictions, telling him
that Karachi is mini Pakistan and its peace is must for the development of
the whole country.
Abdul Hafiz Pirzada, counsel for Sindh government, told the court
that calling the army in Karachi would not control violence. Warlords rule
Karachi, which today faces a complex problem with multiple dimensions,
Pirzada informed the court. God help us, the CJ observed while expressing
shock over the presence of warlords. Pirzada requested the court to give
some time for placing some important documents. The chief justice said
Karachi, the locus of business activity, should not be allowed to descend into
further chaos.
The counsel of the federal government, Babar Awan, said warlords
had also taken Swat hostage but the government had defeated them. He said
the CJP should not make statements which could be misconstrued. The
Sindh governments attorney said the court didnt have the solution to the
Karachi issue.
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The chief justice said the court has the constitutional right to ensure
the rights of the common people. He said it was demand of the 180 million
people that was why the court took the action. The situation in Karachi is out
of control for the last one month. The court asked how many people had
been killed and why the culprits could not be nabbed. Advocate General said
a man who killed 100 people was released by the court. The case has been
adjourned till Monday, and the bench has been shifted to Karachi.
In Karachi, sixteen more criminals were hauled up; but general
public remained suspicious about the crackdown; meanwhile Rs4.5 million
were looted from a bank. Lawyers boycotted courts to protest murder of
Murtaza Chenai. In a meeting of the Bars they decided not to contest cases
of arrested terrorists.
Shahbaz Taseer son of Salman Taseer was kidnapped in Lahore. Latif
Khosa held a press conference and blamed PML-N government for his
abduction. President and Prime Minister expressed concerns; Shahbaz Sharif
vowed to investigate personally and even Imran Khan rushed to his house.
Chief Justice wrote a letter to the President expressing reservations on
appointment of Akhtar Buland Rana as Auditor General. Meanwhile, the
regime was all set to appoint another person with credentials similar to
Buland Rana as Governor of State Bank.
Next day, more than 370 criminals were hauled up in Karachi in last
four days. Nationalists took out rally against unrest and pledged not to let
mafias take city hostage. In Lahore, Imtiaz Warriach of PPP vowed to launch
province-wide protests over kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer.
Zardari rejected all the observations of the Chief Justice on Akhtar
Buland Rana and The Chief Justice was told to administer the oath to new
AGP which he did in the afternoon. The ceremony was unprecedented
because before the administration of oath Registrar read out brief resume of
reservations about his appointment and how those were brushed aside by the
Executive.
Shahbaz Sharif accused federal law ministry of delaying two power
projects in Punjab for want of bribe and he urged Gilani to punish the
culprits. ATC Rawalpindi ordered confiscation of property of Musharraf
after declaring him proclaimed offender Benazir murder case.
On 28th August, Rangers discovered two torture cells and dug out a
cache of weapons during operation in Lyari. PPP leadership in South
Karachi resigned in protest. Rehman Malik said 133 suspected criminals

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were held in Lyari operation. Wassan claimed the city was returning to
normalcy as only two dead bodies were found during the day.
Zulfikar resigned as minister, member of Sindh Assembly and part
membership in a press conference in which he bitterly criticized Rehman
Malik and MQM. He made some revelations while swearing on the Holy
Quran, i.e. Rehman Malik is a compulsive lair and he is threat to integrity of
Pakistan. He also blamed Agha Siraj Durrani for playing double game and
criticized Ahmed Chenai.
The focus of his revelations was on MQM. He accused MQM for the
woes of Karachi related to targeted killings and extortion. He said Wali
Babar was killed by MQM, 25 target-killers were got released on parole.
Mirza quoted Altaf saying that the US has decided to break up Pakistan and
MQM has to be ready for that and therefore it cant stop killing Pakhtuns.
MQM also wrote the British government to finish ISI before it creates
another Osama.
Zulfikars resignation as minister and party office was accepted.
Firdous Ashiq Awan said Zulfikar Mirza first resigned and then address the
media men. Therefore, whatever he said was in his personal capacity and
PPP has nothing to do with it. US Embassy refrained from commenting on
the statement of Mirza. MQM termed Mirzas allegations as absurd, but
asked Zardari to explain his position.
Rehman Malik held a press conference and vowed to continue across
the board operation. He confessed that 18 abductees which were got released
by him few days ago were held by Lyari gang. He said that Zulfikar Mirza is
his younger brother and he being angry could say anything. He insisted on
maintaining contacts with MQM.
Political parties termed Mirzas charges serious; Imran Khan asked
Rehman Malik to resign. President met Fehmida and consulted others. Late
at night he summoned ministers of Sindh to Islamabad. Speaker National
Assembly formed parliamentary committee on Karachi and Balochistan.
Next day, AG Maulvi Anwarul Haq submitted report containing
information gathered by Special Branch, FIA and IB; the court expressed its
dissatisfaction and warned that the situation in Karachi was in danger of
spinning out of hand. The chief justice remarked the presented report
contained nothing new and directed the authorities to table such report as
could lead to some result. The court directed the AG to present intelligence
reports of ISI and MI.

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The AGP requested the court not to disclose some important parts of
the report of the secret agencies, and it should not be made part of court
record. The court said a decision to keep the report classified will be taken
after it has been reviewed. It also remarked that since most part of the report
is based on newspaper reports, keeping it confidential was of no use.
IGP Sindh admitted that many areas of the city have become no-go
zones with the death toll mounting to 306 in a month of gang wars and
mayhem. He also submitted that a total of 306 people have been killed in
Karachi between July 24 and August 24. He said 232 cases have been
registered in 75 police stations during one month. The IGP asserted that
despite the ongoing carnage, the situation is within the control of lawenforcement agencies.
The CJP queried how many people had been arrested so far and why
the people responsible for Karachi violence were not being identified. The
police chief replied that the police arrested 20 suspects but most of them
were released as the complainants were scared to appear before the court to
record their statements against the suspects. The court directed the IGP to
present a comprehensive report on the Karachi killings. The court sought the
names of police officers who were killed in the line of duty and also those of
the arrested target killers, but Durrani failed to answer these questions.
The chief justice asked Durrani to give him the number of police
officials and also the number of police officials designated to VVIPs duties.
Durrani responded that out of 32,000 police officials, only 20,000 are
operational. He said that 12,000 are non-operational out of which 4,000 are
protecting SIU and CPO officials and 8,000 are on VVIP duties. When the
chief justice asked him to explain why the VIPs required so much security,
the IGP said the VIPs claim their life is under threat and that they need
security.
JI leader and former MPA Abdul Waheed Qureshi filed an application
requesting to be a party in the case. Such applications were also filed by the
Awami Nation Party leader Bashir Khan, Sindh Bachao Committee leader
Shah Muhammad Shah, Sindh High Court Bar Association President Anwar
Mansoor Khan and Karachi Bar Association President Muhammad Aqil and
Hyder Imam Rizvi. Earlier, Muttahida Quami Movement had also filed an
application requesting to become a party.
Meanwhile, police arrested a target killer from Baloch Colony, while
Mirza remained the most sought after man by TV channels and he ruled the
screens throughout the day. In his interview he made more revelations
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including that Imran Farooq was killed by MQM on the instructions of Altaf
Hussain and three persons were arrested at Karachi Airport recently on the
tip off from Scotland Yard.
Rehman Malik had already denied any such arrests. This led to
rumours about Altaf forcing British High Commissioner to deny reports
regarding detention of Altaf Hussain or imposition of any restrictions on his
movement. He also said he was enjoying watching happenings in Pakistan.
Zardari and Rehman Malik telephoned to enquire about the ailing
Altaf Hussain. Late at night Zardari ordered stern action against Mirza and
PPP vowed to continue reconciliatory policy and renew contacts with
MQM. ANP demanded that Mirza should be summoned by the Supreme
Court. Maj Gen Ijaz was posted back to Sindh Rangers. Angry employees
for non payment of 4-months salaries attacked KESC head office and police
baton charged the protesters.
On 30th August, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada contended that the security
situation had improved since the courts notice on the issue. He also
informed the court that there are at least 2.5 million foreigners including
Palestinians, Burmese, Bengalis, Nepalese and Sri Lankans living in
Karachi, but less than 100,000 have been registered. He apprised the court
that all foreigners have arms with increased influence in the affairs of the
city and in recent years.
The counsel maintained the most critical problem of the city was
extortionists (bhatha mafia) and drug mafia. Furthermore, he said the
percentage of court convictions is very low and services of police and
Rangers are not being properly utilized. The Chief Justice asked Pirzada
about the polices failure to identify victims of target killings.
The Chief Justice said the government has the resources and
machinery to restore peace in the metropolis but lacks the will to do so. He
directed the Sindh government to act immediately to curb the violence. He
said the provinces chief minister is duty-bound to protect the people of
Sindh. He said extortion money is being collected like a right in the city
marred by frequent recoveries of mutilated bodies. He questioned as to how
the situation could be improved under such circumstances.
He expressed dissatisfaction that none of the accused were present in
anti-terrorism courts, nor were issued a challan by the police. He slammed
the police for not recording the statement of an injured victim who was
recovered earlier this week. He noted that the provincial governments move

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to borrow federal security forces has proved very expensive. The better
alternative, the CJ remarked, was to develop the provincial police force.
During the hearing of the case, the CJ gave remarks that its time that
the provincial government woke up, as the matter has become serious and a
fundamental right to security is being violated. After hearing arguments the
court, adjourned the hearing, till September 5. Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami,
Awami National Party, Sindh Bachao Committee, Sindh High Court Bar
Association and Karachi Bar Association filed applications requesting to
become party to the case.
MQM termed Mirza an anti-Pakistan and sick minded person and
said that his allegations against Altaf Hussain were shameful and baseless.
Addressing a Press conference, Faisal Sabzwari said that the monstrous
allegation made by Zulfiqar Mirza about an alleged US plot to break up
Pakistan, referring to his meeting with Altaf Hussain in London, is as much
laughable as it is grave.
Sabzwari further said: Zulfiqar Mirza has tried to increase his stature
by pointing finger at the leader of the third largest political party who is
honoured by millions of people. It is highly ridiculous that Altaf Hussain
held secretive talks with him. This is nothing but slander and a white lie.
There is not a speck of reality in it and the MQM condemns this in the
strongest possible terms.
Commenting on Mirzas allegation about Altaf Hussains involvement
in Pakhtun killings in Karachi, he said that the conversation referred to Altaf
Hussain by Zulfiqar Mirza regarding killing of the Pakhtuns is an unabashed
lie, baseless and a figment of imagination of his devious mind.
Reportedly, MQM decided to come closer to the ruling PPP and is
expected to be part of the coalition shortly after Eidul Fitr. Agha Siraj
Durrani met Zardari and discussed the situation in the province. He
subsequently told reporters that the PPP and the MQM would offer Eid
prayers separately, but would join hands shortly thereafter.
Mirza once against lashed out at the MQM and cautioned that if
something happens to him then MQM should be held responsible.
Addressing a crowded press conference at the Hyderabad Press Club, he
alleged that the MQM wanted to rule Sindh. He vowed to fight for the rights
of Sindh and urged youths of the province to strengthen his hands.
He charged that thousands of containers of arms and ammunition went
missing in Karachi, accusing former minister for ports and shipping and

426

senior MQM leader Babur Ghauri of being responsible for their

disappearance. He alleged that Ghauri became the biggest real estate tycoon
in Karachi from being nothing at all during Musharrafs era.
Meanwhile, Zardari said Fehmida Mirza would stay in his party while
Mirza wept when asked about her political future. The regime rejected
demand for commission to probe into statements of Dr Mirza. The US
decided to give no response to Mirzas statement. Two suicide members
were killed in premature explosion in Karachi and a man was shot dead.
Next day, PPP leaders celebrated Eid by telephoning Altaf Hussain
and enquiring about his health. Meanwhile, operation by Rangers continued.
On 1st September, DG Rangers briefed Rehman Malik about the ongoing
operation in Karachi. Party flags were removed from parts of the city.
On 2nd September, three persons were killed in Karachi. Rangers held
18 suspects in Karachi in the ongoing operation. Rehman Malik said
targeted-killings is not restricted to Karachi, it was carried out in every city
of Pakistan. Zulfikar Mirza was accorded warm reception on his return from
Badin to Karachi. He urged the participants to support Zardari and Bilawal.
He called for revenge if murdered and urged that 300,000 arms, the licences
of which were issued by him to the Sindhi people, should be used against the
MQM. He also accused Rehman Malik of releasing those he had arrested.
Next day, a TTP terrorist was arrested and one person was shot dead
by gunmen. Army once again expressed concern over situation in Karachi
and wanted indiscriminate action against criminals. Gilani warned the landgrabbers in the city. The government mulled special courts to try target
killers. General Ziauddin while commenting on Karachi said India was
pursuing K for K policy.
On 4th September, five persons, including MQM activist, were killed
in Karachi and five target killers were arrested in Karachi and one of them
stated that he was not linked to any political party. Rehman Malik wanted a
judicial commission to probe into allegations leveled by Mirza. Babar Awan
met Ishrat. First Rehman Malik and then Gilani telephoned Altaf, who
agreed to water the sapling of democracy. Christians protested in
Faisalabad for Shahbaz Taseer.
Next day, Iftikhar Gilani, counsel for ANP, argued in the Supreme
Court that the recent target killings in Karachi were neither ethnic in origin
nor a result of gang wars. Gangs kill only their rivals and not the innocent
citizens, he contended. Ajmal Pahari had admitted before all the agencies
that he was imparted training in India, he said.
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He requested the court to summon Malik regarding a disturbing

statement he made about the recent rise of violence in the city. He added that
statements of Zulfiqar Mirza could not be ignored. The chief justice
remarked that why Zulfiqar Mirza stayed quiet for eight years? Why he did
not say anything before? Does he want to become a partner in the case?
The ANP counsel said that decision of this case be kept withheld and
it should be monitored what the government was doing. CJP remarked Abdul
Hafiz Pirzada had earlier suggested that a wake up call be given to the
government. CJP observed that 800 persons were killed in Karachi last year
and killing was continuing this year as well. Two dead bodies were
recovered from Karachi a day before and one person was burnt alive. What
the police is doing, he inquired.
The court ordered the Sindh IGP to take indiscriminate action against
the culprits behind Karachi unrest and present video of all torture cells in the
city on next hearing. The court also asked the IGP to submit a CD containing
the interviews of the four persons held for target killings and directed the
attorney general to submit report of the intelligence agencies.
Meanwhile, three dead bodies were found in Karachi and six people
were killed. Zardari and Altaf had telephone conversation for 45 minutes.
Mirza wanted Swat-like operation in Karachi. He termed Rehman Malik
agent of foreign agencies. Khurshid Shah met Ishrat and the two parties
came close to reaching \understanding.
On 6th September, the Supreme Court resumed hearing of the Karachi
violence suo moto case. Chief Justice remarked that the report of the joint
investigation team on Ajmal Pahari raised questions about national
sovereignty. He asked the AG and IGP if they had read this report. He
further asked what should be saved, the country or the government. The CJ
also questioned what measures IG Sindh had taken after this report, since it
contained information regarding the organization Pahari was affiliated with.
Justice Ghulam Rabbani pointed out that if no action was to be taken,
then why were joint investigation teams formed? The chief justice asked IG
Sindh if Kamran alias Maduhri was arrested in connection with the firing on
police in Chakra Goth, or had he been released. The IG replied that he was
arrested, to which Justice Amir Hani Muslim asked if his charge sheet had
been presented in the court. IG Sindh informed the court that Kamran was
injured and thus could not be presented to which Justice Amir Hani Muslim
replied that he should be presented with a medical certificate.

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Also during proceedings SCBA President Asma Jehangir said the

MQM had started extortion in Karachi and other parties had followed suit.
Chief Justice ordered AG Sindh to issue orders to appoint judges for Anti
Terrorism and Banking courts within two days as the bench noted the
shortage of judges in Sindh province. The judges had not been appointed
even after the recommendations by the Chief Justice Sindh High Court in
2009 and 2011.
MQM once again brushed aside the allegations leveled by Zulfiqar
Mirza, terming them as completely baseless and false in a press conference
held Mustafa Kamal. He termed the letter written to Tony Blair fake and said
a conspiracy was being hatched against the MQM which is aimed mainly at
character assassination of MQM and its Chief. He claimed that MQM could
not be eliminated through conspiracies and that plots to push 'Muhajirs'
against the wall must be stopped forthwith.
Corps Commander Karachi and DG Rangers met with COAS Kiyani
in Rawalpindi. Both commanders discussed different aspects of the Karachi
situation and the future course of action. Following this meeting the COAS
called on Zardari and demanded more powers for Rangers. And, DG
Rangers vowed to crush target killers if Police powers given for longer
period.
Police arrested two suspected target killers of eight persons in Landhi,
the arrested accused have political affiliation. Imran Khan reiterated demand
for governor rule and urged chief justice to summon Mirza. Meanwhile, in
Lahore kidnappers of Shahbaz Taseer demanded RS2 billion ransom.
Next day, DG Rangers told the Supreme Court that the situation in
Karachi was worse than the state of affairs in Waziristan, saying that militant
groups of political and ethnic parties were involved in the violence. He said
criminals frequently took shelter in the offices of political parties. He added
that an armed solution to the problem was only temporary and the issue
could be resolved through political means. But he requested that police
powers given to the Rangers should last until peace is restored in the city.
The chief justice said: If even a single person is killed, the
government is responsible. Elected representatives are sitting in the
assemblies. The Senate is working. Why, then, there is so much
helplessness? It is all a political gimmick. He said the government has
failed in Karachi to maintain its writ. The chief justice also continued to
criticize Sindh Police and pointed out inherent weaknesses in its
investigation reports.
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Jamaat-e-Islami lawyer, Abdul Qadir Jatoi informed the court that the
killing in Karachi was being done under the guidance of political parties in
order to influence the Senate elections. Jatoi added that Zulfiqar Mirza had
made important disclosures and was an important witness in the case. He
also presented a CD of Zulfiqar Mirzas statements.
The chief justice remarked that if Zulfiqar Mirza has to say
something, his affidavit should be presented in court and a petition should be
filed. He further said that it was not the job of the court to record statements
of witnesses and for this a separate petition had to be filed. Why should we
call Zulfiqar Mirza; if he has something to say he should record his sworn
statement the chief justice said.
The chief of Awami Tehreek, Rasul Bux Palejo said the present
government was a dummy and only wanted to collect tax the real power is
with the US. He added that everyone knew that the MQM was behind the
violence but no one was willing to take their name and even certain judges
were scared.
Palejo alleged that the MQM was an al Qaeda-style international
terrorist outfit and reminded the court of a Canadian Federal Court verdict
against the party in 2007. The court had upheld a decision of the
immigration board that had said there were reasonable grounds to believe
the MQM had been involved in acts of terrorism.
MQM submitted a petition to become a party in the case. The lawyer
for the party submitted a list of people beheaded during the recent violence;
230 MQM activists had been killed since 2008. The ISI is expected to brief
the Supreme Court on the situation in the city on 8th September.
Meanwhile, Wassan told media that 42 target killers have been
arrested. He also said that it would have been better if Chief Justice had
taken suo moto notice of situation in Balochistan and Punjab where things
had been as bad as Karachi. Nawaz Sharif said that government had failed to
come up to his expectations but he and his party would not allow anyone to
destroy Pakistan.
On 8th September, ISI briefed the Supreme Court in-camera on the
Karachi violence. During the briefing, the AG was asked to leave. The ISI
showed video footage and maps of different areas and the reports of the Joint
Investigation Team were also discussed. Earlier, Chief Justice said it were
situations like the one in Karachi that led to military takeovers.

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The Court was not happy with one-sided arguments presented by

MQM counsel Farogh Naseem. The Chief Justice asked why the MQM had
not presented a list of other innocent people killed in Karachi and why only
the list of some particular party workers and supporters had been presented.
The CJ was also critical of statements made by Rangers DG on
Wednesday in which he had said that the Rangers would establish peace.
The Chief Justice said despite the claim of Rangers DG, recovery of dead
bodies has not yet been ended in the metropolitan.
MQM counsel accused ANP and Lyari gang members of involvement
in incidents of kidnappings and killings. The Chief Justice asked whether the
names of ANP members accused of target killings were mentioned in the
FIRs. The MQM counsel also requested the court to review Zulfiqar Mirzas
statement in which he claimed to have issued 300,000 arms licences.
Sindh AG told the court that the reports of intelligence agencies
regarding 1992 operation were missing from the record. The AG told the
bench that only the crime record of that period was available. The SC had
sought the report. The bench also sought investigation reports of killing of
KESC legal advisor Faheemul Kareem and a policeman who was shot dead
in Malir on Wednesday.
In a thinly veiled reference to another military coup, Zardari warned
Nawaz Sharif to be sensible and understand the gravity of the situation, lest
either of them has to visit the other in jail. He asked PML-N chief to adopt
positive attitude and stop criticizing military as well because the people are
already frustrated with political wrangling. Zardari told Nawaz that instead
of holding public rallies in Lahore, help the people hit by dengue fever and
also come to Sindh to help out flood affectees. He said all parties have to
play their role for stability of the democratic system.
Reacting to Zardaris statement, Ahsan Iqbal said the government
lacks the spirit to serve the masses. The government starts making appeals
when it is caught in difficulties, he said, adding that unveiling the
incompetence of the government is the responsibility of the opposition. The
PML-N leader said the government has ruined all the institutions of the
country and corruption is rampant in all the government departments.
Meanwhile, Wasan briefed President Zardari over law and order
situation in Karachi. The president expressed his deep concern and
apprehensions over bails and release of target killers through courts, and also
issued instructions to law ministry to legislate tougher laws and stronger

431

prosecution. Zardari directed authorities to carry out an indiscriminate action

against criminals in Karachi regardless of their affiliations.
Earlier, Zardari visited deluged districts in Sindh, waded through a
flooded street flanked by commandos and got photographed. He then
appealed to the international community to provide assistance for millions of
people affected by the severe and relentless spell of monsoon rains. He
phoned UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and urged the UN to launch an
international appeal for humanitarian assistance to the flood victims.
Five people were killed in Karachi. Rangers detained 330 persons
including 14 political workers, two target killers, two extortionists and a
former nazim of Baldia Town during operations and recovered large number
of weapons. The Supreme Court was moved to summon Mirza and Altaf.
The cabinet discussed situation in Karachi and directed the law
enforcement agencies to take stern action against the criminals across the
board regardless of their political affiliation, if any. The Supreme Court gave
more time to appoint probe body chief in missing persons case. Punjab
cabinet moved to cut privileges of governor. Railways sent top officers on
forced leave.
Next day, Chief Justice told the police chief in charge of Karachi to
crack down without political bias on gang wars that have killed more than
1,000 people this year. But Durrani himself accused of being a political
appointee of the ruling PPP acknowledged politicization in the police
force, with the gang wars linked to party affiliations in the city.
Around 30 to 40 percent of appointments in the police force have
been made on political grounds, which is a big problem, Durrani told the
court adding that we face difficulty in taking departmental action against
them due to political pressure. The CJ said: IG we are sitting here to
strengthen you. We are talking of consolidating Pakistan. Here we have
come to know such horrendous things on solid basis that we cannot describe
them here.
Speaking about problems faced by the law enforcement agencies in
the city, Sindh IGP said that cellular network companies and PTA did not
cooperate with the police and often did not provide the police with the
required data. The CJ asked from Babar Awan as to whom the court should
issue the orders in this regard. Awan said the orders should be issued to the
Federation so that matter could be discussed with the mobile companies.

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Sindh AG old the court that out of 44 murders of Balochs 38 FIRs

were registered. Chief Justice blamed him of not putting his heart into his
job. The CJ remarked: All the forces have become active due to our
presence. But dead bodies are being found here despite the assertions by all
parties including PPP, MQM and others that they want peace in Karachi.
Attorney General Molvi Anwarul Haq submitted report of
Intelligence. Advocate General submitted progress report of cases related to
incidents of violence. The bench directed him to submit details of the
incidents of firing on buses in Banaras and other areas and about kidnapping
of football player from Lyari area. Hearing of the case was adjourned till
September 13.
Three people were killed and two suspects were arrested in Karachi.
Two traders were kidnapped from Shershah Kabari Market and four college
going girls went missing. Altaf Hussain held press conference via satellite.
He refused to talk about allegations leveled by Mirza, but the conference
was meant to counter what Mirza had said. Jest of his conference is
discussed in the last paragraph of the article. ANP termed Altaf habitual liar.
On 10th September, ANP urged the Supreme Court to ban MQM and
demanded the government to form a judicial commission to investigate
funding to political parties by the foreign countries. Afrasiab rejected all the
allegations of MQM chief Altaf Hussain and termed them a filthy conspiracy
to blackmail peaceful Pakhtuns and their leadership.
Terming the press conference of MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain as
political gimmickry, Nisar Ali Khan said that it was just wastage of time and
a joke with the whole Pakistani nation. Altaf was seeing all well for him and
his party and pointed out flaws in other major political parties of the country.
He regretted that Altaf Hussain had talked on all issues except the problems
being facing the people of the country.
Criticizing MQM Chiefs statements, the provincial leadership of PTI
and JI said it was a failed comedy show. They urged the MQM chief to come
back to country and face courts in various cases against him. Altaf also
blackmailed the superior judiciary by threatening it. If the cowardly Altaf,
sitting in the UK, let free his terrorist workers against the solidarity of the
country or judiciary then there was no need to call Rangers or Army
personnel, as they would be dealt with by patriotic Pakistanis.
The whole world knew that MQM is a terrorist organization; the
Canadian Supreme Court has declared MQM a terrorist group and banned
entry of all its members to their country. MQM chief was condemned for
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holding the Holy Quran in his front and singing songs; it was termed
desecration of the holy book. The Chief Justice was urged to take notice of
the threats given to the apex court that if verdict comes against them then
MQM will come out against it.
With reference to Altaf Hussains 200-minute news conference Ashraf
Mumtaz wrote Altafs London Plan remained a mystery. Meanwhile, Mark
Siegel became prosecution witness in Benazir murder case. Musharraf
vowed to return to Pakistan.
Nawaz Sharif has said that one should not be afraid of going to prison
while fulfilling his duties; he said that with reference to Zardaris recent
statement. Nawaz added that he has complied with orders of Zardari by
visiting the flood affected areas now it is presidents turn to give some time
to the country.
Imran Mukhtar reported that chances of Hussain Asghar, a former
investigator of the Haj scandal, reposting to investigate the case do not
appear to be bright. Gilani asked the political parties across the national
spectrum to rise above their personal and party interests to work jointly for
the flood affected people of Sindh. While addressing the nation he also
extended an appeal to the international institutions, world community and
the people of Pakistan at home and abroad to come in aid to the government
in tackling the situation.
Next day, Rangers and Police detained about two hundred suspects in
Karachi for interrogation. Five target killers were arrested, including one
from Larkana. ANP threat clouded MQMs return to the coalition. ANP had
demanded ban on ANP and threatened to quit if MQM returned. Pir Mazhar
confirmed meeting Altaf Hussain but refused to give details. He, however,
said Mirza is not a liar.
Doctors gave clean chit to Zardari after medical check-up and MQM
delegation presented flowers on behalf of Altaf. Nawaz visited flood affected
areas and he criticized calls for foreign aid without first relying on own
resources. He proposed closed-door APC on national agenda. Iran donated
$100 million for flood affected people. UN launched relief operation in rainhit areas. Gilani formed body to supervise relief work.

VIEWS
On 24th August, TheNation commented: Strict action against the
extortionist mafias and troublemakers is on the cards. Strange as it may
434

sound, however, they have also been offered, it seems, a safe exit, as they
have been asked to leave the city and go elsewhere, as if giving them the
freedom to start their deadly business in other parts of the country. In
another handout issued later, the Sindh government has asked both the
extortionists and troublemakers to stop their activities.
Undoubtedly, these are half-hearted measures and smell of a partisan
approach, while solution calls for a purely non-partisan combing of the
city for weapons and the mafias and its administration by equally nonpartisan officials. The measures announced, however, might have persuaded
the traders, who have already suffered huge losses, to open their shops and
the badly-hit transporters to ply their vehicles again. The strong exception
that Minister Zulfiqar Mirza took, in the presence of Mr Gilani at the cabinet
meeting, to Interior Minister Rehman Maliks interference in the
provincial matter of law and order a view to which, reportedly, the entire
Sindh cabinet subscribes points to the lack of consensus between the two
vital actors charged with calming down the situation. As Dr Mirza believes
that the MQM is primarily responsible for the mayhem, his accusation that
Mr Malik is acting as a spokesman of the MQM is quite meaningful and
suggests how far apart the provincial and federal government are in their
perception of the trouble and, as a result, the solution in the mind of at least
one of them is bound to misfire.
The Prime Minister rejected outright the demand for the army to
intervene that is being voiced not only by many political parties but also the
business community and people belonging to different strata of society. The
truth, however, is that the army is already there in Karachi in the form of
rangers who are nothing but an extension of it. The mystery is that, while the
city is continuously bleeding, the rangers are operating without their proper
head i.e. a Major-General, who left office months ago, and the temporary
charge-holder being junior in rank would certainly be handicapped in taking
crucial decisions. The rangers are in several ways even better suited to
Karachi than the army. They are by now familiar with the routes of the
city, the hideouts of troublemakers and even know who they and their
sponsors are, thus making it easier for them to put an end to the evil. That is
not the case with the army.
Dr Haider Mehdi opined: What we need now for our future
survival, political inventions, and visionary initiatives is a leadership
tailored on the model of Qalandari and Qalandaranah bold, undaunted,
free-thinking, selfless, full of personal integrity and credibility, dedicated
wholeheartedly to serving the people and answerable to those who elect
435

them. What we need is a Faqiranah Mizaj dervishy mindset, penurious

and possessing the humbleness becoming of saints. What we need are
altruistic persons at the helm of national affairs.
S M Hali wished: We in Pakistan are in greater despair than the
Indians owing to the apathy, callousness and selfish motives of our political
leaders, who are letting the country slide into political anarchy and economic
meltdown for their personal interests. We pray that an Anna Hazare will
rise from among us to slay our dragons.
Next day, TheNation observed: The day after Prime Minister Gilani
warned the Sindh cabinet that if they did not take strict action against the
destructive forces, someone else would step in to do the job, eight sons of
Karachi lay dead, either having been shot by rival gangs or brutally
murdered by them and their bodies thrown in the streets, dumped in gunny
bags The serious accusations of harmful interference and mishandling the
crisis in Karachi leveled by Senior Sindh Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza against
Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik at a Sindh cabinet meeting on
Tuesday clearly suggests that the provincial and federal governments are not
on the same page. This raises a very pertinent question whether the
surgical operation the authorities have supposedly launched would be
able to root out the dangerous mix of a menace with its ingredients of
land grabbing and extortion of money backed by a flourishing weapon
culture.
The situation demands strong action against the culprits without any
discrimination. Political affiliation, kinship or any other element of influence
would have to be sacrificed at the sacred altar of peace. The Sindh
government has set up a control room to monitor the situation and take
prompt action; the conduct of the PPP and other coalition partners so far
does not, alas!, raise much hope. The nation looks up to the government to
deal with the evil forces which destroy peace, be they banned religious
organizations or be they others who have received terrorist training in India,
as Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon has identified. The Indian
and American hand in creating the turmoil has been long suspected and
in the light of a responsible Ministers statement, the government must not
hesitate to remove that hand.
Dr Sibghatullah Qadri from Karachi wrote: Now I am fully
convinced that history definitely repeats itself. On Monday August 22 I
had an opportunity to listen to a press conference given by Dr. Farooq Sattar
of MQM. He levied the following allegations against PPP.

436

 PPP elements are responsible for extortion (Bhatha).

PPP elements are responsible for kidnapping innocent people.
PPP elements are responsible for kidnapping people for ransom.
PPP elements are responsible for killing people and packing the dead
bodies in gunny bags.
PPP elements have full support of higher ups.
PPP elements are running the torture cells.
If I am not mistaken these are the same charges which people of
Karachi leveled against MQM during the last regime of Benazir Bhutto
and thereafter Gen. Retd. Babar the then interior minister took action against
MQM. He unearthed several torture cells which were being run by armed
groups. Pictures of these cells were shown on TV. After the end of BB's rule
all those police officers, SHOs, SIs and ASIs who had helped the PPP
government to clean Karachi, they were picked up one by one and were
killed. All know by whom.
Bilal Iftikhar from Lahore opined that the target killers are Ninjas of
Karachi. Someone who is covered with jackets and Hakama pants with a
black-clad figure with a muffled face climbing over walls like spiders and
running lightly across rooftops, quick as cats is called ninja. Ninja is martial
art, strategy, and tactics of unconventional warfare and guerrilla warfare as
well as the art of espionage. Looking back into the history, they were
assigned the job of espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as
well as open combat in certain situations. Ninjas were developed by groups
of people mainly from Japan. They were not always primarily soldiers. In
fact Ninja operatives were trained from childhood as warriors. But this
training was usually precautionary. Ninja operatives knew that they might be
called to help protect the community at some stage in future, but they often
spent most of their lives as farmers or traders. These Ninja warriors were
also trained by Chinese monks, warriors, philosophers, and military
strategists. With the passage of time, some of the Ninjas started misusing
their skills. They started renting themselves out for espionage or
assassination work while hiding their face with mask. Most of the time, they
would commit crime in the dark of night and disappear like smoke. For all
the right reasons they were called evil ninja. Now, it seems as if these evil
Ninja are being produced and sent to Karachi. They appear in Shah Faisal,
Gulistan-e-Johar, Gulshan-e-lqbal, University road, Golimar, Ancholi, Abul

437

Hassan lsphahani Road and Liaquatabad even broad daylight, resort to

indiscriminate fire and leave several dead while law enforcement agencies
watch as bystanders. Where do they belong? To whom they have rented
themselves? Where do they get weapons from? Who is funding them? These
are some of the questions whose answers are not easy to find? Here even
though they do not wear any mask but still no one is ready to spot them.
They do not appear in the dark of night but still our police and rangers are
unable to detain them. The government of Pakistan proclaimed that a citizen
giving information about a killer will be rewarded with a sum of Rs 5
million and further more the government would give a cash reward of Rs 10
million to a person who captures video clips or photographs of a killer but
still nothing has been given. The Sindh government and police have failed in
upholding peace in Karachi. Our government and security forces must
restrict the entry of intruders through Khyber Pass and take stern measures
against these evil Ninja who are roaming in the streets of Karachi with no
fear of being arrested.
On 27th August, TheNation wrote: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza
Gilanis remark that it is not the first time the law and order situation in
Karachi has deteriorated and that the incidents of violence and killings had
also been occurring during earlier regimes, seems to endorse Punjab Chief
Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharifs succinct, and apt assessment, Nero is
fiddling while Rome burns. Mr Gilani was responding to a reporters
anxious question at Islamabad on Thursday about the unending bloodshed
taking place in Karachi. His comment cannot just be dismissed as a
reflection of the governments glum satisfaction at the measures it has taken
to control the situation; it is downright callousness to take things so
lightly! Even as Mr Gilani was talking to journalists, the bloodthirsty gangs
had been active and had managed to kill six of our citizens. One feels aghast
at learning that there have been cases of slaughtering fellow human beings
like sacrificial animals and dumping their mutilated bodies and severed
heads in gunny bags, as if a trader is sending his wares to the market for
sale. Cruelty when it comes to humans, indeed, knows no bounds!
The Sindh government, which is mainly responsible for maintaining
peace in the province, has demonstrated an equal measure of casualness,
evident in its announcement about convening an all-parties conference to
debate the disturbed situation and the repeated excuses it put forward to
postpone the conference. In evidence also was a slackened approach to
the search-and-arrest operation the Rangers had conducted in the past
two days, though on paper they were given extraordinary powers to shoot
438

criminals at sight, put an end to No-Go Areas, conduct search without

warrants, etc. In this chaotic situation, however, it looks quite strange that
the post of head of the Rangers lies vacant, letting a Brigadier to manage the
show. While not doubting his competence, the inaction in the appointment of
a Major-General, who is supposed to be heading the force has been
interrupted as a deliberate act with the unedifying intention of letting the
calamitous situation prevail. However, COAS General Kayani, reflecting the
armys uneasiness at the unrest, rushed to Karachi and received briefing
about it from intelligence agencies.
There is need to heed the warning of Mian Shahbaz, who has gone to
Karachi to judge the situation himself, that internal weaknesses were giving
rise to external conspiracies against the countrys nuclear assets. He is,
perhaps, the only political leader of his stature who visited to condole with
the families of some of those who have been the victims of this bloody
mayhem. It is as clear as sunshine that for putting an end to the madness
in Karachi, the authorities would have to get serious and carry out
operation against culprits without any discrimination whatsoever.
Next day, the newspaper added: In an apt response to the critical
situation in Karachi, as conveyed by the words, Warlords rule Karachi,
used by the counsel for the Sindh government, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada
Over the reports submitted by both the federal and provincial governments,
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry expressed his
dissatisfaction, and rightly so; they were not comprehensive enough to
bring out the horrors the poor residents of the provincial metropolis have
been exposed to in the cycle of violence that began well over a month ago.
When numerous abductions, ruthless murders, with heads chopped off and
packed in sacks, keep happening day after day and the authorities appear to
have been struck with paralysis, the situation can rightly be described as
breakdown of the government machinery, as Justice Chaudhry did.
Inaction or half-hearted action, as the nation has been witnessing for the past
several days, only leads one to think that the government might be at the
back of the elements which are disturbing the peace.
It must be remembered that the apex court has a limited part to
play in setting things right. Its intervention in the form of suo moto notice
of the killing spree in Karachi not only points to the absolute listlessness of
the government in the face of the gravity of the unrest, but also underlines
the need for a quick return to normalcy; but at best, it can issue orders,
showing the way how to set about turning round the situation. But taking
action, minding the nitty-gritty of the process, rests with the executive. It is
439

time for it to realize that it is in its own interests to deal with the mayhem in
a totally non-partisan manner. Herein also lie its future prospects as a
political party. If the economy were to suffer a loss of Rs 25 billion as a
result of a single day of strike, the government should be seriously worried.
In the meantime, Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has
outlined three valuable steps to bring calm to the restive town of
Karachi. In such a complicated scenario, when the parties in the ruling
coalition are engaged in protecting their turf even at the cost of the lives of
citizens, it would be a little difficult for the decision makers to act against
these killing gangs without any discrimination. But, as Mian Shahbaz has
said, the action has to be across the boardand without fear or favour.
Besides, he called for the depoliticization of the law enforcement agencies,
particularly the police and the administration, and ensuring the provision of
basic facilities to the citizens of Karachi. One hopes these common sense
points find favour with the authorities.
On 29th August, TheNation wrote: Sindh Information Minister
Sharjeel Memon has accused India of training terrorists who are involved in
target killing in Karachi and elsewhere in Pakistan. The Minister has also
claimed that the security agencies have confirmed that some target killers
recently arrested had received their training in India and named Ajmal Pahari
who is arrested and is being interrogated. Last year, Interior Minister
Rehman Malik had told an in-camera session of Parliament that India was
behind the insurgency in Balochistan and target killing in Karachi. But for
unknown reasons, the ruling leadership could not pick up the guts to
openly accuse India or send a dossier through diplomatic channels to
New Delhi. It is about time that our security agencies launch an operation to
identify foreign spy agents and also expose their Pakistani contacts. There
should be no doubt that till such time these elements are weeded out from
society Karachi and Balochistan would never see peace. There is a dire need
to expose all those who provide shelter and protection to these elements who
are out to dismember Pakistan. Such an action should be taken
independently without fear and favour. In addition, Foreign office should not
hesitate about sending documentary proof including confessional statements
of target killers deposing that they were trained in India by anti-Pakistani
sources.
Next day, the newspaper added: Dr Mirza openly and repeatedly
declared that Mr Malik was the single most threat to Pakistan, who had no
stake in the country, and was hand in glove with the killers, bitterly opposing
his interference in the law and order situation in the city. To the MQMs
440

share of blames also came as serious allegations as involvement in an

attempt to break up Pakistan at the instance of the US, and trying to
persuade Britain to work for the winding up of the Pakistan armys premier
intelligence agency, the ISI. While other charges, as grave as they were,
made by Dr Mirza against the MQM are of internal relevance and need
internal remedies, these two the attempts at the countrys
dismemberment and bringing the institution of ISI to an end call for
an impartial probe. Needless to question the suggestion made by some
opposition leaders that a judicial commission should be constituted without
any delay to look into the allegations, particularly relating to these two
aspects and lay the factual picture before the public.
Whatever Dr Mirza said he said on oath either with the Quran on his
head or his hand on the holy book and in full view of the world; for hardly
was there any local TV channel which did not broadcast his press conference
in full lasting for nearly two hours, to the utter shock and consternation of
the viewers. His revelations would have far-reaching and serious
implications for Pakistan. Mr Rehman Maliks denial simply through the
remarks that he was a younger brother and if he had any proof he should
come out with it, would not do. As with him, the MQM would also have to
deny the charges on Quranic oath; only then the public could lend any
credibility to their versions. Words like absurd, obnoxious and ludicrous
are not sufficient. The government must also step in with its own version
based on hard facts and work on that basis to bring peace to Karachi.
On 3rd September, Inayatullah commented: Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, a
veteran PPP leader and former Sindh Home Minister, has spilled the
beans, which he claimed were based on facts While the MQM has
strongly rebutted Mirzas accusations, Mr Rehman Malik has been soft and
conciliatory.
Malik is Zardaris confidante, and owes his influence and position to
the party chief. He was earlier very close to late Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto
Being a part of Zardaris inner circle and long-time friend and loyalist, it
defies logic to find that Mirza had not shared with his boss his resolve to
address the media representatives and all that he conveyed to them. The
MQM and the PPP leadership have much to explain to clear their
conduct.
Zardaris initial reaction has been to disown Mirza and not to take his
tirade very seriously. He would rather like to see the storm peter out,
with the passage of time. He is, indeed, a past master in this game. No

441

action, therefore, has been initiated against Rehman Malik and the Sindh
administration for their dubious role in managing the Karachi killings. As for
the MQM and its alleged leaderships treacherous behaviour in Pakistan and
abroad, Zardari has gone ahead with his conciliatory politics, as if nothing
had happened to upset the applecart.
Dr Mirzas exposures, however, are too serious and backed by
evidence. Only a serious probe can determine its truthfulness. Specific
details of names and activities have been cited, and proof provided of
complicity in crime and deliberate violation of the Constitution of the
country. A copy of the letter supposed to have been addressed to the then UK
Prime Minister has already been shown on the television. Mirza was dead
serious in his statements and answers to the anchors and press
correspondents. He invoked the sanctity of the Holy Book to create an aura
of authenticity and solemnity to all that he divulged.
Mirza, presumably sacrificed his political offices at the altar of
truth and countrys integrity. He had virtually put his life on the line. Call
it a coincidence or twist of circumstances, the Supreme Court took notice of
the Karachi mayhem a day before Mirza hurled his thunderbolt. The Chief
Justice has already spoken. He has referred to Article 9 of the Constitution,
which lays down that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal
liberty save in accordance with law. Fundamental rights of the citizens of
Karachi (and of the people of the country) had been mutilated.
How will the government wriggle out of the charge of dereliction
of duty and criminal neglect of its responsibilities, if Mirza appears
before the Special Bench to establish his claim that he had brought the
matter along with documents to the notice of the highest civil and military
officeholders of the country? When the case is taken up after the Eid
holidays, with PPP and MQM in the dock, will the court let the accused
dilly-dally and defy its directives, when the whole nation virtually would be
an involved party to the proceedings? Will not the Supreme Court fully
assert itself and take the defaulters to task squarely invoking its
constitutional mandate and discretion?
There is a role cut out for the media in this crucial trial. Truth
and falsehood have, indeed, come face-to-face in the judicial arena. Far
too long lies, prevarication, violence and deceit have managed to escape the
long arm of law. The time has come for the truth to be established and the
supreme interests of the nation to prevail. Too much is at stake. Yes, the
media has a big role to play to keep the people informed and involved. The

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laggard political opposition too have to discharge their responsibilities to

help stem the rot and save the country.
On 4th September, Abrar Saeed observed: Pakistan Peoples Party is
caught in a Catch 22 position as on one hand they are devising strategy to
calm down Dr Zulfiqar Mirza who was spilling out barbs against MQM and
some of his own party leaders, while on the other they are trying to woo
back MQM in the government both at federal and provincial levels
Zardari had entrusted the task of wooing back MQM to one of his loyalists
from Sindh Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Shah,
known for his political sagacity and proverbial charm to win over foes. Syed
Khurshid Shah would likely meet the MQM leaders on Sunday to give them
a fresh offer from President Zardari to rejoin the government and also clarify
the PPP position that it has nothing to do with the foul utterance of Zulfiqar
Mirza against MQM and that PPP would contemplate punitive action against
him for breaching the party discipline.
The sources further informed that President Zardari was quite
disturbed over the hostile posture taken by his old buddy Zulfiqar Mirza
against MQM as it was spoiling all the governments efforts to win back
MQMs support for the government. The people close to MQM informed
that MQM was in no haste to rejoin the government and they had
adopted the policy of wait and see and would also seek some visible
disciplinary action on part of PPP against Zulfiqar Mirza before their
rejoining the treasury benches.
But the PPP is also not seemed inclined to take any strict action
against Dr Zulfiqar Mirza as right now he is just holding the basic
membership of PPP and has resigned from rest of the slots he was holding
including the slot of senior minister in Sindh Cabinet and senior vice
president of the PPP Sindh Chapter. The sources further said that soon after
his return from abroad President Zardari had held consultation with his close
aides and after the meeting he had barred the party leaders from giving
statements against Zulfiqar Mirza and also tasked a few common friends to
convince Dr Mirza from the barrage of accusations he had unleashed
against MQM and some of the PPP leaders including Rehman Malik.
President Zardari was also irked by the Awami National Party Sindh
Chapters role which on the one hand was sitting with them in the
government while on the other they were also joining the rallies of Zulfiqar
Mirza, the sources further said. It was decided in the meeting that President
Zardari would himself take up the issues with ANP President Asfandyar Wali
in this connection, the sources added.
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Jalees Hazir wrote: Dr Mirza's blind faith in President Zardari might

be a bit misplaced though. After all, if Rehman Malik is engaged in the kind
of activities that Dr Mirza has accused him of, it is difficult to rationalize his
continued importance as President Zardari's right-hand man, despite the fact
that Dr Mirza had communicated his reservations about the negative role of
the Federal Interior Minister to the President. Similarly, it is surprising that
Dr Mirza's faith in the President is not shaken by his continued
hobnobbing with the MQM and his attempts to keep the party in
government. Perhaps, Dr Mirza should be getting ready for another leap of
faith.
Hussain H Zaidi opined: For the sake of argument, granted that
Zulfiqar Mirza is speaking the truth. But theres little doubt that he is
also covering up the truth. If he were so conscientious as to lay bare the
real face of the MQM and the interior minister, he should also have blown
the lid off the real tactics of his party. But he is trying to have it both ways.
He is castigating Rehman Malik and at the same time defending, nay willing
to die for, the person whom the interior minister owes his office. He is
branding the MQM as a terrorist organization but is not willing to point the
finger at his erstwhile party. Ones loyalty is either to a particular party or
to the people, either to the principles or to a person, either to the truth or to
expediency. One cant be loyal to both at the same time. But Zulfiqar Mirza
is pretending as if he is.
The foregoing lends credence to the view that Mirza merely read
out the script authored by someone else. Just see what his so-called
whistle-blowing has done: It has put the MQM on the back foot and forced
it to defend itself on the allegations. It has reassured the PPPs vote bank in
interior Sindh that the Peoples Party will not just play second-fiddle to the
MQM. And it has made it possible for the PPP leadership to vent venom
against its antagonist in its home province and get away with it. However,
Zulfiqar Mirzas outburst has done another thing, which probably was not
intended: It has exposed the frailties of the present setup. That may be the
only good thing about it.
On 7th September, TheNation wrote: Peoples only ray of hope, the
Supreme Court of Pakistan led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has on
Monday rightly ordered the police to take action against all criminals
disturbing the peace of Karachi, without fear or favour. Indeed the court
expressed its dissatisfaction over the fact that certain areas had been ignored
by the police. It is a matter of great satisfaction that the Supreme Court

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has vowed to expose and bring to justice the real culprits that have held
the city hostage for long years.
Concurrently, in this prevailing imbroglio, the role played by Interior
Minister Rehman Malik as well as the MQM, also should be taken notice of.
Consider Senator Lashkari Raisanis criticism of Mr Malik for failing to
control lawlessness in the city. He also questioned Mr Maliks stance in
favour of the use of force in the case of Balochistan and of political
reconciliation when he talks of Karachi. Secondly, after Mr Mirza had made
the disclosure holding with his both hands Holy Quran over his head and
President Supreme Court Bar Association Asma Jehangir had accused the
MQM of first introducing the culture of bhatha (extortion) in Karachi it is
difficult to believe that a government accountable to the people could ignore
these charges. The common man is fully confident that now that the
Supreme Court has intervened, the killers will be exposed and
punished.
Next day, TheNation commented: Rightly, the focus of the entire
nation the government, the judiciary, the army, the media and the public
remains riveted on the highly precarious situation in Karachi. The acuteness
of the predicament is revealed by the question, Do you want to save the
country or the government? That Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry posed to the Advocate General of Sindh during the hearing on
Tuesday of the suo moto case on target killings in Karachi. Justice
Chaudhrys other questions were no less pertinent and, predictably, not only
left the AG speechless, but also exposed the governments pathetic
listlessness in the face of a situation that had been crying out for quick and
firm action. Why were joint investigation teams formed, if no action was to
be taken on their reports? Why have judges not been appointed for the antiterrorism courts so far, though the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court had
recommended names in 2009 and 2011? Why does the government want to
induct its favourite judges while the Chief Justice has put up the names of
honest judges for the posts? Why have the killers of 306 (the death toll this
year) not been arrested? Considering Karachis unending blood-soaked
drama, the COAS has also demanded more powers for the Rangers, when he
called on the President.
Dr Zulfiqar Mirzas outburst against the MQM and Interior Minister
Rehman Malik about their alleged role in bringing Karachi to such a critical
pass, at a specially called press conference on August 28, has continued to
make waves, as more and more voices, mostly in support of his thesis, are
being heard. Apparently, his stock of beans has not run out yet; he keeps
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spilling them even though they just tend to firm up the accusations he
had earlier leveled. Though belated, the MQM has come out with its
reaction, but the impact of Mirzas assertions, made while holding the Holy
Quran on his head to lend them authenticity, has not withered away.
In the meantime, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association
Asma Jehangir has, while deposing before the apex court, accused the MQM
of having introduced the culture of bhatha collection (extortion of money) in
Karachi, maintaining that it persists in the practice. Calls for the ouster of
Rehman Malik have been made by former President PPP Balochistan and
Senator Lashkari Raisani and MNA Humayun Kurd. Senator Raisani
believes that not relieving Mr Malik of his duties immediately would put
the countrys existence in danger, warning the government that decisions
about Pakistans politics should not be made in Washington and London.
This was obviously an allusion to the dictation the Interior Minister
allegedly receives from these capitals. MNA Kurd chimes in with the
Senator, and assuring that Dr Mirzas charges against Mr Malik are true,
accuses him of plotting to disintegrate the country.
This is not the time for the government to remain bogged down
in inaction. It is time to act and act fast. If the cries of the victims of the
killing spree that has been going on for years in Karachi at the hands of rival
gangs, sponsored and patronized by powerful political forces in the city,
have not awakened the rulers from their slumber, the outspoken expression
of Karachis critical condition should jolt them into action now. Or, they
should see the writing on the wall.
Azam Khalil wrote: To ensure that no harm is done to the country, it
would be better if the government immediately puts into place measures
that will help to restore peace in Karachi. It must also ensure that all those
who are responsible for killing innocent citizens, and other serious violations
of law, are not only apprehended, but also punished. Half-hearted or halfbaked solutions will not be acceptable and may result in, God forbid,
damaging Pakistans integrity. The government should, therefore, pull up its
socks, move quickly in the correct direction, and undertake bold measures
that would help it restore peace and harmony in Karachi to boost the
confidence of local and foreign businessmen to invest in the country.
Any delay by the federal or provincial government could result in
the intervention in the democratic setup, which is not desirable because it
will not help improve things in the long run. More seriously, result in a
grievous blow to the institution of democracy. The top brass was sending out

446

loud signals about their anguish creating a situation that requires urgent
corrective medicine. The choices are running out, while the time remains the
most important option. Who will grab it is another question?
On 11th September, TheNation commented: People had stood glued to
the TV screens for long on Friday to hear MQM chief Altaf Hussain deny
the charges former Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza had leveled
against him, but their hours-long wait for him to start his address and the
subsequent hours-long conference failed to satisfy them. After all, these
were no small allegations and the usual rambling, emotionally-charged
harangue that he delivered did not seem to be the befitting answer. Mr
Hussains dismissal of Dr Mirzas allegations, saying that he neither had
responded to his charges earlier, nor he intended doing so now, was not
considered enough to rebut the highly serious accusations brought against
him. As a result, political parties, media commentators and the public, which
had expected these allegations to be the focal point of the conference, were
not only put off, but also severely criticized Mr Hussain on this lapse.
Mr Hussains was a confusing self-contradictory discourse as
well. While, on the one hand, he accused the ANP of receiving millions of
dollars from the US, on the other, he admitted that he had no proof of it. Mr
Hussain also involved the Jamaat-i-Islami and the ANP in the May 12, 2007,
ugly incidents, also maintaining that the ANP wanted to dismember Pakistan
and the JI was providing arms to MQM-H for use against MQM-A. Both the
parties have denied their involvement, with the ANP saying that Altaf was a
habitual liar and the JI recalling that the politics of bloodshed had started
in Karachi with the arrival of the MQM on the scene. Mr Hussains charge
that the US and the UK were scheming to undo Pakistan raised questions
about his British citizenship and his right to lead a Pakistani political party.
If he held Pakistan so dear, he should have, on learning of the conspiracy to
dismember it, immediately given up the British nationality and returned to
Pakistan. Strangely, he criticizes the ISI and, in the same breath, offers the
service of the party workers to it for saving Pakistan. At the same time, he
threatens to unleash the might of his workers against the government if
killings did not stop. His references to the judiciary were equally confusing.
He was not opposed to the Chief Justice, but hit out at the judiciary for its
past role.
The most reprehensible was the charge against the Quaid-i-Azam
of being secular. He is on record having favoured the introduction of the
golden principles of Islam in Pakistan, making it a fortress of Islam and
turning it into an Islamic welfare state. Instead of distorting history and
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advising others to study it, Mr Hussain had better read some of Pakistans
before opening up his mouth on the subject.
Next day, the newspaper added: PML-N President Mian Nawaz
Sharif has spoken an evident truth. Pakistan of today is not what the Quaidi-Azam had dreamt; its condition would cause his soul an acute pain. He
uttered words to that effect while addressing a press conference at
Hyderabad yesterday morning during the course of his visit to the floodaffected areas of Sindh. A mere cursory glance at the country's history would
have made him appreciate that it would be hard to absolve himself from this
failure; he must share the blame with others who have presided over the
destiny of the nation over the years. He had had two stints as prime
minister and one as chief minister and earlier another as finance minister in
Punjab. Both Allama Iqbal and the Quaid visualized Pakistan to become an
Islamic welfare state where, as the term connotes, the interests of the people
are held supreme. Their needs easy access to justice, health and education
facilities, in short, the legitimate aspirations of modern times are fully and
adequately met. Unfortunately, with an honourable exception or two, neither
the civilian leaders, who were elected on a pro-people mandate, nor the
military dictators, who had usurped power, paid much heed to the sufferings
of the people. By and large, self-promotion and self-enrichment had been
their guiding principles. The pity is that the present ruling set-up at
Islamabad that came after a hard-fought struggle to oust a military dictator
has crossed all bounds of indulging in corruption and giving the nation,
nothing but bad governance, miserable law and order situation, high
inflation, etc.
Talking about the flood situation, Mian Nawaz felt that first of all we
need to use our own resources to the full, and if they were to fall short of the
requirement, only then we should seek outside help. He lamented that the
government had made it a habit to beg for aid whenever an emergency
arose. Regrettably, for all the warning signals of heavy rains this year as
well, though on a lesser scale than last year, the government did not take any
measures beforehand to prevent the damage. Earlier on Saturday, he urged
the federal government to form a joint strategy in collaboration with the
Sindh government to combat the floods.
He was emphatic that his party would break up those who talked of
dismemberment of Pakistan, adding that it was not a toy that could be easily
broken. Mian Nawaz asked for the real faces behind the violence in Karachi
to be unmasked. His call for unity is understandable the gravity of the
situation, target killings, floods and what not, no doubt demand unity in our
448

ranks but the PML-N President should first work for the merger of all
Muslim League factions that he has been stalling. Then, he should
wholeheartedly apply himself to making the Quaid-i-Azams dream a
reality.

REVIEW
Cartoonist Maxim named swords of TEEN TALWAR roundabout in
Karachi after PPP, MQM and ANP. He held all the three parties responsible
for Karachis woes, but MQM happened to be the main culprit whom
Musharraf had granted ownership (illegal possession) of the mega city.
Zardari, the Don on the spot challenged the absentee Don. Through
clandestine use of Lyari gang he for the first time since early nineties has
made the MQM to feel that killings hurt. Having conveyed the message in
harsh way, his regime pretended preparing for across the board operation
against the culprits.
The much hyped operation in Karachi began with passing of
instructions to bhatha mafias to leave the city. Hours later the directive was
amended and mafias were told to stop their activities for a while. Such an
operation which started with giving ample time to political parties to instruct
their respective gangs to disappear or adopt low profile ought to be a hoax.
Further, when operation began the Rangers were not allowed to enter
the regimes own strong-hold of Lyari. The law enforcers were told by the
residents to start operation from elsewhere and they abided. Dozens of SHOs
were changed (in midstream) within hours of the launching of operation so
that their knowledge of criminals could not be made use of.
Soon after unleashing of the operation Home Minister Wassan
appeared before media wearing fancy hat giving look of a ring leader of drug
peddlers from Mexico rather than a law-enforcer concerned about gravity of
the situation. Sindh government called all parties for the conference, but
seeing its attitude the most invitees regretted and APC was cancelled.
Media led the campaign of raising hue and cry over the killings, but
some aspects of its role were not as noble as its overall image appeared.
Videos of the torture and killings of the people abducted by various mafias
of political parties were sent to TV channels, none aired those arguing that
showing such gruesome footages was against their policy. Even those
channels which showed videos of lashing by Taliban day in and day out
talked of code of conduct.

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The reason behind this dichotomy in practice of the code of conduct

was too obvious. The lashing was related to enemies of the US and no
opportunity to demonize them had to be allowed to slip away un-availed. In
the case of Karachi the videos pertained to acts of boot-lickers of the Uncle
Sam and nothing is permissible that could tarnish their secular, moderate,
and enlightened image.
The media relentlessly coaxed the Chief Justice to take suo moto
notice of the Karachi carnage; at last the judge obliged. MQM made cunning
move by sending its leaders to Registrar Supreme Court and expressing
desire to help the apex court as aggrieved party. The court shifted the venue
to Karachi after first hearing where IGP Sindh appeared before it. He tried to
shift the blame of Karachis woes away from the regime he served.
According to him overcrowding of the mega city was the real cause;
for extortions he blamed victims for giving money rather than cooperating
with police and accused eyewitnesses of not coming forward to appear in the
courts. He told that Police found no torture cells, but Rangers discovered
two in Lyari recently. He alleged that arms and ammunition were being
smuggled into the city from sea side also.
IGP and AG deliberately concealed facts from the court. Even the
brilliant brain in lawyers community tried his best to pass the buck to place
where it did not belong. Hafiz Pirzada argued that the killings in Karachi
were attributable to presence of 2.5 million illegal foreign immigrants. He
too dishonestly tried to push the buck away from MQM, PPP and ANP.
As court proceedings continued, more and more people and
organizations applied for becoming party in the case, including MQM, ANP
and JI. Others including ISI were called by the court and plenty of
information was produced before the court. More information will pour in
when the court resumes proceedings on 13th September.
Suo moto notice may have scared some but it certainly suited the
regime as it diverted the focus of peoples expectations on the issue towards
Judiciary; whereas the onus of coming up to their expectations should have
entirely rested on the Executive.
The war between two titans (two scoundrels), as mentioned in
previous review, has been going on through their respective mafias. Zulfikar
Mirza, a close friend of Zardari, launched the phase of open hostilities by
first announcing his resignation in a press conference and then bitterly
criticizing MQM and Rehman Malik.

450

Apparently his resignation was the result of his disagreement with the
approach of Rehman Malik for overcoming the woes of Karachi. But, it
could be a well thought-out plan emerging from two-pronged strategy to
defeat MQM; the strategy of carrot and stick.
Mirza will launch offensive against MQM to force them to beat a
retreat; or in other words he will act like a cowboy to herd the beasts towards
the enclosure where Khurshid Shah now nominated by the ranch owner,
will be waiting to welcome and keep them in safe custody. Mirza could also
be seen as sheep-dog of New Zealand.
Mirza accused Altaf of conniving with the US for disintegrating
Pakistan. It would have been better if he had also mentioned that it was
Zardari who stopped him from breaking Sindh away from the federation of
Pakistan. He should have ignored what the observers might have said about
him and instead appreciated that it would have gone in favour of his friend,
who chanted the slogan of Pakistan Khappy.
Despite spitting all the venom at MQM and Rehman Malik, Mirza,
however, had ample to spare for the Chief Justice. He let no chance go-by to
demonize Chief Justice as if he had explicit instructions from his estranged
boss. Zardari must have relished these attacks while silently approving
attacks on other two.
He blamed Rehman Malik for freeing the arrested killers of the MQM
to win that partys sympathies. Later, Mirza said that there was a human
being inside him that has come alive. That human being remained dormant
as long as he was an active jiyala and to bring it back to life he had to resign
from the PPP membership.
It is important to attempt establishing as what this upheaval is all
about. It must be noted that Altaf Hussain in his letter to Tony Blair had
promised nothing to do for the Crusaders, which the PPP has not practically
done or tried to do, especially in the context of ISI and Army.
The enquiry must begin with listing of possible motives of the
whistle-blower Zulfikar Mirza. Has he acted to settle personal vendetta or
acted for his boss for whom his loyalty remained unscathed. He may be
standing alone, but he seemed to be fighting for the cause of PPP and
Zardari. The aim is to regain the political space lost to Sindhi nationalists
after regimes somersaults on LG system. Secondly, the critics of Zardari
regime have been forced to forget corruption cases and other problems faced
by the masses.

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The people had correctly started perceiving that all the three parties
PPP, MQM and ANP were responsible for carnage in Karachi. There is no
doubt MQM is the real culprit, but after killing of five young men of Lyari,
Zardari decided to cut MQM to size and ordered to pay it back in the same
coin.
Mirza was unleashed against MQM as part of this plan based on
Zardaris strategy of making diversionary and distracting moves. His
aggressive approach has caused hesitation in MQM and as result media and
other groups have for the first time picked up the courage to call spade a
spade and started criticizing MQM.
Diversionary move is not confined to Mirza hurling accusations.
Wassan also said that it would have been better if the Chief Justice had also
taken suo moto notice of situation in Punjab. Raja Riaz demanded
resignation of PML-N government over kidnapping of Shahbaz Taseer;
whereas Rehman Malik was conferred civil award with complete disregard
to the killings in Karachi.
No sooner Shahbaz Taseer was kidnapped in Lahore the earth was
shaken under the feet of the government. Only a week ago people were
kidnapped and killed by the dozens in Karachi and some were burnt alive.
Neither the earth shook nor the shy fell, because these men traveled in
rickety old bus unlike the son of former governor who was traveling in a
Mercedes.
The intriguing aspect is that Zardaris trust in Rehman Malik has
remained apparently unshaken despite loud voices and murmuring against
this dynamic personality for the damage he was causing to the PPP. The
observers pondered about secret of Maliks strength that he was not removed
from his office despite his failings and negative traits mentioned by so many
people.
The only plausible explanation is that Malik has been inherited by
Zardari as part of the infamous NRO deal facilitated by the Crusaders. For
his promised better delivery than Musharraf he needs a chronic lair. In
any case Zardari has to find solid pretext to not fire him. The Scoundrel may
be preparing grounds for removing him at some stage sooner or later.
Apparently, Mirza had taken on the gangs of both Altaf and Zardari
simultaneously. The PPP gang defended itself by saying that whatever Mirza
said was his personal view. It implied that all the truth belonged to the
individual and all the lies fell in the purview of party policy.

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MQM nominated Sabzwari to hold counter-press conference on behalf

the gang he belonged to. With coolness of a cold-blooded murder he hurled
back the allegations of targeted killings, extortion, torture, land mafia and
drug trafficking using refined Urdu as compared to Mirzas crude choice of
words.
Quite cunningly he named only Mirza and avoided pointing finger at
PPP. And, he did it without using Quran to grant credibility to his statements.
He seemed fully reciprocating the reconciliatory approach of Zardari. Soon
after that Rehman Malik and then Gilani telephoned Altaf, who agreed to
water the sapling of democracy. Later, two Dons had 45-minute telephonic
chat.
As Mirza remained on TV screens, MQM was forced to come out of
its dormant posture. This time Mustafa Kamal held a press conference and
termed the letter written to Tony Blair fake; yet he tried to justify some
selected contents while ignoring the others.
He came out with the excuse, like a habitual criminal appearing in a
court, that Ajmal Pahari's confessions was extracted through torture. He also
justified Ajmals stay in New Delhi under the pretext of forced exile. In
addition, he leveled counter-allegations and urged the chief judge to probe
into three hundred thousand arms licences issued by Mirza.
Like walking out of Zardaris political haram, MQM boycotted media
and then soon realized the mistake of leaving the arena without fighting for
their cause. After Mustafa Kamals press conference they returned to TV
channels, but by then they had lost considerable ground to their opponents.
MQM leaders have often boasted that their party is no more lawaris
(guardian-less). Who is their waris (guardian)? Most probably Rehman
Malik and MQM has common sponsor-cum-protector. Like Malik, Zardari
was also constrained to induct MQM in the coalition government on the
directive of the Crusaders using pretext of reconciliation.
The two scoundrels are obliged to work in unison and keep their
unholy union intact because global scoundrel wants it as such. They will
continue with telephonic conversations after each brawl and renewing the
pledge to water the sapling of democracy. Blood of the people of Karachi
will continue to be used as water by these malis (gardeners) of democracy.
As regards the conspiracy of breaking Pakistan nobody should have
any doubt about the sincerity of all the three parties PPP, MQM and ANP
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 regarding ideological and territorial integrity of Pakistan. These parties

have harmed the solidarity of Pakistan by their acts and neglect and the
biggest party has to its credit the distinction of disintegrating the country.
Anti-climax came on 9th September, when the scoundrel-in-chief
arrived in London, while the scoundrel-in-exile had video press conference
with Pakistani media. By design the hype was created about the importance
of the issues to be touched upon by the man whose followers believe him to
be an imam of Khomeneis stature.
All eyes and ears (antennas) TV channels were turned towards his den
in London. They were kept waiting for hours before he emerged on the stage
and TV screens across Pakistan. After his usual theatrics he began his speech
paying compliments to the TV anchors which had allowed criticism of his
political cult called MQM.
He called them baighairat for daring to arrange discussions in which a
spade was called a spade. He took little more than an hour to warm up and
regain some of his senses. He then enacted his first item song. Thereafter
he was in his usual composure. Overall impression created was that the
speakers mood was swaying in between two extremes, of a scared man and
a bully.
All that he said was aimed at achieving objectives related to his
adversaries; perceived or real. Firstly, he wanted to intimidate superior
judiciary, which was hearing suo moto case of killings in Karachi. In this
context he tried to convey that:
Legitimacy of the judiciary is doubtful because its chief and many
judges had taken oath under PCO which is in contradiction to
prerequisites laid down in CoD.
He enumerated the crimes committed against Urdu-speaking
Mohajirs and then tauntingly asked: who is the CJP?
MQM did not stop the CJP on May 12 and it did not place containers
to block roads.
He reminded that so many verdicts of judiciary have not been
implemented and cautioned that the next could be another.
He, however, was generous in staying his decision on the forthcoming
verdict of the Supreme Court; we shall wait and see.

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Secondly, he tried to stall military action which he apprehended could

be initiated under orders of the judiciary or in case things get out of civil
governments control. In this connection he said:
COAS must take cognizance of crimes committed by all other groups,
especially those by Lyari gang as shown in a video.
MQM together with Army and ISI can save Pakistan from the
conspirators, because MQM is the only patriotic party.
Prime Minister and COAS must take note of atrocities committed
against MQM otherwise activists of MQM would be let loose.
Thirdly, he tried to defame and disrepute his two political adversaries,
of past and present, by implicating them even in those crimes which they
had not committed. To this end he alleged:
The US gave billions of dollars to Asfandyar for elections in 2008.
ANP has the plans to disintegrate Pakistan in connivance with the US
and these conspirators consider MQM a hindrance to their plans.
The pioneer of torture cells and targeted killings accused ANP and JI
for committing these crimes.
M Hussain Mehnati armed MQM-Haqaqi through JIs Thunder Squad
to attack MQM rally on May 12.
Same day Marwat and Shahi were heard talking that Asfandyar had
ordered ANPs activists to shoot to kill.
He alleged that PML-N too has armed wing from whom weapons
were recovered.
Last, but not the least, he launched an all out offensive against the
media to intimidate and stop it from exposing MQMs ugly face. He said:
TV anchors are shameless (baighairat) for some of them want to
curtail MQMs mandate.
Some anchors are prejudice and busy in carrying out MQMs media
trial.
He reminded media that there was no one Pakistan to tell the truth and
thus whatever he says should be accepted as such.
His initial thrust was aimed at shaking the very foundation of Pakistan
as he questioned the religious basis of two-nation theory. Using crutches of
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secularism and liberalism he crushed the justification of division of Mother

India. He ventured to correct the history of creation of Pakistan. He did not
stop there and instead marched on to narrate Islamic historys most
important event of Huddabias Peace Accord. He nearly corrected it by
describing the Accord with words Mohammad (PBUH) son of Abdullah.
Throughout he kept using truth as purification tablets to clear the
muddled pond of his lies. He said that MQMs May 12 rally was in support
of Chief Justice completely disregarding how Musharraf had proudly owned
the show of his support the same day in Islamabad. He called his mentor
Musharraf a coward.
He justified his strategy of staying away from the media in the wake
of Mirzas press conference by arguing that it was because of his
(mysterious) hospitalization. He cursed everyone remaining completely
oblivious of the consequences of his utterances. But, there was method in his
madness; he spared his counterpart who had arrived in the town.
13th September, 2011

TEMPORARY RESPITE
The Chief Justice of Pakistan came to the rescue of Zardari regime to

provide it relief from the agony of self-inflicted Karachi-related woes like

targeted-killings, kidnappings, torture, extortion, land grabbing and so on.
When Chief Justice took suo moto notice, as had been silently wished by the
Executive, all the criminals ceased their activities, not out of fear of the
Judiciary, but on instructions from powerful party dons.
This relief was likely to revert back the attention of the critics of the
regime back to rampage corruption and utter incompetence in matters of
governance. The Scoundrel and the Saint must have prayed for saving them
from criticism on numerous counts like failure in providing relief to floodaffected people, unending price hike and collapsing institutions. Prayers
were answered and the Divine help came through Admiral Mike Mullen.
The retiring general accused ISI and Pakistan Army of collaborating
with Haqqani Network. He seemed to have acted under instructions from his
civilian boss. In a single act he saved his own regime and the one installed in
Islamabad from criticism of their military, economic and political failings.

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The one in Islamabad got a respite to bask under the sun of corruption and
incompetence and thus exacting democratic revenge from Pakistan.

NEWS
Relentless monsoon added to the woes of Sindh government. Rains,
which have already claimed 209 lives and displaced 5.3 million people in
Sindh, pounded southern parts of the country on 12 th September, causing
more destruction. The torrential showers and subsequent flooding have
swamped many more villages.
The Karachi operation dominated the proceedings of National
Assembly. The opposition parties called for monitoring of the Karachi
operation by all the major political parties without involving the Army. Nisar
Ali Khan said that killers and extortionists were on the rampage in the port
city which was unacceptable. He added the Supreme Court was taking up the
matter that should have been done by the Parliament.
Munawar Hasan alleged that the MQM was local facilitator of
international mafia working on the plan of breaking Pakistan. JUP leader
said Altaf has insulted hundreds of thousand martyrs by calling Pakistans
history false and the Quaid by dubbing him as secular. Wassan called Mirza
literate illiterate and accused him of uttering words of someone else.
Chief Justice warned the judges of superior court, who have recently
been retired or are going to retire in near future, against reemployment at
least for two years, as laid down in the Constitution. The federal government
last month had decided to appoint the recently retired judge of the apex court
Justice Javed Iqbal as NAB chairman and sent a summary to Prime Minister
Yousuf Raza Gilani in this regard.
The government had told the US prior to the SC annulment of the
NRO that none would be punished in case the verdict went against it,
revealed WikiLeaks disclosure. It was stated that the government has not
been able to make a decision for defending or otherwise of the NRO,
however, it seems that the Supreme Court would declare this ordinance null
and void. If it happened so, President Zardari would enjoy the immunity,
while the NRO beneficiaries would continue performing their duties.
Supreme Court was moved against sale of plot in Karachi at nominal
rate. Social activist, Raja Jahangir Akhtar went on hunger strike in
Islamabad. He demanded anti-corruption bill. Imran, Bari and Bazenjo
visited his camp. Imran said winds have started blowing against corruption.
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Next day, AG Sindh pleaded that some time was required for doing
the needful. On this, the CJ said: Some 20 years have already passed and
how much time they further needed? Do you want the killings in Karachi to
continue for five years? We are again warning that you have very short
time. Justice Rabbani asked: Have you identified the armed groups against
whom you are going to take action? Justice Sarmad Jalal said all the people
here were acting on agenda as to how they should grab the land.
During his arguments, AG said the court had to find out whether it
were political parties or the state which violated the law and how this could
be dealt with. He admitted the police had not taken action against terrorists.
To a question posed by Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani, the attorney general
said since the Supreme Court had taken notice, the situation in the city had
improved and there was no need to call in the army.
In his arguments, Babar Awan, the lawyer for the federation, said the
provinces executive authority covers 23 districts and the suo moto was
based on one district only. Awan added the executive was not a failure at the
federal or provincial level as the situation in Karachi was due to the internal
unrest.
The chief justice remarked that government officials had their jobs
and respect because of Pakistan, adding it was a mystery that why they did
not love their country. He asked the government to submit a written
statement that it will not support armed groups in Karachi. The CJ said they
would salute the police officers who would take action against the criminals.
A lot of time has already been wasted and now the time has come to take
corrective measures for improving the law and order situation.
In Islamabad, Malik admitted that people arrested during recent
Karachi operation belonged to all political parties as well as all of these were
involved in land grabbing there, as 14,000 acres of land has been grabbed in
the metropolitan in connivance with the revenue department. The interior
minister describing the gravity of issue of Karachi said that it was political,
ethnic as well as sectarian one and at the same time drug, land and
extortionist mafias were operating in different parts of the city.
At least 22 people were killed and several others injured in separate
rain-related incidents after monsoon-triggered downpour continued to lash
various parts of Sindh including Karachi here four people died in hospital
due to power outage. Torrential rains have killed 270 people to date.
Meanwhile, hundreds of rain affectees including women looted trucks

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carrying relief goods in Badin and Sanghar. Police resorted to baton-charge

to disperse the desperate people.
The Sindh government called on the world to speed up relief efforts
while trying to fend off criticism of an inadequate response to the floods for
a second year running, by urging the international community to step up help
to already aid-dependent Pakistan. Officials say at least 5.3 million people
and 1.2 million homes have been affected, with 1.7 million acres of arable
land inundated. But a spokesman for charity Pattan, working in the affected
areas, feared that up to 10 million people could be at risk. From London
Zardari urged collective prayers.
The toll taken by dengue reached alarming proportions in Punjab,
especially Lahore. Punjab government closed all schools and colleges in
public and private sector in Lahore for 10 days for completing spray and
other arrangements against dengue virus. The chief minister said that all
possible steps are being taken to control dengue virus and besides posting
additional staff in hospitals for the benefit of dengue patients, machinery has
also been provided.
Meanwhile, Balochistan government sought four weeks from BHC to
get Musharrafs arrest warrant issued in Akbar Bugtis case. Nisar Ali
decided to resign from PAC. LHC ruled appointment of DG NAB, Punjab as
illegal. Punjab government mulled moving Khosa out of Governor House.
On 14th September, President SHC Bar Council Anwar Mansoor
submitted that linguistic, political and religious issues are behind the
incidents of violence in the city. On this, the Chief Justice said there is no
Shia-Sunni or any other ethnic dispute in Karachi. We should say things
which could strengthen nation and the country, the Chief Justice remarked.
I am Punjabi myself, but I am proud of speaking several languages.
Babar Awan said that international powers are trying to prove that
Pakistan is a failed state and if the courts judgment is along similar lines
then that would have a negative impact. He said Pakistan is a nuclear power
and that failure is not an option. To that, the court said that a governments
failure is not the failure of the state. The Chief Justice said the government
has failed to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities. On which Awan said its
an excuse to wrap up democracy. The Chief Justice then asked him why the
government did not take action on it.
Awan came up with an article which said that the head of the armed
forces is also an executive on which the CJ shunned him and said whenever
the executive is referred it is the government. He also advised Awan to
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remain focused on the ongoing case and bring practical thoughts to the
court. The Chief Justice asserted that the SC would not care about who gains
or loses as an outcome of the verdict, but the verdict would be according to
the four pillars of the state.
Chief Justice said all cases of unrest in Karachi are terror-related and
even extortion also falls under the terrorism act. He also expressed his
dissatisfaction over the fact that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) report
was not submitted directly by the government but through other means. The
court adjourned the case hearing till Thursday. Justice Sarmad Usmani said
one party of Karachi is constantly violating Article 17 of the Constitution.
Taking notice of Rehman Maliks statement in which he said that the
target killers were being arrested and they belonged to all the political
parties Chief Justice asked all political parties to announce their repudiation
of criminal elements among their ranks. He remarked that courts decision
on the suo motu case would alert the government and that the law and order
situation in Karachi would also improve.
Justice Chaudhry said if Karachis situation is worse than that of
Waziristan, then how the government could be termed successful. He also
expressed concern over the OGP Sindhs comment that about 30 per cent of
the police were terrorist sympathizers. Justice Jalal Usmani said there was a
lack of political ethics by the government owing to which the country had
witnessed military interventions. Justice Usmani further said that the
government had totally failed and the law and order situation was
purposely being kept this way.
NDMA Chairman told the media that at least 5.5 million people have
been affected by the flooding since August. Kristen Elsby, spokeswoman for
the UNICEF, said 2.7 million children are among the affected. She said half
of the 300,000 people in camps are children. The flooding has inundated
more than 4.5 million acres and damaged an estimated 80 percent of crops.
At least 1.19 million homes have been damaged.
The United States, Iran, Japan and China are among the countries that
have provided or pledged aid. International aid agency Oxfam is mounting
an emergency response to get aid to those affected by fresh flooding in
Sindh province in Pakistan.
Dengue fever claimed at least four more lives in Lahore while 353
new patients have been reported. Authorities seem helpless in containing the
spread of the deadly mosquito-borne virus. Punjab Health Secretary told
during a media briefing at KEMU that the total number of dengue patients
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reported so far was 3,765, while the total number of dengue patients who
were cured and discharged was 4,769. As much as 250 patients were undertreatment in different hospitals.
Two target killers, one extortionist and 16 others were held by Police
and Rangers in Karachi. MQM staged a token walkout from the Senate
saying the government was not serious in nabbing terrorists despite the
action taken by the Rangers there. On orders of Zardari Gilani and Shujaat
together offered special prayer in Islamabad. Imran Khan planned to start
Jaag Utho (wake-up) campaign for voters.
Next day, the Supreme Court of Pakistan completed the hearing of suo
moto case on Karachi violence and reserved its verdict, directing the police
to file daily report about action against criminal elements and asking the
government to ensure its writ at all costs.
Earlier AIG Saud Mirza told the bench that extortion has decreased.
The court also ordered the Sindh government and the chief secretary to
provide assistance to law enforcement agencies in the city. Sindh chief
secretary was ordered to provide services of prosecutors to all the courts
while the courts were directed to hear on daily basis the cases relating to
target killing and extortion.
The counsel for the government, Babar Awan said, We are holding
dialogue and we will continue to hold dialogue. Government has controlled
the situation to considerable extent. The CJP observed that it was the issue
involving crime and does not have a room for political stunts. The political
things be left aside and court be informed about its constitutional solution,
the CJ remarked.
Tell the court if peace has been established in the city. 1,300 people
have been killed. But what has been done in this respect, CJP inquired from
Babar Awan. The government must ensure its writ even at the cost of
annoying the allies, the chief justice said, asking Babar Awan to identify the
areas where the criminal elements have established a state within the state.
The CJP observed that ministers tendered resignations in neighbouring India
against unconstitutional steps. Government should learn lesson from it.
Babar Awan said government had not fully failed in Karachi and it
had faced failure in certain matters. He said that the parliament was fully
functional. At this, Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani asked if it was so why
Karachi was not functional.

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The chief justice asked Babar Awan not to sidetrack from the issue
and do not give report of everything is OK and suggest solution of the
Karachi problem. The chief justice remarked that the situation is worsening
day by day and we have pointed it out many times. Unconstitutional acts
should stop now. We want to tell everyone that nothing except the rule of
law and democracy is acceptable.
Commenting on Awans earlier statements about democracys
sabotage, the chief justice said any person violating the constitution would
be held accountable. The court had on Wednesday termed the executive
branchs inaction being tantamount to assisting criminals, adding that its
hands were tied under such circumstances. The chief justice had said that
criminals were roaming around freely without any fear, while the
government turns a blind eye to the situation.
The Sindh IGP also asserted that the current situation in the city was
better than the earlier one, and that several suspects had been arrested. The
chief justice did not agree with the assertion. Justice Chaudhry also
demanded that investigation reports of police officials killed after the 1992
operation also be presented. If investigation into the murder of police
officers was so slow, what would happen to other cases, he remarked. The
chief justice said those involved in the murder of police officers would have
to be nabbed.
The CJ also questioned as to whether the assassins of constable Javed
have been arrested. At this, SSP Irshad Kayani said that the constable was
killed by Kamran Madhuri but the chief justice remarked that Kamran
Madhuri was arrested before the murder. He also questioned as to whether
any assistance was provided to the children of constable Javed. AIG Saud
Mirza informed the court that they have been extended assistance from
Police Fund.
Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani said that people in Karachi are given
chits by some groups to donate the hides of either sacrificial animals or their
own skins. The chief justice at this asked the Sindh advocate general to find
a solution to this problem as Eidul Azha is approaching. CJP directed the AG
to approach government for enactment of legislation against collecting
hides.
Babar Awan talked to media outside Supreme Court Karachi Registry
and threatened the apex court saying action could be initiated against the
judges now in the event of violation of the constitution. There was no room
for doctrine of necessity in the country, he said, adding that the 18 th
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Amendment was a strong wall guarding the constitution. The government,

however, would take no unconstitutional step, he added.
Meanwhile, target killer Zafar Andha and four others were arrested.
JSQM leader was arrested along with his bodyguards in Karachi for
possessing illegal weapons, which was followed by operation in the locality
of the house of the arrested leader. Activists of the nationalist party protested
in Karachi and Hyderabad and resorted to firing in the air.
London Police denied reports that anyone has been arrested in
Pakistan on its instructions in connection with murder of Imran Farooq.
Police announced 20,000 pounds reward for clues about the murderer. Altaf
telephoned Zardari and wished him good health and long life. ANP and
MQM also decided to forget and forgive.
The dengue virus continued playing havoc and killed another 11
people, taking the overall death toll to 33. More than two million people in
Sindh were suffering from flood-related diseases. Ban Ki-moon said was
concerned over the repeat of last years deadly floods in Pakistan.
On 16th September, six target killers were arrested in Karachi. Nawaz
Sharif asserted that some vested interests were destroying Karachi peace,
alleging the government too was spoiling the country on purpose, and he
could give call for a revolution in these circumstances. Gilani postponed his
visit to US due to devastation caused by heavy rains.
The Accountability Court set free FBRs former Chairman A R
Siddiqui from Cotecna Corruption Reference due to lack of evidences
against him as NAB failed to produce incriminating evidence. Musharrafs
wife moved court for release of assets being common property.
Next day, Rangers operation continued and meanwhile nephew of
Chief Justice of SHC was abducted. JSQM leader was released on bail. At
least one flood victim was shot dead and some others injured in Jhol area of
Sanghar when hundreds of starving people raided a factory to get relief
items stored there. Gilani constituted a high-level committee to supervise,
monitor and coordinate relief and rehabilitation efforts in the rain affected
areas of Sindh. He himself visited some affected areas under strict security.
The menace of dengue fever claimed seven more lost their lives in
Lahore and five more people died in other cities of Punjab and Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. As many as 823 persons were tested positive for dengue fever
in the City, taking the overall tally to 11,285. Nawaz Sharif called upon the
private hospitals not to exploit the dengue patients.

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On 18th September, Gilani said that Armys assistance would be

sought wherever and whenever required. During his visit to Umerkot, he
announced Rs20, thousand for each flood-affected family and earlier he
ordered immediate release Rs1.53 billion for the flood victims. He once
again asked global community for help. The UN launched $365 million
appeal for Pakistan. Latif Khosa said no politics on flood aid; politics
reserved only for dengue fever.
Dengue fever continued to haunt the Lahorites with ever increasing
intensity since six more lost their lives while another 824 were tested
positive for the deadly virus. Emergency was declared and weekly offs of
doctors and other staff was suspended. Even the nursing students and
dispensers were deputed to look after the patients canceling their regular
classes.
Next day, suicide bombing was introduced into turf wars in Karachi.
Six policemen were among eight killed in suicide bombing at the residence
of SSP CIA in DHA Karachi; TTP accepted the responsibility. Meanwhile,
Altaf Hussain took back his words in which he had accused Asfandyar of
accepting dollars in 2008; ANP welcomed the move. Two MQM federal
ministers were reported to have been overseeing functions of their respective
ministries to check progress relating to various projects.
Nawaz Sharif and Shujaat met at the residence of the latter; the
meeting was in continuation of dialogue which began during Ramazan in
Saudi Arabia. Mushahid Hussain was present during latest meeting, which
was reportedly opposed by Moonis Elahi.
Three more succumbed to Dengue fever in Lahore. Twenty-four labs
were sealed for over charging for tests. Gilani offered help to provinces for
fighting the Dengue. He and Governor, however, praised efforts of Punjab
government. Nawaz Sharif said that Prime Minister should set aside up to
Rs9 billion out of his discretionary fund of Rs29 billion to help millions of
the devastating flood victims in Sindh. In case more money was needed for
their rehabilitation, he should take it from the same fund which was at his
own disposal.
The top bosses of Ministry of Interior dealing with FIA were again
flexing their muscles to make Zafar Qureshi, leading investigator in NICL
scam, controversial by pitching a junior office against him. It is believed that
recent letter of Assistant Director (Legal) FIA against Qureshi about
allegations of illegal detention was part of this move. As according to them,
Qureshi was going to submit a complete challan of National Insurance
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Company Limited (NICL) scam on 26th of September following the

directions of the court and certain quarters want to bar him from doing this.
Meanwhile, Qureshis retirement notification was issued.
Zardari vowed to expose killers of Murtaza Bhutto soon. The Supreme
Court snubbed unprepared NAB counsel during hearing of corruption
reference against Sherpao. PPP strongholds of Larkana, Dadu and Sukkur
were on top of the power pilferage list.
On 20th September, the Supreme Court of Pakistan expressed
dissatisfaction over the police reports submitted in the sou moto Karachi
violence case. IG Sindh, AIG and all IGs were summoned to the Karachi
Registry where a two-member bench will hear their versions. The suo moto
case judgment had been reserved.
Nawaz Sharif said that the Supreme Court should ban political parties
having militant wings from participating in elections. He met with the
industrialists and while talking to the media he urged that such links should
be curbed in order to restore peace in the city, he added. He said that the
Rangers should be given police powers.
Marvi Memon filed a contempt petition in the Supreme Court. She
prayed that Sindh government had not taken action as advised by the flood
commission and directed by the apex court. Had these actions been taken the
damages caused by recent floods would have been averted to great extent.
Meanwhile, eight more people died of Dengue fever in Punjab and toll of
diagnosed cases reached seven thousand.
ATC handed down four times death punishment to seven accused and
life imprisonment to six others in Sialkot case in which two brothers
Mughees and Muneeb were brutally lynched in full public view in August
last year. Ten policemen, including DPO Waqar Chohan, were also awarded
3 years in jail.
Next day, three more fell prey to violence in Karachi. General Kayani
visited the Corps Headquarters in Karachi and was briefed about the law and
order and overall security situation of in detail. The COAS was also briefed
on the prevailing flood situation in Sindh and the on-going rescue and relief
efforts being undertaken by the Army.
Two-member bench of the Supreme Court rejected the police
performance report about investigations under its interim decision and
sought details about the number of challans and accused sent to jail by the
law enforcement agency. During his remarks, Justice Anwar Jamali said the

465

court should be briefed about the steps taken by the police for eradication of
crimes and the progress made in this regard.
Dengue fever claimed 16 more lives, while 772 were tested positive
for the deadly virus on Wednesday. As many as 772 persons were tested
positive for dengue in the City, taking the overall tally to 14,647. Zardari
met Sri Lankan team of experts.
Zardari directed for chalking out a plan for permanent solution to
tackle dengue virus and other related diseases in the wake of floods and
heavy rains in Sindh. He said that the nation has to learn to live with heavy
rains and floods which has become a regular feature all over the world
including Pakistan due to global climate changes. He also wanted plans to
store rain water in desert.
Zafar Qureshi wrote a letter to Register Supreme Court, alleging that
Director General FIA Tahseen Anwar Shah and Secretary Interior Khawaja
Siddique Akbar were creating hindrances in the investigation process and
had been totally non-cooperative with him so far, sources aware of the
developments informed. Meanwhile, French Police questioned Sarkozys
best man over kickbacks in 2002 arms deal with Pakistan. Wikileaks
revealed that Zardari had thanked the US for his election win. Family of
lynched brothers of Sialkot ruled out patch-up.
On 22nd September, Farooq Sattar strongly denied a secret US cable
quoting him as saying that certain MQM workers were involved in May 12
mayhem. He said the real victim of May 12 was the MQM and that it was a
horrible act and a conspiracy against his party. Wikileaks had revealed that
Farooq Sattar said certain MQM workers, former president Pervez
Musharraf, landlords, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and other political
parties were involved in the incident.
General Kayani visited the flood affected areas in Sindh and said the
army was ready to help the people in their time of need. He met flood
affectees and expressed grief over the losses they had incurred. COAS was
briefed on the situation following the rains in Sindh and he said that a report
was being complied about the damage caused which would be presented to
the government.
The Supreme Court expressed dissatisfaction over the report
submitted by the Sindh government pertaining to the devastation caused by
the floods. The court directed the provincial government to submit a
comprehensive report on Monday. A three-member bench headed by Chief
Justice was hearing the petition filed by Marvi Memon on the devastation
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caused by the floods in Sindh. According to the petition filed by Memon,

flood affectees are not being provided relief and in Sanghar only Rs11 were
given to each affectee.
Death toll reaches 68 with six more people dying of dengue fever. The
number of dengue patients was increasing in Multan, Faisalabad and Khyber
Pakhtoonkhwa. Only Japan pledged $10 million aid for flood affectees. Aid
Agencies flayed lack of coordination.
Next day, law enforcers arrested 40 suspects in Karachi. Twelve more
people died of dengue fever in Punjab and 771 tested positive. Babar Awan
criticized the Punjab government, accusing Chief Minister of taking
inadequate measures against the dengue fever outbreak.
DG FIA Tahseen Anwar left the country yet another time reportedly to
avoid assisting Zafar Ahmed Qureshi in the NICL case. Apparently, Shah
has gone abroad on the pretext of a training course but DGs departure for
Germany is linked to his reluctance in helping out Qureshi as ordered by the
apex court.
On 24th September, thirteen more died of dengue fever taking the toll
to 83 and about ten thousand have been tested positive in Punjab. Zardari
said Pakistan has no money for big projects. Another petition was filed in
LHC regarding Zardari using Presidency as partys political office.
The ECP released detailed district-wise break-up of the Electoral
Rolls 2007, the number of unverified voters in ER 2007 and newly
augmented voters in Electoral Rolls 2011. These details are also available at
the ECP website. After deletion of these 37 million unverified voters from
the Draft Electoral Rolls, 2011, NADRA added 36 million who had obtained
CNICs after preparation of Electoral Rolls-2007. NADRA can provide
evidence from its database with regard to 37 million unverified voters as
well as 36 million voters who have been added into the Draft Electoral
Rolls, 2011.
NICL scam took a new turn as its Zafar Ahmed Qureshi in his
fortnight report submitted before the Supreme Court has stated that money
was laundered in the mega corruption scandal and Moonis Elahi, one of the
accused, was allegedly involved in it. The report has not been signed by the
DG FIA, Syed Tahseen Anwar Shah.
Next day, law enforcers arrested more than hundred suspects in
operation in various localities of Karachi. Nationalist leader was among

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those held. MQM condemned the release of Zafar Baloch after detention,
who has been member of Amman Committee and close to Zulfikar Mirza.
Eleven more people died of dengue fever in Punjab. Increase in
casualties of Dengue Shock Syndrome patients was observed, primarily
because of unavailability of important lifesaving drug Dextran 40 injection
in the market and lack of knowledge among physicians about the medicine
as well as the disease. All private and government schools in Lahore
reopened after being closed for ten days due to dengue threat. Chief Minister
launched a cleanliness campaign to eradicate dengue mosquito.
On 26th September, police claimed arresting six target killers. Sindh
High Court ordered to release MQM (Haqiqi) Chairman Afaq Ahmed on bail
in Atiqur Rehman murder case. The bail was approved against one million
rupees. It was the last of the nine cases made against the MQM-H chief
under various charges who has been in jail since year 2004.
Next day, six more died of dengue fever in Lahore; death toll crossed
one hundred. The website of the Supreme Court was hacked. The hacker has
left objectionable messages on the website and told that data of the website
is still intact and no harm has been done to it. It is only the index file that has
been replaced with the hackers message. The CDA termed as fake the
drawings of the map of a farmhouse submitted by Musharrafs aide few days
ago with the Authority, claiming they were original.
On 28th September, four more perished due to dengue fever and more
than 11 hundred have been diagnosed positive in Punjab. Iranian delegation
visiting Pakistan announced $100 million aid for flood affected Sindhis and
called for fighting challenges jointly. Railways suspended 115 trains
temporarily, while multiple crises haunted PIA operations.
The MQM-H Chairman, Afaq Ahmed, was detained for one month
under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) after his possible release on
the verdict of SHC. Scores of MQM-Haqiqi supporters, who had gathered
outside the Malir District Jail, protested and blocked the National Highway.
On 29th September, PML-Ns MPA Mumtaz Ahmed Jajja died of
dengue fever as tally reached 143; the number of patients diagnosed positive
crossed 12 hundred. Afaq Ahmed of MQM-H filed petition in SHC
challenging his detention. The Supreme Court, upholding the decision of
Peshawar High Court, rejected the NAB appeal against the acquittal of
former interior minister Aftab Sherpao. The LHC restrained the OGRA and
Ministry of Petroleum from pursuing any coercive action against LPG

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marketing companies under the controversial LPG Production and

Distribution Policy, 2011.
Next day, Dengue fever continued to haunt the Lahorites as seven
more persons lost their lives, taking the death toll to 150. Three people were
killed in Karachi. The WFP distributed around 7,000 tonnes of monthly
family food rations in the flood-affected region of Pakistan. Cash-starved
PPP-led coalition government raised the prices of POL products. Price of
petrol will go up by Rs4.15 per litre.
LHC issued notice to the Federal Government on a petition which
challenged the Interior Ministry direction for surrendering the arms licenses
to Nadra; the court has directed the Deputy Attorney General to appear on
October 5 and respond to the contentions raised through the same. Regimes
manoeuvring in NICL achieved a major success; Zafar Qureshi retired.
On 1st October, a local Anti-Terrorism Court awarded death sentence
on two counts to Mumtaz Qadri, who killed former Punjab Governor Salman
Taseer. The court completed the proceedings at Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi. The
verdict sparked protests and Benazirs monument and portraits of Shahbaz
were torched.
Shahbaz Sharif said extra-ordinary load shedding, generally in Punjab
and particularly in Lahore, is not only increasing the problems of the dengue
patients, but also causing losses to the costly machinery provided for
diagnoses and treatment of dengue patients in the hospitals. Protests were
held across Punjab against power outages. Meanwhile, traders rejected POL
price hike. Next day, five more people died of dengue in Lahore and
Chichawatni. As many as 409 new dengue cases were reported in Lahore in
the last 24 hours. There are now 12,862 dengue patients in Punjab, out of
which 11,261 are in Lahore.
Angry residents staged protest in many localities in Lahore to protest
against prolonged load-shedding. Lahore like many other cities of Punjab
has been in the grip of over 18-hour load-shedding, making life miserable
for the people. The irked people blocked the Multan Road and pelted buses
with stones. Police reached the spot shortly in order to disrupt protesters.
Faisalabad too boiled with the same sentiments. In Chichawatni,
people besieged a grid station. In Sialkot, load shedding-beaten traders
observed complete shutter down strike. In Gujranwala, protesters blocked
roads for ten hours and burnt tyres. Police reached the spot and batoncharged protesters on failure of dialogues.

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Sharif brothers alleged that power blackouts in Punjab were due to

deliberate discrimination in distribution of electricity. Shahbaz vowed to
lead long march in protest of power outages and against Zardari whom he
did not consider a legitimate president.
A list of land-grabbers in Karachi was published which included the
names mostly from PPP, MQM and ANP. When TV channels contacted
parties leaders/spokesmen (Sharjeel Memon, Shai Syed and Raza Haroon)
for comments all of them claimed that their respective parties were against
land grabbing. Meanwhile, intelligence agencies warned of sectarian
violence as RAW-funded Taliban were making new outfits in the city.

VIEWS
On 15th September, TheNation commented: The Supreme Court
proceedings of the case about the dreadful situation in Karachi held on
Tuesday leave little room for doubt that the Chief Justice and fellow
Judges on the bench have finally nailed the government down to commit
to work for the restoration of peace and harmony in the city. Chief
Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry remarked that the time has come to call spade a
spade. It is only in this way that the true story about the causes of target
killings, the extortion of money and the grabbing of land would come out.
The observations the court made, the questions, some of them rhetorical, it
posed, and the pronouncements it issued all clearly suggest that the
arguments and evidence so far presented to it have laid bare before it, in a
convincing way, the factors behind the deadly turmoil. No doubt, the causes
have not been hidden from anyone, but for a judicial institution to reach a
conclusion that bears the stamp of authenticity, it has to go through a
prescribed procedure.
Therefore, its order seeking a written guarantee from the
government not to support armed gangs in Karachi is quite revealing.
And so are the question, Why are the political parties not asked to abolish
terrorist wings from their ranks? What action has been taken by the police
(high-ups) to purge them of political influence? The questions point to two
main causes behind the disturbance of peace and the virtual stalling of life in
the once throbbing metropolis and the financial, industrial and economic
centre of the country that used to contribute the largest amount of revenue to
the state exchequer, and these are: the turf wars waged by militant groups
patronized by powerful ruling troika and the governments inaction against
them because of its own involvement in this brutal game.
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The Chief Justice snubbed government attorney Babar Awan by

telling him to come to the point and not make the court a political
arena when he raised points, which the court believed were extraneous and
irrelevant. The situation in Karachi cried out for action, and the Rangers,
who were fully capable of controlling the mafias and bringing peace back to
Karachi should have, the court remarked, unrestricted powers to take action
against the criminal gangs without any discrimination at all. Babar Awans
argument that since out of the 23 districts of Sindh, things were out of
control only in one district, it could not be termed a failure of the executive
is questionable. If the mafias have been killing and plundering the citizens at
will for years and the authorities are unable to get hold of them and bring
them to book and that too in the provincial capital, it would be hard to buy
his thesis. The need of the hour is to move against such militant wings of
political parties relentlessly and without any discrimination till they are
rooted out.
In another editorial the newspaper added: While the monsoon rains in
Sindh continue to wreak havoc through floods, one of the consequences of
the destruction The President should not consider his duty done by his
visit to Nawabshah, and the issuing of statements from the UK, which he is
visiting. With him in UK, and the Prime Minister just back from Iran, the
country is facing a grave crisis without them. This would be less
irresponsible if the visits were not timed for the monsoon season, which was
known in advance. The planning for next years monsoon should already
have begun. The President and Prime Minister should ensure they apply
their full energies to it, and not regard it as something that can be handled in
intervals between foreign trips.
On 18th September, Zaheer Bhatti wrote: I had decided to take a break
from the irksome monotony of the Pakistani political scene, which, despite
warnings, moaning, demands and reprimands from all quarters, promises
nothing, but despondency, trade-marking, continued insensitivity and apathy
of its faceless leadership to public issues, sentiment and national ethos; be it
the Kashmir or the water issue with India, energy crisis, civil war-like
targeted killings in Karachi or virulent attacks by coalition partners against
each other. But one cannot stay aloof, looking at the precipice towards
which our leadership was driving the nation. To this leadership, nothing
but staying in power matters, even if it means continuing to play a
mercenary role for its foreign occupiers, or opting for ideologically
moribund bedfellows for expediency.

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Prominent among its achievements are blatant defiance of the

judiciary and itself making a mockery of the Constitutional Order it
avows to uphold, protecting corruption, eroding merit and patronizing its
cronies, squandering and stashing away scarce public funds, failing to
present a national programme or policy on domestic and international issues,
inability to arrest energy shortages and breakdowns, bringing the countrys
industry to a grinding halt, and presenting a paralyzed state apparatus with
relentless price hikes, blasts, drone attacks and target killings, as gifts of
democracy to the masses.
Indecision, lack of transparency and commitment confound the ruling
leadership and makes a laughing stalk of them. Those who, not too long ago,
made jokes out of abbreviated title of dictator Ziaul Haq, i.e. CMLA (Chief
Martial Law Administrator), going repeatedly back on his word, to in effect
mean Contrary to My Last Announcement, were today caught re-enacting
the pantomime ad nauseam.
For all its ills, these stakeholders to power finding hard who to
blame, refuse to look inwards into their own backyard, and either hold
responsible some hidden hands, national outfits outlawed on foreign
bidding without evidence, foreign hand, global recession, internal intrigues,
and if nothing else, the countrys security agencies as they were working for
the enemy, or the media which according to them were exceeding their brief;
the case in point being the excessive exposure of the slinging match between
the MQM Chief Altaf Hussain and Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, former PPP Interior
Minister Sindh, whose conscience has enamoured him to come out with
startling revelations on oath over the Holy Book, causing a national stir.
Although one finds it rather farfetched that the MQM Chief would
confide in someone like Dr Mirza belonging to a rival political party about
his support to dismemberment plans in cahoots with the British government,
the futuristic wish map of the region displayed as a scoop by Altaf to his
marathon video press conference viewers, had already been widely
circulated over the net and was no news. One thing though is common in
the statements of the two, that our overseas friends had long been
working overtime to further weaken or disintegrate Pakistan,
particularly ever since its nuclear detonations that have been an eyesore for
many, as has been Pakistani ISIs stellar performance in frustrating many a
sinister plans against the motherland. And while many questioned the
wisdom of affording such a marathon exposure to the MQM Chief by the
media, besides his frequently televised telephone addresses from exile in

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London, I for one think that his lack of substance has been thoroughly
exposed through this overexposure.
But whatever the intrinsic value of Mirzas bold diatribe against
the MQM, the joke has gone on for far too long, and it was time that the
suo moto notice of the Karachi situation by the Supreme Court, carries out
incisive scrutiny of Mirza sahibs statements on Quranic oath, identifies and
punishes the extortionists and decides once for all, as to who was
compromising the interests of the motherland.
But such has been the sense of priorities of the present government
dispensation that at this critical impasse in national life where national
security should always occupy top priority and protection of life and
property of ordinary citizens, besides securing them shelter and a square
meal should be foremost on its agenda, it chooses to embroil the nation
into innocuous non-issues like revival or otherwise of local bodies and
creation of additional provinces for expediency, rather than administrative
reasons.
Declaring to scrap Musharrafs local government and reverting to the
time tried commissionerate system in Sindh, as had been done in other
provinces, but retracting within 48 hours under duress from the MQM;
placing curbs on the movement of American diplomats (mostly proven CIA
operatives) within the country, but lifting them after a few half measures,
and relaxing them to an extent that the US Ambassador and other officials
have been seen freely interfering in purely domestic Pakistani affairs that is
none of their business, all this tells a very sorry tale about the mettle of
Pakistani leadership.
Knowing fully well the Zionist agenda in the region, particularly in
Pakistan, one is aghast to see that the American operatives continue the
masquerade across the country freely meeting people, and doling out
money to those demanding separate provinces of which evidence was
provided over a TV channel several months back, and fomenting trouble and
daring renegade elements in the Seraiki belt and Balochistan, while our
leadership continues its deep slumber. Is it now time to drop anchor and
flush out the enemy agents operating as mercenaries, be they guised as
NGOs receiving lavish monetary assistance (no wonder directly), or hired
for their so-called security agencies by our providers?
Two days later, Rahimullah Yusufzai commented: Finally and rather
belatedly the government decided to turn to Allah Almighty to seek
forgiveness and help from Him in coping with the natural disasters that
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have ravaged Pakistan. An appeal by President Asif Ali Zardari published on

the front pages of the newspapers urged the people, the ulema and all
religious and political parties of the country to offer special dua for this
purpose after the mid-day Zuhr prayers on September 14.
There was no mention, though, in the presidents appeal of the
need to seek Allahs mercy on our nation and country from the acts of
terrorism, violence, injustices, corruption and other man-made disasters that
Pakistan is facing. His focus was on natural disasters such as the heavy
monsoon rains, floods, dengue virus and other natural calamities.
It is obvious that Zardaris government feels confident of coping with
the worldly problems and the political challenges on its own despite its
repeated failure to provide protection to the life and property of the people
and meet their other basic needs. No government in Pakistan has had the
character and courage to concede its mistakes and this one is no
exception. Such has been the sorry state of affairs that the PPP, ANP and
other parties that have been part of the ruling coalition are finding it difficult
to benefit from some of their achievements like the 18 th Constitutional
Amendment ensuring provincial autonomy and further devolution.
Babar Awan, the counsel for the federation in the suo motu case of
target killings in Karachi in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and Attorney
General Maulvi Anwarul Haq insisted during the hearing that the executive
authority, or the government, had not failed at the federal or the provincial
level in the discharge of duty to control the law and order situation. Only the
most diehard supporter of this beleaguered government would concur with
this view. Former law minister and ruling Pakistan Peoples Party stalwart
Babar Awan even cautioned that an admission by the executive authority
regarding its failure to cope with the situation would have global
repercussions at a time when Pakistan was in the middle of a war on its
western border and most of the security apparatus was engaged in it.
Whatever that means, his argument isnt convincing because the widely
held view in Pakistan and abroad is that this government has been a
failure on most counts.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry spoke for many
Pakistanis during the hearing of the Supreme Court case when he pointed
out that 1,310 persons had been killed in Karachi but even then the
government insisted that it hasnt failed. He felt the court would have to
intervene if witnesses werent available against the killers of 100 people, a
clear reference to the suspected target-killer Ajmal Pahari who is described

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by the MQM leadership as a party worker coerced into giving the

confessional statement. Just look at their names such as Pahari, Commando,
Fauji, K-2, Chashmo, Policewala, Kaankutta, etc and one starts thinking that
these strange titles and aliases havent been bestowed on them for
nothing. One has to stand out to deserve such names! And yet no action
could be taken against them by the demoralized and politicized police force
and the fearful courts because they enjoyed political patronage.
That the discourse in the aftermath of the natural disasters in
Pakistan has become religious was further underscored by the
appearance of Maulana Tariq Jamil, the popular Tableeghi preacher, on
prime-time television. He featured in Kamran Khans show on Geo TV to
warn that we as a nation had earned Allahs wrath on account of our many
sins and were, therefore, being subjected to divine punishment and made to
face one trial after another. Those who know something about the Tableeghi
Jamaat are aware that the articulate and knowledgeable Tariq Jamil has a
large following and is revered in the religious circles. His intervention
focused attention on the corruption and other unsavoury things that everyone
knows are happening in present-day Pakistan.
Religion was also pushed into the political discourse when both Dr
Zulfiqar Mirza, the former Sindh home minister and senior PPP leader, and
MQM founder Altaf Hussain, brought copies of the Quran while addressing
press conferences in Karachi and London, respectively, and invoked the
Holy Book to lend credibility to their claims and allegations against political
rivals. Obviously, they felt that more people would believe them if they
swore on the Quran. Or to put it differently, they thought not many would
believe them if they didnt swear by the glorious Quran. At a time when
politicians suffer from poor credibility, Dr Mirza and Altaf Hussain could
think of no better way to make their assertions believable! This triggered a
new debate on the sidelines as the faithful felt the two politicians had
belittled and insulted the Quran.
All this is happening when Pakistan is confronted with unending
challenges including the new ones like the floods in Sindh and the dengue
virus concentrated in Punjab and old problems linked to the religious
militancy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA, the low-intensity separatist
insurgency in Balochistan and the violence fuelled by ethnicity, sectarianism
and crime in Karachi. Add to it the economic problems and the political
instability and we have a country that is both ungovernable and
directionless

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In the midst of all these grave challenges, how should one look at the
revelations made by the all-knowing Dr Zulfiqar Mirza about the MQM and
the elaborate reaction to him first by Faisal Sabzwari and Mustafa Kamal
and then their boss Altaf Hussain. In his by now familiar style, the latter
appeared more of an entertainer than a mature politician as his long
discourse lacked seriousness and failed to rebut the allegations made against
him and his party by Dr Zulfiqar Mirza. Now that Altaf Hussain has
reportedly withdrawn his remarks about the ANP President Asfandyar Wali
Khan receiving millions of dollars from the US, it would be difficult to take
the MQM leader seriously. One is at a loss to understand that the same
MQM and ANP leaders describing each other as liars and anti-state a
few days ago could be now moving towards reconciliation. One heard
from them demands for banning the MQM and the ANP despite knowing
that banning political parties is futile. And now remarks are being taken back
meaning that every allegation made earlier was wrong. Isnt it Pakistans
misfortune to have such politicians at a time when it needs someone of
stature to bail out the country?
On 22nd September, TheNation wrote: The anti-terrorism courts
verdict on Tuesday giving exemplary punishment to all the culprits involved
in the lynching tragedy in Sialkot should be hailed The grandfather of the
slain boys expressed satisfaction at the courts orders but made some
comments which deserve attention. He said that although he was relieved to
get justice, the worrying thing was the deteriorating condition of the
society in terms of ethics and morals and questioned why such brutal
lynching was allowed to occur in front of a large group of people.
In fact, there is a need for soul searching and each one of us must
make an effort to arrest this trend of militant mindset and vigilantism that
more often than not leads to rampant violence and lawlessness. The
bereaved family particularly thanked the media as well as judiciary for
springing into action to get them justice. As per reports, the culprits used
their clout to affect the outcome of the case, yet medias coverage and
judiciarys bravery foiled these attempts. Both the pillars of state deserve
a round of applause.
On 30th September, Marvi Memon wrote: How can we expect
Pakistan to prosper, governments to give us services when we are
making no efforts to set the right expectations from governments.
Politicians from all these parliamentary parties must be very smug right now.
They must be thinking: We fool our people well. We give them hunger and
insecurity and they still vote for us in every general election. So, in essence,
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there is only one choice left. Soul-searching as to how decadent we have

become. If we want a prosperous Pakistan that has security, more jobs, better
services, we will have to reject the old and create the new from amongst
ourselves.
Not all the old politicians are part of the problem. Some of them are
honest, sincere, non-VIP, not full of themselves, humble, down to earth and
therefore needed for the solution. Pakistan needs a political party, which
has such a collective leadership; which doesnt run on a one man show
approach; which takes leaders from all provinces; where their leadership is
rotational. The old leaders have a chance to come together. To come out of
their existing political parties, join hands and give Pakistan a collective
leadership which can challenge the looters. If they do this they are change
agents and if they dont they are part of the problem. They have a chance to
save Pakistan truly.
Such leadership, including political and the best of
experts/technocrats, need to seek each other urgently if they believe Pakistan
is in ICU mode. They need to believe in their own power to be able to
provide the alternative so urgently required in Pakistani politics. They need
to give Pakistanis from every province an equal stake in the new
Pakistan; a complete vision, an implementation strategy and Pakistans
real leaders coming together. Coming together under a large umbrella rather
than joining a one man show umbrella or being part of existing one man
shows. This is Pakistans only saving.
Dr A H Khayal opined: A poor country has two kinds of lovers:
The rulers and the masses, but there is a fundamental difference
between the love-modality of the rulers and the love-modality of the
masses. The rulers extort an exorbitant price from their beloved for their
love. On the contrary, the masses sacrifice themselves gratis for the love of
their beloved. A government-less Pakistan would be absolutely free from the
tyrannical love of the extortionist rulers. It takes all sorts to make the world.
But it takes only two sorts to make a poor country: The selfless masses and
the self-drunk rulers.
The richness or the poverty of a country does not depend on the
richness or the poverty of its resources. It depends entirely on the
system of distribution of the available resources. If the resources are
meagre but they are justly distributed, then every one must be happy with a
modest living. But if the resources are plentiful but they are monopolized by
the rulers, then the masses must be miserable. Thus, a poor country is a

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country where ethics is subjugated to politics and a country is a rich country

where politics is subjugated to ethics. The usurpers of the national resources
of a poor country well know that their wealth-passion is terribly damaging to
the masses.
One wonders, why the usurpers dont control their madness for
wealth. The reason is very simple. The politician in power knows that any
moment of his power could turn out to be the last moment of his power. He
feels extremely nervous. But he is determined to have as luxurious a lifestyle
when he is no longer in power as he enjoyed when he was in power. It is this
ambition, which forces him to amass as much wealth as possible. The
money-grabbing madness of the rulers can be killed only by killing the
governmental system. When there is no governmental system, there will be
no politicians. And when there are no politicians, there will be no rulers. And
when there are no rulers, there will be no national exploitation.
Ethically, no ruler should be allowed to eat butter unless every
citizen has got bread. But unfortunately, the affairs of a poor country are
run by the professional politicians and not by morality. The common citizen
of a poor country must know that the countrys resources are hardly
sufficient for the princely needs of the rulers. Since the rulers can spare
nothing for the common man, the common man has only two options. He
can solve his problems either by embracing self-extinction or by fleeing the
country for a refuge in his ancestral home the jungle.

REVIEW
Suo moto notice of Karachi carnage by the Chief Justice of Pakistan
and utterances of Mike Mullen out of sheer frustration provided distraction
of the observers from the criminal acts and neglects of the three parties
contesting for the control of the mega city. But, the temporary calm did not
mean that nothing was happening under the surface.
Most of the happenings related to repairing the PPP-MQM relations.
Zardaris private visit to London and his prolonged stay bore the desired
results. London Police denied making any progress about apprehending
killers of Imran Farooq and instead announced reward for clues.
Altaf reciprocated by telephoning Zardari and promising to work
closely to save the system. The two scoundrels seemed fully co0nscious of
the fact that working in unison is essential for the survival of both. It was in

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the same spirit that Afaq Ahmed of MQM-H was detained soon after his
release on bail on the pretext of maintenance of public order.
Beyond Karachi, a judge in Sialkot announced the verdict in the
murder case of two brothers in public and awarded punishments the culprits
deserved. In this case the suo moto notice by the Chief Justice had borne the
intended result. However, some observers had reservations about lenient
punishments awarded to policemen.
The reporter who dared recording the incident and then providing it to
TV channels should have been rewarded with civil award for which he
deservingly qualifies. But, Zardari regime seemed to have liking for
ridiculing these awards as part of democratic revenge by throwing these into
dust bins called Malik and Farooqis.
In Rawalpindi, the enlightened moderate rulers were able to exact
revenge from religious extremist through an Anti-Terror Court. Qadri, who
had murdered Salman Taseer was awarded death sentence on two counts.
The verdict was instantly resented by those who condone Qadris act and
call for strike on 7th October was given.
Meanwhile, Zafar Qureshi retired on 30th September. His retirement
marked thumping victory for the corrupt politicians as with his departure the
only threat posed by any honest bureaucrat was eliminated. It also added to
the helplessness of the superior judiciary.
3rd October, 2011

ORDER OR SUMISSION
The Supreme Court gave its verdict on 6 th October in the case of suo
moto notice taken by the Chief Justice of a spate of turf war in Karachi in
which more than three hundred people, mostly innocent, had lost their lives.
PPP and MQM had closed their ranks on the eve of verdicts announcement
in anticipation of axe of justice falling upon them.
Their apprehensions were not unfounded because they knew better
than the judges of the Supreme Court the heinous crimes they had
committed for the control of mega city. The two scoundrels, resident and
absentee, were ready to defy any attempt at dispensation of justice. They
must have been pleasantly surprised noticing that neither the heavens as
referred to by the CJP, or the axe as feared by the guilty party fell.

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Next day, Zardari summoned PPP leaders of Sindh and representative

of Altaf Hussain, the Governor Sindh, to Islamabad. This get together on 8 th
October was meant to welcome the advice of the court and to work out a
plan to pre-empt any second thought by the judges about punishing someone
for which they seemed to have kept the door open.
The same day religious parties protest rallies across the country to
protest award of death sentence to the man who had killed Salman Taseer.
Electronic media, which tend to make breaking news out of some children
pelting stones observed complete silence over rallies, perhaps, in pursuance
of the code of conduct evolved by the enlightened media in which projection
of religious extremism has to be discouraged.

NEWS
On 3rd October, long hours of announced and unannounced power
load shedding pushed people to streets in various cities of Punjab. Violent
protests were erupted in Gujaranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, Lahore, Multan,
Layyah and other cities and towns of the province, where provoked
protesters ransacked public and private property. Protesters blocked the
motorway at Lilla Inter-change, while due to traders strike, all markets
remained closed in Faisalabad.
In Gujranwala protesters blocked the roads and pelted stones on
various offices, during uproars, DSP and SHO and five other sustained
injuries. In Gujrat protesters burnt Gepco office. On the call of traders
bodies, there was a complete shutter down in Faisalabad. In Jhang PTI took
out the procession in front of DCOs office. A large number of people
participated in it.
Protests were also held in Karachi, Peshawar and Abbottabad. PML-N
MNAs wore black bands in National Assembly as mark of protest and also
staged walk out. MQM also criticized the government for its failing to solve
the problem of load shedding. KPK assembly urged centre to settle issues
with IPPs.
Federal Minister for Water and Power Naveed Qamar claimed that the
current wave of electricity load shedding will come to an end within couple
of days. He said that payments would be made to private power firms within
two days. If the problem of circular debt is resolved, some 2, 000 MW of
electricity will add to national grid, he added.

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Gilani directed the Ministry of Finance to immediately release the due

amount of PEPCO for onward payment to PSO for resuming full supplies of
fuel to the thermal power plants. Firdous Ashiq Awan said that at a time
when we are facing multiple challenges, the country needs unity but a
political party (PML-N) was trying to get political mileage from the
situation.
Nine people lost their lives from the dengue virus. Patients with high
fever continued to flock to different hospitals of the city. Residents
complained that the increased load shedding is only contributing to an
increase in the number of Dengue patients. This is a concern also shared by
the management of hospitals who say that load shedding is causing difficulty
in the treatment of patients.
Over a dozen suspects were taken into custody during Rangers
operation in Lyari and Malir overnight and police conducted house to house
search operation in Kati Pahari after some miscreants took police personnel
hostage in Orangi Town. In Lahore, Rs30 million were demanded for release
of son of Taseer.
EU Ambassador met Imran Khan; Khan stressed that the European
Union should ensure the holding of free and fair elections in Pakistan. The
LHC suspended LPG Production and Distribution Policy, 2011 which was
challenged by the LPG Association of Pakistan. TNRM held protest rally in
Lahore against court verdict against Qadri. Three ministers were among 14
MPAs of KPK who lost their seats for not submitting the declaration of
assets to election commission.
Next day, Supreme Court rejected governments plea for more time
over appointment of NAB chairman. The apex court ordered government a
quick appointment for the vacant post. The Additional Attorney General K K
Agha challenged a similar verdict of the apex court earlier through a review
petition.
Islamabad High Court issued notice to OGRA and Ministry of
Petroleum to submit their reply in a petition against increase in petroleum
prices. The petitions argue that increase in petroleum prices is a violation of
Article 9 of the Constitution. It prays the Court to declare the increase null
and void.
The LHC suspended the sentence awarded by an anti-terrorism court
to former Sialkot DPO Waqar Chohan in the Sialkot lynching case and
granted him bail against the surety of Rs100,000. Another bench directed
NAB to return assets of Sharif family. In yet another case suspended
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operation of the certain clauses of the new LPG (Production and

Distribution) Policy 2011, and issued notice for October 5 to the Chairman
OGRA on the petition filed by LPG Association of Pakistan.
Nawaz Sharif said that the government will have to face consequences
due to load shedding. He said that it seemed the rulers were deliberately
ruining countrys institutions. There was no letup in power load shedding
despite the regimes claim that 3,000MW have been added to national grid.
Protests continued across Punjab and some other parts.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the government performance, federal
ministers belonging to the PML-Q have submitted their resignations to the
party leadership. PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat presided over a party
meeting where the ministers severely criticized the government over its
failure to cope with the increasing load shedding that has sparked
countrywide protests.
On 5th October, leadership of PML-Q met with Zardari to convey the
reservations of PML-Q lawmakers, who assured to address their
reservations. After the meeting Shujaat Hussain said that the coalition with
PPP would remain intact. PML-Q and PPP decided to contest the next
general elections together, he said.
Late in the evening MQM returned to the haram of Zardari for the
good of country. MQM ministers will rejoin cabinets in the Centre and
Sindh. Earlier Gilani while speaking in National Assembly had declared that
agenda-less Opposition has been rendered isolated.
Nawaz Sharif offered talks on national issues and he urged Chaudhrys
to quit government for dialogue. He warned that continuity of PPP
government would bring disaster for the country. PML-N decided to stage
sit-in at Presidency on 6th October and coincidently, the Supreme Court will
be announcing verdict on suo moto case of killings in Karachi.
Aitzaz Ahsan supported the stance of PML-N led Punjab government
over the load shedding issue. Aitzaz said that the stance of Punjab regarding
the recent unprecedented spiral in the load shedding especially in Punjab
was justified. Punjab as compare with other provinces has suffered more
hardships. Meanwhile, death toll from dengue fever in Lahore rose to 153 as
eight more people, including a doctor, died of the disease.
Next day, the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued its verdict in suo
motu case on Karachi targeted killing. Citing Quranic verses and Hadiths,
the CJ ruled Islam is a religion of peace and it doesnt allow killing innocent

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people. He said target killing has become order of the day in Karachi, adding
that Sindh government took no measures to cope with extortion and targeted
killings.
Terence J Sigamony reported that the Supreme Court proposed dos,
donts for Karachi. The court directed the Sindh government to constitute a
high-level committee with the Sindh High Court chief justice as its head to
ensure that law enforcement agencies take indiscriminate action against all
those involved in unrest and violence.
The proposed committee be assisted by the chief secretary, the heads
of the security agencies. The chief justice of SHC shall convene the meeting
at least once a month to review the implementation of this judgment, and a
copy of the proceedings shall be transmitted to the Registrar of apex court
for appropriate orders by the bench at a later stage, if need be.
The bench observed that there are criminals who have succeeded in
making their ways into political parties, both that are part of the government
or are out of it. Such people, it said, were getting political and financial
support allegedly from such parties. The court also called for political parties
to end ties with criminal gangs. Failure to do so may entail consequences of
a penal nature against the party or person responsible, whether in office or
not.
According the judgment extortion is a normal practice and criminals
who claim their association with ANP, MQM, PPP, Jamat-e-Islami, Sunni
Tehrik, are collecting bhattha (extortion money), which, every day, runs into
at least Rs10 million and it is being charged from an ordinary shopkeeper,
rehriwala (push-cart peddler) to the top businessman by criminals who have
got the backing of the political parties.
The court observed that violence in Karachi this year and in the past is
not ethnic alone but is also a turf war between different groups having
economic, socio-politico interest to strengthen their position and
aggrandizement, based on the phenomenon of tit-for-tat with political, moral
and financial support or endorsement of the political parties.
The court said an application was lodged wherein documents were
filed to establish allegations against the sovereignty of Pakistan attributing to
Altaf Hussain. The court had pointed out to the counsel that he should have
filed affidavit of Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and also brought to his notice that instant
proceedings are not adversarial but inquisitorial. However, Mirzas statement
in the newspapers has not been controverted (contradicted) by anyone,
therefore, the same will be presumed to have been accepted as it is held in
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the case of Dr Mobashir Hussan v. Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2010 SC

265).
It declared that recent violence in Karachi represents unimaginable
brutalities, bloodshed, kidnapping and throwing away dead bodies and
torsos in bags; as illustration, indicating toll of 306 lives in one month;
detection of torture cells video of which has been produced; receiving bhatta
to strengthen the ranks of one group against the other; grabbing land; drug
mafia etc., destroying moveable and immovable properties of the citizens,
establishes that the fundamental rights of the citizens enshrined in Articles
9,14,15,18 and 24 of the Constitution have not been protected/enforced by
the provincial government. The court noted that the federal government has
also not protected Sindh province against internal disturbance, thus the
provincial government on this account, too, failed to carry out functions in
accordance with the Article 148 (3) of the Constitution.
It observed that in respect of banning any political party, including
MQM, against whom all the interveners mostly had voiced complaints is not
within domain of the Court at this stage as in terms of Article 17(2) of the
Constitution every citizen, not being in the service of Pakistan, shall have
the right to form or be a member of a political party, subject to any
reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the sovereignty or
integrity of Pakistan and it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to
act under Article 17 for action against any party violating this Article.
The court observed that no doubt the fear of reporting to some extent
is due to a lack of confidence in the administration and the police but that
confidence will have to be revived for the mutual benefit of all. It is for the
government to revive that confidence by not using the administration and the
police for political or private ends. It is now the bounden duty of the
government to continue with this status and not deflect the administration to
its own benefit in preference to the citizen.
It stated that to come out of instant grave situation of law and order in
Karachi, police force, being principal law enforcing agency, has to be depoliticized and strengthened so that they could, with full commitment,
dedication, zeal and zest, perform their bounden duty. The morale of the
police is low. Even honest policemen are demoralized. They are caught
between the devil and the deep sea. They are conscious of the fact that so
many policemen who took part in the operations of 1992 and 1996 have
disappeared or have been eliminated.

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The court further observed that to avoid political polarization and to

break the cycle of ethnic strife and turf war, boundaries of administrative
units like police stations, revenue estates, etc., ought to be altered so that the
members of different communities may live together in peace and harmony,
instead of allowing various groups to claim that particular areas belong to
them and declaring certain areas as NO GO Areas under their fearful
influence. Therefore in view of relevant laws, delimitation of different
constituencies has also to be undertaken with the same object and purpose,
particularly to make Karachi, a peaceful city in the near future. The Election
Commission of Pakistan may also initiate the process on its own in this
behalf.
It observed that Karachi is full of arms and ammunition of prohibited
and non-prohibited bores including licensed and illicit, therefore, Karachi
has to be cleansed from all kinds of weapons by adhering to the laws
available on the subject, and if need be, by promulgating new legislation.
It further said there is a need for a fresh comprehensive law to
eliminate and punish land grabbers and encroachers, as this is one of the
Karachis greatest problems. It is the duty of both governments to formulate
such law and initiate it in the appropriate assembly; and thereafter to
implement it fully without showing any favour or immunity to any person
whether a political favourite, ally or for any other personal or party
consideration.
The court reiterated that monitoring of the criminal cases should take
place in view of the observations made in the case of Sheikh Liaqat Hussain
(supra). Besides, the appointments of the Presiding Officers of the AntiTerrorism Courts should also not be delayed for any reason, as we
experienced during the hearing of the case that those appointments were
delayed for a period of nearly two years.
We direct that there must be no No Go Areas at all in Karachi, and
if any is found or credibly reported to the court the police or the Rangers,
required by the provincial government, shall take strong and decisive action
to eliminate it. The verdict said the police and Rangers are expected to
conduct the ongoing operation across the board without showing any favour
to any one and without being influenced from any quarter, be it political or
otherwise.
The court directed that an independent and a depoliticized
investigation agency be deputed to conduct investigation of cases fairly,
honestly and without being influenced in any manner. Similarly, the
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prosecution agency comprising competent prosecutors and the Provincial

Government/Executive must provide protection to the witnesses so that they
may depose against the perpetrators of crimes without any fear, enabling the
courts to decide cases against them in accordance with law. The prosecutors,
particularly for the Anti-Terrorism Courts should be appointed in a highly
transparent manner according to the Constitution and the law.
The Director General NADRA and the Inspector General Police,
Sindh, are ordered to set up a special joint cell with specialized officials and
experts along with sufficient manpower to establish several teams to visit on
the spot and identify illegal foreigners so that they may be dealt with strictly
in accordance with law after a proper hearing and opportunity to present
proof of their citizenship. They should attempt to conclude this exercise
preferably in one year.
The bench further directed that the IGP shall collect the record and
facts about the disappearance or elimination of all police and other officials
who took part in the Karachi operations of 1992 and 1996 or were witnesses
in ethnic or related crimes and present a report to the Court within the next
one month. It should also be mentioned whether their families were
compensated or not.
The provincial government shall place on record of the Court copies
of all judicial inquiries instituted in the matter of law and order in Karachi
since 1985. These shall be retained for perusal and for any necessary action
or appraisal of the situation at any time in the future, the court directed.
The court in view of the arguments disposed of suo motu proceedings
as well as Constitution Petition No. 61 of 2011 under Article 184(3) with the
saying of James Bryce that Our country is not the only thing to which we
owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism
consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be
righteous as well as strongly.
Qamar Zaman Kaira appreciated the Supreme Court verdict and said
PPP-led government will implement the decision in accordance with law and
the Constitution. He added legal experts were busy examining the court
decision in detail to implement the same. Babar Awan, however, told a news
channel that he was yet to read the detailed judgment, and will be in a
position to comment over it only when he had gone through the entire text.
Mirza was disappointed.
The MQM welcomed the Supreme Court verdict and vowed that the
party would keep supporting the efforts for bringing peace in Karachi. The
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statement said the apex court verdict would help purge the city of criminal
elements and the ruling would help maintain lasting peace in the metropolis.
PML-N and JI lauded the verdict. JUI-F urged implementation saying the
verdict was based on facts. Jurists widely acclaimed the verdict. Citizens of
Karachi received it with mixed feelings.
PML-N flexed its muscle by leading an opposition rally and sit-in
outside President House, describing President Asif Ali Zardari as mother of
all the problems faced by Pakistan. PML-Ns Leader of the Opposition in
the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan led the joint opposition
rally attended by lawmakers of Jamat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, PML
(LM), PPP Sherpao group and score of independent candidates.
Nawaz Sharif arrived in Nawabshah to show solidarity with floodaffected people. He called for rallying behind him to save the country. The
government announced that load shedding has been ended as promised.
Zardari said no one can halt PPPs forward march and short-sighted people
wont succeed in shattering the coalition.
On 7th October, two dead bodies were found from Napier Road and
Sarjani Town in Karachi. Police recovered two abducted brothers from
Kalakot area of Lyari. Manzoor Wasan and AIG Saud Mirza scuffled during
a meeting called for reviewing law and order situation. Reportedly, Mirza
had accused Manzoor of interfering in administrative affairs of police and
seeking postings after accepting bribe.
Nawaz Sharif said that the government should ban all such political
parties who have militant wings and send references against them to the
Supreme Court. Addressing a press conference in Daulatpur, Nawaz said that
Karachi was a peaceful city but the peace was destroyed and those who are
involved in such heinous act, cannot serve the country. He alleged that the
present government is involved in spoiling the situation and that politics
should not be done at the cost of peace.
Religious and religio-political parties held rallies across the country to
protest against death sentence to Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, killer of former
Governor Salman Taseer and to press the government for his early release.
Sunni Ittehad Council leaders warned the rulers of long march to Islamabad
if Mumtaz Qadri was not released. The leaders also offered President Asif
Ali Zardari a guarantee of full 5-year term to the PPP government in
exchange of release of Mumtaz Qadri.
Fourteen more people died of dengue fever, raising death toll to 206 in
Punjab. The Supreme Court delivered verdict on appointment of vice
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chancellor of Bahauddin Zakria University; the court ruled that Governor is

bound to act on Chief Ministers advice. Hussain Haqqani issued a notice of
defamation to the Nawa-i-Waqt Group of Publications for publishing a
column that alleged that he is a US citizen.
Next day, Zardari expressed his resolve to implement the Supreme
Courts judgment on Karachis law and order situation in letter and spirit,
adding that it was the duty of the government to give protection to the lives
and properties of the citizens and this duty would be fulfilled at all costs.
Coalition partners developed differences over ministerial portfolios.
Pir Pagara threatened quitting government if ministries were taken from his
party. He said his party had struck an agreement with President Zardari,
Qaim Ali Shah was not a direct party. Pagara however said that Qaim
doesnt have any clear policy or political vision and the government would
be in trouble if the PML-F was left out, he added.
Imran Khan said that people will have to take to the streets for their
rights as being idle they will not able to bring change in the country.
Addressing a public meeting in Faisalabad he said there was 18 hour load
shedding and now it has decreased surprisingly. He added there was no
difference between animals and the people who rest in their homes,
experiencing injustices and raising no voice.
Altaf Hussain came down heavily on Nawaz Shasrif and accused of
duping flood affected people. He vowed to save government from all
destabilizing conspiracies. Five more persons died of dengue fever.
Chaudhry Nisars cousins joined PPP. Five policemen were among ten
injured in violent protest against killing of alleged criminal in Chiniot.
On 9th October, head of the Unification Block in the Punjab Assembly
said that his block will ask PML-N to dismantle the Punjab Assembly and
will join hands with the N-league if it agreed to do so. The regime felt jumpy
over loud thinking of dissolution idea about Punjab Assembly.
Nine people were killed in Karachi in incidents of violence. Police
and Frontier Constabulary in joint search operation, apprehended 50
suspects in the city. Dengue showed signs of retreat; no life was lost during
day. Zardari proposed name of Admiral Fasih for NAB chairman; PML-N
wanted a neutral man.
Zulfiqar again declared the Federal Home Minister a liar and referred
to him as Shaitan Malik. Talking with media in Lyari, Mirza said that no
one could ban the Peoples Aman Committee which handed over all its

488

offices to him upon his request. Talking about the Supreme Courts decision
over Karachi situation he said that every loyal Pakistani is disheartened over
the judgment and he will issue 500,000 more weapons license if he is again
given portfolio of interior minister.
Shahbaz Sharif took serious notice of the Chiniot incident wherein
policemen allegedly had beaten and tortured women mercilessly. The chief
minister has ordered the police high-ups to submit a complete report of the
incident within 24 hours.

VIEWS
On 4th October, TheNation observed: It seems the whole country is
erupting in protests against the growing burden of load shedding, which
has increased dramatically Citizens protested the load shedding, which
also means that water pumps stop working, resulting, in turn, in the
interruption of the lifeblood of cities, water, at the very time students need it
to go to school or college, and workers to their places of work. Another
complicating factor has been that the province is in the throes of a dengue
epidemic, and the load shedding has meant that medical teams have to face
all sorts of difficulties in the discharge of their professional activities and the
patients' graver danger to their survival.
The reaction of the authorities, which is to use the traditional
administrative means of control, has apparently not worked. Handing
the situation over to the police has apparently not prevented enraged crowds
from attacking PEPCO offices or even banks, presumably because bills are
deposited there. The government had previously been warned that load
shedding had reached the point where it could provoke the kind of reaction
that had led to the Arab Spring. That has so far led to the overthrow of three
regimes, and may lead to more. The underlying problems of those countries,
in terms of overweening government pride and lack of future for the people,
are the same in both Pakistan and the Arab countries. Those warnings were
ignored, and the government allowed matters to linger on until they reached
the present pass.
Apart from eliminating the circular debt issue in such a manner that it
does not recur, the government must make sure that these destabilizing
outages are brought to an end. It is not right that the government should
find itself threatened because of the lack of such a basic necessity that
electricity has become.

489

Next day, the newspaper added: The record load shedding that has
struck the nation with a vengeance these days has compelled the people to
stream out into the streets in increasing numbers. In sheer desperation, they
have been protesting for the past several days, not peacefully, not even just
noisily, but in a riotous manner, demonstrating their anger at the authorities
by burning a grid station, vehicles, tyres and buildings, pelting stones and
damaging property and blocking main thoroughfares anything that came
their way became their target. Watching the scenes of violent and rowdy
protests in the towns, which have been affected the most, it appears that
the entire nation has unleashed its wrath at the government for its
listlessness in the face of public suffering. As things threatened to go out of
hand, the powers that be woke up to pacify the crowds, with the Prime
Minister issuing orders for an immediate release of Rs11 billion to the
Ministry of Petroleum and National Resources to be passed on to the fuel
supply and power producing companies to set the electricity generation
process rolling.
With the shortfall between production and consumption crossing
8,000MW and resulting in shutdowns of between 14 and 20 hours, it would
have been unrealistic to expect that the situation would remain calm, even
though many a critic has been taunting the Pakistanis with words like a
sleeping nation It is a moment of serious reflection. The government
is proving a disastrous failure in every field of its responsibility. Experts
believe that given the will the power gap could have been bridged by now.
Had the old generating units replaced or repaired, work on the planned
power stations started and the hydel potential even partially utilized, the
nation would not have been suffering from the woes of blackouts. The
criminal neglect in ignoring the construction of big water reservoirs at
suitable sites like Kalabagh is a major reason for the lack as well as high
cost of electricity. National interests and, indeed, common sense demand that
setting aside provincial and parochial biases, the Kalabagh Dam project is
taken up without delay. The help of the Chinese, who are reportedly ready to
augment our hydel production capacity, should be immediately sought. And
work must begin straightaway on laying the required infrastructure for
receiving natural gas from Iran.
On 6th October, TheNation commented on PML-Qs decision not to
break ranks with the federal government: What is really important is that
the PML-Q should join forces with the PML-N and together help steer the
country out of the mess it finds itself in. The aim should be to turn it into a
political force that it once was under the charismatic leadership of Quaid-i490

Azam. And let us not forget that it was with the element of unity that the
party was able to lead a movement that culminated in the formation of
Pakistan. The post independence break up of Muslim League into several
splinter groups and factions each with its own different manifesto that
prevails at present is but a sad reflection on the state of the party. It is for this
reason that various groups of PML should come under one umbrella. It is
heartening to note that PML-N has given feelers which indicate that it might
to willing to accept the Q-league back in its fold. Mian Nawaz Sharifs
statement that he welcomes PML-Qs decision to quit the government has
certainly raised the possibility of a rapprochement between the two forces.
Both the sides must put aside their personal differences or reservations
and instead stand on one platform to serve the nation in true sense of
the word. Certainly, not only they can become a strong opposition but
would become a force to reckon with in the next general election and can
hopefully achieve representation throughout the country. Muslim Leagues
resurrection into the party of Quaid-i-Azam in this time of trial and turmoil
would be a great blessing for the nation.
Next day the newspaper added: The governments policy of
reconciliation that in reality has so far proved to be nothing but politics
of loot and plunder, nepotism and favouritism to the utter neglect of
peoples interests or internal and external threats to the country has again
paid off. There is no longer any ambiguity about either the MQM or the
PML-Q being on board, again not that they are promised any good for the
suffering common man to come, but for their own self-interest. The MQM,
which has been part of the ruling coalition led by the PPP right from the start
when it had assumed power in 2008, both at the Centre and Sindh, and has,
more than once, opted out of it only to rejoin, has again had second thoughts
about its last decision to leave the government taken barely four months ago.
On Wednesday, it announced its intention to jump on the ruling bandwagon
again. As usual, both the federal and provincial governments did not accept
the resignations of its Governor as well as its Ministers. This time round,
however, there was one thing peculiar: after some hesitation, the MQM
succumbed to the government persuasion and let the Governor resume his
duty.
The PML-Q, which had joined the coalition in May this year in the
hope that it would draw some benefit from being in the government,
appeared to be on the verge of quitting it on Tuesday, palpably because its
Ministers had felt outraged at the mounting power crisis in the country
appearing in the form of prolonged load shedding. Actually, their complaint
491

was that they were not given the importance that a coalition partner deserved
either in the distribution of cabinet portfolios or in taking into confidence
before important decisions are arrived at. Once they were assured that
their grouse would be addressed, they announced on Wednesday to stay
put.
The real beneficiary of all these manoeuvrings is the government and
the real winner President Zardari, who, in essence, rules the roost. The pity
is that had the coalition partners of the PPP acted on the politics of
principles, the predicament which the nation finds itself in at the moment
would have been spared. Unfortunately, the PML-Ns ruling fear that the
army might step into power and disrupt the process of democracy taking root
in the country put it on guard and did not let it play the role of a dynamic
opposition. But one would have wished that it had diligently worked for an
in-house change, and for this had kept its doors open to other parties,
including the PML-Q and other Muslim League factions, and forced the
government out of power or change its ways. However, now that the
government feels reassured of its stability, one would hope that all ruling
political parties would seriously strive to address the public grievances:
inflation, joblessness, load shedding, insecurity, poor health, education and
civic facilities.
On 8th October, TheNation observed: The sit-in in front of the
Presidency arranged by several political parties and surprisingly attended by
a PPP MNA who was particularly outspoken in his criticism of the
government is a clear proof of popular resentment against the Zardari
set-up. Indeed, Chaudhry Nisars comment that the people had voted
President Zardari into power to solve their problems, not to play political
games, is quite apt. The anger of the participants was largely directed at
official inaction against the scourge of load shedding, but anger was also
voiced against problems like unemployment and the deteriorating law and
order. Although the sit-in concluded peacefully, the next time around, it
could attract a greater mass of disgruntled men.
The pity is that rather than responding rightly by taking the
protest as a wake-up call, Mr Zardari indifferently remarked that his
government could not be toppled through sit-ins. Prime Minister Gilani
also stated that those provoking the people to take to the streets could not be
called as leaders. He forgot that it is nothing but the problems of poverty,
inflation and above all debilitating load shedding that are causing people to
go up in arms. These protests and sit-ins must be taken seriously. The PPP

492

government must busy itself with solving outstanding issues on a warfooting.

In another editorial the newspaper wrote: The Supreme Court, while
pronouncing its judgment on the case about Karachis blood-soaked
situation of which it had taken suo moto notice, has ordered the authorities
to take certain specific measures, which if adopted would, once again, turn
the long suffering city into a peaceful thriving centre of trade and industry.
Both the provincial and federal governments were fairly and squarely
blamed for their failure to take effective steps to control target killings, the
extortion mafia and other ills that have bedeviled Karachis climate. The
police did not walk away with a non-guilty verdict; its performance was
regarded as unsatisfactory. The judges cited in their verdict the Joint
Investigation Teams report to the effect that all political parties with a stake
in Karachi were engaged in extortion and asked them to expel the criminal
elements from their ranks.
The 152-page ruling reached the heart of the problem, prescribed a
comprehensive solution within the provisions of the Constitution and One
cannot more agree with the SC that if the situation does not change, it
will be difficult to run the affairs of the government. Unfortunately, much
against the wishes of the Karachiites, Thursday, the day when the MQM
rejoined the ruling coalition, witnessed another round of daring murders
six, including two political workers. It might be just a coincidence, but once
all major forces join hands in the governance of the province, there should
be no doubt about peace taking hold. The government should take heed of
the fact that if democracy has to take root and flourish in the country, the
first requirement would be guaranteed security of life and property of all its
inhabitants.
Mazhar Butt from Karachi wrote: The Supreme Court judgment on
the Karachi killings was more of a commentary than a judicial order
and nothing new was said in it. We all know which parties and gangs are
involved in the killings. The people were expecting a ruling which would
order bringing the culprits to book. The criminal elements, which seem to be
in hibernation mode currently, will continue to wreak havoc on the city
unless they are caught and severely punished.
Tariq Nazir Syed from Rawalpindi opined: In its verdict the Supreme
Court bench hearing the case mentioned the political parties involved in
extorting money from businessmen. However, the SC did not identify the
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parties involved in the heinous crime of targeted killing and kidnapping for
ransom. Overall, the much awaited verdict was disappointing.
M Rafique Zakaria from Karachi observed: The same evening, as the
people of Karachi went to sleep after Supreme Courts judgment on Karachi
turmoil, four people were killed in the new spate of target killings and some
vehicles were torched as some religious party had given a strike call for
Friday 7th October 2011. Did anything change after the Supreme Court's
judgment? Or the things are yet to get worse in the days to come?
Inayatullah commented: Reverting to the Supreme Court judgment
on the Karachi killings and breakdown of law and order, the opposition and
in particular PML-N now, has more than adequate authentic material in
the shape of the court findings and directives and also in the Resolution
passed by the All Parties Conference, to prepare and publicize White
Papers on the governments performance and a blueprint of realistic
defence and foreign policies.
The federal government and the ruling party today stand thoroughly
exposed. They have failed to deliver, as found by the Supreme Court. They,
indeed, have remained unconcerned with peoples misery and the damage
done to industry because of a deliberate neglect of their duty to provide
electricity. The widespread power riots and the multiparty dharna in front
of the presidency has forced the government to take remedial steps. The
opposition, if it throws its weight intelligently and forcefully, can further
drive it into a corner and create condition for it to quit. Unfortunately, the
PML-N wasted more than three years in a wild goose chase, letting a master
tactician play ducks and drakes with impunity using power and pelf to keep
himself afloat and making a mockery of the Constitution and Parliament.
May one hope that the oppositions new resolve to dislodge a failed
government will not be a one-day tamasha, a flash in the pan, and that
there will be a well devised plan to sustain the campaign to achieve the
desired results.
The News wrote: Steadily, the degree of anger against an inept
government and more specifically President Asif Ali Zardari is rising.
The most vivid demonstration of this, in political terms, has come as the
PML-N led by Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, persuaded other political parties to
join it in marching away from parliament and heading to the presidency. The
knowledge that the president was there at the time only added fervour to the
slogans demanding that he quit and asking what had been done to solve the
mammoth problems confronting the nation. Chaudhry Nisar also put the

494

same question to other parties in the alliance including the MQM and the
PML-Q. The opposition protest immediately follows the violent, nationwide
protests we have seen against power outages. In Sindh, addressing a large
rally at Sakrand, Mian Nawaz Sharif said that the government had no right
to waste resources which should be used to benefit the people. There can
obviously be no disagreement on this point. It is clear that anti-government
feelings are running high. Not many would disagree with either the opinions
expressed by Chaudhry Nisar or Nawaz Sharif. It is evident that these views
are shared by people everywhere. The developments in the coming days will
be interesting to watch.
But what is really frightening is the total lack of response from the
government. In his latest statement, the prime minister has asserted that all is
well and that the president should not be blamed for the plethora of
problems we face. If the top leadership is not even willing to acknowledge
that problems exist, and consistently dismisses all evidence that they do, we
are in even deeper trouble than we imagine. There can be no solutions till
there is an acceptance that very grave issues exist and that the
government needs to do something about them. Whether the PML-N efforts
to adopt a more forceful attitude to pointing these out succeed in somehow
getting things back on track and helping the process of reform remains to be
seen.
Next day, The News commented: Incidents of target killings
significantly decreased after the Supreme Court took suo motu notice of
killings in Karachi in August. This Thursday, the SC read out its verdict in
the case The Supreme Court explicitly blamed the failures and inaction of
the executive and provincial administrations for the violence in Karachi and
directed them to protect the city from future bloodshed and politicallysponsored crimes. But it became clear the very same day that the
government is not up to the task: target killings resurfaced in the Sindh
capital even as the chief justice was reading out his judgment, leaving at
least six dead, including activists of the MQM and the Sunni Tehreek.
The judgment has clearly not had the expected sobering effect on
the forces involved in the violence, even though the court has warned to
keep a watchful eye on the situation through a supervisory committee
headed by the CJ Sindh High Court that will ensure that law enforcement
agencies take indiscriminate, across-the-board action against those involved
in causing disturbances in Karachi. But how much can be expected from the
federal and provincial governments when they comprise political parties that
have, according to the court itself, played their respective dark roles in
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incidents of target killings, extortion and other crimes in Karachi? The

verdict has called for the government to make new laws on land-grabbing,
create an independent and depoliticized investigation agency to investigate
crimes, set up a special cell to deal with illegal immigrants, collect facts
about the disappearance of police officers who took part in the 1992 and
1996 Karachi operations, and pay compensation to the victims. Would it be
unfair to say these are all tall orders for this seemingly indifferent
government?
The verdict has asked the government to ensure smooth running of
economic and commercial activities in the city by taking steps against illegal
shutter-downs and strikes which paralyze life and cause losses of billions of
rupees. But just the day after the verdict, a partial strike was observed in
several parts of Karachi after a strike call by the Sunni Ittehad Council to
protest the conviction of Mumtaz Qadri. The Supreme Court also ruled that
the issuance of a large number of arms licences was one of the reasons for
unrest in the provincial capital. But on the very day the verdict was read out,
firing incidents were reported in Korangi, Landhi, New Karachi, Shah Faisal
Colony, Gulistan-i-Johar, Samanabad and a few other areas of Karachi, and
three public buses were set ablaze in the Korangi and Orangi Town areas. Is
this the governments idea of maintaining order? Can we expect anything
to change in Karachi? Just 24 hours after the SC verdict, it is difficult to
answer this question in the affirmative.
Jalees Hazir observed: The MQM is back in the fold of the coalition
government and would like us to believe that it has taken the decision in
national interest. Similarly, the PML-Q's reservations regarding the
government and the resignations of its ministers submitted in the last party
meeting, disappeared in thin air after telephonic assurances were given to the
party head by President Zardari. Once again, the government has a
comfortable majority in the National Assembly and the partners in power
are all set to benefit from cooperation
National Interest is the magic term employed by political
leadership of all hues to explain away their unexplainable somersaults
and marriages of convenience. Take the case of PML-Q for instance. Senior
leaders and parliamentarians from the party bitterly criticized the unpopular
government and questioned the political wisdom of being a part of it. The
ministers belonging to the party were not happy for another reason; they felt
that they did not enjoy the power to run their ministries the way they would
have liked to and that they were being denied the instruments of power and
patronage that being in government brings with it. So what were the
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assurances that President Zardari gave to Chaudhry Shujaat that convinced

him to shelve the reservations of his party and jump back into the
government's lap? Was he told that the PML-Q ministers would be given the
power, privileges and patronage possibilities that they were complaining
about? Or did the President enlighten him about secret rabbits in his magic
hat, policies that would make the PPP-led government popular and hence not
such a bad thing to be a part of?
For all we know, the discussion could have been about completely
different matters. The PPP critics would say that their conversation on the
telephone had nothing to do with either of the two issues, but revolved
around Moonis Elahi and his troubles, and what the government would do
to alleviate them. On the other hand, PPP jiyalas would swear by the
reconciliation charm of their big boss and talk about saving the system and
democracy from undemocratic forces. Reporters hobnobbing with those in
the power circle and armed with unnamed, but reliable sources would come
up with inside information and tell us a juicier story. Since the main
characters of the story don't feel accountable to the people they represent,
and do not feel that they owe the nation some explanation, the people of
Pakistan would be left to themselves to draw their own conclusions.
The contents of the dialogue between the PPP and MQM, and the
dynamics of their on-again, off-again cooperation is similarly left to the
imagination of shocked citizens, carefully decided in meetings between ace
negotiators conducted behind closed doors and clouded by a smokescreen of
statements that mean nothing. There is no word about Dr Zulfiqar Mirza's
serious allegations, no attempt by the MQM to clear itself of specific charges
he leveled against the party and no desire on part of the PPP to probe
Rehman Malik whose dubious role in the Karachi crisis was boldly
challenged by the former Sindh Home Minister. The two parties have
obviously come to some understanding about sharing power, but they
would not like us to know about the terms of that understanding. As
they play their power games, they would like an uninformed electorate to
have trust in them and play along.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties are divided due to their own petty
partisan interests and are unable or unwilling to agree on a national agenda
that addresses the problems of governance So the democracy circus
continues, as the problems confronting the nation mount. The political
leadership continues in its power games that have lost all relevance to the
public and its issues. The political bosses are deaf, even to the conscientious
objectors within their parties, who bring their attention to their responsibility
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to the people and the dangerous outcome of the games they play. And when
other, more democratically evolved institutions like the Supreme Court and
the independent media manage to bring a perspective informed by the
national interest into focus, they scuttle the possibility of acting in the
direction by drowning out these voices of sanity in their loud partisan
squabbles that are only aimed at point-scoring and furthering their petty
political objectives. Interestingly, they would like the citizens to swear by
democracy as an article of faith. Why would they?
The argument that our democracy has problems because it has been
interrupted too often does not hold. We need to look deeper into the
malaise of a system that is supposed to represent the interests of the
people, but ends up bolstering the fortunes of the political elite and its
privileged sponsors. After all, the system of democracy has had a smooth
sailing in the US. Yet, the Occupy-Wall-Street initiative has unleashed an
angry movement in that country against a system that the American citizens
feel doesn't represent them. The students, labour unions, the unemployed,
and the underprivileged and even conscientious citizens, who have not
suffered directly due to the pro-rich and pro-war policies of their democratic
government, are out on the streets to challenge a system that benefits a small
minority at the expense of the vast majority. It is unlikely that they could be
convinced that a few more elections would make things fall in their right
democratic place.
Sana Bucha wrote: The three musketeers are back together in the
government. Or would you rather I call them idiots? Indeed, the rising antigovernment discourse and the explosion of anti-Zardari rhetoric from
right-wingers and among some conservatives, is well deserved. However,
will this hysteria secure optimum result for the myriad problems confronting
the country? Sadly, simplistic attacks on President Zardari and his
governments initiatives or lack of are an insult to the audience. Rather
than engaging ourselves in substantive analysis and policy critique, we
have all become easy prey for mindless debate.
Yes, President Zardari is smart. He plays well. He has his coalition
partners exactly where he wants them. With him. The PML-Q an uneasy
alliance partner that was cleverly placed to replace the unpredictable MQM
is now a more permanent member of the PPP coalition club. But rules
apply: the member must strengthen the ruling government in
parliament and a seat-adjustment promise for the next elections.

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In return the auspicious PPP club must ensure Moonis Elahis

freedom and make true on their promise of carving out lucrative ministries
for the members greedy lot. Meanwhile, for the MQM, the membership
fees has considerably been reduced while the fine has been paid by the
PPP club itself: a state ministry or two, a certain someone to be implicated
and kept in custody (preferably forever) and of course, a large (read: largest)
share in Karachi.
Analysts dismissed the PML-Qs resignations act as nothing more
than political posturing, while the MQM hoped people would buy their
ever sellable mantra: of rejoining the government in the national interest of
the country. For those who were hedging their bets on whether the MQM
would make a comeback the party has quit the coalition at least five times
before were richer Wednesday night. Let us forget the past, said
Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad in a joint press conference moments after the
news of MQMs return dominated the airwaves. Yes, Mr Governor. Let us
look beyond the target killings, which left hundreds of people dead and
forget that there ever existed a man called Zulfikar Mirza. Lets forge
ahead on a path that was laid out in blood a short while ago. Lets welcome
another round of an unholy alliance.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court, in its verdict on Karachi implicates
all political parties the PPP, MQM, ANP, Sunni Tehrik and Jamat-e-Islami
of their involvement in criminal activities. They have been asked to expel
all criminal elements from their parties rank and file. Other than making a
few observations and recommendations, it seems that the Supreme
Court has thrown the ball back into the governments court.
Speaking of alliances, guess who the new kid on the block has allied
with recently? Imran Khans new man: former governor of Punjab and expresident of the PML-Q, Mian Mohammad Azhar The friendly
opposition decided to go for an image makeover. Violent protests and
accusatory remarks became the order of the day. What started out as attacks
on offices and grid stations of Pepco and Lesco developed into a fiery war of
words between the ruling government and the PML-N. One spoke of inept
attitude of the ruling elite for regular wage earners, while the other accused
the first of not being able to rid Punjab of dengue.
Those who vowed to safeguard democracy now took to the streets to
dismiss Zardari. That will help us overcome our power shortage for sure.
The government is ignorant on how to avert the crisis for good, but it
doesnt seem like the opposition has a plan either. Nor did those who

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walked the extra mile behind Chaudhry Nisar. A principled stance always
comes second to show of strength. The party that has recently been attacked
by right-wingers on their friendly policy with India stance, now walked
together towards the presidency. Lastly, what is beginning to cause me great
concern is our collective hysteria in response to the governments lack of
enterprise. Would our people be better or worse off under the agenda of
directionless violent protests? I ask you.
Dr Farrukh Saleem observed: President Zardari can actually end
load shedding with the stroke of his pen. My friend, one of the best
economists I know, suggests taking out Rs150 billion from PSDP and
throwing it at Pepco. Let Rasul Khan Mahsud, MD Pepco, pump billions
into power producers and let power producers pay off oil companies. Lo and
behold, there will be no load shedding till the PPP wins at least a simple
majority in the senate election in March. Wasnt it Henry Kissinger who
said, ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad
reputation?
Talking of politicians why do we have so few female politicians?
Answer: It is too much trouble to put makeup on two faces. And then we
have others who believe that a life spent making mistakes is not only more
honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
Who says the PPP government doesnt listen? All that you have
to do is to come out, block roads, destroy government property and
burn old tyres. Pakistanis are frustrated and depressed. The PPP ought to
know that there is only a short bridge between individual frustration and
collective aggression. One thing this PPP government has learned is which
bridge to cross and which to burn. Some forty years ago I was told that
anybody could become president. It has taken me forty long years to believe
what I was told when I was younger. Thats just being slow, not stupid.
Collective aggression means chaos and anarchy. And thats exactly
what the Taliban are looking for. Hopefully our state has a plan because our
society does not. Can power riots become a trigger converting individual
frustration to collective aggression?
Paisa is important, how one earns it is not. Thats the failure of
society. Everyone in and around the president house is neither poor nor
hungry. But Pakistanis away from the Constitution Avenue are getting poorer
and going hungry. Poverty and hunger are said to be parents of revolution.
We are a country with too many bombs and no ideas. Remember; there is
more dynamite in an idea than in many bombs.
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What is our democracys future? Somalia or Turkey? A

revolution, I am told, is a struggle between the past and the future.
Democracy, once again, means that anyone can grow up to be president. And
anyone who doesnt grow up can be the prime minister. Yes, we have a
president and, yes, he has a plan. But, according to John Lennon, life is what
happens to you while youre busy making other plans.

REVIEW
As already mentioned in the beginning, the Scoundrel successfully
enticed PML-Q and MQM to be with him. They decided on 5 th October to
keep the ruling coalition intact with common objective of saving the
country facing numerous internal and external threats. The most ominous
threat that had been identified was the Supreme Court verdict scheduled to
be announced next day.
The two scoundrels leading PPP and MQM had hurried to close their
ranks and jointly tackle any untoward situation likely to be created by the
Supreme Court. It was a show of force by the criminals to send a message to
the judges of the apex court; watch out before announcing the verdict.
The verdict, the so-called verdict, was disappointing for those who
sought justice to punish and deter the criminals. What the Chief Justice read
out was more of a sermon by a conventional mulla of a jamia masjid rather
than a verdict written and read out by a Justice heading the apex court.
Like a soft spoken mulla he advised all the accused parties to
identify the killers and extortionists within their rank and file and hand
over them to law enforcement authorities for law to take its course. Laskari
Raisani was absolutely candid in his observation that it was more of
counseling than verdict of a court. It was not a court order but a set of
proposals.
The Chief Justice read out a lengthy charge sheet that included
heinous crimes most of which fell in purview of anti-terror laws. He also
referred to plenty of incriminating evidence produced before the court. But,
the court refrained from administering punishment to any of the culprits
making limitation of jurisdiction a pretext.
The honourable judges ruled that to impose a ban on a particular party
was not in their powers. Yes, but incriminating evidence produced before the
bench, about political parties maintaining armed wings for killing opponents
and collecting extortion money, should have merited disqualification of such
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parties. The only silver lining is that the door on such course of action has
been kept opened.
Similarly, the court ruled that at least one-third of police has been
enrolled on political basis and this law enforcement force must be depoliticized. This has to be done by provincial government led by Qaim Ali
Shah and Ishratul Ebad; honourable judges seemed to be having enough
sense of humour.
The court ordered the government to send references against those
who have been accused of conspiring against the federation. Quite
astonishingly, this advice came only hours after Afaq Ahmed of MQM-H
was arrested on the basis of ten year old FIR on the behest of Altafs MQM
against whom Zardari has to send a reference as advised by the honourable
Chief Justice.
The court also ordered investigation and filing of cases against those
who targeted and killed more than 150 policemen which had taken action
against MQM militants in mid 1990s. The judges clearly identified the cat
and the need to bell that but left it to Qaim Ali Shah to do the needful. One
can keep counting the anomalies in proposals made by the court that would
never be accepted by the Executive.
Soon after the announcement of the verdict, all the parties accused of
committing crimes in Karachi out rightly denied involvement of any of their
activists in any kind of crime. This was an expected stance to be taken by
them and it was not difficult to be anticipated by the learned judges at the
time of dictating golden words of the so-called verdict.
All the accused parties claimed that the verdict was, in fact, an
acquittal order by the court of all the charges against them. The main culprit,
MQM, was the first to welcome the court verdict, which meant that
prospects of verdicts implementation were quite bleak; of course, if there
was anything in it that the court wanted to be implemented.
The Registrar Supreme Court should put up to the Chief Justice video
recordings of all the panel discussions held on TV channels in the evening
after he had read out the verdict. Having watched those, his optimism
about implementation of the verdict, provided he had any, would evaporate
in thin air.
The information minister of Sindh had ruled all that the Chief Justice
had said on 6th October were proposals or suggestions. In other words, he on
behalf of the government has refused to accept the contents of 152-page

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document produced by the bench as court order; at best it was a working

paper, or a feasibility report. Gilani, the counsel of ANP, was prompt in
commenting that this verdict wont be implemented.
The Chief Justice was very right in saying during the hearing in
Karachi that justice would be done; let the heavens fall. Unfortunately, he
and his four companions ensured that sky did not fall whether the justice
was done or not. The fact remained that heavens had fallen before the start
of the court proceedings; not on the criminals but on innocent people of
Karachi.
The very next day, the resident don summoned his team to his
Islamabad den along with representative of the absentee don. The stated
intention of this gathering was to consider facilitation of implementation of
the verdict. The real aim can be inferred from the past record of respect
shown for the court verdicts.
They will sit together to find out ways and means to pre-empt the next
possible step by the Supreme Court possibility of which has been pointed
out by the constitution of a committee under Chief Justice of SHC. The
Scoundrel will try his utmost to keep his record unblemished by ensuring
that the proposals, or working paper, or feasibility report prepared by
Iftikhar and Company is not converted into a court order.
Anyone who shows some desire for implementing the Supreme
Courts verdict will be dealt with like AIG Saud Mirza. Reportedly, the
senior police officer objected to political interference in transfers of police
officers, which ended up in a brawl with Manzoor Wasan, home minister
Sindh. Resultantly, Mirza is likely to be reverted back the Centre.
To conclude, it can be said that in view of the constant ridicule of
court orders suffered at the hands Zardari regime in last two-and-half years,
the Supreme Court thought it wise to leave much of the matter to the
discretion of the Executive. Instead of attempting to scratch some ugliness
off the face of Executive the apex court has tried to save its face from
scratching; thus instead of giving an order it preferred to submit.
10th October, 2011

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COMBUSTION POINT
The political atmosphere has almost reached the boiling point. Using
technological phrase it could be said that it was almost touching the mark of
combustion point. This could be attributable to rampant corruption by the
rulers and denial of good governance to the ruled.
The Saint and the Scoundrel read the situation correctly and at last
decided to solve the problem of load shedding using the magic wand of
releasing hard cash to electricity generating companies, which they had
been setting aside for rainy days. It proved that the power shortage was a

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deliberately created hardship as part of the democratic revenge. The

damage they so caused have been incalculable.
The PML-N, which has been fighting as frontline soldier to defend the
system, had to change its stance in view of the boiling anger of the masses.
The party launched Go Zardari Go campaign, but it appeared to have
missed the bus as it took long to read the public sentiment and inadvertently
allowing time to the regime to entrench.
Meanwhile, opponents of PML-N have been using dengue and Imran
Khan for teasing it. Resultantly, what should have been a battle against the
regime of Saint and Scoundrel turned out to be a bout between Nawaz and
Imran when their respective parties decided to hold rallies in Lahore within
three days.
This meant that once again pressure could be relieved off the regime
by the safety valves provided by MQM (deliberately) and PTI
(inadvertently). At least Saint and Scoundrel hoped it to be so as was evident
from the no change in their indulgence in plundering of national resources.
This would be quite unfortunate.

NEWS
On 10th October, the Speaker of Sindh Assembly received the
resignation sent by Zulfiqar Mirza in August and was pleased to accept that.
This happened after Mirza returned from abroad to reinstate Peoples Amn
Committee and reiterating accusations against Altaf; MQM had sought
action against Mirza. He also went to Kingri House to get Pir Pagaras
blessing.
A petition was filed in the Supreme Court against Zulfikar Mirza and
Hanif Abbasi for attempting to create ethnic division. A meeting of the PPP
senior leadership was held in the Presidency; Zardari and Gilani presided
over. Peoples Amn Committee was formally banned from operating.
PML-N and MQM members exchanged harsh words over issues
relating to allegations of Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and controversy shrouding
Ayesha Ahad Mailks marriage with Hamza Shahbaz Sharif. With its
presence after joining the government benches, the members of MQM raised
the issue that was directly concerned with a PML-N legislator from Lahore.
LHC barred Pervaiz Elahi from an election rally in Sahiwal. He was
to address the rally in connection with PP-220 (Sahiwal-1) by-polls. The

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court also summoned the PML-Q candidate Pir Muzaffar Shah Khagga and
District Police Officer (DPO) Sahiwal on October 15th.
Former chief justice LHC Khawaja Muhammad Sharif will appear
before Islamabad High Court to defend and challenge the death conviction
handed down by the Anti-Terrorism Court to Mumtaz Qadri in late governor
Punjab Salman Taseers murder case. Pindi District Bar President said
Khawaja Sharif has filed his relevant documents to contest Qadri's death
sentence in the federal high court.
Dengue virus claimed seven more lives in Lahore. At least four people
were killed in incidents of violence while 39 suspects including three target
killers were apprehended during joint search operation in Karachi. The
Supreme Court reserved verdict on Sindh floods. The court observed nonimplementation of flood committees recommendations as cause of this
years flooding. Railways suspended 115 trains.
Next day, the IHC stayed the execution of death sentence of Malik
Mumtaz Hussain Qadri handed. Accepting the application challenging the
death penalty of Qadri filed by his counsel, the court sought reply from the
federal government. Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, ex chief justice of LHC
acted as counsel for Qadri.
The LHC sought detail of foreign assets of 15 Pakistani politicians
including, Zardari and Gilani. Barrister Iqbal Jafri had filed an application in
the LHC, seeking court orders to bring back the assets of Pakistani
politicians in foreign countries. The application noted that there was
unemployment and inflation in the country and bringing back the money in
the country would help improve the economy.
The Opposition in the Punjab Assembly moved a privilege motion
against the parliamentary leader of the Unification Block Tahir Ali Javed.
The motion moved called for debate on Tahir's statement. Leader of the PPP
Shaukat Basra called CM Punjab more dangerous than Dengue adding that
the conspiracy for the advocated dissolution of the Assembly was hatched in
Raiwind.
The University of Karachi conferred an honorary degree of Doctorate
on Interior Minister Rehman Malik. The honorary doctorate degree was
awarded at a special Convocation held at Governors House here. Sindh
Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad, who is also the Chancellor of the KU, conferred
the degree on the minister.

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PPP and PML-Q agreed over distribution of Sindh cabinet portfolios.

According to a local private television report, PML-Q ministers and advisers
have been agreed to return their portfolios to Muttahida Qaumi Movement
MQM. Meanwhile, Zulfiqar Mirza seemed top have mustered support of
some members of Sindh Assembly.
The Railways management decided to close 54 short-distance
passenger trains besides another due to the shortage of fuel and 102 trains
were shut down due to lack of locomotives. Hundreds of PR workers could
not get their salaries. Top management had to face embarrassment when they
could not get time to meet President Zardari.
On 12th October, PML-N observed black day to mark the 12 th
anniversary of military coup by General Musharraf. While addressing the
participants outside the Parliament House, Nawaz said that had he not been
ousted the fate of the country would have been changed. He added that the
people were protesting against load shedding, inflation and other crises but
the rulers were reluctant to change their attitude
Gilanis cabinet found the solution to load shedding; two weekly dayoffs to help save power, marriage halls would be closed at 10 pm, shopping
malls and commercial plazas would be closed after sunset, electricity
consumers seeking new connections would have to deposit two months bills
in advance and street lights and sign board bulbs would be replaced by saver
bulbs. The approved suggestions would be presented to the Council of
Common Interests for the final approval.
Black day was observed in Karachi University over award of degree
of doctorate to Rehman Malik. Kamran Khan spared lot of time in defending
VC Karachi arguing that the award was fair. At least six persons, including a
criminal, were killed in incidents of firing here in Karachi.
Next day, National Assembly turned into a virtual combat ground
when Nisar Ali Khan used offensive words and members of MQM
vehemently reacted. Muttahidas Sajid Ahmed and N-Leagues Abid Sher
Ali exchanged hot words and were about to come to blows. Meantime, Nisar
warned they not be taught democracy here, as there is a party with no
elections within.
Nomination of Admiral Fasih Bukhari as NAB chairman was
challenged in Lahore High Court. PML-N rejected the appointment Fasih
Bukhari; leader of the Opposition wrote a letter to Prime Minister in which
he said that Opposition had not been consulted for the appointment to a
high-profile slot and the appointment was not acceptable to it. He said a
507

panel of three names should have been suggested and the Chief Justice
included in consultations.
Three more patients lost the battle against dengue. Two patients died
in Lahore while one in Hafizabad. According to reports, 98 target killers,
who have accepted killing more than four hundred people, have been
arrested in Karachi in last 50 days. The Punjab Cabinet decided to delay
local bodies polls for another six months. PML-Ns Khagga won the PP-220
by-election defeating his rival PML-Q and PPP-backed Khagga by twenty
thousand votes.
On 14th October, Chief Justice LHC constituted full bench for
implementation of the court orders regarding action against the prime
minister under Article 6 of the Constitution and halt political activities in the
Presidency; hearing of the cases will start from the next week. A fourmember bench of the Supreme Court referred Deedar Hussain Shahs case to
Chief Justice for constituting a larger bench to hear his review petition.
Minister for Railways said billions of rupees were required to run the
affairs of Pakistan Railways and transform it into a profitable entity. Former
railway minister, Shaikh Rashid decided to stage sit-in at Lahore Railway
Station to protest the destruction of railways.
Dengue fever continued to haunt Lahorites as seven more people lost
their lives, taking the death toll to 249. Prof Faisal Masood has said that had
Punjab Government not taken effective steps against dengue, there was a
threat of great damage and 20-25 thousand people could lost their lives. The
Opposition faced defeat in Punjab Assembly at the hands of the Treasury, as
it failed to maintain quorum in the House and the Speaker had to adjourn the
session without completing the agenda set for Assemblys sitting.
The nation will face another electric shock as NEPRA increased
power tariff by Rs3.04 per unit. Imran Khan said that majority of Pakistanis
are fed up of the policies of so-called democratic government and wanted
change and in ongoing circumstances no power can stop people's revolution.
Next day, opposition parties in Punjab Assembly held a protest rally
from the Assembly to the Chief Ministers House and staged a sit-in against
criminal negligence of the Punjab government in controlling the dengue
outbreak in the province, which resulted in deaths of more than 200 people.
Shahbaz Sharif announced compensation of Rs500,000 for kin of those who
died of dengue.

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Lahore district and session Court reserved verdict on acquittal plea by

Moonis Elahi the main accused of NICL case. The recent increase in power
tariff was challenged in Lahore High Court. Anti-Terrorism Court dismissed
acquittal pleas of two police officers accused of failing to provide adequate
security to the slain Benazir Bhutto and destroying vital evidences.
Zardari rejected all observations of Opposition leader on appointment
of new NAB Chairman, but thanked him for participating in the process on
consultations. The Presidency issued the notification for appointment of
Admiral Fasih. PML-N decided to launch Go Zardari Go drive.
The 25-year old plane hired by PIA for $5 million was yet to make
inaugural flight. Imran Khan said that political mafia has occupied the rule
in the country for the last six decades and corrupt politicians support each
others rule in hard times.
On 16th October, Prime Minister said that those aspiring for coming to
power through short-cuts should know that the assemblies would not be
dissolved and the next elections would be held in 2013. He boasted it was
the PPP government which resolved the issue of third-term prime ministership of the PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif.
Altaf Hussain said that Pakistan was beset with external threats but
'MQM will protect the country from harm by joining the armed forces and
foiling these conspiracies'. He vowed to land in Lahore, whenever he
decides to return to Pakistan and MQM to contest elections from all
constituencies.
Khurshid Shah, on behalf Zardari, assured Zulfiqar Mirza that present
Nazim-led local government system would not be retained. He told Mirza
not to go against the party line as it was harmful for the government as well
as the party. Shah met with Mirza at his residence in Karachi where over a
dozen members of Sindh Assembly and some ministers of ruling PPP were
present with the dissident leader.
Rehman Malik appealed the youth of Karachi to cooperate with
security forces who were trying to bring peace to the city. At least 62
suspects including three alleged extortionists were apprehended during raid
in Korangi and Hijrat Colony areas of the city. Senior leaders of PPP sped up
their efforts to reconcile differences, reservations of volatile PPP dissident
from Sindh, Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza.
The opposition parties urged the government to form a committee to
implement resolutions of All Parties Conference. Fasih Bokhari was

509

appointed as Chairman National Accountability Bureau, according to a

notification issued by the Ministry of Law.
Eight people including two children died due to epidemic diseases and
flood related accidents in the past 24 hours in Badin. Dengue continued to
claim the precious lives as six more people died at different hospitals of
Lahore. Some reports said death toll in Punjab has reached 331 while
number of dengue patients has crossed the 16,500 figure.
Next day, the Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by the
government against decision of the LHC for postponing policy about import
of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The government had submitted the petition
for reviewing the LHC verdict against policy devised for importing LNG.
Fasih Bokhari summoned files of all pending cases, including three
corruption references against Nawaz, Shahbaz and other Sharif family
members. This move of NAB chief soon after assuming the charge of his
new assignment could lead to a new political and legal contest between the
PPP and the PML-N as the latter has announced to go to court against the
NAB chairman appointment. Sharifs filed a writ petition in the LHC
requesting it to quash the NAB corruption references filed against them and
their family members as illegal, mala fide and without lawful authority.
Prime Minister told the NA that his government has written a letter to
NA speaker requesting her for the list of nominees for constituting a
parliamentary committee on APC. Responding to the severe criticism of
Leader of Opposition for not constituting parliamentary committee even
after passing of over a fortnight, the PM told the house that this
parliamentary committee would oversee progress on the implementation of
APC resolution.
Unpaid employees forced suspension of Pakistan Railways (PR)
operations at many stations across the country as they blocked engines by
lining themselves up on the tracks, disrupting schedule of many trains. The
protests were also fuelled by suspension of electricity and gas supply to
railway colonies in different cities over non-payment of bills. Zardari
advised the government to release funds within seven days for payment of
salaries and pensions to railway employees.
On 18th October, LHC stopped NAB court from action on references
against Sharifs. The SHC reopened the May 12 case and adjourned the
hearing for an indefinite period. Iqbal Kazmi had pleaded before the court to
reopen the May 12 constitutional petition.

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Opposition leader, Nisar, said that Zardari and Pakistan cannot go side
by side; adding Zardari is bigger criminal than Musharraf. Nawaz Sharif,
while addressing a huge gathering of flood affected people in Shahdadpur,
said that his party will rid the people of Sindh from 'Daku Raj' and people of
the country from the corrupt government. Imran needed 200 honest people
for bringing change in Pakistan. Addressing a public gathering in
Gujranwala he vowed to introduce new Local Bodies system in the country.
Fazalur Rehman said that PML (N) should take decisions with the
consultation of all opposition parties to assure consensus among them. He
said that the launching of campaign against government is the personal
decision of PML-N. If it continues solo flight, then JUI-F would not
comply with these kinds of decisions.
The government in a bid to quell rousing protest by Pakistan Railways
employees issued one billion rupees for payment of the salaries. Gilani
became the third ruler to perform foundation laying ceremony of Bhasha
Dam. In his speech he blamed the politicians for misleading the public on
Kalabagh Dam. Four people were shot dead by gunmen in Karachi. Six
people died of dengue fever in Punjab.
Next day, Nawaz Sharif said that he has never seen such a corrupt
government throughout his life. Nawaz said while addressing a public
gathering in connection with the launch of Go Zardari Go movement in
Dera Ghazi Khan. Nawaz said during his visit to the flood-hit areas of Sindh,
he realized that the government does not exist there. Earlier he had accused
MQM of bringing militancy in politics.
Haider Abbas Rizvi said that MQM didnt require any clearance of
any kind from Nawaz Sharif. Reacting to recent statement of PML-N he
alleged that terrorism took roots during the Zia regime and PML-N has
banned outfits as its militant wings. Rizvi said that it was actually Nawaz
Sharif who was responsible for worsening of the situation in Karachi.
Babar Awan said while addressing a public meeting in Sargodha that
PPP always solved problems by evolving consensus on issues and did not
believe in autocracy. He talked of plots being hatched against the democratic
government of Pakistan Peoples Party and boasted of PPPs history which is
full of gallantries.
On 20th October, Latif Khosa said that corruption of Sharif brothers
would be exposed through an independent commission and those creating
hurdles in Accountability bill would not escape from prosecution. The

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Governor said worst type of dictatorship was in place in Punjab in the name
of democracy.
Railway labour unions once again launched protest in Lahore due to
non payment of their salaries. Resolution demanding Saraiki province was
submitted in Punjab Assembly by opposition parties. Meanwhile, six more
people died of dengue fever.
Next day, a session court exonerated Moonis Elahi in NICL fraud
case. Q-league workers chanted slogans in favour of their leader. Former
FIA Additional Director General Zafar Qureshi had carried out investigation
into the case and produced 22 witnesses, including eight bank employees in
the court. Gilani congratulated Gujarati Brothers on telephone.
ECP suspended the membership of 231 parliamentarians due to the
non-submission of their annual financial statements with the Commission.
According to the official figures, 103 MNAs of the total 342, 53 MPAs in
Punjab, 28 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 23 in Sindh, 13 Senators and 6 MPs in
Balochistan have not submitted their financial statements.
Fasih Bokhari gave clear instructions to all the officers deputed both
at headquarters and regional offices to deal with the cases on merit and no
case against any person should be instituted on political grounds.
Meanwhile, dengue claimed five more lives in Lahore.
On 22nd October, Opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar challenged the
appointment of Fasih Bukhari as Chairman NAB in the Supreme Court. The
opposition leader through his lawyer Muhammad Akram Sheikh advocate
filed a petition in the Supreme Court raising at least 17 legal points.
Latif Khosa said that he was mulling over asking Chief Minister to
take fresh vote of confidence from the Punjab Assembly as he dont enjoy
majority in the provincial assembly. He then said why he should do so as
Shahbaz isnt the legitimate CM. He added that a case against Shahbaz
Sharif eligibility was pending in the Supreme Court.
Protests by students against errors in results forced the authorities to
cancel the Intermediate Part I results of four education boards in Punjab, and
it was decided that results of all eight boards will be rechecked. The decision
came after students surrounded the buildings of concerned boards in Lahore,
Multan and Faisalabad, while enraged students ransacked the offices of
Gujranwala Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education.
Dengue fever claimed five lives in Lahore while a patient passed
away in Chichawatni. Like-minded were divided over alliance with PML-N.
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FIA decided not to appeal in Moonis case. Sunni Ittehad Council held a big
rally in Karachi for release of Qadri. Teachers of KU passed a unanimous
resolution against award of degree of doctorate to Rehman Malik and
demanded its cancellation.
Next day, Police claimed arrested two high-value slayers, who killed
some 252 people, following a shootout near the shrine of saint Abdullah
Shah Ghazi. Identified as Zakir Hussain alias Adeel Agha or Yasir Dada and
Gull Mohammad alias Gullu, the killers were said to be affiliated with a
political party (MQM).
On 24th October, Nusrat Bhutto was buried in Gahi Khuda Bux after
conferring of Nishat-e-Imtiaz and Madr-i-Jamhooriyat title. Jawai-iJamhooriyat had complete control of her burial as he kept the Bhutto family
at bay from the proceedings. PML-N and PTI rejected PPPs call to postpone
their respective rallies.
The judge who awarded death sentence to Qadri was shifted to Saudi
Arabia along with his family Vatican City would have been safer.
Unidentified gunmen fired at vehicle of a CID sub-inspector, killing two
people and wounding another in Chakra Goth area of Korangi.
Next day, the Supreme Court issued notices to Secretary Interior, FIA
DG, FIA Lahore Director, Assistant Director (Legal) and AGP for not
cooperating with ex-additional director general FIA Zafar Qureshi, who
headed the team that was probing the NICL scam. The FIA DG was directed
to explain why he had not complied with the court order and countersigned
the investigation documents.
Zafar Qureshi informed the court that he had submitted three reports
on 4, 22 and 29 September regarding the NICL financial scam. In the reports
he pointed out that Secretary Interior Khawaja Siddique Akbar, FIA DG
Tahseen Anwar Shah, FIA Director Lahore Waqar Haider and AD (Legal)
Zulfiqar Ali, despite repeated requests, did not cooperate with him therefore
he could not complete the investigation.
The former ADG FIA stated when he sought the original report
carrying details of foreign accounts of Moonis Elahi from the director
general; he said the report had been lost. However, he said no action was
taken against any official responsible for missing of the report. He said that
FIA DG and Secretary Interior created hurdles during the investigation,
which benefited the main accused Moonis Elahi.

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Zafar Qureshi said he had written to Interpol asking when the account
of Mohsin, Beenish and Moonis were opened in the UK and when the
money was transferred to their accounts. He said FIA Director Lahore Waqar
Haidar and Additional Director (Legal) Zulfiqar Ali gave benefit to Moonis
by de-freezing his two accounts having an amount of Rs20 million on fake
letters. He said the legal team of FIA pleaded the cases in the court halfheartedly.
The court was also informed that Moonis was separated from the
regular trial and set free through another court. The Chief Justice addressing
Azam Khan said if the government by bifurcation got release the main
accused then also start the trial of other people involved in the case as they
were languishing in the court. The court was informed that all main accused,
who have been declared proclaimed offenders in the case, are in London.
The FIA Director (Legal) said that Habibullah Warraich along with her four
daughters has gone to England from Karachi despite the fact that the LHC
had put their names on the ECL.
The CJP said why not the NICL cases be assigned to NAB as the FIA
DG behaviour is very non-cooperative. Attorney General for Pakistan
Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq informed the court he has no knowledge of the
present situation because the reports were not provided to him. Babar Awan
said that he didnt want to press the case of Moonis as the Special Banking
Court had acquitted him.
Chief Justice AJK High Court Ghulam Mustafa Mughal was injured in
a life attempt when he was walking near his residence. He was shifted to the
CMH for treatment. One more died of dengue in Lahore. Shahbaz stressed
long-term policy to eradicate dengue.
On 26th October, the Supreme Court constituted a commission headed
by Justice Retired Rehmat Hussain Jafferi to probe the negligence of the
authorities in non-completion of rental power projects which have caused a
major loss to the national exchequer. It also said that the commission could
acquire services of any expert in probing the matter and concerned ministries
would extend support. During the proceedings the court rued the chaotic
affair of probes. Chief Justice observed that tainted persons were made
secretaries and FIA was not showing any progress. He also remarked that
every institution was infested with corruption.
IMF predicted 6.5 percent fiscal deficit and projected growth rate at
2.6 percent and inflation 14 percent. Railway pensioner died of heart attack
while waiting through the night in a queue in front of a bank; Zardari sought
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report. Gilani created four more ministries. PHC sentenced MNA Zafar Baig
Bhatani for three years in jail on corruption charge. Five more killed by
dengue, but decline in cases was noted.
Next day, the Supreme Court sought details of the average capacity of
the electricity produced by RPPs in the last 60 days; money paid to them in
advance; the date of operation and production of electricity; total amount so
far paid and the cost per unit charged from the consumers. The court decided
to manage inspection of RPPs machinery. Meanwhile, TTP commander was
among five held in Karachi.
On 28th October, Shahbaz led massive Go Zardari Go PML-N rally
in Lahore. He wanted Zardari to be hanged up-side-down for what he has
done to Pakistan. Babar Awan held a lengthy press conference to condemn
Shahbaz for using foul language for the President and resorted to using the
same for Sharif Brothers. Imran Khan termed PPP-N confrontation a mock
fight and he vowed to make Punjab and KPK as strongholds of PTI.
Hearing suo moto notice case of non-payment of pensions to
Railways employees the Chief justice remarked that it showed bad
governance. Another bench heard RPPs case during which the Chief Justice
said if former minister Raja Pervaiz wanted to appear to give his version the
court would allow him, but the culprits have to be prosecuted.
Next day, Jahangir Badar described PML-N rally as a sign of danger
for democracy maintaining PPP wont allow third murder after the murder of
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir. Prime Minister came down hard on the
political leaders, who were trying to take political mileage by blowing up
everything out of proportion and confusing the masses. He urged them to
shun street protests and adopt constitutional method.
The Sindh government lifted ban on rallies for two days in Karachi to
allow the MQM to take out rally in support of Asif Ali Zardari. Party offices
of PML-N were attacked in interior Sindh and Altaf Hussain was unleashed
in urban Sindh.
Newly appointed Chairman NAB Fasih Bokhari turned down two
names sent to him by a close confederate of Zardari to be forwarded to
Ministry of Law to fill the slot of Prosecutor General NAB. A close buddy of
Zardari, who is keeping a close eye on the working of the ace accountability
department in the country, had recommended a couple of names to Chairman
NAB but to his utter astonishment the newly appointed Chairman turned
down both these names with the remarks that he would prefer some neutral
person for the job. Is it a planted story?
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In yet another bid to gag Zafar Qureshi he was implicated in a

criminal case. PPP decided to approach Shujaat regarding Faisal Salehs
anti-government stance taken in RPPs case. Pepco was dissolved to resolve
load shedding problem. PPP-backed Yasin Azad defeated Rashid A Rizvi to
win election for SCBA chief. Azad said Judiciary-worshippers have been
defeated.
On 30th October, the Scoundrel in Exile showed solidarity with
Scoundrel in Power by organizing a rally in his support in his stronghold
where this ritual has become a routine and can be performed on short notice.
This rally was especially arranged on the request personally submitted in
meeting with Altaf in London. PPP leaders of Sindh participated in the rally
and thanked MQM for arranging the show. Altaf in speech condemned
Sharifs for using foul language for his buddy and then did the same for
them.
Almost simultaneously with MQM-PPP show in Karachi Imran
Khans PTI held a massive public rally in Lahore where he warned the rulers
to declare the assets or be prepared for civil disobedience. He proclaimed
that change has come amid tsunami of enthusiasts. Imran vowed to bring
back the looted money, end Thana and Patwari culture. He offers the US
help in pullout from Afghanistan.
Imran left for China on invitation of the Chinese government.
Shahbaz saw country turning into Tahrir Square. Firdous urged Punjab
government to focus on good governance. Meanwhile, at least three people
were killed in separate incidents in different localities of Karachi.

VIEWS
On 11th October, TheNation observed: The nomination indicates that
the government is reverting to the model of selecting a high executive
official, as was the last Chairman, Naveed Ahsan, instead of a retired judge,
like Mr Justice (retd) Shah. Apart from Admiral Bokhari, the others under
consideration were all retired judges of the Supreme Court. Though the
Admiral is not an ex-bureaucrat, he must be counted among them in respect
of NAB. The process of consultation requires the Leader of Opposition to
give his input not just on the specific appointment, but also on the type of
organization that person will develop. NAB is a relatively new organization,
and whether the Chairman comes from the Executive or the Judiciary will
determine what type of organization NAB is to become.

516

However, the dispute between the government and opposition cannot

go on forever, and in the judgment removing Mr Justice (retd) Shah from
office, the Supreme Court indicated that it could act as the final arbiter.
However, though neither is acting thus as irresponsibly as it appears to,
Government and Opposition should do their best to avoid a deadlock. This
would only be possible if the government was to regard the process of
consultation with the Leader of the Opposition not as an imposition
forced on it by the Supreme Court, but as an integral part of the process.
After all, this consultation does not apply to almost all government
appointments, so the power of the Executive remains unrestricted. Also, as
NAB is to investigate and even prosecute wrongdoers in government even
when they go into opposition. Indeed, that is the reason why the government
of the day should be careful to make the constitutionally mandated
consultation: they might be in the Opposition when next the appointment
opens up. It is particularly useful for an organization mandated as NAB is, to
investigate and prosecute corruption charges against all government
servants, including elected officials.
In another editorial the newspaper wrote: A report in Nawa-i-Waqt
revealing that there is an acute shortage of trains and planes which has added
to the misery of passengers is a sad reflection on the deteriorating state of
affairs in Railways and PIA. These government-run so-called public
transport organizations have become white elephants to all intents and
purposes. While the Railways is only left with 75 rickety engines against a
need of at least 1000 engines, the national flag carriers fleet consists of 30
ramshackle aircrafts, most of which are not even technically fit to get
airborne. These ageing aircrafts are taken to the technical experts every other
day and left at the mercy of the engineers whose poor technical know-how
only serves to put the safety of the passengers into jeopardy. For PIAs
credibility the last straw was the recent incident in which an aircraft flew off
without the backup generator; the disaster was averted by making an
emergency landing. The daily financial losses owing to successive
managements have turned this organization into a real liability.
Railways currently led by an inept minister present an equally
pathetic picture. During the past four years, there is not one instance of a
train that either pulled out from the station or reached its destination in time.
No one in the power corridors seems to bother about the dilemma of
hundreds of thousands of passengers who need this cheap and safe source of
travel. It is worth pointing out that Railways is an artery that links various
parts of the country. Indeed it is rightly seen as a basic organ that holds the
517

key to territorial unity of the federation. Therefore, under the circumstances

of the sort there should hardly be any doubt that its current neglect is
part of a conspiracy to create fissures inside the country on parochial
lines in order to weaken the federation and specially sever the links
between various provinces particularly Sindh and Punjab. Reports have been
circulating in media for a long time now highlighting the state of affairs in
both these organizations but the fact that nothing has been done from
concerned quarters only confirms the perception that a deliberate destruction
of our institutions and organizations is underway.
Next day, TheNation commented: It is quite strange that the PPPs
top brass including President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani in
Islamabad on Monday stated that in league with their allies they would foil
conspiracies against them. They particularly blamed the opposition for
scheming to topple the government before the Senate elections. In the
same vein President Zardari stated that the opposition was also afraid of PPP
victory.
To begin with, it is but nonsensical to assume that the PML-N has
been trying to dislodge the government. If this was the intention, it would
have long been able to achieve this goal as it had a number of opportunities.
For more than three years, it had been criticized as friendly opposition
merely because it did not become part of any move to derail democracy,
although at times it was quite harsh in its criticism of the federal
government. Hence, there is reason to believe that the PML-N has been
opposing the government while remaining within its constitutional and
democratic parameters and in no way has been hatching conspiracies as
President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani would have us believe.
Secondly Presidents contention that the opposition is afraid of PPPs victory
is ridiculous to say the least. In this point in time, the entire countrys
populace is up in arms. Whether it is load shedding crisis, inflation, decay of
national institutions, corruption, Balochistan conundrum or deteriorating law
and order situation, the governments callous neglect has generated an untold
amount of public anger. Demonstrations virtually on every nook and cranny
of the country only speak volumes about the sentiment on the street. This
popular outrage provide a good idea of what is going to happen in the
upcoming elections at least so far as the fate of the PPP is concerned. The
perception therefore that the PPP is its own worst enemy cannot be
discarded. By following anti-people policies, it is digging its own grave.
Indeed if the election commission is reformed in true sense of the word, in a
way that it can rule out the possibility of registration of bogus votes (whose
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number was estimated to be in millions), the public would be able to elect

rulers of their choice. That will be the day of reckoning for the PPP.
On 19th October, Dr Haider Mehdi opined: Nations go into political
oblivion only by self-destructive conduct. If any harm comes to Pakistan
or if it faces an existentialist threat, it can come only from within. The
fact is that a massive mismanagement of state affairs and the failure of its
national institutions a governance process that is directly linked to the
management performance and the political conduct of national managers is
underway. The questions that arise are: Does present-day Pakistan face a
leadership crisis? Does it face a political management exigency? Is it faced
with injudicious, dangerous and crucial political misjudgments, critical
misconduct and undemocratic political behaviour of its ruling elite?
The fact of the matter is that todays Pakistan is going through a
period of deliberately manufactured, inexpediently imposed and
purposefully managed political-financial crises that are being explicitly
engineered by its ruling PPP regime and the strategic long silence of the
main opposition leaderships. It is said that Asif Ali Zardari is an extremely
determined individual. People, who know him well, say that he knows how
to play his cards right, and he is consistently focused on the use of political
power and manipulative tactics in the pursuit of his personal objectives. He
is known to subscribe to the notion that the end justifies the means. The
grapevine has it that Asif Ali Zardari once said that he wants to be the richest
man in the world. To own and control the entire Pakistani industrial and
commercial network will make his dream come true if hes not already one
of the richest men on the planet.
The countrys national industrial and commercial infrastructure is in
absolute financial crisis: Pakistan Railways is shutting down, PIA is winding
up, the energy sector has unending problematic, the power grids are shut
down, WAPDA is under immense debt, the steel industry is incurring
tremendous losses, the national industrial sector is in a nosedive, the national
debt has increased manifold, the education and health sector funds are
depleted, water resources are exhausted, dams do not generate enough
electricity and domestic water taps do not run, gas is unavailable and kitchen
stoves cannot be ignited, cars mostly have empty tanks and so on, and so
forth. And yet, the PPP apologists allude to the political genius and the
master politicians that the incumbent regime has produced so far to
serve the common citizens of their country. Ironic, is it not?

519

The economic and financial failure of all national commercial and

industrial enterprises, being purposefully engineered by years of planning
by the top PPP leadership, is aimed at total privatization. The President
has already hinted at setting up private boards to acquire and run the
management of major national institutions such as the railways and the
energy sector. Soon, in all probability, the PIA will cease to exist and a
private airline company will take over its worldwide routes. If the PPP
regime survives any longer, every national asset in Pakistan will go on sale.
Recently, the Zardari-Gilani regime was able to instantly resolve the
energy crisis (of course, though, temporarily), terror and slaying were
stopped in Karachi, ASF salaries were increased overnight by the President,
the victims of terror were promised cash compensations and the political
reconciliation process with the MQM went into top gear. On the other hand,
the main opposition party, the PML-N after 3 years became aware of the
PPPs massive political-financial mismanagement and is now staging
dharnas and chanting Go Zardari, go. It is frightening to realize that
Pakistans traditional political leaderships have been holding back on all
these vital national issues to use as trump cards to score wins in their
political battles for the March 2012 Senate election all at the public
expense. Arent these shameful and contemptible political tactics?
Imagine the enormity of the political witchcraft vehemently practiced
by the ruling class and its leadership. Consider the inhumanity, the
unprecedented unethical and immoral approach to political
management and the torturous inflicting of political deceit and power
against the common citizens of Pakistan. Is it not criminal conduct against,
in fact, open contempt of an entire nation and its people?
The entire ruling class and its leadership inside (and outside) the
ruling janta consider the common people of Pakistan as sacrificial lambs to
be slaughtered at the appropriate time chosen at their own discretion for
their personal motives and political objectives. That is Pakistans ultimate
national tragedy. Stop slaughtering the lambs now!
On 22nd October, Muhammad Azhar Khwaja from Lahore wrote: It is
about three and a half years now that the PPP is ruling our country with the
slogan of democracy is the best revenge. However, one finds hardly
anything democratic in its rule. All the decisions are taken in the President's
House which is the hub of all political activities against the sanctity of the
office of the President. According to the constitution, the head of the state
should be above the party politics even if he belongs to a particular political

520

party. Unfortunately, the President is openly violating this clause of the

constitution and running the country through his close associates or
buddies of PPP with his two strong henchmen Dr Babar Awan and Dr
Rehman Malik, the interior minister. Everything in the country is haywire.
When any of the governments wrong action is protested either on the roads
or their wrong step is pointed out by the media or suo moto notice taken by
the Supreme Court, there is always a U-turn and then the decision is
reversed by the government. After taking their decision back, they call it: It
is the beauty of democracy.
The public observes following follies in this government and
enquires the rulers why it is so:
No key appointment is made on merit. The corrupt, close relatives and
friends are being obliged on key jobs.
The corrupt and inefficient so found are being given unnecessary and
obvious protection.
There is no check and balance in any of the government departments.
Law and order situation in the country is the worst so far in the history
of Pakistan. Yet no one is resigning.
The major institutions like Wapda, Pakistan Steel Mills, PIA,
Railways, OGDC, PCB, Banks etc are being headed by the
incompetent and corrupt people and all are running in loss rather these
have been grounded to almost complete halt. There is over all
deterioration in every field.
Teachers, railway workers, KESC employees, government nurses,
lady health workers etc are not getting their salaries for the last many
months.
Due to load shedding of gas and electricity millions of workers have
either become jobless or have been shown the door.
With skyrocketing prices of utility and food items, there is tremendous
increase in street crimes, dacoities, loot and murders.
People affected by the devastating earthquake of Oct 2005 and floods
of 2010 and 2011 have yet not been rehabilitated and some are dying
of hunger. The aid items have found their way into the markets. No
one is there to investigate as concerned people are getting their share.

521

 There is rampant corruption in every government department and one

has to grease the palm of concerned official to get his/her work done.
No one is there to check it.
With all the above weak areas, the government feels they are
doing a great job instead of resigning as they have failed to govern the
country. With such an oppression and deep economic recession, one finds no
change in the royal living style of the rulers. Each meeting is followed by
lavish lunch or dinner, frequent traveling in personal official planes within
and outside the country, protocol cavalcades comprising hundreds of
vehicles with each VVIP whenever they move out, sending parliamentarians
abroad for medical treatment or on orientation tours, importing bullet proof
limousines for each federal minister or any of the party worker who feels
insecure from the terrorists and there are hundreds of other hidden
expenditures which is not known to the public. This shows how much
concern our rulers show towards the poor masses. It is a great shame for the
rulers and the famous adage of Nero was playing the flute while Rome was
burning fits very well for our rulers.
On 25th October, TheNation commented: Reacting to PPP leader
Nusrat Bhuttos death, her granddaughter Fatima Bhutto said that her death
should not be used as an occasion for politics. The condolence statement by
her mother, the late Mrs Bhuttos widowed daughter-in-law Ghinwa,
reminded everyone of the estrangement within the family, which had
apparently seen the late Murtaza Bhutto pitted against Asif Zardari. Ms
Fatima Bhuttos statement that they were the legal heirs of the late Mrs
Bhutto and that her body should be handed over to them also reminded the
general public that one of the issues created by Mrs Bhuttos death was
that of the inheritance of her estate, which included her own inheritance
from her husband, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The estate must be distributed in
accordance with the law of the land, which would be, in accordance with the
family laws and the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance would see the
fulfillment of any bequests made by will up to a third of the entire estate,
followed by the distribution of the remainder to the four children. As only
one child survives, the children of the rest, her grandchildren, would be the
inheritors in their stead. Though Muslim law excludes grandchildren in the
event of a surviving uncle or aunt, in this case the change made by the
Muslim Family Laws Ordinance will apply, and where Murtazas children as
well as Benazirs (not to forget Shahnawazs only issue, a daughter) would
have been excluded from the inheritance by Sanam, now the only surviving
child, they are all now inheritors.
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The estate can be assumed to be substantial, consisting of both

gifts received by Mrs Bhutto from her husband while she was First Lady of
Pakistan, and then her share of his estate as his widow. Normally, because
one son-in-law had become President, there would be every hope of a
smooth distribution, but as there is already a dispute within the family,
which has its origins in a dispute over the political inheritance of Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto, her estate is expected to become a bone of contention. Ms
Fatima Bhuttos remarks should be seen within this context, prompted as
they might be by natural love for the deceased mother of her murdered
father.
As Ms Fatima Bhuttos remarks should have alerted him, and as his
children are involved as the heirs of their late mother, President Zardari will
need to handle this issue with great delicacy, and should involve family
friends if need be, to manage an amicable settlement of the issue. He, indeed
everyone involved, should remember that settling such a matter with
dignity and amicability is in the better interests of all concerned
parties.
Two days later, the newspaper wrote: Another tale of the government
obfuscation has prompted the Chief Justice of Pakistan to remark that the
court knows how to have its orders implemented. His remarks came in the
course of the latest hearing of the NICL case, in which former Additional
DG FIA, Zafar Qureshi, investigating the case, claimed that non-cooperation
by the department had prevented him from carrying out the task This has
been prompted by the various acts of the federal government, which has an
interest in ensuring that the recent acquittal of Ch Moonis Elahi in the
case is made to stick. Ch Moonis is the son o0f Ch Pervaiz Elahi and one
reason why the PML-Q, of which Ch Pervaiz is the Punjab chief, entered an
alliance with the PPP in the federal government.
The government obfuscation is considered part of a pattern; the
governments defiance of the Supreme Court has been noted, right from the
time of the refusal to implement decisions on the various scams, such as the
present, as well as the Haj scam, in which a minister from the Prime
Ministers hometown had to resign and the Prime Ministers son was
interrogated also. The repeated reminders of the highest court in the land that
it could have its decisions implemented point to a solution so terrible, that
the court prefers not to name it clearly. It would be best if the government
avoids this risk.

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It would also do well to remember that it represents the Executive

just as the court represents the Judiciary, and just as the court takes a long
view, the government should realize that, even when it no longer holds the
reins of power, the Executive will remain. The Executive of that time may
try to prosecute its opponents, and the Judiciary will then be its main hurdle,
where it tries to go beyond the law. The Executive should no create
precedents for the future, or provide examples which some future Executive
might misuse. Therefore the government should not try to throw hurdles
in the way of the Supreme Court, or any other, and should do its best to
implement its orders in their true spirit.
On 28th October, Azam Khalil commented: The two events to be held
in Lahore are bound to affect the PPP at the federal and provincial levels.
The party cadres have already been instructed to organize themselves and
start preparing for the 2013 elections. Against this backdrop, the PPP will
try to resolve the issues that are faced by the people and some
significant progress is expected not only in the management of load
shedding, but also streamlining of other vital State organizations like the
Railways, PIA, Pakistan Steel, etc.
The question is: Whether the people opt for political stability or go
for the other options, which is to vote into power those elements who have
not been tested before. Most political observers would place their bets on
another coalition setup keeping in view the present status of various political
parties in the country. This would mean another weak government. However,
if social unrest increases before the elections, the danger of antidemocratic forces creeping back into power cannot be ruled out. This is
a situation that the politicians must avoid and to do that they will have to
devote their energies to strengthen democracy because that remains the best
bet for the people, economy and Pakistan.
Muhammad Azhar Khwaja from Lahore wrote: The death of former
First Lady of Pakistan Mrs Nusrat Bhutto All said and done, one feels sad
about the lady who remained bedridden for the last about 10 years in a
foreign country and no one in the country especially her near and dear ones
felt the need of bringing her to Pakistans hospitals where world renowned
doctors work. The present PPP government which is ruling the country for
the last about four years also never thought of bringing her back to Pakistan
for personal attention and VVIP treatment. This extraordinary ceremony for
her on her death gives rise to some speculations and the intelligentsia feels
that it is just to gain some political mileage or for some ulterior motives.
With all the respect to the deceased former first lady, one asks what
524

contribution she had made for the progress or prosperity of Pakistan?

Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah, the sister of Quaid-i-Azam was given the title of
Madr-i-Millat during her lifetime like her brother Mohammad Ali Jinnah
who also was conferred the title of Quaid-i-Azam during his life time.
Begum Raana Liaqat Ali Khan was also first lady and governor of Sindh
besides her ambassadorial assignments but was never conferred any title.
We expect the government not to overdo things to score political
mileage. They should have followed the normal family tradition and the
dead body should have been received by her immediate family members and
buried in their family graveyard in Garhi Khuda Bukhsh. This extraordinary
official mourning and declaring one day as public holiday has cost the
national exchequer billions of rupees. The expenditure on the use of
helicopters, other transport and manpower on security with impunity is
unimaginable and does not behove well with cash starved country.
Next day, TheNation commented: Federal Housing Minister
Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat might have wished to run with the hare by
pursuing his petition before the Supreme Court about the Rental Power
Plants (RPPs), while running with the hounds, by joining the Federal
Cabinet with the rest of his PML-Q colleagues, thereby becoming the only
person to have been a member of both the Musharraf-era and the PPP
Cabinets. Be that as it may, his appearing before the Supreme Court to argue
his case personally only serves to highlight the agony felt by the ordinary
citizen at the load shedding enforced by the government, and which it
only ended after the populace erupted into protest. Mr Faisals revelations
were astounding, showed the government in a poor light, and shed light on
the RPPs, which had been its solution to the power crisis. On Thursday,
when he continued his arguments, Makhdoom Faisal spoke about the age of
the RPPs, prompting Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry, heading the two-member bench, to remark that the court was
looking for an expert to conduct on-site inspections.
The Makhdooms argument that due diligence was not carried out by
the federal government is an almost sure indication of something that he
was careful to avoid doing, pleading his membership of the Cabinet, that
someone was making money through corruption. This impression was
further strengthened by his noting the transfer of a Water and Power
Secretary, prompting the Chief Justice to remark that this was not the first
instance of an officer doing his job honestly, being transferred or suspended.
What Chief Justice Chaudhry did not say was that such transfers might

525

mean that money was not being made by someone who could arrange
the transfer.
The next general election is around the corner, and the government is
facing an opposition campaign based on the very shortages the RPPs were
supposed to remedy and on the corruption that allowed them to become part
of the problem, and not of the solution as planned. The circumstances do not
allow it the luxury of awaiting the outcome of the case. The energy shortage
problem must be solved, and immediately, if it is to have a positive impact
on the electorate before the general election. The issue of Makhdoom
Faisal appearing before the court against his own government is an
issue that can be taken up with him himself, or the leaders of his party, as
he is part of the coalition, not of the PPP.
On 30th October, David Wood observed: The new Pentagon report is
the latest in a series of semi-annual reports mandated by Congress since
2008. In contrast to past reports, this one does not use the phrase fragile
and reversible to characterize progress in the war. That, said the senior
official, was a deliberate effort to suggest that US initiatives in Afghanistan,
including the clearing out of Afghan safe havens, seizing of Taliban arms
caches and disruption of their supply lines to Pakistan, are having a
permanent effect.
Although the new Pentagon report is more upbeat, it reflects the
generally dismal security trends detailed in independent assessments of
the programs in the war. A report by the International Crisis Group, for
instance, examined security incidents around the country as well as progress
in building Afghan security forces and governmental capacity. The report
concluded that the US-led intervention in Afghanistan is failing. Time is
running out before the international community transfers control to Kabul by
the end of 2014, and many key objectives are unlikely to be achieved by
then, the report said.

REVIEW
The petitions on issues related to poor governance have virtually
flooded the court rooms of superior judiciary. The regime, however, seemed
unperturbed as long as activities of judges of the Apex and High courts
remained restricted to court rooms and it stood fast on not implementing any
verdict that could hamper the process of democratic revenge.

526

When hard pressed by the street agitation it could release some funds
to cool the tampers temporarily and buy more time for its activities. It did so
to end the load shedding of electricity, but having done that it had second
thought of such unprofitable use of public money. It thought of curtailing all
activities involving electricity consumption.
The Executive has not implemented a single verdict in letter and spirit
and instead has scored numerous successes in its confrontation with
Judiciary. The courts depend entirely on forceful prosecution for
enforcement of law and that has been denied by the Executive, because in
most cases it has been the accused. Therefore, the blind-folded judges have
been groping in the dark.
The Executive has also made other moves to isolate the superior
judiciary. It has worked on drawing the Bar away from the Bench and
recently a candidate supported by the regime has been able to defeat
judiciary obsessed candidate for top slot of the SCBA. It has also been able
to woo the lower judiciary.
A session judge saved yet another Prime Minister for bright future of
Pakistan by acquitting Moonis Elahi in NICL case. His acquittal proved that
dispensation of justice depends largely on the Executive (the rulers).
Judiciary is just one of the tools in this context, which is tasked to redress
once a wrong has been committed and that too within the parameters spelled
out by the laws of the land and evidence produced before it.
The judiciary is dependent on the Executive even to play that limited
role in the vast sphere of dispensation of justice in the society. Without an
elaborate arrangements for enacting just laws, enforcement of laws so
legislated, producing flawless prosecution once a law has been breached and
implementing court orders once a verdict has been passed; it is impossible to
dispense justice.
Without the incessant support of the Executive the courts of justice are
rendered mere courts of law. The manner in which the Executive tempered
with evidence in Moonis Elahi case, which could be called Moonis vs Zafar
Qureshi, proved that Executive can render the courts incapable of even
acting as courts of law.
Resultantly, Executive has been emboldened to tread the path of
confrontation. The continuous defiance has pushed the Superior Judiciary on
to back foot. The Chief Justice of Pakistan, despite frequent boasting to the
contrary, has not been able to punish a single politician on the charges of

527

corruption. Perhaps, he too gave more weightage to the law of necessity than
the law of land.
That was why that during the hearing of RPPs case, the Chief Justice
cautioned the federal minister Faisal Saleh Hayat when he told the court
about the magnitude of corruption by saying that what he said could become
part of the court verdict. The Honourable Chief Justice created an
impression as if all that is said in the court does not influence the judges
decision-making. Factors out of the court could be more influential.
When criminals are in abundance in rank and file of the Executive,
such caution becomes essential for the judges interested in continuing
serving the country; whether the justice is dispensed or not. In such
circumstances the people will find justice elusive even in the presence of
honest judges.
The dispensation of justice has been odd; as odd as has been evident
from Raymond Davis going scot-free after killing two Pakis at a busy
market place and Qadri getting two death sentences for killing one. And the
judges in either case getting guaranteed security; one proceeding on long
leave and the other shifted to Saudi Arabia with his family.
Hopes for change were revived when three rallies were held in Lahore
and Karachi in as many days and PTI had put up better show as compared to
PML-N and MQM-PPP combine. Whereas the MQM rally in Karachi was a
well-practiced ritual more like a drilled out compulsory parade, the PTI rally
in Lahore was reflective of raw sentiment of masses in search of a leader.
This rekindled the hopes for change of people like Roedad Khan.
1st November, 2011

RAY OF HOPE
528

The superior judiciary of Pakistan kept pretending that it was

dispensing justice. During the period it heard two major cases in addition to
suo moto notice of Pakistan Railways. In NICL case the apex court kept
beating the trail of the snake called Moonis Elahi that had made his escape
good. In Rental Power Plants scam the court, however, ordered recovery
Rs4.5 from one company, but no culprit was punished.
Earlier, a British court had sent three Pakistani cricketers to jail on
charges of corruption as if reminding Pakistani judges how important
punishment is, apart from recoveries, in dispensation of justice. The message
escaped the notice of ever vigilant Chief Justice of Pakistan, who lectured
the participants of NDU advising them to stay away from corridors of civil
power, allowing the democratically elected people to enjoy fruits of their
efforts. He also reminded them of the consequences as per Article 6 of the
Constitution, if ever they dared disrupting democratic dispensation.
On political front, Zulfikar Mirza kept irking the Scoundrel in Exile
whose gang in Pakistan complained to the Resident Scoundrel to restrain his
buddy. Mirza went to England to give evidence to London Police for the
crimes committed by MQM chief in and outside Pakistan, including the
murder of Imran Farooq.
Amid the gloomy atmosphere of Pakistan Imran Khan appeared over
the horizon as ray, nay, as Star of Hope. He has challenged the forces of
status quo, which have started closing their ranks against him. These forces
were trying to portray him as corrupt as are they.

NEWS
On 31st October, Chief Justice remarked Pakistan is stepping back
rather than moving ahead despite being a nuclear state. He gave these
remarks while hearing of suo motu notice of non-payment of pension and
salaries to railway employees. The CJP observed corruption had destroyed
railway department.
Former Railway minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said the present
management is responsible for destruction of railway department. Railway
technical staff has been sent on leave forcibly and grade-16 employee has
been allowed to work in place of grade-19. Railway scrap has been sold out
at throwaway rate and influential persons are occupying railway land, he
told. Situation in railway can be improved if illegally occupied land is
recovered, he submitted.
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The CJP remarked what a plight of railway was that a bulb costing
Rs400 had been purchased at the rate of Rs700. How such type of corruption
would be contained, he questioned. The electric cable which was laid up to
Khanewal had been stolen due to negligence. CJP directed that cases against
corrupt officers be sent to NAB. The hearing of the case has been adjourned
till November 10.
In RPPs case, Director Pepco on the instruction of the court
submitted a comprehensive statement. The Chief Justice after the
examination of the statement said that criminal negligence was committed in
awarding RPPs to the companies, as the projects were given in haste. He
said why have the government experts ignored the facts of gas shortage and
increase in fuel prices, due to which many companies are failed to generate
power to its full capacity.
Justice Khilji Arif Hussain said that the electricity produced from
Karkey cost Rs44 per unit. Khawaja Tariq Rahim, representing the Ministry
of Water and Power, defended Karkey high rate per unit saying the Karkey
has not been given letter of credit for fuel. He added if the company
generates power more than 151MW, which is producing presently, would
cost it less and the price per unit would come down to Rs22 per unit. He said
due to economic slowdown the fuel could not be provided to the company so
that they could generate electricity to its full capacity of 231MW. Justice
Khilji said when the government was aware that it could provide fuel for
producing only 51MW then why had it contracted with Karkey for 231MW
generation?
The Chief Justice asked Tariq Rahim it was not always good to
defend, but the government has to appraise the court why was so much
concession granted to Karkey. He said that the money was paid to Karkey in
advance, while the cabinet gave its approval after three months.
While hearing the petition filed by Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani
regarding recovery of billions of dollars from the accounts of Pakistani
politicians, bureaucrats, army generals, judges and businessmen the Chief
Justice said that though the title of the petition has been changed but no
amendment is made in its body. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain stated the
objective of the petitioner is noble and if he really wanted to help the
country in recovery of national wealth from foreign banks then he should
raise the issue in the Parliament as well.
American news media gave prominent coverage to Imran Khans huge
anti-government rally that was termed as a signal of political shift in
530

Pakistan. The Washington Post said, Tens of thousands of people massed to

listen to the cricket star-turned-politician in a surprising show of force that
could energies calls for anti-government protests.
Imran Khan said that country has undergone a big shift of opinion as
sapling of change has been planted and with nutrition of efforts to restore
peace and economy of country it would soon start bearing fruit. To a
question regarding political alliance with PML-N, he said that PTI could
consider the proposal if Nawaz Sharif would fulfill the demand of making
his assets public. He also said he could consider forging an alliance with
PML-N if the top leadership of the party declares their assets.
Senator Mushaidullah said PML-N was not bound to PTI Chairman
Imran Khan demands of declaring assets details but could consider dialogue
with him in the larger interest of the country. He said that PML-N leaders
have already declared their assets and further demands were uncalled for.
Unidentified gunmen fired shots at the office of PTI situated in Lahore some
window panes of the office, while PTI activists escaped the attack unhurt.
Motorcycle PTI rally was held in Jacobabad. Aftab Sherpao has said
Asif Zardari is bigger dictator than Pervez Musharraf and he has failed to
deliver democracy pledged by him. Meanwhile, three people, including a
leader of a religious party were killed and two others injured in incidents of
violence in Karachi and three more dengue patients died in Lahore.
Next day, the Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that Rental Power
Projects (RPPs) awarded in violation of the rules and in non-transparent
manner could be canceled. Chief Justice said: We have to see whether Pepra
rules were followed and there was transparency in award of the RPPs
contracts. We will not allow national wealth to go waste.
Shahid Hamid, counsel for Walter International, informed the bench
that five out of 19 RPPs were assigned without advertisement, which
included Naudero I, Naudero II, Karkey-II, Techno E and Abbas Steel.
However, the Federal Cabinet approved these projects, he added. The CJP
remarked deviation from Pepra rules would not make it legal even if was
approved by the Cabinet or Parliament. He said issuing projects without
advertisement was clear violation of procedure.
The counsel said that the companys owner David Walter, whose
business of RPPs was in 14 countries, wanted to stay in Pakistan, adding this
shows how much Walter loves Pakistan. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain
remarked, Our people dont love this country then how a US businessman

531

could love Pakistan. Justice Khilji said it seemed the RPPs contracts to
some companies were awarded through backdoor channel.
The Chief Justice inquired from Shahid Hamid that Naudero-I started
trial in July 2011 but broke down in October 2011. Hamid said there was no
flaw in the machinery but it broke down due to grid fluctuation of 132KV
wire. Faisal Saleh contended that after the closing down of plant, Naudero-I
continued to receive payment. Khawaja Tariq Rahim, counsel for Ministry of
Water and Power, and Hamid denied that.
He conceded that there was non-compliance of some of the Pepra
rules. Khawaja Tariq Rahim said a person against whom the apex court
ordered action in the LNG and Capital Development Authority cases was
appointed secretary in a ministry headed by Faisal Saleh Hayat. The Chief
Justice said the apex court orders are flouted; adding non-implementation of
the court judgment would promote anarchy. Faisal said he had been targeted
unnecessarily, saying appointing secretary was not his authority.
Pakistan decided not to take up the final $3.7 billion tranche of an
IMF loan package after rejecting strict reform demands. PPP and MQM
agreed to draft new Local Bodies system 2011 in Sindh province. They said
that that the New Local Government System 2011 will be finalized before
November 6. PIA doubled its fares for domestic flights, what the insiders
termed a way, to open the window for the other airlines to make their
business flourish on said routes.
On 2nd November, Minister for Railways expressed annoyance over
non-release of funds in the federal cabinet meeting, saying that he would
prefer to quit if the previous pledges for funds were not fulfilled. However,
an official spokesman of the minister talking to TheNation denied that the
minister had warned of resigning.
Next day, British Judge sent three Pakistani cricketers and their agent
to jail over charges of spot-fixing and bringing bad name to game of cricket
and their country. The let down nation felt sad but satisfied over punishment
of some corrupt; the regime however decided to provide legal help to the
criminals.
At home, Raja Riaz said that he had been wrongly implicated in gas
theft case to damage his political standing. He claimed that SNGPL
disconnected gas supply to his paper factory as a result of some
misunderstanding. Meanwhile, electricity rates were increased by Rs1.77 per
unit and dengue virus claimed four more lives in Lahore.

532

On 4th November, Commissionerate system was revived as Local

Government Ordinance 2001 expired. Despite several rounds of talks, both
the ruling coalition partners PPP and MQM failed in evolving the consensus
formula of new Local Government system. Meanwhile, a banker was killed
in firing at the car of a former judge of the Supreme Court in Karachi.
In what appears to be a step towards dividing Punjab into two
provinces, Prime Minister disclosed that PPP has created a separate
organization for South Punjab for an effective organization of the party. As
Rehman Malik expressed concern about corrupt cricketers, the jail-mates
of Salman and Asif booed them for letting down Pakistan.
Next day, an ATC Rawalpindi indicted seven persons including former
CCPO Rawalpindi Saud Aziz and former SP Rawal Town Khurram Shahzad
in the Benazir Bhutto (BB) murder case. The accused denied the charges
against them on which the court instructed to present witnesses in the next
hearing on November 19.
Prime Minister Gilani challenged the rival political parties to try their
utmost to topple the government and said his party believes in democracy
and no force can topple the government. PPP and MQM failed to reach a
decision to put in place administrative system in Sindh, resulting in lapse of
LG ordinance and restoration of Commissionerate system. Observers termed
it yet another master-stroke of Zardari.
Chief Justice of LHC passed orders for withdrawing of judicial work
from two judges forthwith after they were found guilty of corruption,
dishonesty and misuse of judicial authority. Zardari told the PCB to help the
corrupt trio of cricketers. Shoe was hurled again at Musharraf near London.
On 6th November, over a dozen former federal ministers, including
Jahangir Khan Tareen, Ishaq Khakwani and Owais Khan Laghari, have
showed their willingness to make an alliance with PTI. They will formally
announce this decision soon after Eidul Azha in a press conference with PTI
chairman Imran Khan. Chairman PTI predicted that a change would take
place on the political scene some time during the next year. Meanwhile, PPP
and MQM agreed on interim LG system for Sindh. Mirza and Wasan
exchanged allegations of corruption.
On Eid Day, G A Bilour said change of ministry wont be acceptable.
On 8 November, Zulfiqar Mirza will reach London on November 12 and
meet investigation officers of Scotland Yard on November 14. He will
produce evidences against MQM and its chief Alatf Hussain for their
involvement in crimes. Meanwhile, Wasan termed Mirza don of
th

533

extortionists. Shahbaz Sharif said the plunderers and looters of the country
would have to make accountable for providing basic amenities to the people.
He was addressing an Eid gathering at model colony, Shahbaz Nagar, made
for the residents of the Katchi Abadis in Faisalabad. Meanwhile, Waleed
Iqbal, grand son of Allama Iqbal joined PTI.
Next day, PML-N rejected the governments invitation for dialogue,
saying talks would only be held on early election. Altaf Hussain urged youth
to bring revolution; no matter under which flag they unite. Rangers arrested
32 suspects in different parts of Karachi during last 24 hours. Mirza
threatened to get hold of Wasan and thrash him on roadside.
On 10th November, the Supreme Court heard the suo moto notice case
of non-payment of pensions and salaries to the railways employees.
Chairman/Secretary Pakistan Railways Javed Ahmed submitted that a
comprehensive plan has been chalked out for the rehabilitation of out-oforder locomotives for which they needed Rs28 billion. The Chief Justice
dismissed the report and remarked that with Rs28 billion the new Railways
Department could be established and they need that amount for the repair of
the engines. The court allowed former federal minister for Railways Sheikh
Rashid and Senator Zafar Ali Shah to become party in Railways
rehabilitation case.
Next day, Imran Khan reiterated his stance that free and fair elections
are impossible under Zardari and if any attempt is made to rig elections, PTI
will go for civil disobedience across the country. He said this while
addressing media persons at the residence of Masood Sharif Khattak, who
joined PTI. Reportedly, divisions have emerged among PTI ranks on the
issue of inclusion of traditional politicians in the party. One group is
opposing taking in the old faces while another is supporting their entry citing
their electoral potential.
Nawaz Sharif urged the masses to brace up for the change, saying that
giving more time to the corrupt rulers was not in countrys interest. He was
talking to a PML-N overseas delegation. London Police said two persons
were arrested in Karachi in connection with murder of Imran Farooq. They
had traveled to UK on student visa. Sindh Police has said nothing about
arrests made two months ago. Five people died of dengue fever.
On 12th November, Chief Justice said any step taken by the armed
forces without the direction of the federal government would be considered
unconstitutional. Addressing to the participants of National Defence
University course, the Chief Justice said that the Supreme Court declared in
534

its July 31 verdict that anybody who would violate the constitution would be
considered as traitor.
A group of disgruntled PPP legislators from Multan is going to form a
bloc in Punjab Assembly in protest against wrong party policy and
leaderships discriminatory attitude towards them. A PPP legislator from
Multan, Malik Muhammad Abbas Raan announced to form forward bloc,
claiming support of some 20 party MPAs from the southern region. Zardari
wanted removal of dissident voices.
PML-N warned army and ISI to stop supporting PTI. Gilani said that
the Federal Government did not need to show muscles to prove its strength
through rallies. Gunmen attacked police in Rawalpindi district courts and
made their escape good along with three detainees; four people were killed
in the firing.
Next day, Gialni warned the Opposition that unconstitutional steps
against an elected government would not be tolerated. His governments
reconciliatory policy should not be construed as weakness, asking the
elements looking for change to move no-confidence motion in the
parliament or launch impeachment process against the president. But he
cautioned all this should come in light of the constitution.
Imran Khan said that both PML-N and PPP want continuation of
status quo in the country. Announcing the PTIs next rally in Karachi, he said
it would be an effort to shun ethnic divisions among the dwellers of the
countrys biggest metropolis. In an interview to CNN-IBN Imran said that
the Kashmir issue has the potential of taking Pak-India relations back to
square one. He said the matter should be set aside for future as the two
countries work on confidence-building measures. It is the only issue that is
stopping the two countries from getting closer, he added.
On 14th November, Shah Mehmood Qureshi resigned from partys
basic membership as well as from the National Assembly seat and asked the
members of the Parliament, particularly from Opposition, to follow the suit
and launch struggle for fresh elections. Talking to media persons outside the
Parliament House Qureshi said he would spell out his future political course
at a public rally to be organized at Ghotki on November 27.
He gave a long charge sheet of failures on the part of government
which included: burying political philosophy of Benazir Bhutto; turning the
Parliament into a redundant entity; non-implementation of unanimous
resolutions adopted by Parliament and APC; indifference towards arresting
the killers of Benazir Bhutto; failure in reviving the economy; failure to
535

revive various state entities like Pakistan Railways, PIA, Wapda and
Pakistan Steel Mills;
He urged all the MPs, particularly those from Opposition benches,
who felt pain for the sufferings of the people to resign and launch struggle
for the fresh public mandate to serve their cause. He demanded future
elections under neutral interim setup and independent Election Commission.
Chief Justice sought opinion of the AG for transferring the
investigation of the alleged huge scam in NICL from FIA to NAB and also
summoned the detail of Moonis Elahi case. During the proceeding, the Chief
Justice hinted that all the cases in NICL scam would be sent to NAB and
prima facie if any officer is found involved in the case then the action could
be taken against him as well. The court also directed the AG to submit
details regarding the foreign visit of Moonis Elahi, the main accused in the
in NICL scam.
Babar Awan dispelling the impression that Moonis Elahi case was not
heard properly. The court inquired from the AG and director (legal) FIA why
the certified copy of the judgment of Special Judge Banking Court in
Moonis acquittal was not acquired so far. The AGP did not respond to the
court query when asked whether the government wanted to challenge the
release of Moonis Elahi.
Zafar Qureshi informed the court that on 12-10-2010 he was asked to
probe NICL scam, when he was Director FIA, Lahore. He said after the
arrest of Habib Ullah Warraich there was too much pressure on him to
release him, but he refused. He said therefore he was transferred, but on the
intervention of the Supreme Court when he resumed investigation into NICL
he arrested manager Al-Tahoor. He told that again pressure was exerted on
him to release the manager of the company.
He said he has no personal interest in the case and added that neither
he received cooperation from the DG FIA nor Interior Secretary in the
investigation. The former additional DG FIA said: My and my familys lives
are in danger. A fake FIR has been registered against me at Golra Police
Station on 27th October 2011 that I have not given plot to former SP Raja
Ayub in the housing scheme of National Police Foundation as an MD NPF.
He said that the Moonis Elahis name was on the ECL, besides that he
was sent abroad. He said Director Lahore, who has been made in-charge of
the team probing the NICL, has on a fictitious letter got defroze Rs20
million bank accounts of Moonis Elahi. He said that still Rs420 million have
to be recovered from Mohsin Warriach and other accused.
536

Wasim Sajjad prayed to the court that Zafar Qureshis application in

which he had alleged that Ch Shujaat Hussain, Pervaiz Elahi, Wajahat
Hussain, Moonis Elahi and Mohsin Warriach should be held responsible he
if dies unnatural death. He said that the remarks in application are biased
against his clients and the purpose of it to defame the Chaudhrys family. He
requested that Qureshi should tell how he developed the notion that above
persons after his life. Zafar Qureshi informed the court that he can share the
information about the matter only in in-camera session.
Qaim Ali Shah snatched the portfolio of Jails Department from PPPs
provincial minister Sadiq Memon. Memon was among the provincial
ministers and MPAs who held meetings with partys dissident leader Dr
Mirza. Agriculture expert, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema joined PTI.
Next day, Chief Justice ordered the FIA Director and Assistant
Director (Legal), Lahore, to return money or go to jail, while hearing the
NICL scam case. They had defroze worth Rs20 million bank accounts of
Moonis Elahi. The court said the amount was defrozen without assigning
any reason or justification, knowing well that matter was pending in the
court.
The amount was frozen during the tenure of Zafar Qureshi, before his
suspension in April this year. The court observed that the record of the order
to defreeze Rs20 million was not available even in the FIA Zonal Head
Office, Lahore. The order will remain in the scrutiny of the judicial review,
said Justice Hani.
The Chief Justice expressed concern that despite apex courts
direction, the FIA has not updated National Accountability Bureau about the
case. The court allowed Justice (Retd) Ghulam Rabbani to continue holding
the inquiry into giving advertisement in print and electronic media
criticizing the superior courts. Attorney General Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq
informed that Justice Rabbani before his retirement heard the case in his
chamber and recorded the statement of four persons.
Waseem Sajjad, who appeared on behalf of Chaudhrys, argued Ch
Shujaat Hussain liked the idea of Justice Tariq that the matter regarding
Zafar Qureshi should be resolved amicably outside the court. He said Ch
Shujaat had no personal grudge against Zafar Qureshi. The Chief Justice
said if both the parties agreed upon it then they would dismiss the case.
Another bench said only 100 megawatts electricity was being
generated despite billions of rupees were paid to RPPs. The Chief Justice
said that nobody was bothered about national wealth as it was being wasted;
537

Supreme Court will not tolerate wasting national wealth, he remarked

reiterating that government had no policy regarding RPPs. He said that the
court would not spare those misappropriated the money.
Khawaja Asif said that his party members might tender their
resignations from the National Assembly within two months. Qamar Zaman
Kaira termed the elements trying to hinder Senate election as foes of
democracy and he slammed Shah Mehmood Qureshi. He said that all the
elections would be held in time and by polls would also be conducted soon
on the Qureshis constituency.
S M Qureshi accused Zardari of putting pressure on him to accord
diplomatic status to Raymond Davis. Dr Israr Shah and Nabeel Gabol of
PPP met Imran Khan. SHC accepted bail plea of MQM-Hs leader Afaq
Ahmed and ordered government not to arrest him again. Dr Mirza left for
London via Dubai with evidence against MQM and Altaf including the case
of murder of Imran Farooq; he asked the people of Pakistan for his success.
On 16th November, MQM leaders met PM and CM Sindh to convey
their concerns over display of weapons by guards of Mirza, according of
official protocol to him and departure of Sharjeel Memon along with him to
London. The real concern remained unstated, i.e. stopping him from
exposing MQM and Altaf Hussain. Earlier Gilani had stated in the
Parliament that Dr Mirza and We are part of the same family and we own
each other. Altaf Hussain rejected allegations leveled by Mirza.
The complainant, Khalid Hussain, who got registered a case against
MQM-H Chief Afaq Ahmed and his four party activists for kidnapping and
torturing him last month, was wounded in an incident of firing near his
residence located in Landhi area.
Renowned educationist and former advisor to chief minister Punjab
Pirzada Rahat Quddusi joined PTI. Tareen Group was told to join as
individuals not as a group. Nawaz Shaif said that he will definitely meet
Shah Mahmood Qureshi. He said that PML-N will support the revival of
Bahawalpur State.
The Federal Cabinet decided to devise a joint political strategy by
taking all the coalition partners onboard to effectively respond to those
political parities, which want political change before Senate elections. The
regime planned to increase the power tariff by four per cent in the first
phase, as it has to further increase the tariff by some eight to 10 per cent
during the ongoing financial year.

538

Next day, Chief Justice ordered the power companies, which have
failed to produce electricity, to return 14 per cent mobilization advance with
mark-up. Reshma Rental Power Plant returned Rs2.5 billion, which it took
as 14 per cent mobilization advance. However, the Chief Justice questioned
who would pay 16 per cent mark-up on the mobilization it obtained and
ordered the Reshma to return the mark-up money. Managing Director of
Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) Rasul Khan Mahsud informed
the court that he had written letters to the banks for return of guarantee
payment, but they paid no heed.
The CJP inquired how the banks could refuse to return advance
payment. The PEPCO official informed the court that the WAPDA paid
Customs duties of the machinery imported for RPPs project. The Chief
Justice remarked what kind of projects those were that WAPDA paid the
taxes for them. He said if the machinery for RPPs came into the country in
the name of WAPDA then it should not go back. The MD PEPCO said many
companies besides receiving 14 per cent mobilization advance have not
produced electricity.
The court asked the MD PEPCO why you have not taken action as
you are also criminally liable. Rasul said there was energy crisis in the
country and there was no other solution except RPPs, adding, but the fuel
was not given. The Chief Justice said that you have proved it with fact and
figures.
Federal Minister for Housing and Works and PML-Q central leader
Faisal Saleh Hayat argued he has no personal interest in the case, but when
he had seen the whole nation was in darkness and the government was doing
nothing then he wrote a letter to Chief Justice. Dispelling the impression that
Cabinet had approved the RPPs, he said there was no fault of Cabinet as it
approved what the Ministry of Water and Power submitted before it, adding,
the Ministry has misled and submitted wrong summaries before the Cabinet
as regards RPPs. The RPPs should be cancelled as these were approved in
violation of Cabinet decision, he said.
Faisal said out of 19 RPPs five plants were given to Iqbal Z Ahmed,
while the National Bank of Pakistan ex-President Ali Raza, who sanctioned
loans for RPPs was rewarded with LPG contracts. He said the government
does not have money to provide fuel to IPPs but ready to pay Rs95 billion to
Karkey and Reshma power plants Rs 60 billion to Karkey and Rs35 billion
to Reshma over five years. He said the cost of IPPs per megawatt is $0.3
million, which the government did not finance but ready to pay $2.2million

539

per megawatt to the rental companies that after 5 years will take back their
plants machineries with them.
Khawaja Asif informed that Nandipur and Chicho Ki Malian projects
total power generation capacity is 950MW and per megawatt would cost
$750,000. He said though the power production by these plants is expensive,
but the plants are Pakistans assets.
The PML-Q leader said as stated by Akram Sheikh that Karkey, which
is Turkish company and Turkey is friend of Pakistan and love its people. He
said if this is true then they should gift this plant to Pakistan as the UAE has
done. The UAE government gave power plant to Pakistan free, but that plant
could not be installed yet. He prayed to the court that besides canceling the
contract all the people, involved in irregularities and non-transparency of
RPPs, should also be punished.
Anwar Kamal, amicus curiae arguing the case said Karkey instead of
signing agreement with Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB), to whom
it had submitted bids, signed agreement with Lakhra Power Generation
Company Limited, which is a violation. He said that Federal government has
no power to lay down any guidelines, which are inconsistent with the
NEPRA Act. He said it was written in the rules that if the companies failed
to comply their contract would be terminated. He said instead of terminating
the contracts their time of CODs were extended.
Prime Minister met Chaudhry Shujaat and stipulated action against
Faisal Saleh Hayat. Gilani said he was being pressed by his party leadership
and members to act against Mr Hayat who petitioned a case in Supreme
Court against his own government for corruption and mismanagement in the
setting up of RPPs. The PM said the housing minister was free to carry on
with the case but not before resigning from his current portfolio.
Four newly-appointed judges of the Supreme Court were sworn in and
the Registrar wasted no time in fixing the date of hearing of appeal against
NRO verdict on 21st November which had been pending for want of
minimum of 17 judges in the bench.
MQM delegation met Zardari; Farooq Sattar conveyed to the
President the concerns of MQM about the statements and actions against
their party by some elements associated with the PPP. The President assured
the MQM delegation that the PPP valued its partnership with the MQM and
added that this partnership would continue in future as well.

540

Zulfiqar Mirza handed over evidence against the MQM to the

Scotland Yard. Mirza along with Lord Nazir Ahmed met the anti-terrorism
branch officials of the Scotland Yard at a police station located in Western
London. Later, he told media that he had offered assistance in the Imran
Farooq murder case, which had been accepted by the Scotland Yard. He was
accompanied by Lord Nazir. Meanwhile, two of the briefings by Mirza were
disrupted by men planted by MQM.
Qaim Ali Shah said that Peoples Party has nothing to do with Zulfiqar
Mirzas acts. He announced suspension of MPA Imdad Pitafi from party
membership saying it was message for friends. Sharjeel was summoned
back from London and served a notice. On return he said he went to London
on private visit.
Nawaz Sharif while talking to media at Sukkur Airport said corruption
was everywhere and no one was taking action against corrupt officials, but
he said time has come to get rid of Zardari regime, which has provided
nothing except problems to the people. Earlier, speaking at Shikarpur, he
demanded bringing the killers of Hindu doctors to justice, saying the
government has failed in protecting lives of the people. Raja Riaz dubbed
PML-N as Zina-League over sex scandal of Dost Mohammad Khosas.
Imran Khan while fearing the possibility of rigging in the elections to
be held under Zardari-led PPP warned that rigging attempts would invite
bloodshed. He made this warning while addressing a Press conference at his
residence on Thursday on the occasion of joining of several former
Parliamentarians and district leaders into the PTI, who belong to District
Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib and Jaranwala. Musharraf said PTI chief Imran
Khan is the best of the lot of politicians.
On 18th November, Sindh Assembly passed a resolution moved by
MQM, condemning derogatory remarks against Altaf Hussain and Zardari;
the Scoundrel in Exile and Resident Scoundrel. Earlier, Zulfiqar Mirzas
name was included in the resolution, but it was deleted in the last moment
after talks between MQM and PPP.
Reshma Rental Power Company deposited Rs4.68 billion in the
national treasury after Supreme Court issued a stern warning to pay back all
the money paid to it in advance with interest within 24 hours. Prime Minister
ruled out any unconstitutional change in the country. Qureshi invited Imran
at Ghotki public meeting. Imran Khan said PPP and PML-N will soon join
hands against him.

541

Next day, the Federation decided to engage former law minister Dr

Babar Awan in the NRO review petition. Sharjeel Memon clarified that there
was no pressure on him for tendering resignation from his office, adding that
he would continue friendship with Zulfiqar Mirza.
Zulfiqar Mirza said that Altaf Hussain has inflicted more damage on
the country than Osama bin Laden and expressed his regret over Britains
harbouring a killer. I do admit I stood with Zardari for many years.
Leading him (Zardari) to right path is not my duty, he said, adding that he
was in no position to hang President Zardari.
He said that one day all members of the party would be compelled to
tender their resignations from the party if it did not show tolerance and
respect to democracy in the party and their point of view. He said that
Sharjeel Memon was ousted as Minister which is unconstitutional step of the
party because the Information Minister had only traveled with him.
On 20th November, PML-N put up matching show at Dhobi Ghat
(place for washing dirty linen), Faisalabad. Though Nawaz avoided direct
attacks on Imran his aides, however, especially Nisar Chaudhry, hurled
accusations of corruption at Imran while mentioning his farm house near
Islamabad.
Senator SM Zafar said that time has come for the accountability of
rulers of the country. MQMs Rauf Siddiqui wrote a letter to British Prime
Minister seeking ban on Zulfiqar Mirzas activities in London. Fiery Mirza
continued his war of the word with MQM, threatening that he would move
to international court of justice if justice was not served.

VIEWS
On 4th November, M A Niazi wrote: Just as the PPP was originally a
party of rebellion, so is the PTI today. But whereas the PPP campaigned on
the latest Western ideology of leftist, the PTI wants an Islamic identity, and
this is what has caused both the PPP and the PML-N to believe that it will
cut into PML-N votes. The PML-N as it stands has inherited the 1947
Leaguer who now constitutes the anti-PPP vote, and is opposed to the
anarchy and disorder it represents. The PPP voter is not just against
authority, or in favour of the PPPs socialism, but also likes the disorderly
style. The PTI, by having pop musicians perform at the rally, did not
just do something politically expected, but also appealed to the PPP
voter.
542

The PTI, by doing the things that appeal to the PPP voter, while
working in the PML-N stronghold, seems to be doing something that the
PPP itself apparently cannot do, which is fight it in the urban centres of
Punjab. At the same time, the PPP seems to be depending on the MQM for
the urban centres of Sindh, which was symbolized by the rally in Karachi,
while Imran was having his. That indicates how much the PPP has given up.
It began as a party strong in the urban area, though it never was strong in
Karachi. Now it seems to be concentrating on areas where it has a proven
track record of winning, rural Sindh and South Punjab.
Imran would have been in politics for nearly 20 years, by the time of
the next election. Compared to the last person to have taken the country
(then West Pakistan) by storm, Bhutto, he has not made much progress,
perhaps, because while Bhutto could stake his claim in a politically empty
arena, Imran found two already established parties occupying the space
he wanted. One rally may well be no indication of what is to come, but
though Imrans shoulders may be broad, the PPP should not rely on them to
do what it cannot. Also, the PPP should remember that Imran wants to
replace it was well as the PML-N, and would not want to play the role in
Punjab that the MQM seems content to play in Sindh, of being a sort of
urban adjunct of the PPP.
A R Jerral opined: Imran Khan was generally taken by his
opponents and opinion makers politically of no significance. He was
dismissed, as a cricket icon with little political maturity. It was generally
said that leading a team, building a hospital or establishing an educational
institution does not compare with running a country. However, the Khan one
saw and heard at the podium of the rally was a different personality; a
mature and confident leader, who understood the maladies haunting this
nation. He spoke on problems besetting the country with maturity and
confidence, which conveyed a definite message that can potentially be
translated into concrete action plans.
Jerral discussed the points mentioned by Imran in his speech and then
concluded: Khan has, indeed, arrived with a loud bang and its
reverberations are being felt across the political spectrum of Pakistan. If
he can give a political programme, which ensures the rule of law and dignity
of life in the country, he has it made. We, the silent majority, need security;
affordable and cheap justice; quality education for our children, which
prepares them to progress in life; and opportunities to earn an honest living.
We need reasonable ease and comforts where we can make something of our
lives and can claim with pride that we belong to a dignified nation where no
543

Rambos can come and flout our laws and society. It is a tall order. If he can
deliver this, the entire nation would follow him even to hell. Now, PTIs
Chief needs to be specific and definite in his programmes and should work
in that direction.
There is one danger though. He has challenged the forces of status
quo. These forces are not going to take it lightly. The last time when
another Khan had threatened them, they responded with the military might.
They can go the same route again. Our history shows that the martial laws,
in Pakistan, were a mixture of the military and the feudal, and were later
joined by city elites. The political forces, in fact, used it to stem the social
change that the masses needed. These forces will launch a vigorous counter
effort to defeat the force of change. The time ahead will be critical for
Pakistan in its internal political dynamics.
On 6th November, Jalees Hazir commented: To begin with, the party
will have to do the hard work of building upon these ideas (expressed by
Imran in his speech) and coming up with detailed blueprints on each one
of them (to walk the talk). That is where the leader will have to take a
backseat and bring in the experts and technocrats, who understand and agree
with the PTI goals. Economists whose understanding goes beyond IMF
tranches and World Bank loans must prepare a comprehensive strategy to
deal with the withdrawal systems that will set in once these drips come off.
Similarly, foreign policy experts must be ready with a diplomacy-strategy to
deal with the consequences of saying goodbye to the global bully, who
doesn't know how to take no for an answer and who is most likely to create
problems for us when we decide to walk away. What PTI needs are
comprehensive plans and strategies complete with details and not just
slogans about its policy direction. And the time to do it is now. The PTI
leadership should not wait till it achieves its goal of forming the
government.
The party must focus on translating its popular support into
electoral success by creating a crop of trained political workers, who
could take on the entrenched political parties in elections, matching their
knowledge of the electoral process and with the ability to counter the many
tricks they have perfected to steal elections. The PTI has done useful
groundwork by exposing the bogus votes on electoral lists, and it must
strengthen its efforts to make the electoral process free and fair. Other than
pushing for the reform of the process, a political cadre well-versed in the ins
and outs of elections is essential to achieve that goal. With Imran Khan's
towering personality leading the show, there is danger of PTI becoming
544

another personality cult. This calls for democracy within the party and
inculcating the spirit of collective leadership whereby decisions are taken
within a consultative and democratically elected institutionalized party
structure.
On 11th November, Tariq Kashmiri observed: The news of the failure
of autonomous bodies, attached departments and other government
functionaries are far from few. However, the most unfortunate experience
of this PPP government is that they seem to be indifferent towards some
of the very vital challenges faced by Pakistan. Agreed that they inherited a
huge baggage of problems from the decade-long military rule, but what is
most appalling is the fact that there is not even a thought to put things right.
While it is evident that one of the major issues in the next elections will be
that of governance, the PPP regime is not interested in any effort to deal with
the issues. One-by-one the public sector corporations are defaulting and the
PPP governments response to the problem is; post a notoriously corrupt
person as head of the already fading organization.
Also, it is time now to break the myth that the PML-N is the sole
custodians of the anti-PPP vote. First of all, there is no ideological
distinction between the two leading political parties of Pakistan. Gone are
the days when the PPP was the torchbearer of anti-establishment, anti-samraj
politics in Pakistan. While the PML-N never had any clear ideology; no
matter how vociferously they claim, it is hard to believe that they have
revolted against the establishment. Shahbaz-Nasirs nocturnal rendezvous
with the top brass is a case in point. Both parties have no clear economic
agenda, foreign policy guidelines or governance features. As with the PPP,
one can fault the PML-N on so many grounds; the reality is that there is no
marked difference between the two parties.
Those who believe that the PPPs vote bank is intact, or will
remain unaffected, are living in a fools paradise. Imran, in his October
30 speech, very rightly said that this party is not Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos party
anymore. The job that even Ziaul Haq could not do is being done by the
present PPP leadership. Undoubtedly, the PPP will suffer badly in Punjab,
Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is not mere speculation; the omens are
not good for the PPP. Their voters were either from the very poor segments
of society, or liberal minded democrats, who want Pakistan to be a
democratic, modern and pragmatic State. The leadership has failed its core
support groups. They are now looking towards alternates; in Imran they see
a ray of hope.

545

The problems that Pakistan is facing today require a leader, who

can inspire the masses. Who is charismatic enough to channel the energy of
youth into meaningful and productive human resource? Imran has the
personality, patience and charm to motivate people. I think it is time for the
change of guards; the citizens of Pakistan are no longer ready to give another
chance to the tested lot, we need a fresh start with no baggage. We need an
honest man at the helm; our country cannot afford to take another chance
with the corrupt, inefficient and incompetent lot. We need hope and we need
change, those in doubt must remember that hesitation is not a trait required
at the defining moments of history. May Allah save Pakistan from the
coalition of robber barons!
Next day, Economist wrote: As a magnificent fast bowler, Imran
Khan terrorized batsmen. Now a politician, he told an adoring crowd late
last month that one of his feared in-swingers would knock out both President
Asif Zardari of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the main
opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif. The next general election is due by early
2013 but likely to be called before that, possibly as early as the spring
Mr Khan dreams of leading a mass movement of motivated
Pakistanis calling for an Augean clean-up of the countrys abysmally corrupt
politics. He adds a strong dose of conservative (though not radical) Islam to
the mix. Meanwhile he calls for Pakistan to walk away from its stormy
alliance with the United States and the war on terror: America, not the
Islamist militants, is to blame for the regions violence and instability.
The message now resonates among urban, middle-class types such as
those at the rally in Lahore. Many had not previously engaged in politics.
But Mr Khan also attracted others, from mullahs to lorry drivers. Now no
longer so young himself he turns 59 this month Mr Khan seems to
appeal especially to 18 to 30-year-olds, who make up a quarter of the
population of 177m
Mr Khans appeal is that of an anti-politician, someone not part
of the oily system. Raising funds from the public, he built a university in a
rural area and a cancer hospital where rich and poor are treated. It gives him
a moral standing above the countrys tawdry politicians. And also, say his
critics, a Messiah complex
Messiahs are not enough in Pakistans electoral system, where
elections are won constituency by constituency, and party machines are all.
The two established parties have formidable organizations. Their candidates
have the connections to provide constituents protection from predatory
546

police and the vagaries of the local courts. Mr Khan wants to overturn these
corrupt relationships. But his own political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
(Movement for Justice), has only ever managed to win a single seat. Mr
Khan predicts a political tsunami carrying him to power. But unless he
shows a firmer grasp of both organization and policy, the countrys
brilliantly awful politicians will continue to milk state funds to run their
regional fiefs. Arif Nizami, the editor of Pakistan Today, says that one
blockbuster rally does not mean that the political game has changed.
Mr Khan faces a dilemma over whether to field political outsiders
at the next election or bring familiar faces into his party. They would
help pull in some votes, says Cyril Almeida, an analyst, but would alienate
those seeking a new politics. An alliance with Mr Sharif would almost
guarantee election victory. Yet, for now, Mr Khan is squarely targeting Mr
Sharifs core supporters in the east of the country.
Opinion polls still have Mr Sharif well out in front. But they also
indicate rising support for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. One unpublished survey
in the summer put its national support at an astonishing 20%, which is level
with Mr Zardaris PPP and only eight points behind PML-N.
The poll showed that Mr Khan also has support in the north-west,
though more so in the non-Pushtun areas there. Ethnic Pushtuns, who have
borne the brunt of extremist violence, appear to be put off by what they
see as his weak stance against militants, the poll found. They are not
swayed by Mr Khans message of hope. But in Lahore last month a lot of
people seemed to believe that things can improve, and the Khan bandwagon
rolls on.
Tallat Azim observed: The emergence of a third force in politics was
the main topic of conversation in the city of Karachi as well over the Eid
holidays. People have been taken by surprise at the show of support for
PTI in Lahore and, at least, are no longer dismissive of the party as an
entity. They dont quite know what to put the finger on to account for this
change except the usual backing of the establishment and do not any longer
make predictions of this party being contained to 10 seats in the National
Assembly, as was their wont in the recent past. They also wait for PTI head
to take a clearer stand on the issue of religious extremism. PTI, if nothing
else has to its credit the disturbance of the comfort of those who thought
they and their families would continue to misrule us for ever! As a fall-out
and only by default, some attention may finally be paid by all parties to the
interests and well-being of the common citizens who hold in their hands the

547

power to elect whomever they please. Pakistanis have been led up the garden
path by every leader they have ever loved and pinned their hopes on thus far,
except Quaid-i-Azam. As Imran Khan wallows in the lime light currently, he
must plan on how not to fail them, if they decide to repose their trust in
him.
Zaheer Bhatti commented: Oration not being Imran Khans forte, he
nevertheless exuded sincerity and commitment at his historic Minar-ePakistan display on 30 October, heralding that someone of reckoning had
emerged on the political horizon of the country making headlines
worldwide. One saw the political pundits who had been so far mentioning
the Khan only in passing, suddenly making an about-turn in their analysis
and billing him as consequential
For Imran Khan and Company, the challenge lies in not merely
mustering support but to thwart and counter this sinister influence by also
reaching out this warning to the masses in a virtual door-to-door campaign.
No one doubts Khans sincerity and commitment but he needs to do the
following to clinch the issue:
A sizable work force needs to be raised and fanned out across the
country to unfold his manifesto and implementation plan at public
meeting, to every household because public meetings will only
supplement and help consolidate the gains of the actual outreach.
The popularity projections of various polls conducted so far placing
Imran ahead of others are all urban based and can be very misleading
in a society in which majority of the population lives in the rural
areas. That is where he needs to concentrate.
Bhutto had behind him a political legacy and a measured performance
during his stint in the Ayub government, plus the trauma of
segregation of East Pakistan which weighed heavily on the minds of a
shattered nation looking to hold on to any straw; hence the popular
support. Imrans challenge is greater, as he has to galvanize a people
in total disarray.
Since traditional biradari system in the rural areas will continue to
matter, as seen during elections in Azad Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan and
by-polls in various constituencies across the country, an electoral
alliance with like-minded parties would be inevitable, and one hopes
Imran is chastened not to alienate anyone and keeps his options open,
remembering that there are no angels including himself in any society.
548

 In proving that his party truly stands for the people and democracy,
not just by word of mouth but in deed, he needs to cast off the
impression of being a one-man show and prove his democratic
credentials.
No revolution can be expected without a fair election, and
nothing will change without ensuring an independent election
commission appointed with the indulgence of the Supreme Court, the armed
forces assisting it in conducting the polls process, and certainly not leaving it
to the manoeuvrable local administration. The time to move the Supreme
Court is now.
Inayatullah opined: In this depressing state of doom and gloom,
Imran Khan has emerged as a beacon of light and as a possible saviour.
He enjoys excellent credentials. He as the captain of the cricket team won
the World Cup and has been successfully running the internationally
acclaimed Shaukat Khanum Hospital. His partys recent massive public
meeting at Minar-e-Pakistan, very well attended by the youth, has suddenly
changed the political climate.
Imran Khans declared agenda to root out corruption and clean up
stables has been hailed by the people of Pakistan. His promise to rid the
country of the American imperial hold and stop fighting their war, has
struck a responsive chord amongst the people of Pakistan whose antiAmerican sentiment is already on the rise.
The Tehrik-i-Insaaf chief suddenly finds himself wooed, and lionized
by young and old carries a tremendous responsibility to steer himself,
and his party away from the choppy waters. Since the public meeting in
Lahore, he has been to China. Japan too has extended an invitation to him.
The American Ambassador has been asking for some time for a meeting.
Scores of leaders belonging to different political parties are rushing to join
his party. Much will depend on how he reconstructs his party, taking in new
members, how he responds to overtures for alliances and how he redesigns
his agenda.
Because of Imrans rise in popularity, PML-N much more than the
PPP will suffer a diminishing of its supporters in the forthcoming
elections. This will redound to PPPs advantage. But PPP itself will not
escape damage. A wiser Nawaz Sharif should have struck a cordial
relationship with Imran as essentially PML-N goals are not much at variance
with those of the Tehrik-i-Insaaf. PML-N has played its political cards
poorly and has only to blame itself for the isolation it finds itself in today.
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In addition to being clean, Imran is different from most of other

party leaders in his views about the American war against terrorism.
How he translates his approach into a viable strategy remains to be seen.
How this will affect PakistanUS relations will be determined in due
course.
A marked feature of Imran is his persona as a good Muslim. He
regards Iqbal as his spiritual and intellectual guide. This aspect of his
personality may not be viewed favourably by the liberals of Pakistan. It, on
the other hand, is bound to endear him to the masses and the religious
groups.
On 13th November, Faisal Qureshi commented: Captain Kirk is
trapped on a planet, and he screams the name Khan loudly. This is a very
popular scene from the 1982 Star Trek movie The Wrath of The Khan. 30 th
October 2011. Imran Khan stood on a stage, facing thousands of people,
with a gigantic Pakistan flag in the backdrop, and his wrath for those in
power was loud and clear. Khan boldly went where no man had gone before.
He challenged the status quo of Pakistans leadership successfully. Without
any doubt, Pakistans Khan had finally arrived.
The sights and sounds at Minar-e-Pakistan that evening were
powerful enough to put the fear of God in any sensible politician being
challenged by hundreds of thousands of people singing the national anthem,
and chanting change, in one voice. But have they actually scared anyone?
Within hours of his very successful Jalsa, Imran Khan told the press that an
alliance with Nawaz Sharif is possible if the latter declares his real assets.
Soon after, Imran Khan met with Jamat-e-Islamis Syed Munawar Hasan to
reportedly discuss an alliance.
I asked a senior member of PML-N, if PTIs epic jalsa had sent
shivers down their spine. He laughed and said it will take more than one
jalsa to break down an entity as strong and deep-rooted as Mr Nawaz Sharif.
He went on to say that inclusion of old faces in PTI is leaving gaping
holes in its defence, through which the whole movement will collapse,
and the Khan will be embarrassed.
Since then Imran Khan has rejected the possibility of alliance with
any corrupt party, and yet made the tall claim of fielding 1000 candidates
across the country, in the next general elections. In my humble opinion,
without making alliances with existing players, individual or group,
there is no way PTI could be in a position to even think about forming a

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government. Does that mean all hopes for change in the current state of
affairs are lost?
Yes, if Imran Khan falls into the trap of old-school politics, and form
of election. No, if he comes up with real change, which may include a
change in the whole system. But how would he bring the change unless he
is in power, which he cant be without the change? Catch-22?
PTIs only conclusive demand, declaration of real assets, is
completely intangible and stands no ground. Millions of dollars have already
been wasted by various versions of Ehtasab Bureau Real change needs
tangible demands. Today, with the force of millions of young Pakistanis
behind him, Imran Khan wields the power to make those demands and effect
real change. He holds the key to force even constitutional changes, new laws
to be written and implemented, and all without actually taking office.
Millions of people, standing under the one flag of Pakistan, could actually
force a change in the mode of election, which is the biggest hindrance for
any new leader to reach the corridors of power.
With the power of people behind him, Imran Khan can carve his
way right through the obstructions that are forcing him to make weak
statements like the ones mentioned above. I think, PTI should not jump into
the existing arena and take on old professional players in a game no one can
possibly win. They will all gang up under the guise of mufahimat and
coalition, and destroy any effort to dismantle their endless grip on power, at
any price. We have already seen bloodshed on our streets caused by the same
power game. Imran Khan needs to have faith in the promising youth of
Pakistan, who have the courage and will, to turn the tide. All they need is
encouragement, guidance, a plan, and a leader. PTI needs to offer new
solutions, a revolution of sorts.
In conclusion I would say that Imran Khan is standing at a moment
when history is being written. Fate has given him a clean sheet of paper,
with a pen only his hand can hold. Opportunity has opened wide, a door to
Pakistans prosperous future. If he fears the moment, he will only fumble.
But if he believes in the power of the wave behind him, and holds his
position strong, he writes history in his own hand-writing. Imran Khan
needs to overcome the temptation to play old games. Instead he needs to
rewrite the game.
Next day, A R Jerral commented: change that is being talked
about needs to be spelt out clearly; how that will be achieved and how
that will affect the masses and in what timeframe it would be brought
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about. In the absence of a clear roadmap people will assume what change
will usher in and build their own hopes and dreams. Till now the change
seems to be removal of Mr Zardari only. There are no clear plans of a system
change; only PTI chairman has hinted in this direction when he talked of
change in thana- patwari culture. This system is a bye-product of our clanclass based political culture which thrives on patronage and protection for
mutual benefits. General Musharraf had introduced local governments
loosely patterned on western county system; it did not survive for long after
his removal from office. The political tussle one observed in Sindh on this
issue is well known. Any change that will disturb the status quo will be
resisted vehemently.
Past political experience has amply demonstrated that no political
party ever returns to the legislative bodies with absolute majority; they seek
partners to form governments. And the demands of coalition partners cannot
be ignored. Even when there was absolute majority PPP in 1970s and
PML-N in 1980s they could affect no change in the system because the
members hailing from influential political families were averse to any
change. In Pakistan a change for the positive political system beneficial
to the common man will always remain elusive and at best a political
slogan to attract the vote bank.
On 15th November, Javid Husain commented: Imran Khan has
attracted a lot of attention lately because of his well-attended and successful
public meeting in Lahore. He vows to end corruption and to bring about a
change in the system of governance to redress the grievances of the people.
Unfortunately, however, he has failed so far to expand his views beyond
slogans to detailed policy measures in political, economic,
administrative, security and foreign affairs to achieve the goals that he
and PTI have set for themselves. One also does not see any visible change in
his life style in line with the policy of austerity and self reliance that our
country needs. It is, therefore, premature to pass a judgment on his future
prospects. He must understand that mere slogans will not produce the
desired results.
Finally, Imran Khan claims that he wants to change the status quo for
the betterment of the people. It appears, however, from the people gathering
around him that he is increasingly relying for support on the forces
which are the mainstay of the status quo or tainted with corruption.
There is also the allegation (admittedly unsubstantiated so far) that he is
being propped up by the military, which represents the status quo, to divide
and rule the political forces. One wonders, therefore, how in such a scenario
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he alone will be able to bring about the revolutionary changes that the
country needs. For him to have any chance of success in the realization of
his stated goals, he will have to align sooner or later with like-minded
political forces. A solo flight by him will be a sure recipe for failure.
Mohammad Jamil opined: It is indeed a good beginning, but Imran
Khan will have to come out with his programme vis--vis political
reforms, administrative reforms, judicial reforms, economic reforms, and
how those will be implemented to improve the lives of teeming millions. It
is too premature for the TIP of talking about alliances, and it should strive
every nerve to build up party cadres, which has not been done so far. Imran
Khan should not look for the heavy weights, because men of substance are
more important. And he has quite a few of them Ahsan Rashid, Hamid
Khan, Farooq Amjad Mir and Naeem-ul-Haq etc. It is in fact program of the
party and the credible leadership that inspires the people to vote for that
party. Imran Khan will be able to mobilize the people in the big cities and
get him a respectable representation. He must understand that more than 62
per cent people are living in towns, villages and tehsils the bulk of it living
in the serfdom of landed aristocracy, sardars, pirs and overbearing local
power-wielders. He has to chalk out a strategy to take on them as well
industrial robber barons.
Imran Khan has to build up a vibrant party organizational structure to
convert the wave into vote, which is indeed a very arduous task. No less
importantly, he has to give pointed specificity and detail to what he has on
offer for the masses. He should inform the nation in unequivocal terms as
to what sort of relationship Pakistan will have with the US. And whether he
would ask America to vacate the bases including the one at Jacobabad?
Secondly, what steps he envisages to revive the economy and make Pakistan
self-reliant with a view to getting rid of the dependency syndrome. Thirdly,
he should make public the measures to end mismanagement, waste and
corruption in the government and semi-government organizations like the
PIA, Pakistan Steel Mills, Oil and Gas Corporations and Railways to avert
the losses of more than Rs.1,000 billion annually to the exchequer. Finally,
he should as his team to mull over the options that Pakistan should survive
in the event America slaps biting sanctions. No doubt, it is an arduous task;
but given the will and determination of Imran Khan, it is possible.
TheNation wrote: Listening to Imran Khans views on Kashmir,
expressed in an interview with Karan Thapar of the CNN-IBNs Indian
channel on Sunday, one was, for a moment, apt to ask oneself: Do my ears
deceive me? But then soon one realized that it was, doubtless, the PTI
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Chairman who was declaring in explicit terms that he would go along with
President Zardaris point of view on the Kashmir dispute with India and
leave it to the next generation to settle. Right now, the two neighbours, he
thought, needed to develop trade relations and put in place confidence
building measures to raise the level of mutual trust. However, in the same
breath, he called Kashmir the core issue between the two countries and
believed that any terrorist incident happening in India, whether through a
militant group in the disputed state or elsewhere would undo the positive
effects of the CBMs and the commercial ties. Strange, rather confused
logic, for putting on the backburner a dispute which should be the first
issue to be put out of the way for real and lasting trust to take root.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has slogged for a good 15
years to reach the landmark of public recognition, and all this while he has
been known for maintaining consistent, principled positions on fundamental
issues the country was confronted with. He is an untried figure in politics,
but has demonstrated an uncompromising opposition to the loot and plunder
and bad governance the current political setup was widely accused of.
Though the rumblings of his arrival on the scene has been heard for quite a
while, the mammoth crowd that assembled in the grounds around Minar-ePakistan, Lahore, at the end of the last month put the seal of his coming of
age as a politician who could carry a sizeable section of the electorate with
him a worrisome prospect for already established parties. However, it
seems that the urge to get into power has taken hold of him and, in his
impatience, he is out to garner as many votes as possible, even at the cost
of principles to which he has for so long adhered. By advocating promotion
of trade with India to the neglect of Kashmir, he intends to win the hearts of
MFN lobby. With PTI casting its lot in favour of MFN to India, all
mainstream parties, except Jamaat-i-Islami and some other religious parties,
have joined hands on this issue. The Azad Kashmir Prime Minister (PPP)
has made the comment that the MFN is worrying only the media and
Punjab.
With one miscalculation, Imran Khan may have down in public
estimation. There is yet time for him to think. The nation has become sick
of having leaders who are ready to make compromises for the sake of power;
it can stand no more of them. Even if he succeeds in coming into power on
the score of the politics of compromises, history would not forgive him for
losing the chance to lead the country to a successful path.
Next day, the newspaper commented: Those who entered politics by
joining Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had done so. Now is the
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turn of those who belong to some other party. However, contrary to

expectations, the trickle that might become a flood has not occurred in
the PML-N, whose voters are targeted by the PTI, but in the PPP.
Though Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi has not formally joined the
PTI, it is a virtual certainty he will do so on November 27, announcing it at
his Ghotki public meeting. He has already completed the preparatory moves,
which include resigning from the PPP and from the National Assembly.
Though he is a more recent vintage, Makhdoom Shah Mehmood is not the
only ex-minister to be scheduled to join the PTI. Also joining, and in fact
preceding him, are Khwaja Muhammad Khan Hoti, now an ANP MNA, and
Nisar Muhammad Khan, now in the PML Likeminded. Qureshi and Hoti
make it seem that Imran will harm the PPP more than the PML, for Hoti was
a provincial minister for the PPP, and only joined the ANP after crossing the
floor. However, Nisar Muhammad Khan seems a leakage from the PML.
The departures and the destination provide similar lessons to both the
PPP and the PML-N, the immediate impact has been on the PPP, as it has
lost two sitting MNAs, one its own, and the other its allys, Makhdoom Shah
Mehmoods being from Multan means that his organizational skills and
vote-gathering potential will be used in the Southern Punjab areas which the
PPP (already a little optimistically) regards as its territory, and where it is
agitating for a new province. Both the ruling PPP and the PML-N (in
Punjab) have not got rid of the miasma of misgovernance which is giving
Imran Khan his chance. It is not the corruption issue alone which is the
reason, but the combination of inflationary domestic policies with a
foreign policy that hardly differs from abject surrender. Time is short, but
the PTI is new, so the two parties, which have hitherto dominated national
politics, still have time to reform themselves and not leave the field open for
the PTI.
Shah Mehmood, Hoti and Nisar bring a new challenge to the
PTI, how to handle those who are coming to it not because they agree with
its programme, but because they believe it will take them to power. This is
the challenge that was faced by both major parties after they came into
being, and which perhaps have led to their present situation. However, while
not an unalloyed blessing, the PTI would probably prefer to have this
problem than the one it had before, that of having no experienced politicians
on board.
Dr Sania Chaudhry opined: The next election is in the offing, as
uncertainty looms over the continuity of the government studded with
allegations of corruption and bad governance. The present government
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has so far managed to linger on, but will it be able to enter into the fourth
year of its tenure, only time will tell. Apparently, the government seems to
be blessed with a cats nine lives. But will the civil disobedience agitation
promised by Imran Khan during the rally be implemented and effective in
contrast to the lame claims of the PML-N leadership to remove the ruling
duo. The next major challenge for Chairman PTI Imran Khan will be at the
time of allotting election tickets to the party members. Will the efforts of the
supporters, who have stood behind their leader in all thick and thin since the
inception of the party, be rewarded or will traditional politicians prevail and
contest elections under its banner? These are serious challenges faced by the
leadership of PTI in the coming days. The people of Pakistan are looking at
Tehrik-i-Insaf as the last hope for the survival of the country and the manner
in which its leadership will handle these challenges will be the decisive
factor in establishing PTI as the third option in the next elections.
On 18th November, TheNation opined: It seems that former Sindh
Home Minister will cause the MQM more grief. Its reaction to his presence
in London, his impending address to the UKs House of Lords, and the
presence of Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon, has been to ask its
senior ruling partner to explain. Dr Mirza has apparently created more waves
after leaving the cabinet than within it, and his attacks on the MQM have
created the impression that his address to the UKs Upper House will be
directed against MQM chief Altaf Hussain, who has been there in exile since
1993. Mr Memons being with him lends credence to the belief that Dr
Mirza is operating with the blessings of President Asif Zardari, and
through the Sindh government. This has made Altaf Hussain call President
Zardari by phone, and a ministerial MQM delegation met Prime Minister
Yousuf Raza Gilani who assured them that an investigation into the matter
would be held. Though the Gilani government would remain in office if the
MQM was to leave, it would do so only because of the support of the PMLQ. The MQM has twice left the government before, and only PML-Q
support prevented the collapse of the government. After the second return,
which also included the resignation of Sindh Ministers and the Sindh
Governor, it was generally thought the MQM would remain in the coalition
until the time came for fresh elections, but the attacks on Altaf Hussains
person had not been made, and the refusal of the PPP to take action against
Dr Mirza had not raised suspicions within the MQM that he was acting
within the blessings of a higher authority.
The PPP must now count the cost of its clinging to both the MQM
and Dr Mirza. It must not be forgotten that it was he who left the Sindh
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cabinet; he only had his portfolio changed. The MQM itself has been
cautious in acting against Dr Mirza, who has accused it of involvement in
the target killings which plagued its stronghold of Karachi, an accusation
that cannot be dismissed because of the portfolio he held, but the PPP has
found that the alliance also means that the commissionerate systems
restoration was very much a bone of contention between the two allies. As a
result, there were a number of flip-flops by the government over the issue,
which added uncertainty to an already difficult situation.
The PPP must adopt a clear policy, and if it indeed supports Dr
Mirzas views, it should make this clear. The MQM should also make its
own position clear, and it should take a decision whether or not it can
continue in office. Whatever it decides, the government must respect it.
Dr Farooq Hassan commented: The country owes the greatest debt to the
present judiciary, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar, for the revival of the
rule of law. He stood between Musharrafs dictatorship and the democratic
forces. So, it is worthwhile to emphasize the personal contributions of our
CJ in this epoch-making struggles, in which the majority of the lawyers
stood beside him.
It is a matter of record to remember that the CJ said: The judges of
higher courts have written in their code of conduct that any judge who will
take another oath under another the PCO will be guilty of treason. The
participants of NDU were reminded by his observations that the Supreme
Court declared in its July 31 verdict that anybody who would violate the
Constitution would be considered as traitor. Thus, with the international
scene moving rapidly in which we find all kinds of bad actors having a
time of their lives, it is difficult to predict with certainty what may
actually happen.
But it is certain that President Zardari has much to fear from this
uncertainty not only there is the lingering fear of the corruption cases
Switzerland about money laundering, which he was able to thwart despite
the orders to the contrary by the Supreme Court in the NRO judgment, and
for the recent disclosures about his role in allowing the drone attacks to
continue and the question relating to the controversy surrounding the
Mansoor Ijaz affair. The other major factor is the emergence of Imran, which
must send shivers the spine of many such evil actors of today.
Dr A H Khayal wrote: Democracy in a backward country is a
concubine of the moneyed class. Pakistan is a poor country. Elections in
Pakistan are hornifica1ly costly. Logically, the masses must keep themselves
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away from such elections. But they dont do so. There is a reason. The
masses have become so much addicted to their misery that they cannot live
without becoming more and more miserable. Their misery is their only asset.
As human beings naturally desire to increase their assets, so our miserable
masses desire to increase their only asset which is misery. And this they
cannot do without sending the members of the moneyed class into
Parliament. The elected rich do not disappoint their poor electors. They
generously add to the misery of their electors. Our masses achieve their
ambition of becoming poorer than the church mouse through the national
democracy.
Our elections are a very expensive affair. Only extremely rich
Pakistanis can afford to jump into the election fray. He who is financially
impotent is ineligible for the election bout. His voting right is a mockery
of the ballot box. When an illiterate voter affixes his thumb impression on
the ballot paper and drops it into the ballot box, his misery for the next five
years is guaranteed. The poor voters way to hell is paved with the ballot
box. In a poor country, nothing can ensure the general misery like
democracy.
We have various administrative systems. Unfortunately, all these
systems are generally dishonest systems. These systems are the creation of
our political system. The political system of a country is the mother of all
other systems. If the mother-system is corrupt, it cannot give birth to honest
systems. If we want to get rid of our dishonest systems, we must hang
the mother, i.e. we must hang our democracy.
Next day, Aamir Ghauri wrote: As if Pakistan was not big enough
an arena for his wily political showmanship, former Sindh home
minister, Zulfiqar Mirza landed in London midweek to take on the
Muttahida Qaumi Movement supremo, Altaf Hussain, who has found a
secure home in Britain ever since he put in an asylum application here in
1992. Mirza seeks Hussains extradition if charges of serious criminality
are proven against the MQM leader with the help of documentary material
he has brought with him and plan to share with the British police.
Mr Hussain, his party and party men are seriously perturbed by
Mr Mirzas coming to Britain to say the least. Mirza, on the other hand is
enjoying playing the matador and the bull at the same time. His British
itinerary is being updated on hourly basis and British Pakistanis who thrive
on the daily dose of political talk shows on Pakistani satellite channels are
lining up to hear him out. So far, he is confirmed to have penciled in

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multiple public speaking engagements in London. Others are scheduled in

Luton, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and High Wycombe. He has
already spoken at the House of Lords and Oxford University to packed
houses. His detractors were duly present on both occasions and have already
lost keenly contested shouting matches.
Speaking exclusively with this scribe, Mirza explained the reason
behind his coming to London I told him that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf
leader Imran Khan had also come to London a few years ago with similar
resolve and commitment to take a legal course against the MQM on similar
charges, and after consulting lawyers, addressing public meetings returned
home without success. Mirza was unmoved
But why focus on MQM only when the whole country is facing a
meltdown? Is his tirade against Muttahida a sideshow only to distract
attention from the rampant corruption and inefficiency in Islamabad
where his benefactor benefits from his focus on the peripheral party?
Because, he said: There is no other party which kills its own members if they
dare oppose the leader. Once they have spoken against the leader, MQM
members do no return home on two feet; they are carried on peoples
shoulders to a graveyard. They blame the establishment for action against
them. I challenge them to name the killers of Azeem Ahmed Tariq, Badar
Iqbal and Razzaq Khan all senior MQM men killed by their comrades.
The former Sindh minister has a bone to pick with the British
government too for providing sanctuary to Muttahida leaders and men.
I am at a loss why this modern, egalitarian and equitable country is
knowingly and willingly harbouring criminals, murderers, rapists of highest
order. Saying MQM men were facing thousands of case of heinous nature
like murder or grievous bodily harm but allowed to let go by the infamous
National Reconciliation Order of Pervez Musharraf
Mirza said he was pressurized to shut up and stay put: Different
tactics were used to silence me. We eastern men are vulnerable to pressure of
our beloved wives. I was pressured from that corner too. But I only thank
Allah who gave me courage to stay the course and continue to seek what I
needed He said it was sad that some people still talk about the propaganda
that he was waging the anti-MQM jihad on the behest and backing of
President Zardari or Army Chief General Kiyani or ISI chief.
Haaris Ramzan observed: Even though Imran is not a career
politician, yet I find truth in whatever he says. At this juncture, it is
important to define the term politician, as the nation remains unclear. In
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accordance with the traits of the present political leadership, the term refers
to an individual who is an opportunist, considers idealism obsolete and
realism the art of life, short-term gains are more important than national
glory, education immaterial, integrity lesser than vested interests; the list
goes on and on.
What these politicians fail to realize is the presence of integrity
and credibility in a leader. Having been proven corrupt members who had
plea bargained, individuals with fake degrees are the worst elements of the
society that must be condemned to teach a lesson to the future generations.
All the political parties must realize that having such people in their ranks
would never serve their cause, if any.
In contrast, Imran Khans Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) has inducted
people of highest repute and integrity. Many of his team members, such as
lawyers, businessmen, doctors and other professionals, have tremendous
achievements in their professions and are highly respected by the people. I
as an ordinary citizen would like to rest my fate in these self-made souls,
with credible career paths and achievements. His team is young and new, yet
it has all the important elements that are significant for success.
The October 30 jalsa at Minar-i-Pakistan was not merely a
congregation of political workers, but a true representation of the people of
Pakistan. I being a lawyer and an active participant of the judicial movement
was in a commanding position to decipher the difference between those who
came for a change and those with vested interests. Among the gathering of
more than 200,000, were the rich and the poor and they all were
disciplined and united with a faith that Imran would lead them out of the
miseries that have been inflicted on them for the past many years.
Inayatullah saw cracks in status quo: In this bleak scenario created
by a preposterous traditional politics, overtime, rays of hope have now
emerged. The foremost of these bright lights is the higher judiciary presided
over by a brave and diligent Pakistani, who defied a dictator and blazed a
new trail for the supremacy of law in this lawless land. Its resplendent
performance in taking the politicians and ruling elite to task has on the one
hand, exercised a check on the governments arbitrary and wicked use of
authority; while, on the other, provided strength to the sane and healthy
elements of society. The Supreme Court, indeed, has emerged as a force to
reckon with against the evils wrought by the corrupt rulers politicians,
businessmen and bureaucrats.

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One may also take note of the phenomenon of certain

conscientious and bold individuals, who have sparked new thinking,
wholesome ideas and initiatives. Mention may be made of Marvi Memon,
who has challenged the status quo and proved her point by resigning from
her party and the National Assembly. Her contribution, as the harbinger of
change for the better, merits notice and appreciation. Shah Mehmood
Qureshi, too, has shown courage and sagacity in the way he quit the ruling
party and highlighted its unacceptable behaviour. His utterances are an
indictment of the iniquitous ways of the party and its top leaders.
Another intrepid politician, who has suddenly hit the headlines, is the
PPP faithful and a Zardari buddy, Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, the erstwhile Home
Minister of Sindh. His fearless crusade against the MQM has created
quite a stir. He has accused them of deliberate acts of violence and
lawlessness. He is currently in London to provide evidence in support of his
accusations. He has also exposed the ruling partys hypocrisy of partnership
with the alleged evildoers.
Another surprising development has been the highly incriminating
statements made by a Cabinet Minister against the governments blatant
corruption at the Supreme Court and providing details of its wrongdoings.
Topping such individual initiatives is Imran Khan, head of the Pakistan
Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), whose Lahore jalsa shook the foundations of the
countrys traditional politics.
He reflects the frustrations and the promise of the youth of
Pakistan. His movement for justice challenges the status quo and provides a
new vision for the future. How he mobilizes the new factors and forces
generated by globalization and the communication revolution (blossoming
into YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc) will determine the thrust of his partys
intervention. A lot will depend on how he addresses the temptations to
accept the electable status quo candidates, and also the maverick winning
horses, and builds up a team that is underpinned by a wide consensus, meets
the expectations of the youth and how he relates himself to external
pressures. Presently, everything he says or does is being seen critically by
watchful eyes both inside the country and abroad.
Another agent of change is our alert and wide awake media. The TV
channels have done the yeomans job in exposing the governments faults
and follies, and made a vital contribution towards the process of change. The
latest scandal about the memo delivered to Admiral Mullen and the role of
our man in Washington is another pointer to the urgency of a change of

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leadership. How the change is processed (and how the top brass relates
itself to it, reconciling to civilian supremacy) will, to a large extent,
determine the character and course of events to come.
S Tariq wrote: The account that follows is based on what was
narrated to me by my young relative mentioned in the previous paragraph,
who drove from his house in DHA, parked his car at his in-law's house in
Gulberg and accompanied by his cook took a rickshaw for the rally venue.
In describing the event, I have deliberately left out the contents of what was
said by the key speaker and have focused instead on the mood of the people,
who flocked to catch a glimpse of him, hear his voice and go home with
hope in their hearts.
The area around the Pakistan Monument was an ocean of heads
heads of every age and gender with a preponderance of educated youth.
There were families and unaccompanied females, but there was no
harassment, no eve teasing, and no leering. The great difference between
this crowd and the one that is usually seen at such events was the
uncanny discipline and absence of cheap slogans there was instead a
seething enthusiasm and fervour visible on every face. A family standing
nondescriptly amongst the crowd turned out to be the key speakers own kin,
who had refreshingly refused a grandstand location close to the stage. And
when the tall figure of the man from Mianwali took the rostrum, there was
no bulletproof glass protecting him.
I was witness to another show of Imran's supporters before the sit-in
in front of Parliament. Driving home from Aabpara, I saw a long line of
coasters and wagons, bedecked with flags drawn up on the left of the road.
Already irked by such 'processions' and what they do to traffic, I muttered an
oath and carried on. What I saw amazed me the vehicles were carrying
youth, many of them lugging laptops and a line of young men was
courteously keeping the right lane open to traffic in one of the most
disciplined displays of civic sense and discipline, witnessed in a political
party's jaloos. I noticed another difference in this crowd they were all
happy in being there.
As someone who has seen politicians and martial laws ruin this
country, I can smell a change in the air a change where the corrupt are
likely to be brought to justice and liars made to stand up and receive what
they deserve. Our two mainstream political parties sense this too and though
unwilling to admit it, are deeply concerned about its consequences. For if
such a change does come, it will sweep them into the darkest chapters of

562

national history. For the people of this 'Land of the Pure', the event at
Minar-i-Pakistan has brought hope, but it is hope that is plagued by the
question if this is really salvation - at last?
On 20th November, TheNation commented: Former Sindh Home
Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza has carried his fight against the MQM to the
UK Since the UK is where MQM chief Altaf Hussain has sought political
asylum, the MQM is much perturbed by these attacks. The Pakistani
community in the UK is apparently anxious to hear him speak, according to
an interview he gave to this newspaper, and he is scheduled to speak in
London, Luton, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and High Wycombe. Dr
Mirza in the interview denied acting at the behest of anyone, and said
that he was acting only according to his conscience. However, the MQMs
ally, the PPP, the party to which he belonged until he left its Sindh
government, has not disowned him, raising suspicions that he is acting on
the behest of the Presidency, what with him being a very old friend of the
President.
It is perhaps a sign of how casually the PPP is treating the whole
matter, and there has been no real sign of it accepting that, at the very least,
Dr Mirzas outbursts have threatened its central government, which relies on
the MQM to strengthen its majority, which would be razor-thin without it.
He has turned to the UK government only because he must not have
been satisfied with the attention his charges had been given at home.
The government should have given the charges a proper investigation at
home. Because it did not, it now has no justification for preventing him from
seeking to build opinion in the UK so that it is inimical to the MQM. Apart
from justification, there is also the undeniable fact that if, as the Supreme
Court has held, political parties are involved in Karachis target killings, any
light that Dr Mirza, Home Minister when they were going on, sheds
deserves to be taken seriously. He also maintains that there has been a
significant decline in governance, particularly in the failure to fulfill
promises made by the PPP to the people. If the PPP had launched a proper
investigation into Dr Mirzas charges, it would have avoided this criticism
from him at least.
Dr Mirzas charges are serious and criminal, but relate to domestic
politics. Quite apart from the governments duty to ensure that dirty linen
should not be washed in public, there is a need to ensure that Pakistani
politics is carried out in Pakistan, not abroad. The PPP government
should immediately carry out an investigation, for Dr Mirzas charges
deserve no less.
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REVIEW
As said earlier the superior judiciary remained busy in pretending to
be dispensing justice in a country where ruling elite is involved in all kinds
of criminal activity. The judiciarys determination to dispense justice has
deterred no one as was evident from ever increasing criminal acts and
neglects.
This is because of superior judiciarys undue focus only on suo moto
notices, admonishing and ordering recoveries. In RPPs scam it ordered
Reshma to return billions, but did not send a single person behind to the
bars. What a justice by the so-called independent and honest judges in
Islamic Republic of Pakistan where principally hands of an ordinary thief
should be imputed?
In the case of suo moto notice of Pakistan Railways affairs Chief
Justice did not think beyond non-payment of pensions to its retired
employees. It did not occur to him even for a while the crucial significance
of Railways for the armed forces in defending the country from foreign
aggression.
The status of Chief Justice demanded that some ideas, other than pay
and pension, should have flashed in his mind as the matter had to be seen at
much higher spectrum. Why a sick ANP politician is in charge of the
Railways? Why he insists on having this ministry? Does it have any link to
ANPs history of partys pro-India mindset? Does it fit in the scheme of
exacting democratic revenge from Pakistan?
The superior judiciary preferred beating the trail of Moonis Elahi
rather than pondering over hurdles in dispensation of Justice. The regimes
unwillingness to punish the corrupt has been the major cause of
embarrassment for the nation in general and judiciary in particular.
The case of cricketers involvement in match-fixing explains the
point. Had the accused been proceeded against and punished by the Pakistan
Cricket Board in accordance with the laws in vogue the nation would have
been saved from disgrace to which it was subjected to by a British jury. The
legal proceedings in Pakistan and punishment of the culprits would have
even been commended by the outside world.
But, it wasnt done, allegedly, due to the involvement of officials of
the cricket board and they did not risk splashing of muck at their faces.
These top officials were directly linked to the politicians ruling the country.
564

The top was also guilty of not identifying a conspiracy to trap Pakistani
cricketers and cautioning the players accordingly.
Match or spot fixing is common in all sports. The cricket is afflicted
with it for more than a century. It is also known that players of almost all the
teams indulge in illegal fixings. India, where the last one-day world cup was
held, is the hub of betting and match-fixing. The patrons of this gambling
den wanted India to win the world cup and trapping of Pakistani players and
their subsequent banning was part of the plan for that victory.
The administrators of cricket affairs should have arranged strict
surveillance of its players, unless of course, it was not part of the regimes
policy to appease India as per wishes of Indias strategic partner. Anyhow,
the CJP should have drawn some inspiration from the decision of Justice
Cooke and pick up the courage to cook the geese of some corrupt political
spot fixers.
On political front, Zulfikar Mirza has waged jihad against MQM
leadership because he has reasons to believe that they have held the province
of Sindh hostage. He started the holy war single-handedly, but failed in
mustering sufficient support from PPP because his party leaders priorities
differed.
He then shifted the venue to London after he was encouraged by the
support from Pakistani expatriates, especially Lord Nazir. He has handed
over incriminating evidence to London Police, but MQM leaders in Pakistan
seemed unperturbed and in London they arranged disturbance wherever
Mirza went to speak. The secret of their confidence can be inferred from the
manner in which the investigation of Imran Farooqs murder has been
carried out, which lends itself to suspicion that British government is
covering up the real killer.
That means that it is abetting in the criminal activities that target the
people which have abandoned Altaf Hussains MQM. The Europeans and
Americans provide shelter to such trouble-makers in Islamic World as a
matter of policy. This nexus between Brits and Altaf supports the revelations
made by Mirza recently. Zardari is also on board for his own reasons.
Imran Khan has vowed to bring change amid gloom of status quo. By
holding a public meeting at Minar-i-Pakistan he has thrown the cat among
the pigeons of status quo. But, to achieve his stated goal he has to do more
than throwing cats here and there. He has to make arrangement to translate
public support into votes and convert his ideas into policies and plans and
find people capable of implementing those.
565

He must defer international exposure, like the interview he gave to

Indian journalist Karan of CNN-IBN. Looking back it must have dawned
upon Imran that the questions asked by Karan were aimed at scratching out
the weaker aspects of Imran and his party rather projecting him as a
politician capable of playing significant role at national level.
Imrans actions also do not commensurate his stated goal. He has
vowed to bring change at national level and for that ousting PPP and its
allies from power through elections is mandatory. Therefore, he should focus
on the PPP, but instead he and his party leaders seemed to be targeting PMLN as if the aim is to replace PML-N government in Punjab.
He should also avoid blame game against individuals and restrict his
remarks to issues. This will also mean a healthy change in politics, though
Pakistani politicians speak the whole truth only when they criticize their
opponents and for that reason they should be encouraged to indulge in this
activity notwithstanding the language they use. At least their instinct to
speak truth would remain alive.
22nd November, 2011

566

ON TOP BUT IN WOODS

The Supreme Court rejected the federal governments petition on 25 th
November, in which it had sought review of the NRO judgment. Scoundrel
wasted no time in writing a letter to Supreme Court to resume hearing of
Bhutto reference so that its hearing could be used to project historic bias of
the superior judiciary.
Other cases heard by the apex court during the period included the
RPP scam, ISAF containers scam, and suo moto notice of Railways. In
RPPs case the court ordered recovery of 14 per cent mobilization advance,
with mark-up from the companies that are not generating electricity despite
receiving the advance payment. In containers case the court directed NAB to
frame cases against the culprits.
On political front PML-N and PTI caused some stir in leadership of
PPP. Imran Khan kept harassing by vowing to end status quo and PML-N
continued threatening by harping Go Zardari Go. Zulfikar Mirza remained
headache for Zardaris scoundrel buddy in London. However, one of his
partners, Asfandyar Wali was re-elected as boss of ancestral ANP.

NEWS
On 21st November, the Supreme Court resumed hearing of NRO
appeal and right at the outset sought clarification from the government about
threats received by previous defence counsel, Kamal Azfar, who was
summoned to appear before the court on 22nd November. Babar Awan was
allowed to give arguments conditionally and as per merit.
He denied threatening Kamal Azfar. Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmani
observed if Kamal Azfar had not been given any threat then he should be
allowed to appear. The Chief Justice said court wanted that government
should give statement to the effect that Kamal Azfar was facing no threat.
Babar Awan said any client had right to change his counsel regardless of
federation application.
Babar Awan said that he be allowed more time as he had not made
preparations for the case. The Chief Justice said it could not be done so. Last
hearing of this case had taken place on April, 19. If the counsel was to be
changed and or there was some other problem then the federation could
make preparations for the case during the seven months. Decisions were
given against several persons in NRO case but no one approached the court

567

against these decisions. Then Federation was facing what problem in this
respect, he remarked.
The Chief Justice further remarked, Parliament did not endorse NRO.
It is a big thing. When parliament has not accepted it then as to why the
incumbent democratic government which has come into power after long
struggle has stood for protection of draconian law of a dictator. Shaheed
Benazir Bhutto had also opposed NRO in his book Reconciliation.
In another case the Supreme Court ordered Pepco managing director
to take back money, paid as 14 per cent mobilization advance, with mark-up
from the companies that are not generating electricity despite the payment.
The MD informed the court that Reshma power plant has returned Rs4.57
billion, but it had yet to pay Rs1.35billion mark-up.
The LHC issued a stay order against the raise in power tariff under
fuel adjustment, directing the NEPRA and the federal government to clarify
its position. Aitzaz Ahsan claimed that he can bring back the annoyed party
leaders if permitted by party leadership.
According to details presented in the National Assembly by the Water
and Power Ministry, payable dues against Senate Secretariat stood at Rs49.5
million; amount payable against federal ministers and their residences at
Rs8.552 million; Parliament Lodges Rs12.1 million; Pak Secretariat Rs9.423
million; Supreme Court, which is hearing cases of power projects scams, at
Rs3.47 million; Election Commission of Pakistan Rs2.997 million; federal
police Rs19.1 million; Intelligence Bureau Rs2.726 million; ISI Rs8.224
million; FIA Rs4.3 and; the payables against Interior Ministry were Rs1.57
million. Electricity supply of PSM and some Railways colonies was cut.
Next day, Chief Justice said while heading a full-court hearing of
NRO review case that the government should not protect the thieves and
support a black law. He added that it was the federation and not a political
party that filed the petition, and if someone has any grievance over the court
judgment, he or she should come forward instead of the government.
Thousands of people took benefit of the NRO but nobody took recourse to
the court nor was the court ruling on the ordinance challenged.
Will the government protect the one who conceal corruption and
pardon any such offence, the chief justice questioned, adding that federal
government wants to give premier of the corruption to those who have
remained involved in corruption.

568

Babar Awan, whom the court allowed to plead the case on behalf of
the federation on merit, said the government does not even acknowledge the
NRO as its repercussions are not good. He further said notices are taken on
various news reports; an affront to a lawyer should also be taken note of,
adding the federal government believes in transparent and candid
accountability.
In his arguments, Awan said that it is a court order that the accused
cannot be punished in absentia and that is why closed cases cannot be
reopened. Similarly, the SC cannot instruct the federation to reopen cases
abroad. Awan maintained that the attorney general in the recent past had
written the letter to the (Swiss) authorities without taking advice.
On a point that NRO was not the deal between two parties but the then
cabinet had fully approved it and was legally promulgated by the then
president, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja asked Awan whether he wanted to say
that NRO was a legal law and should be enacted again. The learned counsel
said no there were certain points, which he would not press, and it was one
of those.
Justice Sarmad Jalal Usmany said: If an individual is aggrieved by
the judgment of this court then he should come forward but not in the garb
of the federation. Justice Nasirul Mulk remarked that those who benefited
from NRO should be tried in accordance with the law. Justice Saqib Nisar
said that the persons who have plundered the national wealth are talking
about the past and closed transaction, which undoubtedly apply in this case
as documents of corruption are available. The court said that the federation
could not protect any thief and criminal.
Babar Awan responded that the PPP has not protected corrupt persons,
while in the past people were not only protected, but over protected. He said
the federation complain is that they were not heard properly. Justice Jawwad
asked Babar Awan: We understand you will stand by the stand taken by the
federal government earlier. The learned counsel said that the federation
stands for accountability and no vengeance.
The Chief Justice asked the former law minister to show a single word
from the judgment where the court has condemned the federation or the
verdict adversely operating against the federation. He added that the court
has rather helped the federal government in recovering plundered and looted
national wealth.
When former law minister pleaded that federation represent the will of
the people. Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa said you mean to say that
569

federation is for the masses and it has to take care of everyone and in the
masses there are thieves and murderers, and if it would not protect them then
who would defend them?
Babar Awan said the words that late Benazir Bhutto entered into a
deal with Musharraf should be expunged from the NRO judgment. He said
late Benazir Bhutto entered into deal not in personal capacity, but was
representing the biggest party of the country. He said the PPP the biggest
political party represents the will of the people. Justice Sarmad said the
federation is not one political party and the chief justice executive of the
government does not represent one party but the entire federation. He said if
the verdict is against the BB then let come legal heirs of BB come forward.
Chief Justice said the president, PM and ministers are for the whole
country and not just a party. Justice Muhammad Sair Ali said the PM and
ministers take oath not to protect one party but the whole country. Paying
tribute to the parliament he said it did not touch the stinking law and it was
not validated under the 18th Amendment. He said that people who were
affected by the apex court judgment on NRO did not come before the court.
In another case, the Supreme Court directed NAB to frame cases
against the culprits in ISAF containers scam. Reportedly some of
Musharrafs relatives are also involved. PML-N leadership held long
meeting with Shah Mahmood Qureshi to woo him to join Nawaz League.
Qureshi said he would announce his decision in public meeting in Ghotki.
Excise and taxation authorities sealed PTI Secretariat in Lahore for
non-payment of property tax and then Shahbaz Sharif intervened to show
magnanimity and directed settlement amicably. ANP organization of PK-77
Buner resigned collectively and joined PTI. Munter said he met Imran Khan
and General Pasha separately, not together as reported.
On 23rd November, assertions made by counsel for the federation
Babar Awan that NRO was an authentic law, his hinting at federations
bringing a new NRO and announcement to challenge establishment of Swiss
cases, led to an interested debate between the SC judges and the counsel
during the hearing of the NRO review petition.
Justice Saqib Nisar inquired who is the person or competent authority
whose rights have been impinged upon by the 16th December 2009 judgment
on NRO. The chief justice asked the counsel to come to the real issue instead
of wasting courts valuable time. Tell the consequences which aggrieved the
federation. Tell the inside story, he remarked.

570

During the proceeding the bench and counsel entered into altercation.
Babar Awan while continuing his arguments before SC said that NRO was
not an agreement between two persons rather it was an authentic law. The
bench asked Babar to submit this statement in writing. Justice Asif Saeed
Khan Khosa said that NRO ordinance was not the existing law at the time
when the declaration of court was made. The problems are flowing only
from the consequences of the judgment.
Babar Awan presenting his formulation said in collateral proceeding
right accrued to any citizen cant be disturbed. The chief justice said You
mean to say that misappropriated national wealth should not be recovered?
Babar Awan hinted that federation may bring a new NRO, if needed. The
decision regarding reconciliation was for political way forward and the
opening towards democracy falls within executive domain and opposed to
the judiciary under the notion of trichotomy of power, he held. Justice Asif
Saeed Khan Khosa on that remarked: You want that NRO be restored and
the Supreme Court should not interfere in the executive domain. He
questioned if some organ of the state is operating illegally then should this
court not interfere into the matter?
Babar said if that was the case then the federation could have issued
another ordinance for the promulgation of NRO, but it did not do that. He
said if all the organs remain in their limits the institutions would strengthen.
Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany asked if the federation does want the revival of
NRO then what is the purpose of whole exercise?
Babar Awan said under Article 89 of the Constitution the President has
power to promulgate ordinance and it has the same force and effect as
attached with the act of parliament. Justice Saqib Nisar quoting the
judgments said that ordinance is the temporary legislation, which cant be
given the status of permanent legislation. He said if the parliament does not
validate the ordinance issued by the president then what would be its fate?
The counsel said the federation stance is that all those who have benefited
from NRO should be dealt in accordance with law.
Babar Awan said the court while declaring that NRO was repugnant to
the injunctions of Islam has gone beyond its jurisdiction, as Article 203 of
Constitution states that only the Federal Shariat Court should adjudicate
such matters. He said this jurisdiction under 203 (F) is only vested to the
Supreme Court Shariat Appellate Bench.
The Federations lawyer also announced to challenge the
establishment of Swiss cases. The counsel pleaded that the office of Attorney
571

General for Pakistan is a constitutional office, adding if the AGP office has
authority of sending communication to Swiss authorities then he was also
empowered to withdraw it. Dr Babar said if AGP Farooq in PML-N
government was right in writing to Swiss government to open cases against
late Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari then how Malik Qayyum could be
wrong for writing to close them.
He said Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was right in saying that all the
money stacked in the foreign banks should be brought back into Pakistan.
He said the courts had issued a stay order against tax theft of one thousand
billion rupees. In response to this assertion, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja said
the court had asked the FBR chief to come and follow the tax theft case. He
reminded Babar Awan that the FBR chief is not the servant of the court.
Justice Khawaja advised Babar Awan to discuss only those issues which are
in his knowledge and dont discuss issues about which he knew nothing.
Chief Justice asked Babar Awan whether he came to the court to
follow the case or he came for the political point scoring. He asked Awan to
focus only on NRO review petition. The defiant Federations lawyer said
many several larger benches were formed in the Supreme Court while
several cases were ignored. When asked by the chief justice to mention the
case which has not been heard, Babar Awan said Asghar Khans case has not
been heard since long. The chief justice asked Babar Awan that he was not a
chief justice and he should not try to regulate in the administrative matters.
Babar Awan replied he was not chief justice, but one of his admirers.
The SC observed that Federation was not party in NRO case. On this,
Babar Awan said that Benazir Bhutto was also not a party in the case too, yet
her name was mentioned three times in the said case. The court asked Babar
Awan that for the last three days we have been asking you to indicate those
paragraphs which hurt the federation, but you have not supplied those
points. Babar said delete paragraph 11, 12, 44, 45 and 46 from CMA 1844.
He also requested to delete T, U, X, aa, cc, dd, gg and ii paras.
On this issue of time bar of the petition, Dr Babar said Nawaz Sharif
case was heard after 9 years, while on other petitions the court objects.
Babar said Asghar Khan petition is pending. Cases against Nawaz Sharif and
PML-N leaders have been closed. Justice Jawwad said: You want us to
close this case as well? The chief justice asked the learned counsel, Are
you arguing the case to settle the political score? When we ask you
something you say let me argue in my own way.

572

Babar prayed the court to attend those portions of the judgment where
errors exist. He said that the main grievance of the federation was that it was
not heard fully. Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali said that was the reason we had
asked the federation let Kamal Azfar argue the review petition because he
has granted full time and opportunity to plead his case. But now you are
saying federation was not heard fully. Babar Awan earlier said that section
31 NAB Ordinance that conviction in absentia is void under Islamic
jurisprudence and common law.
The court asked Dr Babar Awan to conclude his argument by the court
interval on Thursday. The learned counsel however requested for at least two
more days. Justice Jawwad S Khawaja said there was nothing in the case as
in the first hour on the first day they had comprehended the whole case.
Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif held a meeting with PML-Q leaders Lt-Gen
(r) Abdul Majeed Malik, former minister for state Maj (r) Tahir Iqbal and
Aslam Sathi at his residence before they joined PML-N. MQM wrote letters
to President and Chief Justice asking them to take action against Zulfiqar
Mirza for maligning Muttahida and tarnishing the image of party chief Altaf
Hussain.
Next day, the Supreme Court observed that late Benazir Bhutto never
claimed any benefit of NRO and those who have issued it must be repenting
now. Benazir Bhutto had no interest in NRO, rather it was General
Musharraf who wanted to become president under such an arrangement, the
chief justice remarked.
Babar Awan completed his argument in the case. The court, however,
allowed him to file additional documents regarding the review petition, but
said it would look only those documents that were related to federation.
Earlier the court had refused to receive the documents. When Babar Awan
insisted to read out the grounds Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa asked him
Rather becoming martyr here listen to what the 17-member bench has
ordered you.
In response to Babar Awans arguments in favour of NRO, the chief
justice said that all but some persons were happy with Supreme Courts
striking down of the black law. Babar Awan said sacred cow was now going
to be exposed and NRO case was tantamount to holding trial of Benazirs
grave. The CJP said: We have read books and we know who was what and
who did what. The CJP told Babar Awan you are linking Benazir Bhutto to
this piece of paper. She was not only Pakistani or Asian leader but an
international towering personality.
573

Babar Awan informed the court that he would not go for restoring,
reissuing and protecting the NRO. Justice Tassadque Jillani remarked that
the court appreciated you as today federation was not defending the NRO.
The chief justice asked him to let the aggrieved persons come forward.
Babar Awan earlier submitted his formulations. He argued that there
were three kinds of errors apparent on the face of the record. First, factual
wrongs that include some statements and findings. Secondly, procedural
wrongs that means pleading allegations, replies, rebuttals and not observance
of due course under Article 10A. Third, legal errors that include violation of
some laws, statues, regulations and constitution.
He emphasized that in all cases and circumstances the court need to
keep in mind the provision of Articles 175-2 and 10A. Justice Sarmad Jalal
Osmany said Article 4 is wider enough regarding due course, while the chief
justice said when the judgment was passed the Article 10A was not in vogue.
Waseem Sajjad, representing former attorney general Malik Abdul
Qayyum, prayed that the para in which FIA was directed to proceed against
his client for writing to Swiss authorities to close the cases against Benazir
Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari should be expunged.
The Chief Justice remarked that he was the person (Malik Qayyum),
who chased the cases of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari and did his best
to convict them when he was a judge of the Lahore High Court, but the
Supreme Court had set aside that judgment. He humiliated Ms Bhutto and
Asif Ali Zardari, and humiliated to the (full) extent, the CJP said.
Waseem said that Malik Qayyum is very ill therefore cant walk and
should be pardoned. He prayed to dispose of CMA and review petition. The
court on his request passed order that authority proceed against Malik
Qayyum as mandated in the law without being influenced of any observation
given against him in the NRO judgment.
Imran Khan, while addressing a huge public gathering in Chakwal,
said that his Karachi rally on December 25 th will decide countrys future. He
told the workers to prepare themselves for elections to win Pakistan world
cup. He claimed that days of the corrupt rulers are numbered now and no
one can stop the tsunami of change that has already begun to sweep the
country.
British Home Minister said that no arrest has been made in connection
with the Imran Farooq murder case. During a joint press conference with her
Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik, she said that no man was arrested in

574

the Imran Farooq murder case and London Police Commissioner gave
wrong statement in this regard. Speaking on the occasion, Rehman Malik
said that he had checked all the state agencies but found no information
regarding the arrest.
Mirza presented evidence against MQM chief to British Prime
Minister at 10 Downing Street. Speaker National Assembly, Fahmida Mirza
went to London to be with her husband. With Mirza campaigning against
MQM in London the street crime surged in Karachi and six persons were
also killed. Meanwhile, Nepra brought record increase in hydro electric
power rates up to 31 per cent per unit.
On 25th November, the Supreme Court rejected the federal
governments petition seeking review of the NRO judgment. The four lines
judgment read: The court from Nov 21 to Nov 24, 2011 heard the federation
counsel Dr Babar Awan at length and considering all the aspects of the
review petitions filed under Article 188 of the Constitution of Pakistan to
revisit the judgment. The counsel (Babar Awan) failed to make out a case
(and) as a result the review petition is dismissed. The court directed the
relevant authorities to comply with the judgment in letter and spirit without
any further delay.
Earlier, Babar did not appear before the court due to his family
commitments. Advocate on Record Mehmood A Sheikh requested the bench
to adjourn the case but the worthy court denied it. The court then asked Law
Secretary Chishti to read out the documents saying it was he who had filed
the petition on behalf of federation, adding that the bench did not expect the
case to be argued and that a simple reading would suffice.
The Law Secretary requested the court that let Babar Awan come on
Monday in the court and he would read the documents, but the court rejected
his plea. The absence of Babar Awan annoyed the court. Chishti refused to
comply with court orders, saying that he is not in a position to do so. When
the chief justice asked him Cant you read English? Chishti read out only
one page and refused to read further. He said he realizes he will face
contempt of court charges and is prepared to go to jail as he is not
interested in this job.
The court ordered the AGP to read the document through-and-through
pertaining to cases of Asif Ali Zardari, late Benazir Bhutto and others.
During the Nawaz Sharif period there was a correspondence between the law
ministry, Ehtesab Bureau and Swiss officials regarding Zardaris money

575

laundering case. The court questioned as to how the documents from 1997 to
1999 were relevant to the case as NRO was promulgated in 2007.
Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa remarked that so much fuss was
created that heavens may fall, if the documents would be read in the court.
He said the court did not like to stop the way of justice therefore Babar
Awan was allowed to read them in the court.
Justice Jawwad S Khawaja said the only reason they did not like that
documents be read in the court was that there were names of dignitaries of
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), including PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
They did not want people should know those names, he added. The court
then dismissed all the petitions for the NRO review, ordering that its NRO
verdict should be implemented in letter and spirit.
PML-N and PTI welcomed rejection of review petition filed by the
government. PPP leaders expressed their resentment over court verdict on
NRO. Ashiq Awan said future course of action would be decided after
consultations with legal experts. Zardari held meeting with partys core
committee and then instructed to approach the apex court to resume hearing
of Bhutto reference.
Another bench of the Supreme Court struck down the appointment of
Tauqir Sadiq as chairman Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and declared his
appointment as illegal and void ab initio. In the judgment Mr Tauqir,
brother-in-law of PPP General Secretary Jehangir Badr, has been ordered to
return all the salary and privileges drawn from the public exchequer in the
course of his service as the chairman.
Mirza was supported by Lord Nazir in his campaign against Altaf
Hussain; resultantly, MQM retaliated by asking the regime to withdraw
citizenship of Lord Nazir. Apart from MQM and Zardari Indians too would
love it. Reportedly, Shahi Syed was also likely to join Mirza in London.
Meanwhile, Imran addressed a public gathering in Peshawar and challenged
Mian Nawaz instead of challenging ANP that has drenched KPK in blood of
Pakhtuns by supporting war on terror.
Next day, NAB over-ruled the verdict of Supreme Court by saying
that most of the persons involved in Swiss cases have died and the one in
Pakistan enjoys constitutional immunity being head of the state; therefore,
no need to write a letter to Swiss government. Senior PPP leaders at a
meeting under the chairmanship of President Zardari decided not to reopen
cases against the president. Under the law, the government is now left with
no option but to implement the verdict and send a communication to the
576

Swiss authorities. In case it decides not to do this, it will apparently amount

to a contempt of court.
Gilani dispelled the impression of a looming military or judicial coup,
saying that all the state institutions fully support democracy in the country.
PML-Q candidate supported by PPP defeated PML-N candidate a Punjab
Assembly bye-election in Bahawalpur; the seat fell vacant because of death
of PML-N MPA.
Five unidentified men holding iron rods in their hands tried to attack
Mirza and Lord Nazir when they were going to the car along with five
supporters after addressing a public meeting in Manchester. Both the leaders
remained unhurt in the incident, however, three supporters were injured in
the attack. Mirza and Lord Nazir lodged a complaint with police and they
were assured that the attackers would be identified through CCTV footage.
Later talking to newsmen, Mirza said such attacks could not affect his
London mission which solely revolved around Altaf Hussain and his party.
In Karachi, an anti-terrorism court granted bail to MQM-H chairman
Afaq Ahmed in kidnapping for ransom case. Ahmed had been accused in
2001 of kidnapping one Jameel Baloch. However, all others accused in the
case had already been granted bail.
On 27th November, Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced to join
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in a rally in Ghotki. While addressing a public
gathering, Qureshi said that in presence of Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistans nukes
are not safe. He added that he had refused to give immunity to Davis.
Earlier, addressing to the rally, Imran Khan said that he has come to Ghotki
to invite Shah Mahmood Qureshi to join his party.
Chaudhry Nisar resigned from chairmanship of public accounts
committee. Nisar alleged that government wanted to include corrupt people
in the committee. However, he said that other member of PML-N in the
committee would continue with their work in PAC.
Ogra under the political pressure has made an illegal appointment of
Masroor Ahmad on deputation against the post of JED (Technical) and
career growth of regular officers has almost been blocked with this alleged
irregularity. Ogras employees have filed a representation before the
Authority in this regard. This decision of the Authority is a gross violation of
Ogras regulations and contempt of Supreme Court.
Six blasts ripped through railway tracks near Hussainabad, Hyderabad
and Nowshero Feroz, destroying portions of railway tracks. Security

577

officials investigating the blasts said that they had found the pamphlets of
separatist outfit Sindhu Desh Liberation Army near the explosion sites.
Three people were killed and another injured in sectarian violence in
Karachi. Angry people staged protest against the two killing and torched
several vehicles and motorcycles at Numaish Chowrangi area of the city.
Next day, Chief Justice decided to take up the reference filed by the
federation under Article 186 of the Constitution for revisiting Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto case on December 12 and hear on day to day basis. Imran Khan ruled
out fair and transparent elections under President and warned there will be
bloodshed in the country if elections are held under Zardari's leadership. He
went on to say PTI Tsunami had rocked Sindh and no one could stop it.
More political stalwarts will join PTI, he declared. I am happy people of
Sindh have woken up, he remarked. MQM has only 18 seats out of 272
seats, if we should continue to fight with them the whole time or should we
fight with big fish, he questioned.
On 29th November, MQM-H Chairman Afaq Ahmed was detained
under MPO for another month shortly after the court ordered his release. He
was likely to be released as he had been acquitted from most of the cases and
given bail in remaining. Earlier, ATC judge Khalida Yaseen had directed the
government to release Afaq Ahmed.
Next day, the Supreme Court directed chairman Pakistan Railways to
submit details of Railways land occupied by Rangers, Frontier Corps and
other private companies within seven days and send it to the chief secretaries
of all four provinces for retrieving the land.
The court also directed the NAB to start probe against all those named
in audit report. The CJ remarked that the Railways would be restored at last
and the corrupt would be sent to jail. He expressed concern over the
purchase of new locomotives. The chief justice asked as to why the
Railways was more interested in buying new ones instead of getting the old
ones repaired.
Expressing its concern over the non-constitution of Pakistan Railways
Board, the court ordered the government to nominate the technical persons
as the members of the PR board and the notification in this regard should be
issued immediately. The court further said that officials who had their
interest in the department, should not be appointed as members of PR board.
Chairman Railways was further asked to submit comprehensive report
regarding the locomotives, which were out of order as well as the cost for
the rehabilitation of these locomotives within 10 days.
578

The court further said that copy of the report should be handed over to
former minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad and a meeting be
arranged between the former minister and relevant engineers for repair of
faulty engines. It was also instructed by the bench to present a forensic audit
report on next hearing and detailed report on the cost of repair and fault of
every engine within 10 days.
Former railways minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told the bench that he
was being pressurized to withdraw his case. He said each locomotive could
be repaired with a cost of Rs 10 million as railway had spare parts for the
maintenance of non-functional locomotives. He said that sub-standard oil
had damaged 290 engines. Heavy Mechanical Complex (HMC), Taxila and
Risalpur had shown their interest in this regard whereas Railways also had
the facility to repair dysfunctional locomotives. He said Railways had
already repaired 20 engines.
NAB constituted a committee to scrutinize all the pending cases with
the bureau so that the genuine cases could be distinguished from those
instituted on political grounds and to bring them to a logical conclusion
through pursuance in courts. The decision to this effect was made at the
Executive Board meeting of NAB held under the chair of Fasih Bokhari. The
board meeting scrapped some cases which had not been decided in the NAB
courts for past several years due to want of solid evidence.
The government while turning down Ogras proposal to maintain
prices of petrol and diesel has dropped a bombshell at the masses by jacking
up POL products prices by up to Rs5.13 per litre with effect from Dec 1.
This has become an easy solution for the cash-strapped government. Next
day, the government approved Rs6 billion for PSM.
On 2nd December, Lord Nazir said he had received a telephone call
from Rehman Malik who urged Nazir not meet London Police and give
incriminating evidence in Imran Farooq murder case as it could poison
Pak-UK relations. Next day, Prime Minister said deprivations of people of
South Punjab would be addressed by carving out Seraiki province and
announced Rs70 million as development package for each party MPA and
pledged a further Rs20 million after one year provided he was left with some
money. Reportedly, the announcement regarding hefty development
package, has worked.
They demanded to provide job quota for their brothers and sons. PPP
members also asked prime minister to issue them arm licenses; the demand
was accepted. Gilani said that the NRO and plea-bargain were one and the
579

same thing and many politicians availed of the relief under plea-bargain and
joined the then Pervez Musharrafs regime. Meanwhile, PPP and MQM
exchanged proposals on reforms of local governments. Anjum Aqeel of
PML-N was arrested from courtroom after a court rejected his bail plea in
the Rs6 billion National Police Foundation land scam case.

VIEWS
On 23rd November, S M Hali opined: The time has come for the
masses to judge which leader is worth his or her salt and who merits
receiving the confidence of people to represent them in Parliament. With a
vibrant and free media, which does not leave any stone unturned in exposing
the wrongdoing and transgression, and a free and fair judicial system
prevalent in Pakistan, it is becoming exceedingly difficult for the politicians
to get away with sleaze and perfidy.
Corruption scandals are being exposed and electoral malpractices
unearthed; this is paving the way for free and fair elections. For corrupt
and dishonest politicians to slander the clean ones, accusing them of
being propped up by intelligence agencies, will not hold water any
longer. Some critics accuse them of having become another Frankenstein,
an unbridled demon, a State within a State. However, they should remember
that intelligence agencies are tools in the governments hands, which can be
used at its whim. If the government of the day continues to use them for
securing national interests, it is welcome. But any effort to misuse it for
dilly-dallying in politics is abhorrent and should be avoided.
Munir Ahmad Khalili wrote: Here, the term system is similar to
status quo. Rulers, whether they maybe of a single party or an alliance
or opposition, are always united to maintain the status quo, especially
because it is in their interest. In Pakistani context, most of the politicians
belong to the feudal class. They do not pay taxes on their agricultural
products/incomes. Many businessmen and industrialists cum politicians, too,
are tax evaders. To achieve their goals, they block efforts to bring about a
change for the betterment of the country. They are the biggest hindrance to
the enforcement of the rule of law. Even Parliament remains subservient to
their vested interests. No mechanism of accountability is allowed to be
strengthened in the country. Both the rulers and the opposition try to keep
the law enforcement agencies under their thumb. Needless to say, they are
indifferent to the needs and demands of the people.

580

In Pakistan today, giant national assets, like Pakistan Railways, PIA,

Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Steel Mills and many
other profit-making institutions, have been ruined due to the bad policies of
the government. From politicians, bureaucrats, top brass to a clerk in a
government department, police constable or patwari, everyone sees their
interest secure in the existing stagnant and stinky system and are eager
for its continuance.
The cries for not letting the system derail is a topsy-turvy way of
thinking of the misguided mindset, which deliberately wants to damage
the potentialities of thinking of honest human beings, particularly mature
and well educated youth. But till how long the Autumn Season will be held
back? After all, Spring has to appear. It may be a bit late, but, after the
Arab Spring, the Ajam Spring is destined to appear!
Two days later, TheNation observed: The hearing of the review
petition about the Supreme Courts verdict on the National Reconciliation
Ordinance (NRO), declaring it null and void continued for the fourth day,
Wednesday, with the federations counsel Dr Babar Awan persisting in his
defiant mood. His arguments annoyed the court, which repeatedly snubbed
him and advised him to keep to the case and not resort to political point
scoring; he could hold a press conference later for that purpose. Yet, he kept
ignoring the order and as a clinching argument warned the apex court
that the government could bring another NRO. Clearly, it was a warning
to the court against not upholding the petition.
Dr Awan characterized the NRO as an authentic law and challenged
the establishment of Swiss cases. When questioned about the specific points
on which the federation felt hurt by the NRO decision, he cited some of its
paragraphs. Then, pleaded for extending the hearing for two more days to
which he was told to finish his arguments by Thursday, adding that the
judges had understood the governments point right on the first day of the
hearing. There were several instances of altercation between the court
and council Awan during the course of the day, as they had occurred on
the hearing of the three previous days.
On 26th November, the newspaper added: The Supreme Court has
rejected the review petition on National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)
filed by the federal government, and ordered that its earlier verdict
pronounced on December 16, 2009, must be implemented in letter and
in spirit. The NRO, which was imposed by President Pervez Musharraf in
2007, granted amnesty to more than 8,000 politicians, political workers,

581

bureaucrats It paved the way for the current ruling leadership to return to
Pakistan and precluded any possibility of their trial. All pending cases
against the accused were closed.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, while chastising the
counsel for the federation, Mr Babar Awan, for not being present in the court
on Friday, the day of the announcement of its ruling on the review petition,
remarked that a senior lawyer like Babar Awan should have known that 17
senior judges were sitting in the court, and should have attended. Babar
Awan, known for his boorishness and fulminations against the judiciary, had
adopted at best a dilatory attitude on the previous four days of hearing. The
Law Secretary, who was present on Friday, also adopted a defiant
attitude. He read out just one of the documents that the counsel wanted to
present, and refused to proceed; the Attorney-General read the second.
Legal luminaries across the board have asserted that the
government has no legal recourse left but to put the order into effect.
While pleading immunity for the President, PPPs Aitzaz Ahsan felt certain
that the government would implement it. Former Law Minister S M Zafar
said that though the NRO was signed by his government, it was a black law
then, is a black law now and will be forever. Retired Justice Saeed-uzZaman Siddiqui remarked that the government has no choice but to
implement it. And retired Justice Wajiuddin said that the NRO was against
the Constitution and the demands of justice.
Nevertheless, given the defiant attitude of the government, it
seems hardly likely that the judgment on the review petition would
make it change its mind now. In that case, the situation would take an ugly
turn, with unpredictable results. And the prospect of another agitation by the
legal community looks certain, as Supreme Court Bar Association President
Yasin Azad avers that the entire Bar would stand by the apex court.
Khurshid Akhtar Khan opined: The current environment of poor
governance and tales of alleged financial corruption in the higher echelons
have discredited the major political parties most of which are sharing power,
as non-performers, self-centred and incompetent. The various governments
at the centre and in the provinces appear to posses neither the will, nor the
expertise to control or at least set a direction towards controlling the
galloping cost of living, scarcity of essential services and non-existent law
and order. The national assets are being run to the ground and industrial
activity has nosedived to absolute minimum. The general public has become
so despondent and disillusioned with the political system and with those

582

running it that a hypothetical army takeover is being considered by many

as a preferred alternative.
It is in this backdrop that Imran has emerged as a knight in the
shining armour with a tremendous appeal for his sincerity of purpose, singlemindedness, honesty and his passion. He promises instant resolution of all
problems facing the nation and people. He wants to re-enact Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto, who brought non-entities in the forefront and succeeded in bringing
a social revolution. But he was a shrewd political tactician and captivating
orator. He was exposed to the highest affairs of the State under Ayubs
tutelage. He exercised flexibility to move like a chess player to his
advantage. Imran has excellent credentials of a fundraiser and determined
campaigner. He will never be forgotten as the cricketing hero. Bhutto
instilled a dream by raising the slogan of roti, kapra aur makan, which swept
across the countrys length and breadth and still moves peoples hearts and
souls, despite being aware that this dream can never be realized. Imran has
so far thrived on highlighting others weaknesses. His solutions to
complex issues are too simplistic to be credible to any pragmatic mind.
He has enjoyed the limelight through practically the whole of his
adult life. People still remember his victory speech at the World Cup that
was watched and heard by millions around the globe. He supported
Musharafs referendum only to regret it later. He boycotted the 2008 general
elections, along with Jamaat-i-Islami and a few others, which kept them out
of the loop struggling in the wilderness. He went full steam against Altaf
Hussain to the extent of approaching Scotland Yard and has since softpedalled the issue. He remains uncompromising, individualistic and
unwilling to forge alliances with other groups.
Despite this, the October 30 Lahore rally brought out hordes of
people of all ages (though mostly relatively younger) and from a crosssection of society: People who had never been to a political gathering and,
perhaps, never voted before, yet came to support Imran. Because they have
had enough of the present lot and see him as the messiah that has leadership
qualities, coupled with passion, sincerity and honesty. However, the turnout
in the PML-N rally of Faisalabad was no less. And most of these were actual
political workers. The worst thing the PTI could do is to go into slumber
buoyed by a single public meeting. It has a steep climb ahead and they are
still at the toe of the hill.
Next day, Jalees Hazir commented: The one-eyed flag-bearers of
democracy are up in arms again. Early last week, they used Hussain

583

Haqqani's resignation to lambast the security establishment. And on Friday,

when the NRO review petition was rejected by the Supreme Court, they
breathed fire against the judiciary. Though the Eighteenth Amendment has
shifted the centre of democratic gravity back to the Parliament, their zeal
for democracy begins and ends at protecting President Zardari or his
puppets in our government. Their criticism of other institutions is a kneejerk reflex that is triggered off by anything with a potential to upset the
rickety cart laden with rotten apples and pulled by starving serfs, a cart that
they like to pass off as the sum-total of democracy. Core values of a
democratic system like representativeness, transparency, accountability,
equality and public welfare figure nowhere in the discourse of this kanabrigade. Surely, democracy is not the name of a person and holding of
another election in 2013 without addressing these basic concerns will not
bring us any closer to it.
The position of these champions of hollow democracy is clear and
simple: Once elected, those in positions of power are free to act as despots
and kings, unhindered by the Constitution or any constraints of consultation,
even within their parties or Parliament. We are told that we should not
question what they do behind closed doors and how it impacts our lives.
While they hold these democratic-sounding offices, we should not talk about
making them accountable for their corruption, nepotism, inefficiency, even
treason. We should not worry about what they do with our money, squeezed
out of even our poorest fellow-citizens. After all, the electorate will throw
out the bad eggs in the next election. As if that should be enough punishment
for their crimes; crimes that rob not one, but millions of citizens of basic
amenities, dignity, even life. This description of democracy is not acceptable
to the citizens of an awakened Pakistan.
The restored Supreme Court has been a bulwark against this mindset
that has been actively propagated by President Zardari and his coterie, who
have been hostile to the notion of an independent judiciary from day one,
and precisely for that reason this is not the first time we've heard them
squealing as if someone has stepped on their tail, casting aspersions on the
impartiality of the court and maligning it in every possible way. These oneeyed democrats have crammed a set of charges against the court that
start flying every time they don't like a judgment. They talk about the
present Supreme Court, which stands on the democratic legacy of first being
sacked for refusing to be a hand-maiden of the government and then being
restored by a mass movement, as if it is just a continuation of everything that
preceded it. They lump together every court in the country's history and their
584

crimes, and use this charge sheet to tarnish the independence of the sitting
judges. The conduct of the restored Supreme Court and its judgments speak
for themselves, and the honourable judges are viewed by people as
protectors of their interest. That is why, all over the country, we see people
stung and bitten by those in power, appealing to the Chief Justice to come to
their rescue.
The Supreme Court is also painted as biased by the same oneeyed lot. Depending on the case in question, this trumpeted bias could be
against the PPP, Sindh or democracy itself. References are made to unheard
petitions from yesteryears like Asghar Khan's petition against secret funding
to IJI in the 1988 election or more recent ones regarding Mr Bhutto's judicial
murder. Common democratic sense would tell us that people stand to gain
more by making the present government accountable as compared to
individuals and governments that are no longer in a position to affect our
lives. It is a matter of priority and, in a democratic setting; cases whose
outcome could improve the lives of people should obviously be higher up on
the list. A court order declaring Mr Bhutto's trial might reinforce what
history books already tell us, but making RPPs pay back billions of
taxpayers' rupees to the government and striking down nepotistic
appointments in important national institutions hold more for the public.
The Supreme Court has been blamed for encroaching upon
executive authority by the same bunch. This contention has been laid to
rest by another order of the Supreme Court passed last Friday that struck
down the appointment of Chairman OGRA, brother-in-law of PPP's Jehangir
Badar. He was appointed in violation of rules and without ascertaining the
veracity of his fake degree. The order clearly states that while the executive
retains the power to make appointments, it has to exercise this power in a
demonstrably fair and honest manner. The removed OGRA Chief has been
ordered to return salaries and privileges drawn on the public exchequer in
course of his illegal service and NAB has been asked to investigate the
charges of corruption involving billions of taxpayers' rupees under his
chairmanship. This is not the first nepotistic appointment made by our
despots with democratic-sounding titles that has been struck down by the
court. Obviously, for every cronie rewarded, millions suffer.
What is the argument then of the one-eyed brigade? That no one
should stop these despots from treating the State as their family jagir
just because they came through the electoral process? That they are not
accountable to the Supreme Court and even Parliament should be a window
dressing? If the security establishment has serious reservations and evidence
585

about an important ambassador, the generals should not bring it to the notice
of the elected leadership and ask for his replacement? Did they kidnap an
exceptional Ambassador doing great service to the nation that no one else
was capable of or was he asked to resign by the Prime Minister? What was
stopping the government from holding its ground and retaining Haqqani?
And if they could not take the pressure, what stopped them from resigning
and going to the court of the people? That would have been a democratic
thing to do.
On 2nd December, Mohammad Akram Sheikh commented: The
question, which is being examined in this brief article, is as to whether the
government shall or shall not implement the mandate of the Apex Court and
if it does not, what repercussions are likely to come in its wake. There are
very few countries in the democratic world, who would be flouting
judgments of their ultimate arbiters and would take pride in deliberate
obstructions in the implementation of the judgments of their apex
institutions. But the current regime stands unique in the comity of
nations for taking pride in even announcing the non-acceptance of the
judgments of its Apex Court and the NRO judgment is not the only one
which it shall continue to avoid to implement.
In the civilized world, an independent judiciary is taken as a
guarantee for smooth running of democracy, but the story at home
sounds different from rest of the world. Here an expression of loyalty with
party leadership by flouting judgments of the Apex Courts is considered as
an act of heroism, worthy of political aggrandizement. It is a matter of
record that when the Supreme Court was holding certain hearings for writing
letters to the Swiss authorities, it was the Law Minister who proudly
pronounced that such a letter can only be written on his dead body. One
wonders, what a skewed mindset the government of the time has. While it
does not hesitate in asking a foreign government to help the civilian
government to prevail on the military leadership, it does not endeavour to
learn lessons from the contemporary democracy, and take the sublime path
of non-interference by its authoritative institutions into the functions of all
the organs of democratic polity in letter and spirit, of respect for the
principle of separation of power and of unquestioned obedience to the
verdicts that one of the State organs renders. The executive arm of the State
is elected to represent the will of the people and if such institution starts
taking pride in avoiding the court verdicts, as an act of heroism, then why
would a common man abide by the law, respect the courts judgments or
command of Parliament and how would the State avoid anarchy and chaos?
586

Having the advantage of spending five days in the capital and

opportunity to speak in different quarters, I have come to a sad conclusion
that the judgment of the Supreme Court shall have to await
implementation, till the tenure of this government runs out.
This shall be the most unfortunate chapter of our history that
while in moments of State emergency, when sovereignty and territorial
integrity of the State is at risk, crime rate declines, dacoits, robbers, looters,
etc give up their notorious professions, as it happened in 1965 and 1971, it is
strange that at the time of incursion into Pakistans territory by the Nato
forces, the federal government does not at least seal its lips against the
States judicial organ and publicly announces that it shall henceforth comply
with all commands and the orders, particularly those which are passed on the
federations own concessions
Quite apart from the issue of immunity attached with the office of the
President, which can only be taken by him as a defence in case he is
summoned, to face trial, what harm would it cause to the federation to write
a letter to the Swiss authorities as directed by the Supreme Court in
paragraph 178 and 179, as mentioned hereinabove. If there is no skeleton
in President Zardaris cupboard, why should he not direct his Prime
Minister as the leader of his party to write such a letter and strengthen
the tradition of the rule of law and open and transparent accountability in
this country?
If the governments seasoned lawyers and jurists are of the
unanimous view that no foreign government can take action against the
sitting President, why it should not feel confident in complying with the
two-year old direction of the Supreme Court and take the plea that they are
debating the issue in Pakistan before the appropriate forum, in case they
receive any process.
Mr Zardaris team of Legal Eagles will be best advised to have a
pragmatic view of the present scenario. It may, probably, be in the best
interest of the President to let it happen while he still holds power, rather
than when he loses this opportunity, because in the latter case it is not only
Asif Ali Zardari who shall suffer, but he will be settled with the ignominious
responsibility of having subverted the rule of law, supremacy of the
Constitution and his own oath of office, whereby he has vowed not to allow
his personal interest to prevail over a State function and, simultaneously,
deal a terrible blow to the whole system.

587

REVIEW
The rejection of Zardari regimes appeal against NRO verdict was an
important court decision in Pakistans history; but, it failed to draw the
corresponding interest and appreciation of legal experts and analysts. Most
comments came from the politicians and that too from those who had
sympathies with Zardari.
For common man, of course, it was immaterial because an odd court
ruling hardly made any difference in their lives. Why was it so? The disposal
of this case was a classic manifestation of famous adage: justice delayed is
justice denied. It was not denial to the culprit(s) but to the victims, the
people of Pakistan, whose assets had been plundered.
The apex court took two years to finally reject the infamous NRO;
though much of the delay was caused by the Scoundrel. He after filing the
review petition made sure that the apex court did not have the mandatory 17
judges for the bench to hear it. The regime exposed the anomalies of justice
system in vogue and as beneficiary of the NRO they rulers enjoyed
ridiculing the superior judiciary.
Once the Supreme Court had the required number of judges it heard
the petition on daily basis. For four days Babar Awan made fun of
honourable judges by turning the court hearing into a press conference.
Seventeen judges lined up before him could not convince him to say a single
word relevant to the case.
Having made mockery of the proceedings day after day he
disdainfully stayed away from court room on fifth day leaving the judges on
full bench biting their lips. Even the law secretary present in the court
refused to comply with the instructions of the Chief Justice for reading out
the document which Babar Awan had requested.
With the setting aside of the review petition the Executive has
exhausted all its excuses, including the lame ones, for not writing a letter to
the Swiss Authorities as had been directed by the court two years ago. The
indications are that the regime has no intention of doing so even now.
Some legal experts also say that writing of the letter has become
immaterial because of the delay. The Swiss government is also not likely to
proceed against Zardari because of the immunity he enjoys as President of
Pakistan. It has been for these reasons that the verdict has failed to earn any
applaud.

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The verdict failed to deter the Scoundrel from his nefarious designs.
Within hours after announcement of verdict on review petition he instructed
Babar Awan to approach the apex court to resume hearing of Bhutto
reference. This is meant for demonizing the superior judiciary and for
portraying it historically an anti-PPP institution.
Hectic activities took place during the period on political front. Imran
Khan threw the cat named Shah Mahmood Qureshi among the pigeons of
PPP and PML-N. Concurrently, PML-N vehemently pursued Go Zardari Go
movement. Zardari regime has been the target of both, though PML-N and
PTI have been wasting most of their energies on mud-slinging on each other.
In addition to these two, Zulfikar Mirza, an old friend of Zardari has
been causing lot of irritation for the regime. All efforts were made to silence
him; including sending his wife Fahmida Mirza to London, unleashing
MQM activists to harass him and approaching the British government.
He was on mission to convince Brits, Altafs hosts, that their guest is
involved in perpetrating terrorism in Karachi. Mirza in short period spent in
England must have realized that waging jihad against the evil forces of Altaf
Hussain was not an easy undertaking, especially when he has the support of
his friend Zardari.
Mirza and his host Lord Nazir must have known that Altafs
operatives can perpetrate terror even in England, the hub of civilized world.
It must have also dawned upon them that this was being done with the
backing and sponsoring of British government.
Notwithstanding the evil nature of power politics and irrespective of
the ugliness of the means adopted it must be acknowledged that Zardari has
made all his adversaries look pigmies before him. All three of them were not
only outplayed by him but humiliated.
He has humbled the Army, a traditional adversary in power struggle,
to the extent that it dare not challenge his rule despite performing all dirty
jobs he undertook in a deal with the Americans. He has humiliated the
superior judiciary to the extent that judges seemed to have stopped even
grinding their teeth. His main political opponent, Nawaz Sharif has been
pushed to the bewilderment where he does not know whether he is coming
and going.
In the race of power politics Zardari is certainly ahead more than the
margin of neck and shoulder. He is on the top, but not out of woods. Recent
happenings, especially his reaction to the memorandum, NRO verdict and

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Salala attack, indicated that he could stumble because of his own

momentum.
4th December, 2011

IMRANS TSUNAMI

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Imran Khan had been raising the level of warnings about tsunami of
change, but the political pirates who had spent their lifetime afloat in the sea
of masses in this part of the world did not take him seriously. They ignored
him because of their over-confidence in their know-how of power politics.
They ought to have been caught unaware and they were when first wave of
tsunami arrived.
Some ships and fishing boats of all the three major parties were
carried away by this wave. Those who had refused to listen to Imran and had
ignored taking precautionary measures scrambled for taking steps to prevent
further losses. Aitzaz Ahsan, who was ignored by the Scoundrel for the last
four years, became the first major beneficiary when on fourth death
anniversary of Benazir he was accorded special attention by Zardari.
Just as major political parties were forced to fight on the back-foot,
the situation on judicial front was no different, especially for Zardari-led
ruling party. The impending court decisions in many corruption cases hung
like swords over the heads of rulers. As if these were not enough, yet another
sword was added by the petitions for hearing of Memogate Scandal
The developments related to this scandal dominated all other events
during the period. These have been covered in series of articles pertaining to
war on terror as memo has been by-product of that war wherein the Zardari
Regime in had sought help of its American Masters ironing out the security
establishment and in return promised access to Pakistans nuclear assets.

NEWS
On 4th December, PTI made Shah Mehmood Qureshi as party viceChairman. Imran Khan declared his assets and asked all other politicians to
do like him. He did this in a press conference along with Shah Mehmood
Qureshi and Justice Wajihuddin. In a counter-press conference Chaudhry
Nisar alleged that Imran Khan misled the media by sharing incomplete
details of his assets.
Shahbaz Sharif said that he has been declaring his assets inside and
outside the country every year since 2008 and his assets are public
documents. He challenged that those who have doubts regarding his assets
should prove it in the court and he is ready to face it. Meanwhile, Zulfiqar
Mizas bodyguard was murdered in Lahore over land dispute.
Next day, in a major reshuffle the government changed its envoys in
14 countries and asked three others to report back to Islamabad. Lord Nazir
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said AJK Prime Minister and his aides were hurling threats at him. In
Karachi, 17 suspects were held by Rangers and a dead body was found.
On 7th December, Nawaz Sharif said that failed and self-directed
policies of sitting rulers have led the country to the verge of destruction and
departure of PPP led allied government was vital to protect the country's
sovereignty and stability. LHC ordered registration of case against seven
persons, including Dost Mohammad Khosa of PML-N, a former CM of
Punjab, on complaint of abduction of actress Sapna. Azam Swati resigned
from Senate and basic membership of JUI-F. Eleven out of 39 PIA planes
were grounded.
Next day, the Supreme Court in its detailed judgment on NRO verdict
review pleas announced that all corruption cases stand revived to their preNRO position and ordered cancellation of all benefits accrued under the
Black Law. The court said in its judgment that the federal counsel was
heard but he failed to give arguments to build the case for a review of certain
aspects of SCs December 16, 2009 decision on the NRO.
All the cases in which the accused persons were either discharged or
acquitted under Section 2 of the NRO or where proceedings pending against
the holders of public office had got terminated in view of Section 7 thereof,
a list of which cases has been furnished to the court and any other such
cases/proceedings which may not have been brought to the notice of this
court, shall stand revived and relegated to the status of pre-October 5, 2007
position.
All the concerned courts including the trial, the appellate and the
review courts are ordered to summon the persons accused in such cases and
then to proceed in the respective matters in accordance with law from the
stage from where such proceedings had been brought to an end in pursuance
of the above provisions of the NRO.
The federal government, all the provincial governments and all
relevant and competent authorities including the NAB prosecutor general,
the special prosecutors in various accountability courts, the prosecutors
generals in the four provinces and other officers or officials involved in the
prosecution of criminal offenders are directed to offer every possible
assistance required by the competent courts in the said connection.
Similarly, all cases which were under investigation or pending
enquiries and which had either been withdrawn or where the investigations
or enquiries had been terminated on account of the NRO shall also stand

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revived and the relevant and competent authorities shall proceed in the said
matters in accordance with law.
The LHC sought report and para-wise comments from Imran Khan,
Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and other politicians on a petition seeking
details of their assets in the country and abroad. The court issued notices to
the respondents ordering them to file comments duly supported by their
affidavits.
On 9th December, addressing at full-court reference the Chief Justice
warned against causing obstruction in establishment of rule of law. Loadshedding in Faisalabad increased to four days; industrialists vowed to protest
and resist. A notification was issued that revived 26 sub divisions of
Karachis five districts.
Next day, Nawaz Sharif said that killers of Benazir would be brought
to justice after coming in power. Talking to public gathering in Larkana he
said that the government paid no attention to problems of Sindhi people,
therefore, he would come forward to help them. He maintained that the
PML-N wanted Sindh to progress like Punjab.
Hundreds of laborers from industrial units of Faisalabad protested 3day-long gas load shedding which has severely affected industrial
production of the city. A large number of daily wagers staged sit-in outside
citys district council and chanted slogans against the government
authorities.
PPP and MQM once again failed to sort out differences on LG system.
Imran Khan summoned Shah Mahmood Qureshi to the US to assist him in
talks with American officials. Khursheed Kasuri, Asif Ahmed Ali and Azam
Swati were reported preparing to join PTI.
On 12th December, the Supreme Court issued notice to Ahmed Raza
Kasuri to ensure the fair trial in Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Reference case. Arguing
before the 11-member bench the state counsel Babar Awan and Aitzaz Ahsan
objected when the court remarked that the court should hear the Ahmed
Raza Kasuri in this case. The lawyers said that there is no need for Ahmad
Raza Kasuri to be present in the court in the case. Babar Awan said the
verdict in Iqbal Tikka case was changed without hearing respondents
viewpoint. Aitzaz told the court that the state is the plaintiff and Attorney
General is representing it. The hearing was later on adjourned till January 2.
Clash took place between supporters and opponents of KPK Minister
for Irrigation Pervez Khattak at the Central Secretariat of Pakistan PTI in

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Islamabad. Pervez Khattak was to announce his joining of the PTI at a press
conference along with Imran Khan; supporters and opponents of Pervez
Khattak came from Nowshera and the venue presented a look of battlefield
when they clashed with sticks. On hearing the report of clashes, Imran Khan
postponed his scheduled press conference.
Air Marshal Asghar Khan announced his party alliance with Pakistan
Tehrik-e -Insaf. The reports about summoning of Shah Mahmood to the US
were wrong as Imran Khan never went to the US. PPP Punjab endorsed
Seraiki Province. In Karachi, Police recovered 57 chained students detained
in a seminary at an Afghan camp.
Next day, the Supreme Court sought the details of agreement from
NAB under which the family of Sharif brothers went to Saudi Arabia,
besides directing the bureau to submit its references against the family. The
NAB prosecutor had told the court that the Sharif brothers went abroad,
voluntarily surrendering their assets after making a deal with the federation
in the Plane Hijack case. He said now as the new chairman has assumed
charge therefore the NAB wanted to revive all the cases.
Imran Khan appointed Shafqat Mehmood, bureaucrat-turnedpolitician as central information secretary of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf,
replacing Omar Sarfraz Cheema who held the post for three years and stood
by the party even at the time when nobody thought the PTI stood any future.
This is the second most important appointment made by Khan in less than
two weeks the first being that of Shah Mehmood Qureshi as senior vicechairman. Meanwhile, KPK Sikhs quit ANP to join PTI.
A two-member Supreme Court bench directed the reconciliatory
committee to submit within three weeks its report in Bank of Punjab
corruption case and adjourned the matter till third week of January. In
another case the Chief Justice doubted the wisdom in having RPPs in the
presence of IPPs.
An armed clash between two rival parties, Katchi community and
Lyari gangsters, in Lyari area claimed four lives, including that of the
programme director of a private television. The CID claimed to have
arrested two operatives of Punjabi Taliban while three of them managed to
escape during exchange of fire.
On 14th December, the Supreme Court while issuing fresh order in the
NRO implementation case has called for explanations from the President,
Prime Minister, NAB chairman and provincial governors interior and law
ministers, federal and provincial police chiefs, attorney general and advocate
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generals as to why the verdict was not fully implemented. The explanations
are to be submitted to the apex court within two and a half weeks.
The Supreme Court reserved its verdict in suo motu case regarding
governments Rental Power policy after completing hearing. Ministry of
Water and Power Lawyer had told the court that all the contracts for hiring
Rental Power Projects were transparent and nothing was hidden in this
regard. Meanwhile, Sindh Government allowed the PTI to hold rally in
Karachi. Protests were held against privatization of WAPDA.
Next day, Imran Khan said that tsunami of change has started in the
country which cannot be stopped. Addressing a press conference at the
residence of S A Hameed here in Gujranwala, Imran Khan said that he
would announce a revolutionary manifesto on December 25 in Karachi.
On 16th December, Imran Khan said that biggest dacoit in the country
has become Pakistans president. Addressing a huge public meeting in
Mardan Khan said that there was no honesty in Pakistan and Poors rights
were being exploited. He said that the people who should be in jails had
reached in power corridors.
Next day, Imran Khan said that the parliaments resolutions are not
being implemented since sheep and goats were sitting in the house. The PTI
chief said that the PPP and PML-N called themselves democratic parties but
there is no democracy within the parties. Azam Swati joined PTI and said
that he has submitted all his assets to Chairman PTI.
MQM-H Chairman Afaq Ahmed was released from a prison in
Karachi; SHC had ordered his release, declaring his detention under the
PCO null and void. Hundreds of workers of MQM gathered outside Central
Jail to receive their leader. Addressing media men he rejected rumours that
he would be leaving the country. The Supreme Court directed Altaf Hussain
to submit his affidavit in the court by December 21 with regard to his
application against Zulfiqar Mirza.
On 18th December, public rallies in Lahore by religious and political
parties, in Peshawar by Jamaat-e-Islami, in Rawalpindi by Tahirul Qadri and
in Pindi Ghaib by PTI demanded change. PPP leaders organized a meeting at
Lahore and vowed to defend democracy at all costs. In Karachi, two
persons were killed and 14 arrests were made.
Next day, Jehangir Tareen and Awais Leghari, Jamal Leghari,
Sikandar Bosan and Ghulam Sarwar Khan and others announced their
decision to join the PTI. Speaking during the news conference Jehangir

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Tareen said the politicians had joined the PTI to save the country from
mismanagement, plunder, price hike and unemployment and bring a positive
change in the life of the people.
Speaking on the occasion Imran Khan said there is no hereditary
leadership of political parties world over as was being experienced in
Pakistan. Political parties are not NGOs or clubs which are headed by
members of the same family. He said the PTI is working for the formation of
a sincere, near and clean government in the country and introduce far
reaching reforms for the welfare of the common man.
Nawaz Sharif met Baloch leader Attaullah Mengal in Karachi and
discussed with him ongoing political situation in Balochistan. Talking to
media after the meeting with Mengal, the former prime minister pledged that
he would fight the case of Balochistan and would resolve the issue in
consultation with Mengal and other defiant Baloch leaders.
The ECP said that politicians having dual nationality would not be
allowed to contest elections. The commission directed the returning officers
to take oath from the candidates while submitting nomination papers. The
new order would be implemented from Senate elections.
State Bank asked the government to move quickly to broaden its tax
base and restructure loss-making public entities to control its widening fiscal
deficit. Thousands of citizens including PML-N legislatives poured on roads
in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and blocked main arteries of the
twin cities to press the government to overwhelm gas crisis.
On 20th December, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri joined PTI. He made
his announcement along with his aides during a huge public meeting. Imran
Khan said he had never seen such a huge public gathering in Kasur. The
meeting ended with participants carrying away the plastic chairs with them,
which allowed the critics of Imran to pass sarcastic remarks.
Imran Khans counsel Hamid Khan said that ECP was supposed to
complete the voters lists by December 16, but it has not even tabulated the
interim lists so far. The Supreme Court directed the secretary ECP to prepare
a comprehensive report regarding the voters lists. The court directed that
Benazirs application be also attached with the Imran Khans petition.
Nawaz Sharif said that any military coup would further deteriorate the
situation in country. He asked the government to hold early elections. Fazlur
Rehman also demanded early polls. Youth in Islamabad decided to take out a
rally to celebrate Ibrarul Haqs joining of PTI.

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Next day, the Supreme Court rejected excuses of ECP for not updating
voters lists, sought completion by February 23 and threatened action against
ECP Secretary. Iftikhar Gilani, Asghars son and other join PTI. Imran
mulled challenging imposition of poll ban on dual nationals. SHC denied
PTI permission for rally at Quaids mausoleum. Chairman NAB gave up
plea bargain powers. Railways employees held rally in Lahore for payment
of pay and pension.
On 22nd December, Nawaz Sharif said that time has come to oust the
corrupt rulers who have been at the helm. Speaking at a public rally in
Chishtian, the former prime minister said that there was no electricity, gas
and water in the country. I have never seen such a huge corruption in my
life, he added.
MQM-H chief Afaq Ahmed filed petition against the DG Rangers in
the Sindh High Court for contempt of court. The application was filed after
the Rangers failed to provide security to the MQM-H chief on the courts
order. The application stated that the orders of the Sindh High Court were
being violated and the Rangers were not providing him with security.
Next day, Altaf Hussain said that his party will support the creation of
Seraiki and Hazara province in the National Assembly. Addressing a public
gathering in Multan, he directed the MQMs parliamentarian to move
resolution in the NA regarding creation of Seraiki province. He said that his
party would set the masses free of the feudal system.
PTI was finally allowed to hold rally at Mazar-e-Quaid. Javed Hashmi
decided to join PTI despite efforts of PML-N leaders to persuade him not to
do so. The World Bank Group will continue to support Pakistans poverty
reduction and development agenda with an expected assistance of up to $5.5
billion over the FY 12-14. Gas protesters burnt two APCs at Islamabad
Express Way. Six people were killed in Karachi.
On 24th December, Javed Hashmi described Imran Khan as champion
of politics shortly after he formally joined PTI. He said that he had no
differences with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. He said that he joined Imran
Khan due to similarity of thought, adding that he had been struggling for
accountability of politicians and Imran Khan has also been struggling for 15
years. He dispelled the notion that the establishment was backing the PTI
and Imran Khan.
Speaking on the occasion, Imran Khan said that his party would
greatly benefit from the experience of Javed Hashmi. He said that Hashmi
unconditionally joined the PTI and never demanded any position in the
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party. Khan said his party wound not accept new election if conducted in
near future on prior electoral system.
PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Hashmi on occasion said
that he did not have political differences with Javed Hashmi and he
welcomes him in the party. On a query former foreign minister welcomed
army chief statement to strengthen democracy in the country saying that
current government has dragged the country to edge of destruction and
people of Pakistan demanding for change.
Whereas many PML-N leaders were grieved over Javed Hashmi
leaving the party Chaduhry Nisar said his party was not afraid of anyone's
departure and that his party was ready for snap polls. He claimed that an
agency was behind pushing the people towards Tehreek-e-Insaf. Soon
everyone will know that Imran Khan's revolution is no better than a bubble,
he added.
Ahsan Iqbal said the world establishment turned against Mian Nawaz
Sharif on declining to dance to their tunes. Addressing a ceremony at
Engineering University Lahore, he said the 180 million people will
safeguard Nawaz Sharif as the international establishment is opposed to him
for refusing to take dictation from it.
Next day, Imran Khans tsunami after conquering Lahore swept
through Karachi, where tens of thousands of people assembled at the call of
the PTI leader who unfolded his future plans to cleanse the country from
rampant corruption and to make it an Islamic social welfare state. Imran
Khan termed the gathering more successful than the one PTI had organized
in Lahore. Thousands of charged and emotional party workers were chanting
slogans of Prime Minister Imran Khan and hoisted the party flags to
express their sentiments.
Imran Khan promised the nation on Quaid-i-Azams birth anniversary
that he will fulfill the dream of the Founder of the Nation. The PTI Chief
said he would bring a team that will be selected on merit to transform
Pakistan into a welfare state. He said this team would function under
Jehangir Tareen to present economic policies, labour policies, tax reforms,
education policies as well as foreign policies before the nation. There will be
a policy paper on all issues, he added.
Imran said a Chinese company wanted to bring $19 billion investment
to Pakistan but could not do so due to the worst law and order situation in
Karachi. You dont need a rocket science in Pakistan, just bring a team of
honest leaders that undertakes its own accountability, he asserted. He
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promised that the major corruption will be eliminated within 90 days of

coming into power.
Speaking about Balochistan, he said: We will seek forgiveness from
Balochistan people and remove their grievances by developing the deprived
province. Announcing about PTIs next public meeting, he said that the next
stop for the tsunami will be Quetta on March 23. Imran apologized to
Baloch people and said the he will provide them their rights.
Imran Khan said that he wanted to play a match with President
Zardari but unfortunately he was retired hurt. The days of Zardaris rule are
numbered, so do not worry. He said Mian Sahib lets play a 10-over match.
Mian Sahib, hurry, before you are unable to get a team.
Observers termed the rally a spectacular success. Shahbaz tried to
belittle PTI. Babar Awan termed it a fashion show. Munawwar Hassan said
opportunists cannot bring change in the country; he was speaking at JI rally
in Lahore. Jemima was impressed. Asseff Ahmed Ali confirmed that he was
joining PTI.
Prime Minister speaking to the media at the Mazar-e-Quaid said
Parliament is the supreme institution and if someone wants either Prime
Minister or the President to go, he must follow the procedure laid down in
the Constitution.
Firdous Ashiq Awan announced her resignation as information
minister with tears rolling down her cheeks and in an emotionally chocked
voice at the cabinet meeting. The cabinet members were shocked by the
unusual announcement in the cabinet meeting. Gilani rejected her
resignation.
On 27th December, Interior Ministry removed from ECL the name of
Moonis Elahi. Next day, the NAB constituted two teams to investigate the
ISAF containers scam and other special cases. The Executive Board
authorized investigation into the mega case regarding illegal leasing of land
to the Royal Palm Golf Club in Lahore and also directed to ascertain the
extent of loss caused to the State in this case.
On 29th December, Javed Hashmi and his daughter Memona Hashmi
submitted their resignation from National Assembly seats. Earlier in a final
speech in NA, Hashmi said that PML-N had given ticket to a man who
attacked his daughter in NA. Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources
Dr Asim said that all the CNG stations will have to be closed in January as

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the country was mired by acute gas shortage. Babar Awan was nominated
Vice President of Pakistan Peoples Party
Next day, the government jacked up the gas prices from 13 to 207
percent for all users along with imposing gas infrastructure cess (GIC) on
five different sectors. Ogra at the advice of petroleum ministry made
massive surge in the price of gas through a notification; however, petroleum
ministry later issued a notification of imposing GIC on five different sectors.
But a strong public response led the ministry to reduce the margin of GIC to
40 percent within an hour after the issuance of Ogra notification.
Low gas pressure kept raising the public ire across Punjab, especially
the provincial capital. The demonstrations were also staged in other districts
of the province. But, the intensity of agitation was high at Faisalabad where
the protesting industry workers and domestic consumers blocked the roads.
Similarly, people also staged protests in Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura,
Gujranwala and Wazirabad.
Election Tribunal disqualified member of National Assembly and
leader of PPP Mir Humayun Kurd from Balochistan and ordered re-election
on NA-267 Kachhi-cum-Jhal Magsi. Sardar Rind had challenged Kurds
victory in the Election Tribunal with a plea that the latter had ensured his
success by using thousands of bogus votes.
Tehrik-e-Istaqlal Pakistan has decided in a meeting on Friday to
merge the party into Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI), while a ten-member
committee will hold talks with Imran Khan to finalize the modalities of the
merging process. Muhammad Faazal Bhatti would lead the committee, while
the party leadership has given the mandate to party founder, Air Marshal
Asghar Khan to nominate four senior party leaders to be included in the
body.
On 31st December, Nawaz Sharif claimed that he was coming to
power again to serve the country. The PML-N president said while
addressing a big public meeting at Gujranwala. The testing times are about
to be over. The reins of power will now be in the hands of those who are the
best among the people, with no corruption allegations against them, he said.
Referring to Imran Khan he said that the flood of people supporting
his party would wash away the World Eleven. Alluding to the ongoing
trend of people joining the PTI everyday, Sharif said: Fear not the turncoats,
Gen Musharrafs team is now leaving Q League and moving forward.
Criticizing Imran Khan, the PML-N leader said the man who was talking of

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revolution was accepting support from what was the B-team of Gen
Musharraf. He pointed out contradictions in Imrans stand on various issues.
Prime Minister lashed out at the critics of the government saying
some political orphans and test-tube babies, who were rejected by the people
of their own constituencies, present their hotchpotch philosophies on TV
screens every evening but this criticism could not destabilize the
government. He said this while addressing a public gathering at Head
Muhammadwala after inaugurating a newly-constructed bridge.
Pledging to bring together the best competent team to address the
issues facing Pakistan, Imran Khan promised to transform the country into a
real Islamic social welfare state, as envisioned by Father of the Nation. He
said PTI would devise plans and programmes to benefit majority of the
countrymen and not to benefit the elite. Imran added that shadow cabinet
of the PTI has started its task of preparing policy papers to revamp various
departments and sectors of Pakistan in a bid to put the country on the road to
progress.
Beating all previous records in history of the country, the cash starved
coalition government on New Year gifted the masses with a massive raise in
the prices of POL products. However, prices of high speed diesel (HSD),
light diesel oil (LDO) and kerosene will remain the same and will be
maintained, as no change in the prices has been decided till this effect.
Ahmed Raza Kasuri in his reply submitted in the Supreme Court has
said that the court cant open ZAB case. In his 72-page reply, Kasuri
contended that the court had no jurisdiction to reopen the case under Article
186 of the Constitution; therefore presidential reference should be rejected.

VIEWS
On 6th December, TheNation observed: PML-N leader and Leader of
the Opposition in the national Assembly, was quick to stigmatize Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khans assets as incorrectly stated, with a
promise to give correct details of his assets after Ashura Mr Khan and the
Sharifs assets stand revealed as having both contested elections, and already
having made assets declarations. Challenging each others declarations
may make good political theatrics, but it does not yield any result. If
both, or either, are in any way really serious about unveiling the lacunae in
the asset declarations of the other, there is a proper procedure prescribed
already, and that is an approach to the judiciary by means of an election

601

petition. Though making an assets declaration is no longer compulsory, the

Supreme Court has ruled ineligible those submitting fake degrees, even
though members no longer have to be graduates, and by the same token,
anyone proved to have falsified an assets declaration, would probably not
find much sympathy in future from the judicial forums. The Election
Commission is also very meticulous with this set of legislatures in ensuring
that they file declarations annually, even though this requirement probably
only will last out the life of the present Parliament.
The PTI should count it a success that politicians assets have come
to the fore. The PTI may be targeting the Sharif bothers, and being targeted
in return, but following the process should mean that anyone suspected in
the PPP government, seen as very corrupt, would be taken before a court,
and given the chance of self-defence that they presently do not have. At the
same time, the murk surrounding politicians assets should be dissipated,
and if the government has nothing to hide, it should take the necessary
legislative measures to make assets declaration a permanent feature rather
than a Martial Law innovation which will fall into oblivion.
Four days later, the newspaper wrote: The Supreme Court
announced, on Thursday, its detailed verdict on the NRO review petition
It seems the judgment would make it quite hard for anyone to escape the
long arm of the law. And as Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, a PPP stalwart, has
maintained, it would not now be possible for anyone to disregard the
verdict but to implement it. Right at the time of the NROs promulgation,
civil society, legal opinion, the media and the public had protested that it was
violative of the Constitution. Even the late PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto,
who had somehow consented to negotiate the terms of return to Pakistan and
agreed to the NRO, later declared in one of her books that it was a bad law.
Unfortunately, certain PPP individuals, most prominently Mr Babar
Awan, have been expressing views, which presumably fall under the
category of the contempt of the court. There is little doubt that civilized
society would not countenance the refusal to implement the verdict of
the highest court of law in the country. In fact, it is compliance with the
law that is an important ingredient of a civilized country. Things have now
come to a point where the government should honestly and sincerely go
ahead with the implementation of this verdict as well as other verdicts that
have been awaiting implementation. It is never too late!
On 15th December, Azam Khalil saw maturity creeping into politics.
At first, there was an air of helplessness that was visible, but both the

602

establishment and the civil government took a strategic decision to

remain on the same page so that all these challenges faced by Pakistan
could be overcome. More so, the country emerged united and this was
demonstrated not only by the general public, but also statements coming out
of the political parties of all shades of opinion. This strength of unity has
been so remarkable that it has provided vigour and determination to the
government, including the armed forces, who are now busy evaluating their
past policies and formulating new ideas that would help protect the vital
interests of Pakistan.
One hopes that this new found unity and vitality, which is the
result of extreme adversity faced by Pakistan and its people, will be
canalized in a proper and productive manner, allowing the State to
surmount the challenges it is facing. As far as the political leadership of
Pakistan is concerned, they need to be congratulated on their collective
efforts to strengthen the institution of democracy and there is no reason that
they will not continue doing so in future. Their resolve is, probably, the basic
reason that the establishment has decided to give them a helping hand where
the will of the people continues to be respected. The politicians must
understand that this system will continue to prosper if they fulfill the
responsibilities given to them by the people that includes the weeding out of
the menace of corruption, building of State institutions and providing relief
to the masses within the resources that are available.
While this may be a tall order, the time has come when the
government should start moving in the proper direction so that it is possible
for it to achieve the objectives. Although it is not out of place for politicians
to pursue varying objectives and criticizing the policies of other political
parties, yet it is always better if they refrain from indulging in their best
pastime of mudslinging on one another, since it creates problems for the
people as well as affects the economic situation of the country.
One hopes that there will be a smooth transition of power as and
when the next general elections are held. That will be only possible if the
elections are held in a transparent manner. Politicians should also learn to
respect the will of the people and those who lose may not call it foul without
cogent reasons. Otherwise, the danger to the institution of democracy will
continue to stare, which is not in the interest of Pakistan or its people.
On 17th December, Tallat Azim opined: The people want a change, as
they review the events of the recent years and governments. They really
want the slate to be wiped clean and all parties to be purged of those who are

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perceived to be corrupt. There was such a telling photograph in the paper the
other day. A group of downcast looking men praying somberly around a
large collection of black coloured goats, which were about to be taken for
slaughtering to ward off the evil eye from President Zardari. No amount of
kaala bakras ki qurbani is going to cause a change of heart to the
national sentiment for a corruption-free society. My heart does go out to
those whose fortunes are linked to those of the President and who are feeling
extremely insecure in his absence, but all good things, as well as bad; do
come to an end eventually. What was good and what was bad will be judged
by time.
On 22nd December, TheNation observed: PML-N President Mian
Nawaz Sharif, who is presently on a visit to Karachi, has observed that
unless snap general elections were called, the already poor situation in the
country would further deteriorate. Mian Sahibs call at this stage raises some
pertinent questions. For instance, does he consider that the moment is the
most propitious for getting a majority of seats in Parliament? Does he
believe that, with the Imran Khan tsunami fast taking over the country,
any delay in the polls could erode the chances of his party winning, even
the present strength? According to seasoned political analysts, even in
Punjab, the traditional stronghold of the PML-N, it is already facing
challenges from the PPP and the PML-Q, whose leadership once willing to
return to the fold of the mother party, was turned down by Mian Nawaz. And
now the apprehensions of a third challenge coming from the PTI should be
galling news for the PML-N leadership.
The current trend of hordes of electable candidates joining the PTI
day after day threatens to take the countrys electoral sanctum by storm, at
least the urban areas. And should PTI be given another year or so, when
general elections would be due under the normal course, to harness votes in
the rural areas, the general expectation is that it would be able to make a
fateful dent in the voting strengths not only of the PML-N, but also of the
PPP and other political parties. The PML-N might now be ruing the day
when it decided to persist in the status of a friendly opposition for so
long; which in the light of the PPP leaders past record, as well as their
performance during the current stint of power, was in no way justified. This
attitude raised critical voices in the media and the public.
Another point in Mian Nawazs address to office-bearers of the Sindh
PML-N Labour Wing and representatives of the labour unions, that strikes
the audience was the fear he voiced of an army takeover. As things stand, the
top brass have adopted a policy of restraint. Even now, conditions on the
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ground the awakened public opinion, the fearless media and the
independent judiciary in the country, with the unambiguous constitutional
provision against any such act, and the known distaste of the international
community for derailing civilian democracy to install military dictatorship
do not suggest that the army could seriously be thinking on that line. On top
of that, the mess that the PPP-led has created across the board would
pose a daunting challenge to any succeeding ruling setup. Any force
would have to think twice before falling prey to the temptation of assuming
the reins of power. Mian Sahib would be well advised to concentrate on
alleviating the suffering of the man in the street in the area of his party's
governance to subvert these otherwise strong challenges to his political
strength.
Azam Khalil opined: PTI may be attracting people by the dozens in
its fold, yet it lacks the political expertise that is essential to convert its
mass appeal of change into votes. It seems that it will have to wait after
the 2013 elections to be considered seriously, as an option that is capable of
leading the country out of its problems. Imran Khan will, nonetheless, mount
a serious challenge in the urban areas, which is PML-Ns power base. But
his party has yet to organize in the rural areas, which provide the mainstay of
the Provincial and National Assembly seats. The culture between the urban
and rural politics is quite different, and unless and until Imran is able to win
support of those groups and clans, who have sizeable local support, it will
not be possible for PTI to come into power.
Another drawback that PTI will face would be that many timetested politicians, who have joined his party may ultimately tarnish its
image, despite the fact that these new entrants may declare their assets a
primary condition set by Imran. So, this may not be enough to pull the
support that is essential, if he is to win in the general elections.
This essentially means that the next government would, perhaps,
be a coalition for which work may have already begun and one may see
the early emergence of new alliances between various political parties, who
will then fight it out in the elections. Therefore, it would be appropriate, if
the major political parties, instead of being distracted by various theories of
doom and gloom, should settle down and concentrate on organizing their
parties, and lay before the people their programme of governing the
country.
For the present dispensation, there will be no easy way out and as the
adage goes, deeds speak louder than words, they have to urgently

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implement policies that are people-friendly and will help alleviate the
sufferings of the poor. The government should concentrate on issues of
energy, unemployment and corruption, which have already ruined its image.
Also, it would be a good beginning if committed party workers are brought
forward with a mandate to introduce short-term measures, which will bring
instant relief and happiness to the people of Pakistan. Short of that they will
definitely be fighting an uphill battle that will become more difficult with
each passing day; it is a proposition that no prudent politician would like to
face with the elections just about a year away. However, one thing remains
certain that the people will give a run for their money to all the
politicians, who decide to contest in the elections. As far as democracy is
concerned, it is expected to gain strength and provide both harmony and
prosperity to the people.
On 25th December, TheNation wrote: Mr Hashmis reasons for
leaving the PML-N apart, the PML-N leadership should give serious
thought as to why its most loyal members are leaving the party. If they
carried out a dispassionate analysis, they would realize that their need was
for unity, the kind of unity the PML had when the Quaid-e-Azam was its
President, and led it towards the creation of Pakistan. A disunited PML,
today, can be seen in the 1971 elections, when the country was divided. This
time around, the PML stands split into numerous factions, and the main two
factions, the PML-N and the PML-Q have leaders unwilling to tolerate each
other's presence in the same party. There should be some soul searching to
determine the extent to which such departures from the party as Mr
Hashmis could have been prevented by a unified political platform. After
all, the people who contest elections on League tickets are practical
politicians who like to have a chance of winning, and would find themselves
driven away by shows of disunity which not only reduce chances of winning
individual constituencies, but also the chance of being part of ruling
majorities for people who do win their seats.
Mian Nawazs reaction, of wishing Mr Hashmi well, is a good one,
as is his pledge for the defence of democracy against any attempted military
takeover, but his graciousness should not be limited to those leaving his
party. His good graces should extend to those who might wish to enter his,
in the hope that this would mean a unification of all PML factions a
requirement for the political survival of them all.
Next day, TheNation commented: President Asif Ali Zardari, in a
message to the nation on this auspicious occasion, recalled the Quaids belief
in the ballot and not the bullet, to effect change in government and urged the
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people to resolve not to let any force or threat be used for this purpose. He
called for making Pakistan a country after the vision of the Quaid,
where freedom, justice, and rule of law prevail, human rights are
respected and the people have adequate means of livelihood.
Unfortunately, our leaders are in the habit of paying lip service to
the ideals of the Quaid-i-Azam, without giving a moments thought to
what these ideals ask of them. Their lives and the conduct of governments
that they run do not conform to these ideals. Against this background, it is
obvious that they would pay little attention to propagating them. As a result,
Pakistan today has little resemblance to the vision that brought it into being;
for mere verbalization of wishes would not help matters. There is urgent
need for government as well as the public to follow the glorious principle
the Quaids life and saying lay down. Hard work, unity, discipline and faith,
honesty and integrity, social justice and the rule of law have to be inculcated
to pull the country out of the morass of backwardness and ignominy into
which it has fallen. There is no time to waste in starting work with these
ends in view.
A R Jerral opined: Imran Khan sounds confused in his
declarations. He says that he cannot close the doors of his party to anyone
desirous of joining; he also openly states that PTI needs winnable leaders,
who can ensure success in the forthcoming elections. The Qureshis, Legharis
and Kasuris are winnable assets, but they are from the old guard whose
credentials are firmly established. They represent the status quo forces and
belong to the elite group of society, who has fixed social and political values
and a definite perception how political matters are to be handled. Khans
assertions that only those will be awarded tickets for elections who have a
clean record, conflicts with his winnable qualification; not all winnable have
a clean record if one dispassionately assesses the past record. The names
mentioned above may have no blemish of corruption; they had no need to
indulge in misappropriations, as they hail from rich landed class. But this
cannot be said of those who are waiting in the wings and looking for an
opportune moment to grab their surfing boards and get onto the tsunami
wave. Most of them are winnable, but fail the clean criterion set by PTI.
PTI Chairman has been spelling out his priorities in his speeches and
talk shows. He wants merit to prevail in all the governments departments
and dealings. The winnables joining him belong to political families, who
have their own groupings based on family and clan. They also have their
supporters, who want to get benefits from the positions and authority that
these electables can provide; merit gets relegated to secondary status. Will
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these old hands allow PTI to enforce merit, if and when it gains power,
or will it be forced to compromise? In the Lahore rally, which set the ball
rolling
Jerral also mentioned the reforms Khan wants to bring in various
sectors and then went on: The political opponents are accusing the PTI of
being supported by the establishment. They claim that the mass influx
into the PTI is occurring on the nod from the hidden forces. In a political
culture, where we have seen the emergence of alliances under establishment
guidance, this accusation does carry some weight. They even accuse that the
Munter mantra is at work; it is after the PTI Chiefs meeting with the US
Ambassador that the tsunami gained momentum and politicians embarked
on the race to join. The truth may not be known for some time to come.
The PTI rally at Kasur demonstrated a grave shortcoming of the
party. The conduct of the crowd at the end of speeches showed that it does
not have lower tier party workers, who could control the crowd; and if lower
level political workers exist, they deliberately remained aloof to register
their resentment on the direction party is taking. The leadership also
displayed an indifferent attitude in the rally; they made speeches and left,
those who were present remained ineffective. This rally was in a glaring
contrast to Minar-i-Pakistan rally; that had the educated silent majority in
attendance. This should amply demonstrate to Imran Khan the type of
people he is inducting in the party and what can he expect from them and
those who support them.
It would have been much better for Imran Khan to remain true and
steadfast to his cause and programme. He should have fielded educated,
mature and ideologically-motivated people. The silent majority, who saw
a hope and promise in his political direction, would have voted not for
personalities, but for his programme. In the 1970 elections, the PPP had
fielded mostly unknown candidates, yet they won because the programme
the party gave appealed to the masses. PTI had that the potential, but it is
losing that advantage. Elections are still some time away, it would be better
for the PTI to rethink its priorities and be selective in its picking.
On 27th December, TheNation commented on promises of Imran. It
was widely expected of the PTI leader to announce the party manifesto at
Karachi. Tall promises have been galore in the past and, unfortunately,
they disappointingly often prove themselves to be nothing but hot air.
Now that he has been able to gather around him people of varied
backgrounds, he ought to put them to work, drawing up details of the

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reforms he has mentioned. At this critical juncture of the countrys history,

the nation stands disillusioned with the present setup. All eyes are on the
future. Unless a leadership dynamic enough to act upon these promises
succeeds in capturing the reins of power in the next general elections,
whenever they take place, one should not hope for much change in the lives
of the man in the street. And it is change in their lives the whole world is
looking for. One would very much wish, in case Imran Khan carries the day,
that he would not disappoint the people.
In another editorial the newspaper wrote: Federal Minister for
Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, who tendered her tearful resignation
during a cabinet meeting on Sunday, must be relaxed now that the Prime
Minister has refused to accept it. Not only this, Mr Gilani assured her that he
would look into her complaints about running the ministry effectively. The
encounter between Mr Gilani and Dr Awan was unique in the sense that
never before has such a high-pitched emotional drama been witnessed
during a cabinet session. Her adversaries say she was preparing to join
Imran Khans Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf. This was averted by the Presidents
timely intervention, who called the PM on phone and asked him not to
accept her resignation. While some allege Mr Gilani asked her to tender her
resignation as a result of dissatisfaction with her ministrys performance, on
the other hand, Dr Awan has a completely different story to tell.
Media reports suggest that she was very uncomfortable due to
interference and meddling of various persons in the day-to-day affairs of her
ministry. Without naming, she said that there were at least four persons who
were acting as information ministers and spokesmen of the government. She
said the worst thing that could happen to her was that a non-ministry person
had been invited to conduct the briefing of the federal cabinet despite the
fact that the Information Minister was the chief spokesperson of the
government. Another report says that she was also unhappy over the fact
that a former information minister was still using the bullet-proof
vehicle, plus three cars and secretarial staff of her ministry. Another thing
that made Dr Awan uncomfortable was that she could not shuffle senior
officials of her ministry because summaries sent to the Prime Ministers
Secretariat were neither approved nor returned to her office with any
objection.
All said and done, Dr Awans resignation has fully depicted the
state of affairs under which the various ministries are functioning. The
Prime Minister should take immediate notice of such lapses and allow Dr
Awan to at least have a team of her choice to produce the required results. At
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the same time Mr Gilani must put in place some sort of monitoring system
about the functioning of important ministries. Without this system, it is hard
to imagine that the dream of good governance will be translated into reality.
Next day, S Tariq had some words of advice for Imran. The man
will have a Herculean task before him and he shall only succeed if he has the
sagacity to choose his team wisely. First and foremost, he must have men
and women around him, who have the courage to disagree and say: No.
He must be wary of the sycophants and court jesters, who will laud
him to the skies and make every endeavour to spin a cocoon around him.
They will enclose him within walls so that he can only see the garden
within, to the utter neglect of the misery without.
He must take counsel from those, who stayed by his side during
times of trial. He must introspect and search his soul to stop at red lights in
all that he does. He must understand that dispensation of good governance
will not come easily after what the nation has been through. He must have
the patience and understanding of a healer to make whole a nation that
suffers from a deeply-rooted cancer.
Above all, he must in words and deeds, emulate our Founding Father.
All he has to do is to listen to Muhammad Ali Jinnahs words, when beset by
doubt, for he will find inspiration there. He must not rise on the crest of the
wave like a king, but walk amongst his people with dignity and humility. He
must remember the adage that a branch weighted with fruit bends ever closer
to the ground, for that is the law of nature.
His opponents will do whatever is in their power to discredit him in
the eyes of the people. He must face this challenge with the strength of his
own transparency and truth. He will be accused of misdeeds and besmirched
with scandals, which he must contest with dignity and grace.
He must not consider himself to be indispensable, for this has been
the bane of many great leaders, who could have led Pakistan to glory. He
must understand that the feeling of indispensability will breed vanity and
arrogance - virtues that have made many great men fall.
He must never lose sight of the fact that the surge that brought him to
power can easily snatch the same from him, if he does not deliver on the
covenant he has made with the people of Pakistan.
On 29th December, Azam Khalil opined: In the light of the emerging
scenario, the only plausible direction for all the political parties would be
to present before the people workable solutions to the challenges facing
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the nation and hold out promises they can fulfill. Otherwise, till the Election
Day, the entire situation may change that may not augur well for the political
parties.
If Imran Khan continues to make tall promises and is unable to
fulfill them, the speed with which the people are now joining his party will
see an accelerated speed where they will leave it. Also, both the PPP and the
PML-N, who face the handicap of incumbency, will have to show by deeds
and not words what they have done to improve the lives of the people. This
is going to be no easy task, because there are multiple challenges facing the
State, which cannot be overcome by the scarce resources that are available.
Management and governance need to be improved dramatically and, more
specifically, the issue of energy requires urgent remedial measures;
otherwise, it will not be difficult to predict the fate of major political parties.
The time may have come when governments, both federal and provincial,
cannot ignore the issues of poverty and unemployment that have seriously
retarded the growth patterns in all vital sectors of the economy.
As time moves on, the only thing that can be predicted with certainty
is that efforts will be made by the federal and provincial governments to
improve the life of the masses, because they realize that in case it is not
done, they would be better off by not participating in the elections. The
people will definitely judge them on their actions and no promises will
satisfy them.
The Gulf News commented: Imran Khans political education is
bordering between shrewdness and naivety. Promising to end militancy
and corruption within 90 days of being elected prime minister of Pakistan,
the former Pakistan cricket captain is going to find himself stumped out of
the crease in a manner of speaking.
While it is true that Khan is riding the crest of a popular wave,
generated mainly by Pakistans youth who see him as a saviour of sorts, his
ambitions must be tinged with a healthy dose of realism. A politicians
potential should not be measured simply by the number of people who turn
up for his rallies. Khans mettle so far has been untested. His party
Tehreek-e-Insaaf has briefly held one seat in parliament and that belonged
to him.
His relationships so far with more established parties, the US and the
military in particular needs development. While it is true that he holds out
the promise of hope, Khan must ensure that he too takes a political reality
check.
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Next day, Dr Ijaz Ahsan wrote: It was expected that the PTI would
produce a greater dent in the PML-Ns popularity than that of the PPP. Be
that as it may, as far as defections of major leaders from either party is
concerned, there seems to be a greater tendency among the PPP leaders
to quit their party and join PTI. This would indicate the extent of the
degeneration in the PPP and the disillusionment of the senior leaders from its
family-based leadership.
Anyway, Imran will face many problems:
Firstly, no one trusts anyone in this country; they think everyone is
sold off to America. So, they could think likewise about him. Some
people say he is the agencies or USAs man. Surely, Imran needs to
remove or clarify to the public the misconception about him.
Secondly, PTI lacks experience of electoral contests, partly because of
boycotting the last elections; it need to work hard on its manifesto and
election campaign, so that no votes are lost.
Thirdly, at this relatively early time, Imran may not find it possible to
field electable candidates at too many places. It would be better to
field fewer candidates, and spend all the energies of the party on those
constituencies.
To conclude, Imran Khan has a hard streak in him like any good
fast bowler. In politics, however, he needs to soften this up a bit. In any
case, he has certainly provided people with an alternative.
On 31st December, TheNation wrote: The natural gas shortage has hit
the country badly, and Federal Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain told the
National Assemblys Standing Committee on Petroleum and National
Resources on Thursday, that CNG stations will have to be closed in January.
This comes parallel with the latest round of gas price increases, due to kick
in on January 1. This is serving to conceal the fact that that for the last
several months, the Punjab has been familiar with the weekly CNG
shutdown that consumers in Sindh have only now begun to face. The
shutdown of factories in Faisalabad has led to it becoming the centre of the
gas shortage protests. It should be noted that elsewhere, the shortage of gas
means that people do not get home-cooking, but in Faisalabad, it means that
factories do not run, and thus people do not work, do not get salaries, and
there is no question of cooking, because there is no money to buy food.
The situation is becoming parlous, not so much because of the
shortages, as because of the discrimination that is being meted out to
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Punjab, merely because it has elected a different party to power in the

province than holds it in the Centre. It seems to be a case of cutting off ones
nose to spite ones face, because the shutting down of industry in Faisalabad
means there is an increased difficulty in meeting export orders. Pakistan
depends on its textile industry to provide it the foreign exchange to buy both
food and fuel, both essentials it cannot do without. Thus, any cutting down
of the gas supply means reducing Pakistans ability to survive in the world.
Apart from the inherent unfairness of any discrimination, the ability of
Pakistan to survive has become all the more crucial at this juncture when it
is beset by so many external threats. The unfair treatment of one province
will ultimately be bad for all of them.
The government must do what is needed to get out of the hole it
has got itself into. Not only must it expedite work on the pipeline for gas
with Iran, it must also further exploration of those reserves that have already
been identified within Pakistan. All this must be done quickly, for otherwise
gas shortages will only worsen.
Dr Haider Mehdi opined: If I were in Imrans place, I would have
taken chances with my destiny, depending entirely on the massive wave of
public support for political empowerment; it is politically dangerous to
play with the idea of electables in order to ascend to ultimate political
power. But Imran is not me. Perhaps, he is politically more perceptive;
perhaps, his political vision is larger, wider and more insightful. Perhaps,
Imrans confidence in his message of change is so powerful and timely that
his promise of a political tsunami will carry everyone in its wake. Perhaps,
he believes that people and their lifelong mindsets can easily be
transformed, transmuted and changed 180 degrees for a noble national
political cause.
Perhaps, Imran has faith in celestial intervention for shifting the
mindsets of political actors, who have recently jumped on the PTI
bandwagon and who have, on the face of it, always promoted the political
status quo, exercised politics for their vested interests, remained steadfastly
loyal to the US-Wests dictates and have been forever the pillars of a
traditional reactionary political culture that has brought our beloved country,
Pakistan, on the verge of collapse.
Quite frankly, with due respect to Imrans political judgment and the
declared noble intentions of the traditional political elite (with the exception
of one or two), who are joining the PTI, I am having serious difficulty in
sharing Imrans optimism on this account.

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In my philosophical political judgment through an analytical

approach, I believe it is decisively problematic to envision how these
traditional political actors joining the PTI can mentally and politically
conceptualize Imrans transformational politics of absolute change. After
all, one of the major actors, for instance, the senior Vice President of the
party, must have negotiated his position prior to joining the Tehrik in
exchange for his political support of Imran Khan. This is one vivid example
(among others) of how traditional egocentric, self-seeking, vested interest
social group politics has been and is being played in Pakistan.
Let us pray and hope that Imran Khan remains steadfastly committed
to his politics of change, which has become the voice of the peoples
democratic aspirations and will and that he prevails in the end! Amen!
Indeed, there is a difference between those who can see and those who
cannot!
Inayatullah observed: A bright light has come from the ways being
made by Imran Khan and the historic Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) public
meetings. His emergence, as the most popular national leader, has not only
brought a third force to take centre stage, but also stimulated other
major parties, especially the PML-N and its Chairman, Mian Nawaz Sharif.
He can squarely take the credit for letting the PPP rulers continue to do
enormous damage to the State and the society. The PML-Ns myopia not
only provided support to the inept and corrupt ruling elite, but also allowed
it to weaken the N-League. Even the imposition of Governors Rule in
Punjab, and attempts to declare the Sharif brothers ineligible to contest
elections, had not opened their eyes. Nawaz Sharif further failed to capitalize
on his sterling role in the restoration of the Chief Justice and his colleagues.
It is, indeed, Imran Khans rallies and his strident criticism of the PML-N
leadership that has finally woken up the Punjab tiger. In fact, PTIs
mammoth jalsas have, as I wrote earlier, changed the political landscape of
the country.
The above two developments, along with a proactive and restless
media, especially the television channels, are bound to usher in the start of a
new phase in Pakistans history. One may also add another point, which has
helped the beginning of this new process the exercise of restraint on the
part of General Kayani. The rulers corruption, incompetence and lack of
credibility, boldly displayed from year to year, could have pulled an
ambitious general into the driving seat. If the Prime Minister today is trying
to berate the military implying transgression in jurisdiction, it is he and his
boss who are to blame for abdicating responsibility for matters pertaining to
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security and foreign policy. Having conceded control in these areas right
from the start, does it make sense for the Prime Minister and his boss to raise
a hue and cry against the top brass? Undoubtedly, it is their intrinsic
weakness and poor performance, which has brought matters to the present
pass. The only decent way to stem the rot and make a new start is to
quickly go for a fresh mandate from the people.
On 1st January, 2012, Khurshid Akhtar Khan observed: President Asif
Ali Zardari has assumed the mantle of something like a magician or
juggler, who can pull a rabbit out of the hat at any time. Everything he does,
or does not do, these days is construed sinister and as complex as a spiders
web. A variety of his glib spokespersons entrusted to defend his moves only
add to the confusion in their repetitive verbosity on the television channels
and rowdy debates on the floor of the house.
Khan recalled and commented on some events since post-memo
illness of Zardari and then added: If any measures are being taken for
damage control to stabilize the uncertainties, they must be under deep
cover, as they do not seem to be working. The government has been
besieged, both internally and externally. The army is tightening the noose
and the judiciary is entertaining anything that may put the government on
the mat. A third political force of PTI has emerged with a bang that is
threatening to eat into the ranks of the PPP electables, along with the PML-N
and others. The Americans are twisting our arm mercilessly on all counts
and the international financial institutions under their influence have
withdrawn their monetary support. Our traditional rainy day Arab friends do
not want to know us anymore. We are globally isolated and despised.
The Wall Street Journal published an article alleging that the
President had made a brief cameo appearance and will soon take
permanent abode in London or Dubai (a reflection of our image in the
Western media). However, to the disappointment of the detractors, the
President is back in the saddle and business has resumed as usual!
He declared himself fighting fit, laughed at the popularity wave of
Imran Khan during his address to the rally at the fourth death anniversary of
his wife. He fired warning shots towards the Chief Justice whom he
addressed directly and expressed his mild defiance to the American dictates.
He had no plans to offer that would arrest the nose-diving economy, or
rescue the national assets from the verge of bankruptcy, as the rupee slides,
inflation escalates, productivity is falling, foreign direct investment is nonexistent, and essential services breaking down with both gas and electricity

615

in short supply at exorbitant rates. About the same time, a jiyala committed
suicide and a group of poverty-stricken workers of his own party were
demonstrating outside, demanding the promised roti, kapra and makaan.
Yet, the President is upbeat. All is well in the State of Pakistan.
The people still believe and see their ultimate salvage in a democratic
system of government. But the performance of major political parties at the
centre and in the provinces has proved to be singularly inept in running
effective governments, low in moral conduct and perpetually in a
confrontational mode. Their shortcomings and disunity have disappointed
the public that is now clamouring for a change. It is the lack of maturity of
our system in which personal interests override national interests, the
governments refuse to accept responsibility and insist on prolonging their
rule leading to self-destruction. It is in circumstances like this, that extraconstitutional possibilities raise their heads.
On December 30, a nine-member bench of the Supreme Court
declared the petition seeking a probe into the memo controversy
maintainable. The defence lawyer called it a service to the establishment and
against the fundamental rights of the people. Others termed it as another
opportunity for the government to come clean and cooperate with the court
appointed Judicial Commission, if they have nothing to hide. The PPP sees
another conspiracy. Each interpretation manifests an angle of self-interest.
What kind of nation are we building and what kind of a message are we
transmitting to our future generations, if we do not accept a unanimous
verdict of the highest court in the land and consider it tainted? As of now, the
plot thickens as to who masterminded the memo and to what extent the
reverberations will be felt. Let us wait and see how successfully the
magician concludes this act!

REVIEW
Someone had said that to understand politicking of Zardari one has to
have PhD degree; he however, did not say that doctorate has to be in
criminology. Zardari undoubtedly excelled in power politics in which
flouting laws and moral code is integral. In that context, if Rehman Malik
deserved a doctorate degree, Zardari certainly qualified for much bigger
honorarium.
616

Zardari has also deep insight of the culture and history of the land. He
has been quite clever in recognizing the cultural and spiritual significance
of saints and shrines among the masses. He perhaps, could not find any saint
or shrine in his tribe; therefore he decided to convert graves of his wife and
her father into shrines.
This conversion has nothing to do with spiritual excellence of both
those inside the graves or the gadhi nasheen (successors). It is all about
power politics; a ploy to keep the vote bank intact. Anyhow, it needs to be
acknowledged that some special breed of criminals is generally found in and
around shrines. `
It must also be acknowledged that Zardari has transformed the party
of jiyalas into a party of majawars of Bhutto shrine. For the last four years
they have been assembling at the tombs of ZAB and Benazir, who
happened to be wife of the chief majawar. He has turned Garhi Khuda
Bakhsh into a source of strength for fulfillment of his political ambitions.
Thus, he has consolidated a system in which scoundrels in the garb of
saints can rise to the top and rule. It is now the seat of his political power
from where he blurts out his incoherent decrees, just as a majawar would
do under the influence of intoxicating smoking or drinking.
This year too he indulged in this annual ritual and targeted Army,
America and more so the chief of the Apex Court. All that he said was
because of his inner fears of being caught and tried in a court of law for an
offence of treason against a state of which he is constitutional head. This has
been covered in separate series of articles pertaining to war on terror.
Nawaz Sharif had been mistakenly trying to save this system not
realizing that there is little scope for stooges to succeed against scoundrels.
In trying to save the system, he has been inadvertently perpetuating the rule
of scoundrels. He has been an accomplice in adding to the miseries of the
people of Pakistan, which he now vows to undo.
This has dawned upon him only recently, but quite late. His
pretensions of pursuing politics of principle have served no ends. He and his
party have also paid heavy price in political terms. In last four years he has
pushed his party into political isolation. He, in pursuit of principles, has
diminished his partys chances of coming into power because no political
party is likely to win majority in next general elections.
Suffering at the hands of those whom they had brought into power the
people of Pakistan seemed to have run out of options. Then they saw a

617

glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Imran Khan, whom they had
ignored, being a political non-entity, was seen as a ray of hope.
He is now the target of the status quo forces. Critics of Imran had been
harping that he might be having political ambitions, but he did not have
electable people in his party. When the electables started joining PTI after
defecting other parties the critics saw compromise of principles, especially
on the issue of merit.
Some critics were moving faster than Imrans Tsunami and have
started showing concern about the non-existence of plans to bring about
reforms Imran had been promising. They simply make it convenient to
ignore that parties having elaborate plans have delivered nothing.
1st January, 2012

FAILED TO FALL
The Supreme Court bench supervising implementation of NRO
verdict assembled on 10th January and asked the Chief Justice of Pakistan to
constitute a larger bench to pass a final verdict as the concerned authorities
of the Executive have not implemented the verdict by design. In doing that
the bench gave six options to the AGP and six days to the Executive for
consultation.

618

The bench directed Attorney General to put his arguments before the
Court on January 16 and asked the AG to apprise as to why any of the
options might not be exercised by the Court in these matters. Hearing
opportunity to those who might be affected was also granted.
The AGP was also directed to inform all the concerned persons about
the passage of the order. The AGP, Secretary Law, Justice and Human Rights
Division, Chairman National Accountability Bureau and the ProsecutorGeneral Accountability were summoned to appear before the Court in
person.
The Scoundrel, who was in Karachi and on his way to Dubai for
routine medical check up rushed back to Islamabad for consultations with
party leaders and coalition partners. Whereas meeting of PPP Core
Committee, mostly consisting of yes-men, added to the arrogance of the
Scoundrel, but the meeting of leaders of allied parties had some sobering
effect.

NEWS
On 1st January, 2012, religious activists squatted on roads besieging
the Governors House in Karachi in protest over the killing of a Shia cleric.
Waqt TV channel transmissions were blocked across Sindh for airing
interview of Afaq Ahmed. Protests against electricity and gas load shedding
continued across Punjab.
Efforts were afoot to arrange a meeting between Zardari and Nawaz
Sharif to counter the alleged moves against democracy and the
Establishment support for PTI. Though the spokespersons of the two
political bigwigs were unsure about the possible encounter between the two
leaders, Balochistan Chief Minister confirmed the development while
talking to reporters in Quetta. Raisani had also acted as a bridge between
PPP Co-chairman and the PML-N chief in the past to defuse political tension
on more than one occasion.
Next day, 2012, protesters clashed with police and major cities were
paralyzed as thousands of people demonstrated across the country over
severe gas shortages and price hikes. Besides closure of CNG stations and
public transport across the country, violent protest demonstrations were held
in big cities of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh. Public
transport remained absent creating difficulties for students, public and
private servants

619

The intensity and scale of protests forced the government to hold an

emergency meeting with the representatives of the CNG associations and
announced suspension of ban on filling public transport vehicles for 15 days,
besides clarifying that there was no plan for closure of CNG stations during
the current month.
On the other hand, the government amid yawning energy shortfalls
has increased the gas price by 14 percent, besides making a record hike in
the prices of POL products, especially petrol, bringing an added burden on
the people already facing double digit inflation. This has sparked the recent
protests across the country, while opposition parties are setting in motion
campaigns to force elections in 2012.
PPP-led ruling alliance is all set to boost LPG and petrol trade at the
cost of CNG business in the country in connivance with influential cartel,
ostensibly to drive hefty kickbacks. Sources informed that although LPG is
more expensive compared to both CNG and petrol yet, Petroleum Minister
Dr Asim having close relations with LPG mafia is leaving no stone
unturned to ensure such a dangerous and economically unviable source as
fuel for millions of vehicles in the country which would put peoples lives at
extreme risk as LPG does not mix with the air after leakage.
Pakistan Petroleum Minister said that some people were politicizing
the gas shortage issue. The minister said that demand of the gas increased in
winter season therefore people had to bear some problems. He said that
CNG mafia was a group of blackmailers and the people as a whole will have
to take stand against them.
The Supreme Court resumed hearing of a presidential reference about
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto trial case. The Chief Justice asked Babar Awan to cite an
example where a closed case has been reopened on the question of bias,
adding that in Bhuttos case all stages of trial, appeal and review have been
completed. Awan cited an Indian Supreme Court judgment in Ruppa Ashok
case in support of his contention. The CJP said according to Ruppa Ashok
judgment the aggrieved should come to the court and not the constitutional
authority (President). The counsel said at some stage the court has to come
up with a new decision. He said the courts have to rectify their mistakes.
Ahmed Raza Kasuri, who had lodged the FIR against Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto for allegedly murdering his father, told the bench that he was
concerned over many amicus curiae, (friends of the court), particularly Tariq
Mehmood and Aitzaz Ahsan for being diehard leaders of the Pakistan
Peoples Party. Tariq Mehmood immediately withdrew himself from the
620

team. However, Aitzaz Ahsan said he was a loyalist of the PPP, but would
not separate himself from the team as he could assist the court without
prejudice.
Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said during the hearing that the
late Chief Justice Anwar-ul-Haqs son Azizullah has written a letter to
become party to the case. He said for the sake of justice he would be
afforded an opportunity to give his point of view. The court ordered the
office to give copies of the letter to the attorney general and all the amicus
curiae.
Nawaz Sharif said if the present government was sincere with
democracy, then it should announce fresh elections soon. Nawaz denied
reports regarding his meeting with Zardari with reference to Aslam Raisanis
statement. He said his party is in favour of resuming Bahawalpurs old status
and forming Hazara province. He said the PML-N supports the creation of
new provinces on administrative basis, not on linguistic basis. Meanwhile,
Syed Ghous Ali Shah and Saleem Zia were elected unopposed President and
Secretary General respectively of PML-N Sindh.
On 3rd January, five-member bench of the Supreme Court resumed
hearing into NRO implementation case. The court summoned Chairman
NAB on January 10 and thereafter action would be taken against those who
did not implement court orders. The bench ordered investigations against
former OGDCL chief Adnan Khwaja. How were Adnan Khwaja and
Ahmed Riaz appointed, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa asked. The judge
said that how come a matriculation pass and convicted person was appointed
as MD. He said that the court was giving last chance to concerning
department to implement the NRO verdict of the SC.
The CNG and transporters association decided to end their
countrywide strike after the assurance of Petroleum Ministry to reduce the
recently imposed cess on CNG while eight hours cut has also been agreed in
the weekly gas load shedding schedule.
Prime Minister reiterated his commitment for creation of new
provinces, including Seraiki province and asked Syed Khursheed Shah to
discuss it with allied parties and move a resolution in the House. The Prime
Minister said it was the motto of PPP to remove the sense of deprivation
among the people of backward areas. Meanwhile, Imran ruled out alliance
with Musharraf. PML-N was reported busy in collecting data against Imran.
On 4th January, the Supreme Court issued show cause notices to five
PPP leaders on contempt of court charges and asked them to submit their
621

replies by 13th January. The notices were served to Babar Awan, Khursheed
Shah, Ashiq Awan, Qamar Kaira and Farooq Awan; in response Babar Awan
made fun of the notices. Many PPP leaders questioned why they were not
taken to task for ridiculing court.
PML-N members, standing on their seats, protested saying the point
of order on the resolutions regarding the formation of new provinces could
not be discussed, as these resolution are not part of agenda. Massive
pandemonium on the floor coerced the Speaker Kundi to bring to halt the
session proceedings for at least 20 minutes. Leader of the Opposition said
that his party was not against creation of new provinces but some political
forces were using the issue to create chaos in the House.
The cabinet met and took some important decisions. Government
employees will be asked to declare their assets. Power sector will get Rs15
billion injection each month. The gas supply to industry will be suspended to
ensure sustained supply to domestic consumers.
PPP leaders and workers gathered at the Cavalry Ground graveyard to
participate in Quran Khawani in connection with first death anniversary of
Salmaan Taseer. The participants in convention to revive the spirit of
Pakistan Movement supported blasphemy law and demanded immediate
release of Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, killer of Salmaan Taseer. Meanwhile,
Zardari visited shrine of Lal Shahbaz.
Next day, during the hearing of the Bhutto reference Chief Justice
took serious notice Babar Awan's comments in media after the court issued a
contempt notice to him and others. Babar was reprimanded after the video of
his statement ridiculing show cause notices was played in the courtroom.
The court then issued another show cause notice to him and warned of
canceling his licence. He was directed to submit his reply by January 9.
Aziz-ul-Haq, son of Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq, a former Chief Justice of
Pakistan who upheld the decision of the LHC that sentenced Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto to death for the authorization of the murder of a political opponent,
objected to Abdul Hafeez Pirzada and Aitzaz Ahsan as amicus curiae in the
case. In his letter to Chief Justice he stated that Hafeez Pirzada and Aitzaz
Ahsan, being the loyalists of PPP, could not be the genuinely amicus curiae
in this Reference.
He mentioned that Pirzada being a friend and confident he bulldozed
through the National Assembly 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments, which
attacked the judiciarys powers & independence. with his history, Pirzada
can never be a friend of the court especially in this case, he said.
622

Regarding Aitzaz Ahsan, he wrote that Aitzaz was the then Minister in
1976-1977 but realizing the vicious and undemocratic nature of Bhutto
resigned as Minister, and joined Bhuttos arch rival Asghar Khans party.
Aitzaz rejoined PPP in 1986 and became a born again Bhutto lover He is a
politician with a political agenda and as such he cannot he considered as an
impartial amicus curiae in this case, he further said. His politically
motivated false and mischievous accusations against past and present judges
are well known.
Justice Anwar-ul-Haqs son stated that the PPP government under
President Zardari and through Babar Awan is carrying out a propaganda
blitz, at tax payers expense, to erase the memory of ZA Bhuttos brutal rule
and to paint him and his family as victims. In this process they have left no
stone unturned to defame and malign honourable judges.
Politicians, lawyers and journalists are all concentrating on political
angles and concocted stories of unfair trial, he added. Not one of them
seems to have read the Supreme Court judgment which details the motive
and proof. Not one of them refers to the confession statements of the FSF
office-bearers regarding the murder conspiracy, he said. The Full Bench,
including Safdar Shah and Dorab Patel, rejected the review petition
unanimously, he added.
His contention is that at that time eminent politicians, retired judges,
lawyers and the public at large believed that justice had been done. The
newspaper editorials at the time lauded the judgment and praised the court
for being fearless. He further said: the Supreme Court is now being asked to
revisit the case when concerned witnesses, lawyers and judges are all gone.
Even Bhutto praised the Supreme Court for giving him a just & fair hearing.
Aziz ul Haq stated in the letter that as the son of Justice Anwarul Haq,
I am aware of the events which took place during the appeal hearing. My
parents and my own family bore the brunt of vicious threats hurled at us by
the Bhutto family, PPP, some lawyers and judges. The judges were viciously
maligned and threatened in 1979 through personal visits, signed letters and
telephone calls by PPP party bearers.
PPP decided not to write letter to the Swiss government for reopening
of cases against Zardari and he would not before commission. The decision
was taken during a meeting of Core Committee jointly chaired by Zardari
and Gilani held at the Presidency. Babar Awan briefed the meeting over legal
aspects of Supreme Court verdict regarding NRO. Reportedly, new
ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman advised the ruling alliance
623

not to comply with Supreme Court directive to write letter to Swiss

authorities by Jan 10 as she said the president enjoys immunity.
Khursheed Shah revealed that the government has decided to hold
early elections. Senate elections will be held in February and general
elections may be held anytime after the budget. Zardari directed the ruling
alliance to capitalize on forthcoming bye-elections on seats that fell vacant
following resignation of several lawmakers to join Imarn Khans PTI. He
said that it was a great opportunity to capitalize on the by-elections and
Senate polls, and hoped the ruling alliance would knock out in the political
contest.
The federal government directed the law officers not to appear before
a LHC full bench set up to hear two constitutional petitions against president
and the prime minister. Advocate A K Dogar has filed these petitions on
behalf of two different petitioners. One petition was regarding Zardari not
disassociating from PPP as ordered by the court and the other alleged that
Gilani by deliberate defiance of the Supreme Court orders and repeated
attempts to subvert the Constitution had ceased to hold the office by
automatic operation of provisions of Articles 5, 6 and 92(2).
The divergence of opinion at treasury benches over initiating the
debate on creation of new provinces led to walkout of ANP from the
National Assembly, while MQM after locking horns with opposition PML-N
succeeded to initiate debate on the issue. The PML-N also opposed debate
on creation of new province, including Seraiki and Hazara, saying that the
point of order on these resolutions could not be discussed as they were not
on agenda.
ANP leader and two MQM men were among six people slain in
Karachi violence and Police arrested four militants, including Abdul
Qayoom Mehsud, a close aide of Baitullah Mehsud. Former parliamentarian
and niece of Farooq A Khan Leghari, Ayla Malik, called on Imran Khan and
after a detailed meeting joined the PTI. Tasneem Nawaz Gardezi joined the
PML-N during a meeting with Nawaz Sharif.
On 6th January, Prime Minister reiterated commitment for creation of
Seraiki province and told the assembly that consensus on this matter has
been evolved, claiming that majority of the members were in favour of
partitioning Punjab. He said they were compelled to bring a resolution on
the creation of new provinces in the NA as the issue was paid any heed in
the Punjab Assembly.

624

Expressing his support for Hazara province, the prime minister called
upon the political parties to also evolve consensus on this issue. ANP
strongly criticized the way to raise the issue of new provinces and got strong
support of main opposition party PML-N. On it, the house echoed with
shouting and desk thumping of lawmakers, as none was willing to listen to
the viewpoint of the other.
Parliamentary Committee on National Security Chairman Raza
Rabbani opposed the idea of debate on new provinces in the National
Assembly. Talking to the media outside the Parliament, Rabbani said the
debate on new provinces in the National Assembly was reflective of a
centrist mindset. According to the Constitution, a resolution on new
province should be passed in the respective provincial assembly and then be
brought to the Parliament, he added.
Zardari offered to hold talks with Nawaz Sharif for holding early
general elections in October. He sent this offer in an interview with his
media front man, Hamid Mir of Capital Talk. Zardari ruled out any clash
with judiciary or army. The President disagreed when told that all the major
utilities owned by government including PIA, Railways, Wapda have
virtually collapsed. They have just gone weak.
Zardari summoned coalition partners for consultations of Senate polls
and general elections. The issue of new provinces also figured out and
Zardari patched up between MQM and ANP over Hazara province and he
decided to place this issue on back-burner for the time being.
PPP and PML-N were reported to have established high-level contacts
for deciding about Senate polls and general elections. first it was reported
that Ishaq Dar and Aitzaz Ahsan had discussed these issues and of late it war
reported that Khwaja Asif was also involved in such contacts.
Jamaat-e-Islami staged countrywide rallies and protest after Friday
prayers to condemn worst load shedding of electricity, gas and hike in the
tariff and plundering of public wealth. Protesters raised slogans against the
rulers demanding their immediate resignation and providing relief to the
masses by reducing fuel and power tariff. Meanwhile, Police battered rally
of Lyari residents who wanted to stage a sit-down protest at Bilawal House.
Next day, a lengthy interview of Zardari to his favourite journalist,
Hamid Mir was aired by Geo TV on 7th January. Some glimpses of his
utterances are reproduced:

625

 Laughing off the issues plaguing the country, he said he never

considered leaving his office. Leaving office was not an option. No
one has asked for it yet. If someone does, Ill tell you.
Harping on all-is-well mantra, he averred there was no clash of
government with the military, no confrontation with judiciary and
they had no fear of early election.
When asked if escape was an option for him, Zardari replied: Why
should it be? These (things) are part of evolution We have no war
with the court, why should we have a fight with the army?
He asserted his party-led government was running the state affairs in
the best way. He said he is ready for talks with PML-N President
Nawaz Sharif on all the issues including early general election.
Asked if he will accept findings of SC appointed commission in the
memo scandal, he avoided giving a direct answer. The results of the
inquiryby the parliamentary committee will be accepted
Asked about Gilanis statement, he said Osama was here for seven
years, there should be accountability for that and he (Gilani) was
talking about Musharraf. Why is that being linked to the army?
He defended Gilani on describing the army as a state within a state,
saying He has all the powers, he does not feel (he is) under anybody.
If there is some matter perturbing him, he has the right to take a
position, and he has taken a position.
About the Swiss case reopening, he said: why would my
government do so? The case and Swiss courts will have significance
in history thus neither I nor my prime minister will want such a thing
to be part of the history that his (partys) own government wrote
against him to the Swiss courts.
Asked to comment on the deteriorating condition of state-run
organizations such as PIA, Railways and Wapda, the president said:
Media think it was so, but I dont think so, these entities have only
weakened (not destroyed).
About the Haj scam, he said former religious minister Hamid Saeed
Kazmi was not-guilty in the case. His bail should be accepted and
this kind of proceedings should be held at a sessions court.

626

 He asked: Why CJPs attention was not drawn to BBs murder

case? He said the lower judiciary, which functions under the chief
justice, was supposed to reach a judgment in the casewhy four
judges had been changed during the course of hearing.
To a question about Benazirs security at Liaquat Bagh rally, Zardari
gave Rehman Malik a clean chit. He said BBs public meeting was
organized by one person whom he did not name Nahid Khan).
He claimed: Putting Pervez Musharraf on trial would have
demoralized the army and the entire institution. To a question on
whether the parliament should hold Musharrafs trial under Article-6,
Zardari said: I think collective wisdom will prevail.
Asked whom he had referred to as Qatil League, he said: it was a
name of a force, a mindset. If you think it was Musharrafs
government, I dont think so. Musharraf was just a Prima Donna of
that mindset.
Prime Minister wanted electioneering to gear up in the country, as
change should only be through elections. Talking to a gathering of lawyers
in Lahore, PM said that it was PPP that fought the battle for the restoration
of judiciary as well as democracy. During the speech, a group of lawyers
started booing the prime minister. They also raised Go Zardari Go slogans.
The PML-N workers rejected the provincial party polls by calling it
selections of favourite ones and resorted to rumpus due to which the party
chief Nawaz Sharif left the gathering without address. On the second day of
Nawaz Sharif's visit to Quetta, Sardar Sanaullah Zehri was elected as
provincial president of the N-League Balochistan while Naseebullah Bazai
was elected as general secretary in the provincial party vote.
Meanwhile, Shahbaz Sharif said that his government will soon go to
the Supreme Court over the prevailing gas crisis in the province and that no
issue will be discussed with President Asif Zardari. Latif Khosa termed the
Supreme Court biased.
On 8th January, commenting on the interview of Zardari, wherein he
had dropped a hint that a lady had persuaded her to address the public rally
at Liaquat Bagh Naheed Khan said that Zardari was expert in changing
stances and indulging in blame game and added that he should have some
moral courage to name the lady who had persuaded her (Benazir) to address
the public gathering.

627

Gilani warned that any attempt to weaken this party will tantamount
to weakening the country. Pervez Musharraf announced that he would be
return to the country by Jan 30. He was addressing through video-conference
his partys first public meeting near Mazar-i-Quaid. Meanwhile, Imran
predicted PPP-PML-N alliance.
Next day, the PML-N chief said Zardari always expressed mistrust on
the judiciary of the country and he even had reservations on the memogate
inquiry commission which was formed by the apex court. He said that
matter of NRO should not be linked with Benazir Bhuttos tomb. He said his
party would move again in the Supreme Court if the government did not
write letter to Swiss authorities.
Imran Khan said his party will resist any unconstitutional move
against the judiciary. He said there was no harm if people vote for
enforcement of Islamic system but enforcement of any system through guns
would be undemocratic. He said his party would try to enforce the system of
welfare state on the pattern of Scandinavian counties.
Punjab Governor returned with objections nine bills including Local
Government Amendment Bill adopted by the provincial assembly. Khosa
recommended the Assembly to review these amendment bills including the
one aimed at extending the term of local elections term. The number of
amendment bills objected by Governor Khosa rose to 19.
On 10th January, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who headed a five-member
bench, read out the verdict. But, instead of punishing the culprits, the Court
gave six options with regard to the implementation of the courts earlier
verdict and ordered the AGP to consult with the prime minister and the
president for their replies. Why should the court not exercise these options;
the court asked the AGP. Justice Khosa said the court would take unpleasant
steps if the government failed to implement the NRO verdict till Monday.
The options given by the court include: Contempt proceedings against
the chief executive (prime minister), law secretary; to indict under Article
63(1)(g) and declare unqualified to be elected as a member of parliament;
proceedings against the president for not honouring the oath; formation of a
commission to get the order implemented; leaving the matter to people; and
contempt proceedings against the NAB chairman. The court also asked the
president to claim immunity if he thought he was above the court order.
The bench noted that the federal government and the NAB were not
serious in the matter at all and those concerned are only interested in
delaying and prolonging the matter on one pretext or another. The Prime
628

Minister had made an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.
In his oath the Prime Minister had made an unambiguous commitment with
Allah Almighty not only to conduct himself completely in accord with the
commands and requirements of the Constitution, including those of Articles
2A, 37(d), 189 and 190 thereof, but also totally in sync with the
requirements and teachings of the Holy Quran.
The court noted that according to clause (f) of Article 62(1) of the
Constitution A person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a
member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) unless he is sagacious, righteous,
non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary
by a court of law.
The apparent persistent, obstinate and contumacious resistance, failure
or refusal of the Chief Executive of the Federation, i.e. the Prime Minister to
completely obey, carry out or execute the directions issued by this Court in
the NRO case reflects, at least prima facie, may not be an honest person on
account of his not being honest to the oath of his office and seemingly he
may not be an ameen due to his persistent betrayal of the trust reposed in
him as a person responsible for preserving, protecting and defending the
Constitution and also on account of allowing his personal political interest to
influence his official conduct and decisions. A chosen representative of the
people deliberately violating such a sacred trust and disregarding his
commitment in that regard with Allah Almighty may hardly qualify to be
accepted as ameen.
The court, in the circumstances of this case, has an option to record a
finding in the above mentioned regards and it may hand down a declaration
to that effect in terms of clause (f) of Article 62(1) of the Constitution which
may have the effect of a permanent clog on the Prime Ministers
qualification for election to or being chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora
(Parliament) or a Provincial Assembly.
Somewhat similar oaths had also been made by the co-chairperson of
the relevant political party before entering upon the office of the President of
Pakistan and by the federal minister for law, justice and human rights
division before entering upon the office of a federal minister and apparent
breaches of their oaths may also entail the same consequences.
The proceedings may be initiated against the chief executive of the
federation, i.e. the prime minister, the federal minister and secretary for law,
justice for committing contempt of this Court by persistently, obstinately and
contumaciously resisting, failing or refusing to implement court directions.
629

It may not be lost sight of that, apart from the other consequences, by virtue
of the provisions of clauses (g) and (h) of Article 63(1) read with Article 113
of the Constitution a possible conviction on such a charge may entail a
disqualification from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member
of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) or a provincial assembly for at least a period
of five years.
In exercise of its powers under Article 187 of the Constitution read
with Rules 1 and 2 of Order XXXII of the Supreme Court Rules, 1980 and
all other enabling provisions this Court may appoint a Commission to
execute the relevant parts of the judgment.
The court noted that in the present proceedings nobody has so far
raised the issue pertaining to the protections contemplated by Article 248 of
the Constitution yet if anybody likely to be affected by exercise of these
options by court wishes to be heard on that question then an opportunity
may be afforded to him in that respect before exercise of any of these
options.
It is a statutory duty of the chairman NAB under the National
Accountability Ordinance, 1999 to proceed against any person prima facie
involved in misuse of authority while holding a public office. On the
previous date of hearing the court had directed the Chairman to attend to the
matters of appointment of Adnan Khawaja as Managing Director of OGDCL
against merit and appointment/promotion of Mr. Ahmed Riaz Sheikh as
Additional Director, FIA at a time when both of them were convicted
persons and to proceed against all those who were responsible for such
appointments/promotion. The chairman has also failed so far to initiate any
action against Malik Muhammad Qayyum, former attorney-general for
Pakistan, in view of the direction issued in that regard in the judgment.
The chairman appeared before this court in person and not only failed
to advance any satisfactory explanation for his inaction in taking action
against Adnan Khawaja and Ahmed Riaz but has also manifested defiance
by categorically refusing to carry out the directions issued by this Court. The
court noted that such inaction on his part in derogation of his statutory duty
prima facie amounts to misconduct attracting the last part of section 6(b)(i)
of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 dealing with removal of the
chairman from his office.
The court observed that impression has attempted to screen, shield
and protect the relevant persons from criminal charges, which may attract
consequences in some criminal and other laws. In these circumstances
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appropriate recommendations or directions may be made or issued by this

Court in such regards.
The trichotomy and separation of powers between the Legislature, the
Judiciary and the Executive is very delicately poised and if in a given
situation the Executive is bent upon defying a final judicial verdict and is
ready to go to any limit in such defiance then instead of insisting upon the
Executive to implement the judicial verdict and thereby running the risk of
bringing down the constitutional structure itself this Court may exercise
judicial restraint and leave the matter to the better judgment of the people of
the country or their representatives in the Parliament to appropriately deal
with the delinquent.
The AG was directed that on next date of hearing, after obtaining
instructions from concerned, as to why any of the above mentioned options
may not be exercised by us in these matters. He was also directed to inform
all such persons about the passage of this order and also about the next date
of hearing. On account of constitutional importance of the matter the Chief
Justice was requested to consider hearing of these matters on the next date of
hearing by a larger bench.
The ruling alliance took this decision at an emergency meeting of the
heads of the allied parliamentary parties chaired jointly by PPP CoChairman and Prime Minister at Aiwan-e-Sadr Tuesday night. The meeting
discussed the situation and decided to immediately call the National
Assembly session to take up the matter for future course of action. During
the discussion President Zardari remarked that he was ready to resign if PPP
and its ruling allies who elected him as President wanted so, quickly adding
that his party was also ready to go for early general elections.
Heads of allied parties proposed that the session of the National
Assembly be urgently called to discuss the latest political issues, adding that
in the light of the proposal by the parties heads it was decided that the
session of National Assembly be called on Thursday (tomorrow) at 4 PM.
Before the session of the National Assembly, a joint meeting of the
parliamentary parties will also be held at the Parliament House to work out
the strategy to be adopted during the NA session.
Meanwhile, the MQM and the ANP, the two coalition partners of the
PPP, have called their central commands meetings to decide a future course
of action vis--vis their partnership with the PPP following the Supreme
Courts options on the NRO implementation case. MQM will hold meeting
on 11th and ANP the next day.
631

Shafqat Mehmood of PTI on the issue said that Supreme Court has
given six options to the government to implement NRO verdict and the
ruling coalition must act upon it. He said that PTI would build pressure on
the government if it failed to follow the directions of the apex court.
Nawaz Sharif called party meeting in Raiwind on Wednesday to
review and receive input from the party leaders on the situation after the
Supreme Court decision on NRO. The PML (N) meeting will be attended by
all main leaders of party and will also take under consideration the SC
proceedings with the memogate case, political situation and the party line of
action particularly in case the PPP-led government continued to defy the
court orders.
Next day, during hearing of cases of bye-elections held after passage
of 18 Amendment, the Chief Justice observed that judiciary could have
objected to the oath administered to President Zardari by Justice Dogar, but
they did not want anarchy in the country. He added that laws were violated
in bye-polls and candidates might face disqualification.
th

JUI-F chief wrote a letter to Nawaz Sharif, purposing a joint strategy

in the current situation. In his letter Fazl said: There should be a mechanism
about bogus voter lists for upcoming elections, independent and free and fair
election commission etc. Meanwhile, Pir Shah Mardan Shah alias Pir
Pagara passed away in London.
On 11th January, the Supreme Court constituted seven-member larger
bench to hear NRO case on 16th January. Jamshed Dasti resigned from MPA
seat over differences with Hina Rabbani Khar. Next day, the apex court
rejected the request of the ECP for more time to prepare the voters lists.
Chief Justice remarked that the EC was a part of the problem and that
hurdles were being created to stop the process of completing the voters lists.
Calling on those trying to create obstacles, the chief justice said the court
knew how to get its orders implemented.
The ECP announced schedule for Senate election amid precarious
political situation prevailing in the country. The Senate election will be held
on March 2. Imran asked PML-N to resign before talks. PTI leaders in
Karachi warned Fazlur Rehman to mend his ways. After a meeting with
Zardaris sister Faryal Talpur, Jamshed Dasti withdrew his resignation from
the party and the National Assembly.
Zardari left for Dubai on a private visit for medical checkup; he will
come back to Pakistan in 24 hours. Meanwhile, judicial commission

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submitted the report but did not name anyone for murder of journalist
Shahzad. Two Balochs were among six killed in Karachi violence.
On 13th January, NAB sprung into action on the cases reopened after
the scraping of NRO. Former federal secretary Ismail Qureshi was arrested
in Lahore; he was the one responsible for probing NICL scam. Arrest
warrants of certain people including Adnan A Khawaja, Ahmed Riaz Sheikh
and Raja Ahsan were issued while Tahir Shahbaz, Akhlaq Jillani, Razia and
a number of other NRO beneficiaries were served with notices to appear
before the bureau in connection with the cases pending against them.
Observers believed that these actions were meant to satisfy the Supreme
Court on 16th January.
The federal government filed an application in the Supreme Court for
the adjournment of NRO implementation case that will be heard on January
16. The plea adopted in the application is that Secretary Law and Justice
Masood Chishti is out of the country regarding his medical treatment. There
are chances that the court might reject the law ministrys plea to adjourn the
NRO case hearing.
Babar Awan was given time till February 2 to submit reply in
contempt cases. JI held a rally in Karachi to protest abduction of party
workers by security agencies. The LDA sealed Al-Fateh Store, Commercial
Zone, Gulberg III, on account of violations of building bye-laws; the store is
owned by a man who has joined PTI recently.
Next day, Imran Khan said that Nawaz Sharif will have to show
seriousness in its efforts against the government by resigning from the
National Assembly and Punjab Assembly. PTI chief said that the PML-N
had always supported the corrupt government during testing times in the
name of democracy. He warned the government against defying Supreme
Court orders and said his party has decided not to take part in by polls as
30.7 million votes out of 80 million were found bogus.
Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Chaudhry Amir Hussain,
announced his decision to join Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf. Speaking to media,
he confirmed his decision of joining the Imran Khan-led PTI. He said he
would make a formal announcement in this regard at a press conference.

VIEWS
On 2nd January, 2012, Ikram Ullah observed: The year 2011 has
ended at the most critical juncture of Pakistans history. In short, the very
633

survival of the State is at stake. Just by picking up any newspaper of the

months of November and December 2011 the reader would come to the
conclusion that the danger to our freedom and national security lies within
and not outside. The present dismal state of the governing hierarchy as
well as the civil society is the accumulated result of the failures of all
previous civil and military regimes to honestly work for the countrys
development. Hope in the future lies in the single factor of national
realization that without fundamental and revolutionary changes in the
system, the change of faces would do nothing to change the destiny of
Pakistan. The wind of change is blowing across the land reflecting an
overpowering urge for a new dawn to make it prosperous Islamic welfare
State. Otherwise, my fear is that we might be facing a bloody revolution.
Next day, Akbar Ahmed talked of challenges for Imran: If Imran is
given power, he needs to immediately tackle the question of law and
order in Pakistan. He must order the cessation of the torture and killings in
Balochistan. He must fly to the Province to apologize for what Pakistan has
done to its people. He must do everything possible to reinforce the idea that
Balochistan like the Tribal Areas is a respected part of the federation of
Pakistan. Imrans Pushtun background will help in these provinces where
people constantly and openly complain about excessive Punjabi domination.
Imran needs to begin working even before he takes over on
strengthening the judicial and civil administrative structures. These
have been destroyed over the last few years. Without them ordinary
Pakistanis will not be able to obtain proper justice. Pakistanis must see the
benefits of Imrans administration if they are to believe in him. This means
jobs, bringing down of the prices of everyday requirements like wheat and
cooking oil, availability of electricity and gas.
Apart from internal problems, Pakistan faces challenges in its
foreign policy. Its relations with its neighbours, Afghanistan and India, need
to be improved. The recent spiraling downward of the relationship between
the US and Pakistan should be a cause of worry to both. It is in the interest
of both countries to have a stable and long-term relationship based in mutual
understanding.
The last may prove a particular challenge for Imran. There are high
levels of almost irrational anti-American feelings in Pakistan today.
Pakistanis blame the deadly actions of the suicide bombers and the drone
strikes for the 40-50,000 Pakistanis that have lost their lives in a war that is
not of their making. Imrans own rhetoric will easily be mistranslated

634

and misunderstood in Washington to mean that he supports the Taliban

and therefore Islamic terrorism. Imran cannot afford to ignore this area of
vital interest for Pakistans foreign relations.
After a decade as ally in the US War on Terror and the devastating
social, political and economic impact which direction will Imran take
Pakistan? The hopes of a nation now rest on one man. Pakistan history is
replete with examples of Pakistanis depending entirely on the saviour figure
only to be disappointed afterwards. Even Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan,
who remains so revered in Pakistan, died one year after creating the country.
Imran must emphasize the creation in some case the re-creation of
structures and systems.
There are already danger-signs as some old faces who have done
the rounds with different parties have now jumped onto Imrans
bandwagon. The balance between making deals in order to chip away at the
power base of the ruling Zardari-Bhutto dynasty and the Sharif one, and
maintaining his integrity will be crucial.
He will not have much time in office. The clock will be ticking.
Another Oxford graduate like him, freshly out of university, will emerge to
challenge him. Bilawal Bhutto may be completely untutored at the moment,
but as the head of the PPP and the son and grand-son of two former popular
prime ministers of Pakistan, he will soon have legitimacy to begin his
attacks. Imran needs to be ready for his finest innings.
Sami-Ur-Rahman expressed his love for Imran. he wrote: We love
you Imran. We love for your hard work. We love you for your honesty. We
love you for the fair game you stand for. Above all, we love you for your
patriotism. You won us the World Cup. You won us a good name. You did
not beat a cricket team in the 1992 final. You beat an empire. It is not a mean
feat by any means. We love you for that. You've had an archrival in the name
of Nawaz, in the past and the present. Sarfraz Nawaz, first; now it is Nawaz
Sharif. You kicked out one. You might trump the other, as well.
Sweethearts flocked to you everywhere. There were medals and
scandals. You earned fame, money, and stardom. You erected a cancer
hospital, a monument to your departed mother, a refuge for the poor and
needy. Your dedication to the cause speaks volumes of a very subtle and
sensitive nature. How unlike you, who were so reputed for his cockiness in
the field. Foes insinuate when it comes to Jemima Khan, calling you a
Jewish agent. But we loved you even then

635

Sami went on to enumerate reasons for loving Imran and then

concluded: You claim you'll weed out financial corruption from the country
in three months. Oh really? Perhaps, no one told you corruption and politics
goes hand in hand. And that corruption is only a symptom of something
more sinister. Call it economic recession or a complete slump and
bankruptcy. How would you resuscitate a dead horse? Economic revival is
what we need, as you can see.
We wouldnt bother you about the security situation, as such. Thanks
to the sacrifices of the countrymen, it is in a much better shape than it used
to be, lets say, a year ago. Nor would we indulge in the argument
whether the war on terror is ours or not although, that formed a major
part of your political narrative. What's your Kashmir policy? What's your
energy policy? What's your stand on the Kalabagh Dam? What's your stand
on the MQM, now that youve held a mammoth rally in Karachi? Like the
fast and furious Mirza, you also once approached Scotland Yard, with
suitcases full of the alleged documentary evidences. Nothing came out of
that. You returned empty-handed. Would it also happen to your economic
revival policy? And to your dispensation of justice for all? How would you
deal with the Bretton Woods Institutions; the IMF and the World Bank? How
would you unburden us of the foreign and domestic debts? How would you
deal with Uncle Sam? Will we go towards global partnership or global
alienation and isolation? There are a thousand questions and queries in our
minds.
Revolutions are the brainchild of a breed that is long gone. We
don't have a Rousseau, Voltaire or John Locke here. We dont have even our
own Iqbal anymore. We understand youre not a messiah, Imran. We also
know fully well that you may fail on most of your promises. Still, youve
presented to us the third option. We love you for that. And we thank you for
that. As for our own plight, we're not so sure. Yes, skipper. Call us a
pessimist lot. But, we aren't. And we have our reasons.
On 4th January, TheNation wrote: The protesting crowds taking to the
street all over the country on Monday, have been pushed to the limit with
their very livelihood at risk due to the gas crisis. The chambers of
commerce and industry across the Punjab province, at a meeting held in
Lahore, threatened to launch a civil disobedience movement unless the
supply of gas was restored and its price hike rescinded. A deep sense of hurt
was visible among the chambers representatives on account of the
discriminatory treatment, they believed, Punjab was being meted out. They
planned to hold a sit-in in front of the Prime Ministers Lahore residence on
636

January 7, as well as a protest demonstration before the Governor House. It

is a great pity that in the face of the country running out of the so-far
discovered energy resources, no new gas well has been tapped since 1985
and the concerned agency does not even have a rig to do the job
The CNG outlet owners sensing their huge investments going down
the drain went on strike, with plenty of legitimate grievances. Their closure
signaled life paralyzed, as the country witnessed, prompting the Prime
Minister to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the energy issue. The
gravity of the situation also brought together the Petroleum Secretary
and the CNG Association Chairman. The Secretary discounted the
impression created by his Minister that the CNG sector was being closed for
an indefinite period. He also gave the assurance that the ban on filling public
transport vehicles running on CNG would remain suspended for the next 15
days.
These measures, temporary in nature and taken to assuage the frayed
tempers of the masses, have not calmed the widespread concern. The public
mood remains ominous and could serve as a tinder box ready to ignite
something far more dangerous than the violent scenes witnessed on
Monday. There exists an accumulated sense of betrayal of the mandate by
the ruling setup, but if endemic corruption and rude defiance of judicial
verdicts have not roused the common man enough to create turmoil, the
denial of the means of cooking meals and of transportation might provide
the necessary spark.
Next day, the newspaper wrote: One cannot predict what course of
action the Supreme Court might take in the context of failure to
implement its NRO verdict, since it has more than one option. There is a
possibility, though, that as in the case of Mr Babar Awans press conference,
it might issue contempt of court notices to all concerned, including the chief
executive. Apparently, the situation leaves no other choice for it but to go
ahead with implementing the judgment, including, of course, writing to the
Swiss authorities about $60 million owned by the President. One would
hope that this time around, the government will choose to abide by the law
and the Constitution rather than create a crisis situation for the country.
On 6th January, TheNation wrote: Mr Babar Awans comments before
the media on receipt of the contempt of court notice issued to him and four
other PPP stalwarts, on Wednesday, seemed to have taxed the Supreme
Courts patience to an extent that it put aside the Bhutto reference case
it was due to hear on Thursday. Instead, it questioned Mr Awan, who

637

appeared before it representing the federal government on the reference case,

about the appropriateness of his comments and whether he believed they
reflected the dignity that was due to the court. Mr Awan took the view that
they were in appreciation of the court rather than contempt of it. After
viewing a video of the comments, part of which consisted of Mr Awan
reciting a Punjabi couplet, followed by consulting the Supreme Court Bar
Association President and Vice President, who felt that these comments were
derogatory in nature, the court issued another contempt of court notice to Mr
Babar Awan, directing him to appear before it on January 9 to explain his
conduct. This was the second such notice given to him within the past two
days. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry remarked that he was
issuing statements every day against the court, which had issued him a
licence to practice as a lawyer. Justice Chaudhry, heading the 11-member
bench, further asked Mr Babar Awan why his licence should not be
cancelled.
The court rightly believed that unless the judiciary was shown due
respect, the business of state would be seriously affected. The Chief Justice
asked Mr Awan, If you do not respect the states institutions, then who
will? The court was so perturbed at his repeated, questionable
observations that it maintained that it would not hear the Bhutto
reference case, till the contempt case against Mr Awan was decided. The
earlier contempt of court notice was issued in response to the press
conference held on December 1, soon after the SC had rejected the NRO
review petition. This case too, will come up for hearing on January 13.
The governments attitude towards the judiciary has all along
been testing of their patience Hence, today, there exists a large tally of
judgments, the most important being the nullification of the National
Reconciliation Ordinance, that have not been implemented. On one pretext
or other, the government has been adopting delaying tactics. And in several
cases, it has even acted in violation of the SCs pronouncements. This is a
sad state of affairs. One cannot possibly conceive of a democratic system
where the judiciary is contemptuously defied and ridiculed. If nothing else,
this attitude that has created disaffection among the people constitutes the
greatest threat to the democratic order in Pakistan.
M A Niazi commented: The strike which was over this time may
not be possible to avert in future, when the gas crisis will be worse. The
government needs to find a replacement, and quickly. There are three
approaches, all of which must be pursued. First, it must arrange for the gas
fields that have not been tapped in the past, to be brought online. At the
638

same time, it must also arrange for the swift completion of the gas line from
Iran, so that its gas can reach Pakistan. The USA, which is doing its best to
isolate Iran, must not be allowed to stop it, as it stopped India from going
ahead with the project. The complicating factor that the Iranian gas line
illustrates is the use to which it is to be put, of supply to the power plants.
The thermal power plants run on furnace oil, which is imported at great cost,
and which is highly polluting to boot. The thermal generation plants in
Pakistan can also run on gas, which was previously supplied from
indigenous sources. Thus the gas shortage is very obviously tied into the
power shortage.
The government should also remember that relieving the gas
shortage by making up for past government mistakes will not add to the
public welfare, but merely preserve for the public a benefit it has got used
to. The public itself is probably taking for granted what was only a
temporary facility: gas is not really very old, and when it was discovered, it
was not expected to last forever. Though Iranian and Turkmenistani gas is
going to last longer, they too are finite resources, and it is time there is more
work on solar, hydel and wind power, as well as other renewable sources of
energy.
Next day, TheNation commented: The PPPs core committee, at a
meeting chaired by the President and also attended by the Prime Minister on
Thursday, persisted in the partys attitude of open defiance towards
certain key Supreme Courts verdicts, which involve its top hierarchy.
For instance, it declared that the government would inform the SC that the
NRO verdict had largely been carried out and, at the same time, since the
President enjoyed immunity under the Constitution, the government would
not be writing to the Swiss authorities to reopen the cases against him. The
court, on the other hand, had decreed that the Swiss courts must be contacted
in writing. Also, it had unambiguously held that anyone seeking immunity
would have to receive the courts confirmation of it. Similarly, terming the
memo, on which the nations attention has been riveted since it came to
light, a mere piece of paper was considered grave enough
It is unfortunate that the PPP and the government, who claim to be
working for strengthening democratic institutions in the country, is failing to
satisfy the concerns of the highest judicial authority. This is unheard of in a
democratic polity and is counterproductive to the cause of democracy. It
carries serious and far-reaching implications for the rule of law in the
country. Constitutional and legal proprieties call for eschewing the posture

639

of defiance to the Supreme Court forthwith and compliance with its

decisions.
Abid Gillani observed: On completion of the 20 days notice to
government for implementation of the apex court verdict in NRO case, it
has given the government last warning with the direction to the
Secretary Law to come up with something concrete on writing of letter to
Swiss Government on reopening of the corruption cases against President
Zardari and others by January 10.
The legal and constitutional experts are of the view that the court
would go to its extreme to get its order implemented in the case. If the
government would try to take shelter of the Presidential immunity the court
would most likely revoke it on a number of counts and on top of it being
repugnant to the fundamental Islamic injunctions.
On 8th January, TheNation commented: It is bad enough that the
nation has to see the spectacle of the government blatantly defying court
orders in the hope of protecting the President but to have its own doubts and
suspicions not laid to rest, is something that causes frustrations to grow. As
President, Mr Zardari is supposed to prevent this. It is not evolution to see
the country experiencing struggles that have taken place long ago in
different lands and the principle of the rule of law requires no evolutionary
blundering about, but following said law willingly.
With President Zardari offering PML-N President Mian Nawaz
Sharif fresh elections in October, the appeal to the electorate is closer than
mandated. The PPP should not underestimate the voters desire to establish
to a certainty, those behind the authoring of memogate, especially when
about to approach these voters for a renewal of its mandate. Though the
President would clearly like the whole matter brushed under the carpet, it
cannot be done. The President would be setting an excellent example of
showing that institutions matter more than parties, if he appeared before the
commission. He should not defy the Supreme Court in obedience to the
PPP core committee but the other way around, and apart from appearing
before the Commission, he must also ensure that there is no obstacle to its
work.
In another editorial, the newspaper wrote: A serious snub to the
PPPs enthusiasm for the new provinces of South Punjab and Hazara
has come from its partys own leader, Chairman of the Parliamentary
Committee on National Security Senator Raza Rabbani, who warned on
Friday that taking the issue directly in the National Assembly is
640

unconstitutional. He stated categorically that the issue must first be

discussed at the provincial level and any resolution on the issue must first be
passed by the concerned provincial assembly.
This is in line with the constitutional requirements that give
precedence to the people of the province themselves to decide such
matters. Mr Rabbani who is known for speaking his mind freely got it right
when he said that debating the issue directly in the National Assembly is
reflective of a centrist mindset. And even once the provinces have given
their judgment with a majority vote, the National Assembly and the Senate
still need to come up with a two-thirds majority to actually form the new
province.
Jalees Hazir opined: The rule-of-law movement envisioned a new
just order, whereas the PPP government pines for the re-establishment of
the unconstitutional status quo that was shaken by the rule-of-law
movement. Those fighting for the sacked judiciary demanded to be treated
as citizens with rights under the Constitution, while the present so-called
democratic government would like them to accept their place in the scheme
of things as subjects and serfs.
Unfortunately, instead of exercising its constitutional powers to work
for the welfare of the people, the government seems to be focused on
grabbing an unconstitutional monopoly on power that fits in with a
dictatorial regime. Surely, if a party manages to muster up the required
number in the National Assembly to form the government, it doesn't give it
the right to trample upon the Constitution and other institutions of the State.
The government keeps harping on all institutions of the State conducting
themselves within the ambit of the Constitution, but obviously its good
advice is meant for all institutions of the State except the government itself.
If the government is really so concerned about the continuation of the
democratic system, it will have to start respecting the Constitution that is the
basis of that system, rather than subverting it for its short-term partisan
goals.
The government, however, seems to be hurtling in the opposite
direction. Ever since it was forced to restore the independent judiciary in
face of massive public pressure, it has tried every dirty trick in the book
to make it controversial and to weaken its moral authority and popular
support. The examples are too many to recount. Sometimes it pulls out the
Sindh card to malign it, and sometimes it tries to paint it as partisan and
biased against the PPP government. Sometimes it uses a misconceived

641

notion of parliamentary supremacy and sometimes an equally misconceived

notion of executive authority to accuse the honourable judges of encroaching
upon its turf. Sometimes it sends Babar Awan with suitcases of money to
bribe the bars and influence their elections, and sometimes it holds press
conferences to throw around wild and vague charges against the judiciary.
In his recent address at Naudero, President Zardari addressed the
Chief Justice by name and accused him of being biased for taking up only
those cases that targeted the government, while ignoring, among others, the
ZA Bhutto reference sent by him. This was clearly malicious. Anyone who
has been following the court proceedings in the reference would vouch for
the court's efforts to arrive at the best constitutional way of addressing the
miscarriage of justice in Bhutto's murder trial. Interestingly, the proceedings
were disturbed by the fallout of the contemptuous remarks made by the
federation's counsel, Babar Awan. Whatever the government's reasons for
such devious antics, and whatever the reasons for those arguing for defusing
the situation, Babar Awan must not get away with such unacceptable
behaviour this time.
A R Jerral wrote: The NRO legal battle has been settled and orders of
the Supreme Court have been announced. But the PPP in its highest inner
forum has decided not to implement these orders. Instead of taking a legal
course refuting the allegations by providing authentic evidence that could
prove the falsehood of the charges it has relied on sheer political power to
defy court orders. The memo scandal has taken this anti-court attitude to
new heights. The orders have been publicly ridiculed and mocked by
those who hold high offices and party positions. The memo has created a
political animosity between the most important and sensitive State organs,
which are responsible for its security, stability and law and order. Though
the apex court has established an inquiry commission on the memo, the PPP
has decided not to respond to its requirements. The attitude displayed by the
party stalwarts has compelled it to issue contempt notices to them; how they
will respond to that only time will tell. If they react in the manner that they
have been reacting, it will render Pakistans entire legal system and judiciary
ineffective and despondent. What is ironic that members of the legal
fraternity and the bars as organized bodies have not stood up to uphold the
dignity and prestige of the judiciary; had they shown the same solidarity
with the courts that they demonstrated for the restoration of the judiciary, the
situation would have been better.
The question, however, is: Why does the PPP behave in this
manner and what is its agenda? Our political thinkers and media
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intellectuals must debate this question, which is based on the ruling elites
general performance. In the past four years, the government has failed to
deliver. Its election manifesto was vague and it rode to success on sympathy
votes that came its way due to the unfortunate and tragic assassination of its
leader, who commanded great respect and prestige in the masses. During
these years, the government has been plagued by the Haj financial scam,
NILC scandal, electricity blackouts, gas load shedding and immense price
hikes in electricity, gas, petroleum products and everyday food and
consumer commodities. Gas termination in industrial plants has rendered
thousands of workers jobless with no hope of any revival in the near future.
Large government organizations, like the Railways, Steel Mills and PIA,
have become inoperable and are running in losses threatening the closure of
these corporations. People accuse the government of obliging personal
friends and jail colleagues of high persona with high offices and ministries
they are unsuited for and indulging in large-scale corruption. In this political
scenario, they think that the PPP faces bleak chances of any success in the
next general elections. The arrogant attitude adopted by the ruling party
against the State organs is a calculated strategy. They feel that this strategy
will force the State institutions to initiate anti-democracy moves, which may
oust the government and the party may become a political martyr a third
time to gain public sympathy. The Prime Minister and other PPP leaders
have hinted in this direction, even on the floor of the house; nevertheless,
this blitz was so pronounced that the COAS had to state publicly that the
army has no intention of embarking on any such adventure.
The political battles must be fought politically and legal battles
need legal handling. The judiciary is an important organ of the State that
endeavours to uphold the law of the land; its role and functions are well
defined in the Constitution. Its willful degradation and ridicule lowers its
dignity and prestige in the eyes of the masses that look towards it for justice.
A demoralized and discredited judiciary cannot uphold law and dispense
justice. If this pillar of the State crumbles under the arrogance of the
powerful, people will take the law in their hands and we will witness largescale dispensing of street justice, which will spread anarchy in the country. If
one pillar of the State apparatus is endangered, the others will not remain
unaffected. This trend needs to be halted and our media can play a positive
role in it; instead of broadcasting cat fights among the politicians on nonissues in their talk shows, the media should bring on saner intelligentsia to
project importance of State organs and methods how that could be achieved.
We need to stress that everyone is subject to law and must submit to it.

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Rameeza Majid Nizami observed: With pundits winking and pointing

to January 10, the last date of implementation of the NRO verdict, as the
beginning of the end for the PPP-led government, this is a fairly
exaggerated prediction. There is no doubt that from now until the elections,
the pressure on the civilian setup will only increase, to keep them
committed to the idea. Come election time, with the PPP in power in the
Senate, as is likely to happen according to present-day numbers, will a PPPled majority in Parliament be acceptable for a second term? No one party
will win the election by a mandate heavy enough to form the government on
its own. The result will be a desperate scramble to form alliances and
establish a majority.
While we continue to witness several fine balancing acts, negotiating
various tightropes, let us take a minute to appreciate that this signifies
something going right. There have been many opportunities in the last few
months for our delicate democratic setup to be shown the door. It is a
combination of good fortune, sharp survival instincts and public
pressure that has kept the system going. Heres hoping for just a few
months more, just enough for us to reach the other end of the tightrope. Just
a few months morewithout the tightrope snapping and all the actors
plunging to the ground.
On 11th January, TheNation wrote: An atmosphere of acute tension
and, indeed, expectation pervaded that the Supreme Court would, on
Tuesday, finally spell out the action it wants to be taken against those
responsible for not only the non-implementation of its verdict on the
National Reconstruction Ordinance, but also its studied defiance of it. The
courts pronouncement, rather measured, given it's history with it's
judgments being given short shrift, has given the government several options
to choose from. These may be employed as mere delaying tactics. Or may be
seen, in the matter of the formation of a larger bench under the Chief Justice,
as passing the buck. The apex court has, however, afforded a peep into its
collective thoughts by pointing towards the course the law would take, if
the authorities continued to persist in their present attitude of provocative
disregard of the judgment. The Prime Minister has come up for a scathing
criticism, being termed, apparently, not an honest man who has not been
loyal to the Constitution. The course of action against defaulting
functionaries, or guidelines for the larger bench, includes a pointed reference
to him as well as the President. Both have pledged an oath, with God as
witness, to uphold the Constitution against self-interest; the court felt that
they, instead, showed allegiance to the party and not the law itself. Thus,
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they could be declared ineligible for election to Parliament. As candidates

for the presidency have to be, first of all, qualified to become an MP, the
observation implicates the President as well. They both could, therefore, be
disqualified from holding office, creating a political void in the country. The
President and the entire cabinet would have to go.
At the outset of the decision, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who headed
the bench of five judges to hear the case, recalled, with disappointment, that
the Supreme Courts clear verdict had been disobeyed and warned that its
verdict could be quite unpalatable. There is no doubt left, though, that in
the event the government remains defiant, the consequences for all involved
would be quite serious. And, if Mr Babar Awans reference to East
Pakistan, suggestive of the pangs of separation, is any guide, the
repercussions for the country as a whole would also be too frightening to
imagine. The PPP must realize that democracy will only flourish if prompt
and unquestioned adherence to the decisions of the judiciary is exercised.
Under a democratic system, there is no room for deviation from it at all. The
PPPs coalition partners could help it see the logic of this fundamental
principle. Otherwise, its posture would constitute an invitation to others in
the country to violate the law, which means a state of chaos. Hopefully, the
Attorney General would give good tidings to the nation when he
appears before the larger bench on January 16.
Next day, the newspaper observed: The Supreme Courts Tuesday
verdict has, understandably, caused a veritable anxiety in the ruling
circles as well as the public at large, though for entirely different
reasons. The government, seemingly determined not to implement the NRO
verdict, is concerned about its fate. Mr Zardari who was in Karachi rushed
back to Islamabad on hearing the courts order to consult his party and allies.
Informed sources have indicated that PPPs coalition allies are advising the
government to drop the confrontational posture. The people, on the other
hand, are worried about the ugly situation that might develop should the PPP
try to counter the judgment of the larger bench by bringing its supporters on
the roads. With backbreaking inflation, even the well-off have been forced to
live from hand to mouth, not to talk of those who were already below the
poverty line. And God forbid, there could be chaotic scenes countrywide
because the PML-N, PTI and JI also plan to launch a public movement in
support of the judiciary in case the government does not relent. That would
not only disrupt the food supply chain, but also worsen the security
situation.

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For the government, there is hardly an option left, if it rejects the

options given to it by the five-member bench. The only exit from the culde-sac that it is in is to abjure its defiance of the judiciary and set about
seriously implementing the verdict, starting with the writing of a letter to the
Swiss authorities to reopen the case of a $60 million deposit in a bank in
Switzerland. Otherwise, legal experts have warned it of serious fallout, even
in the shape of disqualification of the President and the Prime Minister to
contest elections in the future. The fear of an ominous scenario, which the
refusal of the government to abide by the orders of the Supreme Court would
create, and the abysmal record of its performance have led to a widespread
demand in the country that it should immediately tender its resignation and
seek a mandate from the people. It should be doing that precisely!
On 13th January, Dr Sania Chaudhry observed: Today the
government, military, Supreme Court and the opposition are at
crossroads. The six options given by the apex court clearly hint at the
malicious practices indulged in by the incumbent government and its rulers.
Earlier, the democratic governments of the two largest political parties have
been terminated on corruption charges through the imposition of martial law.
Instead of learning lessons from the mistakes committed, the political elite
continue to indulge in political revenge from the masses.
The failure of governance has exposed the hidden intentions and
priorities of the federal government, which boasts of its successes
concerning the NFC Award, Balochistan Package and 18th Amendment to
hide its total failure on the economic front. Its cosmetic wins are insufficient
to bail it out in the next general elections. The major ruling party has been
severely let down by its forerunners and the collapse of governance is a
testament that there is no Bhutto remaining to lead the party and the
country.
Dr A H Khayal wrote: All our governments have told us that most of
the Pakistanis are miserable because Pakistan has limited economic
resources. The miserable masses must wait till the resources become
unlimited. (So long as the resources do not become unlimited, they must
patriotically continue starving.) If, however, they cannot wait for the
miracle, they are constitutionally free to leave the country in search of new
pastures where bread is easily available.
The masses must know that the rulers have also been making
sacrifices for the country. Our rulers are fabulously affluent. (Perhaps, their
affluence is a gift of the countrys limited resources.) If the rulers were to

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leave Pakistan with all their wealth and settle permanently in the West, they
could have infinitely more gay life there than what they have been having
here. Obviously, they have been living in Pakistan only by sacrificing the
immense fun, which they could enjoy round the clock in the West. If the
rulers can make sacrifices, why cant the masses?
On 14th January, Inayatullah observed: Amazing how an inept,
incompetent and generally-considered corrupt government has taken on
the two most powerful national institutions. Its blatant defiance of the
highest court of the country and point blank refusal to comply with some of
the directives given in the verdict is not only unprecedented, but also
reflective of a warped mindset. One may by way of an explanation, say that
a government which owes its very existence to an unethical, if not altogether
evil (since declared illegal), ordinance issued by a military dictator may not
be expected to abide by the law or the Constitution if they conflict with its
selfish or vicious interests.
To realize the extent to which elected highest-level officeholders
can flout the court judgments and the provisions of the Constitution,
one may refer to some of the observations contained in the Supreme Court
order about implementation of its NRO verdict: The learned Prosecutor
General Accountability has gone on to submit that even in the matter of
proceedings against Malik Mohammad Qayyum, a former Attorney General
of Pakistan, a decision has been taken by the National Accountability Bureau
not to initiate or take any proceeding, despite a clear direction having been
issued by this court in that respect. The Chairman National Accountability
Bureau has not only owned the above mentioned reports, but has adopted a
defiant attitude.
Inayatullah reproduced few more excerpts from the court judgment
and then added: Shrewdly enough, the PPP rulers have taken the matter
to Parliament. They would like the august body to repose confidence in
them and send out a message that they have the backing of the majority of
the peoples representatives. Their coalition partners may, with some caveats
to safeguard their own interests, go along with them. This could embolden
them to continue in their willful ways, for some time.
Much now will depend on what the Supreme Courts larger
bench decides when the hearing starts on January 16 about the six options
enunciated in the earlier judgment. The findings of the Memogate
Commission, too, would impinge on the way the country moves into the
future.

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One thing is clear. The elections are bound to be held this very year,
possibly within the next four or five months. Another obvious fact is that the
whole of the opposition, the Supreme Court, the armed forces and, by and
large, the people of Pakistan, all want a change and a fresh mandate. If the
discredited and incompetent government resists this call, the possibility
of a peoples movement long marches and mass protests cannot be
ruled out!
Next day, TheNation observed: The role of the National
Accountability Bureau (NAB) in the crisis over the National Reconciliation
Ordinance (NRO) has not been rightly estimated. If NAB had played its
rightful role in the implementation of the Supreme Court verdict, ruling the
NRO ab initio void and of no legal effect, the present difficulties that the
government is facing in this case with the Supreme Court, may well
have been avoided. That the federal government realized the importance of
NAB in implementation can be seen from the very excuse that NAB sources
proffer while explaining this. The failure to implement is placed on the
delay, allegedly because of court orders, which prevented the appointment of
a NAB Chairman, who was supposed to appoint a Prosecutor General. The
NAB Ordinance sees it as an independent body, not as one following the
dictates and policy of the federal government. The ordinance itself has been
criticized for not going far enough, but if NAB fails to act according to its
own ordinance, and the Supreme Court, the guilty will indeed go free. The
purpose behind setting up NAB, and behind the Supreme Court judgment,
was not so much to assign guilt and ensure that the money looted through
corruption could be returned to the people. That this desire for accountability
was misused by previous regimes to persecute political opponents cannot be
used as an excuse to escape through the NRO. That there were other cases
the NRO ended cannot be cited in that context. As a matter of fact, of the
8041 cases withdrawn under it, 233 were NAB cases, involving 248 people,
22 being politicians, and 226 government employees.
The new NAB Chairman, Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari, has only
now reopened the cases that the NRO set aside, even though the Supreme
Court decision on the NRO came on 16 December 2009. However, cases
involving the President are not being pursued because of the immunity his
office is supposed to confer him under the Constitution, or members of the
Sharif family, whose cases are in the Lahore High Court. Admiral Bokhari
himself has his appointment under challenge by the Opposition, but that
should provide no excuse for NAB failing to pursue the cases vigorously.
While the NAB Ordinance requires a Chairman to be appointed, the failure
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to pursue cases reinstituted by the verdict is not understandable except for an

excess of bureaucratic caution. Admiral Bokhari still has the opportunity
of following the law, and fulfilling his responsibilities under the
Ordinance, by pursuing the cases which had been revived by the Supreme
Court verdict.
The News wrote: Aitzaz Ahsan, senior lawyer and PPP politician
sidelined into political oblivion by the Pakistan Peoples Party for leading
the lawyers movement in 2007 and for representing the then deposed chief
justice at the Supreme Court, appears to have made a comeback. It wont be
a stretch to say many are surprised by how he went from pariah-status to
President Zardaris darling in a matter of weeks. Reports suggest that he is
being considered as a possible replacement for Prime Minister Gilani.
Though Aitzaz has denied these reports as baseless, such denials are always
taken as attempts to hide the smoke of a fire raging somewhere. If one were
to believe the speculation and the punditry, Prime Minister Gilani may
be considering resigning as part of a move to deflect pressure on the
president. In recent weeks, the PPP government has sharply increased its
hostility towards both the army and the judiciary. The mouthpiece of this
hostility, among others, has been the prime minister who has moved from
talking about the possibility of a clash between the army and the government
to raising alarm that the bell actually tolls for him and his government. In the
midst of this, Aitzaz has become a figure of interest, especially as someone
who could lead the interim setup before the elections. Word has it that even
the opposition parties which met Friday with Nawaz Sharif in the chair to
try to forge a grand alliance to press for early elections may have agreed
on the choice.
In a politically significant move, the president had invited Aitzaz to
make a speech after him in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on the fourth death
anniversary of Benazir Bhutto last month. Recently, he has also nominated
Aitzaz as the mentor of his budding son Bilawal. Observers say replacing
Gilani may have become inevitable from the point of view of a president
who is interested only in his and his governments survival. Observers also
suggest that this move would make sense as the PPP begins to lay down the
planks of its electoral campaigns. Aitzaz won hearts and minds during the
lawyers movement and for a party so inextricably associated with
corruption, who better than the clean Aitzaz to lead the election campaign?
On the other hand, the rumours of the PMs replacement may be construed
as attempts to destabilize and undermine Gilani. At Fridays session of the
National Assembly, the PM couldnt even get his own coalition partners
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and allies to agree on the draft of the governments pro-democracy

bill. No doubt the PM has brought stability to the system on numerous
occasions in the past but he is no longer the non-controversial, consensusbuilding figure that he may once have been.
Jalees Hazir observed: The confrontational mode adopted by the
PPP government went into top gear last week, threatening to bring down
the much-revered house of democracy. The Prime Minister told a Chinese
daily that the replies submitted by the Chief of the Army Staff and the
Director General ISI in the memo case were unconstitutional. In an
interview to a local news channel, the President categorically stated his
government's resolve not to write the letter to Swiss authorities as directed
by the Supreme Court. Obeying the court's order, according to the President,
would mean initiating a trial of Benazir Bhutto's grave. An ill-considered
move by the PPP government to pit Parliament against vital State institutions
was thankfully thwarted by some good advice by its coalition partners.
Meanwhile, we saw a resumption of drone strikes and did not hear a
whimper of protest from the civil or military leadership. Weren't we
supposed to shoot them down? Is the lack of a proper response to this latest
aggression due to the chaos created in the country by those in charge of our
destiny? Or are drone attacks kosher again?
The man with two hats sitting in the presidency left the nation
speechless with his chameleon act during the interview. One moment, he
donned the hat of the President to speak, and the next moment, he spoke as
the PPP Co-Chairman. It didn't stop there. He vehemently told us that the
Prime Minister runs the government, and in the next breath spoke with the
authority of a dictator who calls all the shots and single-handedly decides
about important national matters. As far as the spinning top Prime Minister
is concerned, it is difficult to tell where he stands. One day, he makes an
emphatic statement with far-reaching consequences on an important national
issue, and the next day he eats his words, changing his stance without any
explanation. The two have turned democratic governance into a painful
farce with their somersaults and sense of political adventure. Surely,
democracy could do better than that.
There is a method to their madness, of course. Their democracy
circus has only two goals, and none of them has to do with the people of
Pakistan in whose name and interest they claim to be fighting their
unconstitutional wars. The goals are simple: To continue in their positions of
power and to thwart any effort that seeks to make them or their government
accountable. It is becoming more and more obvious by the day that the duo
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would do anything and everything to achieve their goals, regardless of the

cost to the people and State of Pakistan. Sick and tired of the high drama
enacted by the two, more and more people are heard questioning the use of
democracy. This is blasphemous to the politically correct worshippers of
democracy, who are willing to accept every abuse of the democratic system
as long as it comes with the tag of democracy. But can you really blame
those wishing for an end to the present dispensation?
The people of Pakistan have been turned into helpless spectators
of the unfolding drama in the name of democracy. They see no role or
stake in a democratic system that seems to have forgotten its raison d'etre.
With the pseudo-democrat duo in charge, the chances of accountability
through the ballot and a smooth transfer of power are remote. The Election
Commission of Pakistan is dragging its feet when it comes to implementing
the Supreme Court orders regarding the deletion of bogus votes from its
electoral lists and updating them. The federal Law Secretary has
conveniently gone abroad on the pretext of medical treatment and his
ministry has submitted an application in the Supreme Court for an
adjournment in the NRO implementation case. Rather than running its
affairs according to the Constitution, the government seems to be hell-bent
on subverting it.
Surely, things cannot go on this way. The opposition parties have
finally come to some agreement on how to take the democratic process
further, but they need to strengthen this initiative to make a real difference.
The pressure from coalition partners seem to have brought some sanity to
the government as well and there are indications that it has stepped back
from an all-out confrontation with the judiciary and the security
establishment, for the time being at least. Some feel that these developments
bode well for the survival of democracy. Still, there are apprehensions that
given the propensities and the compulsions of the President and his Prime
Minister, they are likely to hurl us into another crisis whenever their hold on
power is threatened. The irony is that the PPP government, which is solely
responsible for creating one crisis after another, would like to be viewed as
the victim against whom everyone else has ganged up.
With all the chaos created by the government due to its undemocratic
and unconstitutional behaviour, can Pakistan expect to handle the devious
machinations of the badmash superpower and redefine our relationship
with it? Obviously, with the review of Pak-US relations still underway, it is
safe to believe that things stand where they did in the immediate aftermath
of the November NATO attack on Pakistan army check posts in Mohmand
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Agency, and the recent drone attacks do not have the approval of the
Pakistan leadership. It is also safe to assume that the US has been
emboldened by the friction between State institutions within Pakistan
and has, therefore, re-launched the drone strikes. The civil and military
leadership seems to be too preoccupied with the crisis at home to respond
effectively to this latest affront to the sovereignty of the country and the
killing of its citizens.
Is this the democratic experiment playing itself out, with different players
and stakeholders finding their right place in the scheme of things? Will it
correct itself given time? Will the political parties, including the PPP,
manage to rein in the lust for power of two men and their chailas to save
democracy? Or will the two men bring the whole house down in order to
save their seats and skins? One would like to end on a hopeful note for
democracy's future, but, with the two men glued to their seats, it is difficult
to see either hope or democracy.

REVIEW
Amid observers busy in drawing inferences from the cynical
behaviour of Babar Awan the Supreme Court pended further hearing of ZAB
reference till disposal of contempt cases against him. Awans antics indicated
that Zardari regime was now trying to create a pretext to withdraw reference
as it felt that the desired purpose was not being achieved.
Meanwhile, another bench of the apex court gave ten days to the
regime for implementation of the NRO verdict. On 10 th January, the bench
assembled presumably to carry out final review of the progress of the
implementation of NRO verdict that had been passed more than two years
ago. The aspect pertaining to the person of the Scoundrel was in special
focus.
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa started reading the decision at about midday. His opening remarks, which seemed to be describing the rationale of the
decision immediately led to speculations. Most observers felt that after the
lapse of more than two years the moment of truth has at last arrived.
The observers saw the hammer rising higher and higher as Justice
Khosa continued reading out the decision. His following remarks led to
speculating that the hammer would fall with a big bang:
The government has failed to implement the verdict.

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 The actions we are about to take may be unpleasant.

The prime minister respected the party interest over the Constitution.
Prima facie he is not an honest man and he violated his oath.
The president said his government wont implement a part of NRO
verdict.
As per Article 189 and 190 all institutions are bound to help the apex
court.
To the absolute dismay of those who expected stern action, the
hammer did not fall and instead allowed to hang in the air for another six
days. The bench handed over to the Attorney General a list of six options:
To initiate the contempt of court proceedings against the Chief
Executive and the Secretary Law for not implementing the NRO
verdict.
To declare the chief executive ineligible from the membership of the
Parliament.
The court may form a commission to get the verdict implemented.
The people themselves decide on the issue and the court exhibit
patience.
Contempt proceedings against Chairman NAB may be initiated.
The action may be taken against President for violating the
Constitution.
The bench recommended to the chief justice to form a larger bench to
hear the case on January 16. With that the fate of the Gilani-government
appeared to be hanging in the balance as whatever line of action is adopted
by those in power now leaves little room for them to wriggle out. It has only
six days to come up with a clear choice of its future line of action.
Definitely, it was a day of suspense as many believed that the court
would take action against those who have been delaying the implementation
of its order and publicly announcing that even in future they wont do what
the court wants. On the previous hearing the court had said categorically that
now instead of passing just another order, it would take action.
After observing that the prime minister did not appear to be a
sagacious and honest the passing of buck to a larger bench was unbearable
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for the old man Roedad Khan. He was grossly disappointed for the reasons
that he had actively participated in Lawyers Movement and is the petitioner
against NRO.
He strongly criticized the apex court for giving six more days to the
government as if two years were not enough. He truly expressed the
sentiment of majority of the people of Pakistan who earnestly desired that
the Supreme Court must punish the culprits.
Some analysts, like Hassan Nisar, saw political wisdom in spelling out
of options. Obviously, he was referring to the spirit of the order rather than
its words. The purist jurists did not agree that judicial verdicts be dictated by
political wisdom; notwithstanding that, practicing lawyers themselves focus
on letter of the law only when they have plenty of favourable evidence and
exploit spirit of the law when there is lack of evidence.
It was apprehended that the judges of the apex court had opted for
political wisdom fearing political upheaval that the Scoundrel and the Saint
could create in case of dispensation of justice. If that be so, it would be most
unfortunate as it amounted to practicing law of necessity.
The wisdom referred to by Hassan Nisar was not seen by the party for
which it was meant. The regime immediately resorted to hurling counter
allegations, instead of arguing for own innocence. Babar Awan was
reminded of Agartala conspiracy and Rehman Malik came out waving copy
of Nawaz-Musharraf NRO under which the former went into exile.
Gilani told PML-N that backdoor to power corridors has been closed.
He blamed the apex court for lack of accountability of corrupt military
dictators. He was disappointed when the CJP called him dishonest.
(Someone pulled him out of his CJP-obsession by correcting him that it was
Justice Khosa not the CJP).
He went on to say: How a man who was elected so many times could
be dishonest? Not only that, everyone in his ancestors was elected right up to
the Moghal era. His measure of honesty was quite ironic. It merited to be
breaking news that rulers during Moghal era were elected, but no TV
channel flashed it as such.
The recent developments have led coalition partners of the PPP
regime confronting the moment of truth. PML-Q, MQM and ANP have to
decide as to what is more important for them; senior ministry, port and
shipping ministry and railway ministry; or the stability and well being of the

654

country? They seemed to have passed initial test by restraining the

Scoundrel from going wild.
Similarly, it is the moment of truth for the Judiciary to deliver what it
is meant to deliver. On 16th January, when seven judges assemble the must
remember the saying that justice delayed is justice denied. And, in the case
of NRO the justice could not have been denied (delayed) more than it has
been.
15th January, 2012

CORRODED IDOLS
The society in which people, individually and collectively, lose faith
in God (Allah) and stop believing in the abilities bestowed upon them by
their Creator; starts indulging in carving out fake gods (idols). This is
common in Pakistan; the people make gods out of the dead and their graves
and start worshipping them.
Anything that can be of any benefit or solace is idolized in the
Subcontinent. Not only that, even those which could cause some kind of

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harm are also worshipped by those suffering from their misconceived

weakness. That is why, at times, even scoundrels are elevated to that status.
Allama Iqbal devoted most of his philosophical poetry to eradicate
this evil tendency in the Muslims of the Subcontinent. His voice seemed to
have gone unheard as idol-carving has continued unabated. The latest feat in
this context was accomplished during Lawyers Movement.
The people are not only proficient in idol-carving, but also excel in
discarding or even smashing them. The idols carved more than four years
ago, however, were not smashed, but crumbled one by one due to corrosion
from within, because of the quality of the material these were made of. The
latest idol that has bitten dust has been Aitzaz Ahsan.
On 19th January, he came to the Supreme Court in a car driven by
Prime Minister; his client with accusation of committing the contempt
against the court headed by Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. Little less than
five years ago he used to drive the car of Chief Justice in a Movement for
restoration of Judiciary, which was sent packing by a military dictator.
The cause pursued now and then has been apparently contrasting; then
he was fighting for a nobler cause of helping an aggrieved party and now he
was defending a man suspected of committing a heinous crime. The fact is
that the latest events have proved that even then he was working on the
instructions of his party leader Benazir in pursuit of political motives.
During the days of Lawyers Movement the people appreciated his
pretensions so much that they carved an idol out of an ordinary mortal.
When he came out of the court-room that day he witnessed the smashing of
his idol by his own comrades in black coats who shouted slogans against
him for becoming a turncoat. The next idol that may crumble would be of
the Chief Justice of Pakistan. It may take some time to happen, but the
people who had carved that idol have already stopped worshipping him.

NEWS
On 15th January, Pakistan Railways planned to repair as many as 200
locomotives in a period of one year as department has almost managed Rs10
billion in this regard. Among these 200 locomotives, 96 will be repaired
from the recently received bank loan of Rs6 billion while rest of locomotives
would be overhauled by spending Rs4 billion being generated through
different private companies. Meanwhile, Zulfikar Mirzas son was given
PPP ticket for Badin by-poll.
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Next day, seven-member bench of the apex court, presided over by

Justice Nasirul Mulk, heard the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)
implementation case. The AGP told that he had informed all concerned
authorities about the court's directives about writing letter to Swiss officials
but did not get any response from them. Justice Nasirul Mulk observed that
the AGP was not to convey the orders but to get instructions from the
concerned officials about writing letter to the Swiss officials.
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa assailed the AGP over presenting the case
without getting a response from the government. He said comments were
made on the judgment of the court without reading it and whether it should
be considered by the court that the officials were not prepared to say
anything and the court may issue the orders as it deems appropriate.
Justice Mulk directed the AG to proceed with his arguments over the
six scenarios put forward by the apex court. In response, the attorney general
said he cannot say anything. Despite the 20 minutes break the AG could not
present government's view point after which the court issued contempt
notice to the prime minister and fixed hearing for the 19th of January.
Law Minister Maula Bux Chandio said that the government would
consult lawyers with respect to the court's notice and that whatever would be
done would be in accordance with the law and constitution. Meanwhile,
NAB Chairman Fasih Bukhari apologized unconditionally to the court
saying that he was given wrong advice.
Calling Zardari the biggest thief, Imran Khan while talking to the
media at Sukkur Airport said that the government was sabotaging the courts
in order to hide its thefts. The PTI chief stated that only the constitution is
supreme and not the parliament. Reiterating his partys support for the
judiciary, Imran Khan said that PTI is standing with the chief justice and the
Supreme Court.
In the coalition partners met in PM House and decided to stand
together and that the Prime Minister would appear before the bench on 19th
January. Zardari thanked the coalition partners for expressing their
confidence on the government. He said that relations with the army and the
judiciary were getting better and political situation would get better soon
adding that the parliament is supreme and coalition partner's role is
important.
The National Assembly passed pro-democracy resolution with
majority vote despite resistance from the opposition, which staged a walkout
saying the amendments proposed by them were not entertained. PML-N,
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PML-Q Like-minded and PPP-Sherpao boycotted the vote declaring the

resolution is an effort to save certain personalities and an attempt to use
Parliament to take on other institutions.
Speaking after the voting, Prime Minister congratulated the house on
the passage of resolution. He ruled out clash with army or judiciary, but said
nobody has the right to bulldoze peoples mandate. He once again warned
that if democracy is sent packing, all will go together. He also recounted
achievements of his government and hardships he endured.
Earlier, after the rejection of the proposed amendments in the draft
resolution, Leader of Opposition made it clear that they would not let
anyone put the whole system and the Parliament at stake for an individual
and would not become part of the government in undermining or settling
their scores with any institution using the platform of the Parliament. He at
the same time saw no threat to democracy.
The ruling coalition had been in interaction with PML-N legislators
both in the house and outside in the lobby to evolve consensus on the prodemocracy resolution but could not convince the N-Leaguers to withdraw
their proposed amendments. The amendments presented by the N-League
about implementation of all the previous resolutions of the Parliament, and
complete adherence to the decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and to
spruce up the governance with the aim to resolve the problems confronting
the masses were turned down by the government.
Aftab Sherpao said that there was no need to present such a
resolution. In a surprising development Jamiat-I-Ulema-I-Islam(Fazal) MNA
Liaq Mohammad Khan stunned the house by saying that his party
considered the resolution a right step in right direction and that they had
extended full support to it. Meanwhile, Habib Wahabul Khairi filed a
petition in the Supreme Court seeking disqualification of Zardari and Gilani.
On 17th January, Aitzaz Ahsan was appointed counsel for Prime
Minister in Contempt of Court case against Prime Minister. The Supreme
Court suspended the licence of Babar Awan and adjourned the proceedings
of ZAB case till appointment of new lawyer. The court also sought all
academic qualification certificates of Awan.
When Babar came out of the court-room the crows chanted in his
favour as if he had accomplished a great feat. He was invited to the
Presidency to be honoured with his reappointment as Minister of Law. The
Chairman Senate was informed was requested to suspend the proceedings
because Muala Bux Chandio has resigned.
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Aitzaz Ahsan contacted Gilani and declined to be his counsel if Babar

Awan was appointed as law minister. Gilani contacted Zardari and
convinced him not to appoint Babar as law minister for the time being.
Chandio was told on telephone to withdraw his resignation and he told
media that he had not submitted his resignation nor was he asked to resign.
Imran Khan said the incumbent government could not resolve any
issue because the government itself was a problem for the country. He added
PML-N and PPP had no chance to win the next general elections, even if
they decide to contest the polls hand in hand. Earlier in Kahuta, former
Tehsil nazim Tariq Murtaza and 40 other former nazims and naib nazims
announced joining PTI.
MQM tabled a bill in the National Assembly proposing the 20 th
Amendment in the Constitution for the creation of new provinces. Former
ambassador to Riyadh joined MQM. Fawad Chaudhry resigned from
Musharrafs party for not following democratic norms in decision-making.
Nawaz visited Pir Jo Goth and said rulers were threat to democracy.
Next day, Aitzaz Ahsan reiterated that President Zardari enjoys
immunity in the country and abroad in all criminal cases. He said the
immunity is notified and guaranteed in the Constitution. About immunity for
Musharraf, the lawyer said the former president didnt have it, because, there
were civil cases against him.
Aitzaz, however, suggested the premier should write to Swiss
authorities for reopening graft cases against President Zardari to avoid being
charged with contempt. Though he insisted PM was not guilty of contempt
and President Zardari enjoys immunity in Pakistan and abroad. Aitzaz
admitted that PPP leaders had given objectionable statements against
judiciary which he resisted in party meetings.
The PPP leadership has directed the provincial and district leaders of
the party to ensure maximum presence of the party workers during the
hearing in the Supreme Court. This showed that though Gilani himself is
most likely to look and act humble in the court, the party intends to turn
todays hearing into quite a show with a strong presence of PPP and allied
parties.
Many legal experts disagreed with the new-found logic of Aitzaz.
Former chief justice, Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui, told a foreign news agency
that Gilani could either resign or comply with the courts order. Political and
security analyst Imtiaz Gul agreed that the prime minister had no choice but
to satisfy the judges or face dismissal. One compromise might be to write to
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the Swiss about the case while pointing out that Zardari has immunity and
cannot be proceeded against.
Addressing a public gathering in Sargodha Nawaz Sharif said people
who were deceiving countrys youth where he had never done that He
vowed to establish a new Pakistan if the people supported him. Rana
Sanaullah said that PML-N would not resign from assemblies as it would
provide the PPP an opportunity to constitute its favourite setup.
The Supreme Court dismissed the NAB appeal against Sharif brothers
and ordered it to release all their assets. NAB Prosecutor General KK Agha
appeared before the court and argued against the verdict of LHC saying that
this way any one can come to get their assets released, but the court upheld
that verdict.
The government introduced 20th Amendment bill in the National
Assembly to give legal cover to the parliamentarians elected in by-elections
after passage of 18th Amendment. In the statement of objects and reasons, it
is stated that in the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Constitutional
Petition No 32/2009 had made certain observations due to which it had
become necessary to amend the constitution for the said period. Meanwhile,
Acting Chairman of Ogra resigned because of PPP pressure.
On 19th January, Prime Minister appeared before the Supreme Court
on contempt of court notice and said President Zardari has complete
immunity inside and outside the country under Article 248, but the sevenmember bench insisted that the court should be satisfied over the immunity
issue. He told the bench he has all respect for the honourable court. The
court exempted him from appearing in person but told to submit detailed
reply on February 1.
Given the media hype created over the issue, it was a great deal of
fuss over something unimportant. But analysts warned the PPP enthusiasts
against going for any merrymaking as the breather has brought along a more
grievous thing the question of presidential immunity has finally landed in
the apex court which the government has so far been avoiding.
Prime Minister arrived at the court by driving the car himself. Fifteen
federal ministers, Sindh and GB CMs, Punjab and KPK Governors and a
large number of PPP workers gathered at the Supreme Court. Asfandyar and
Shujaat were also there to show solidarity with the accused but MQM was
conspicuously missing.

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After the Prime Minister statement, his counsel Aitzaz Ahsan

addressed the court. He argued it was unnecessary to issue contempt of court
notice to the PM for not writing to the Swiss. Not writing the letter does not
require criminal proceeding against the premier, he added. He said his client
bona fide and genuinely believes that the president has immunity and
therefore there was no need to write to the Swiss authorities.
The court asked the learned counsel to satisfy the court on the issue of
immunity. Upon that Aitzaz said he had appeared in the case wherein
contempt of court has been issued to his client. But he said he would try to
also satisfy the court on that count. Aitzaz informed the court that the PM
has to go by the advice and summary of secretary law. But unfortunately no
proper advice or summary submitted to him on the issue. Justice Osmany
said that lot officials including chairman NAB got wrong advice.
The court observed that till today there was an impression that the
government willfully disobeyed the NRO judgment. Aitzaz replied that the
prime minister had no willful intention to disobey the courts order. Aitzaz
said the PM has not committed willful disobedience but is handicapped. He
said Mr Yousuf Raza Gilani has taken oath to uphold the constitution. Justice
Khosa remarked for the last two years the secretary has been asked about the
summary on non-implementation and his stance has always been that he had
submitted the summary but no reply was received from the relevant
authority.
Aitzaz said in order to submit reply he needs at least one month,
saying he has to obtain lot of documents from the law secretary, who is
abroad, and the record from NAB. Justice Nasir said the most of the
documents are on the record, adding you could get the record from the
secretary-incharge. Aitzaz said the court has shown grace in PCO cases and
therefore give him some time as he has to go through lot of files, adding the
court is also bound by the constitution and the Article 5 says not to rush.
After the hearing Aitzaz addressed the media. As he was talking to
journalists the lawyers loyal to Chief Justice gathered and chanted slogans
chief teiray jan nisar beshamar and loton ka jo yar hai ghadar hai ghadar
hai (CJP there are lot of loyalists of you and friend of turncoat are traitors).
Aitzaz Ahsan said Justice Iftikhar is also his chief justice and those who
were chanting slogans are his friends.
Another bench barred the ECP from holding by-polls, scheduled on
February 20, on seven seats of National and Provincial Assemblies of Punjab
and Sindh on existing voter lists. A three-member bench, headed by Chief
661

Justice heard the petitions moved by Imran Khan and late Benazir Bhutto for
the excluding the bogus votes from electoral rolls.
Nawaz Sharif said that all the cases constituted against Zardari during
his regime were real and not on political basis. Zardari and Gilani hosted a
thanksgiving dinner for allies. The federal government defroze bank
accounts of Kazmi.
Next day, the Supreme Court gave four days to DG FIA and warned of
criminal action if he failed to arrest PMs ex-media adviser Mian Khuram
Rasool, who has swindled over Rs430 million from Karachi-based business
concern on the pretext of arranging petroleum export licence to NATO
forces.
The government increased the fares of goods trains by 30 per cent and
was all set to give further boost to LPG price. PIA was sustaining Rs70
million loss per day. The government planned to get Rs163 billion loan to
sort out circular debt. KESC workers carried out protest rally over nonimplementation of July 26 Accord. Three people were killed in incidents of
violence in Karachi. Five Punjab MPAs elected on women reserve seats
were booked over fake degrees. FIR was registered by Election
Commission.
Musharraf took U-turn on homecoming and announced delay in his
come back to Pakistan. He delayed his return on the advice of his friends.
Reports of his arrest on arrival on account of cases registered against him
also surfaced lately. Musharraf denied seeking US help to avoid arrest.
On 21st January, Chief Justice said the Supreme Court functions in its
own constitutional domain. Addressing at Karachi Registry of Supreme
Court, he said that the Supreme Court has always worked within the
constitutional limits and it is the responsibility of lawyers and every citizen
to protect the constitution and to obey the law.
PPP instructed its hawks to keep mum over Supreme Court cases.
Government eased stock market rules to spur trade. Sindh government was
spending over Rs10 billion on ghost employees annually who are working
under fake computerized national identity cards.

VIEWS
On 16th January, Asad Hashim observed: Everything is coming to a
head for the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). It is faced with a

662

judiciary that has seemingly lost patience with its government, a vocal
opposition clamouring for early parliamentary elections, a growing civilianmilitary divide, and a relationship with Washington that blows more cold
than hot.
Even so, analysts believe there is an interesting, and not entirely
negative, shift at play within Pakistans complex political dynamics. In
the latest wave of crises, all intersecting in the past week, Pakistans state
institutions appear to be evolving in their responses to challenges.
For example, the Supreme Court has taken on an independent, activist
role and the army has assumed a more withdrawn position. The political
opposition has put forth vocal, at times vitriolic, criticism that targets the
ruling party, but simultaneously leaves no room for an undemocratic
transition, such as the military coup detats seen in the past. The situation is
complex, but no matter which way you slice the data, it looks bad for the
PPP.
Asad talked of legal challenges namely Memogate scandal and
NRO case. He then mentioned civilian governments tense relationship with
the military. He also discussed developing new responses emanating due to
evolution of institutions and added: On Monday, the national assembly
convenes once more to debate a motion reposing confidence in the current
government. The political opposition, the numbers suggest, does not have
enough votes for any no-confidence motion to pass, although its leaders
continue to press for early elections.
Analysts say any compromise could involve polls earlier than March
2013 (when they are scheduled), as long as the PPP is allowed to hold the
Senate elections as scheduled on March 2 this year. Through the indirect
vote, the PPP is projected to win an unprecedented number of seats in
the upper house.
A full bench of the Supreme Court will also meet on Monday to
deliberate over what action, if any, the court is willing to sanction against the
prime minister and his government over the NRO case. As the heat increases
in the crucible of Pakistani politics, the current democratically elected
government would appear, for the moment at least, to be lurching
onwards.
Next day, Mubashir Hassan observed: After the Supreme Court
charged the Prime Minister of Pakistan with contempt in NRO
implementation case, the latter is left with only two options and both are
equally fatal for the government unless court exercises restraint to bail it out
663

by reviving the almost buried principal of doctrine of necessity. Prime

Minister Gilani virtually finds himself between the rock and the hard
place after start of the contempt proceedings against him.
As he appears before the court on January 19, the prime minister has
the option to present Article 248 of the Constitution before the court and
plead that since the President enjoyed immunity from prosecution under
the Constitution, he would not write a letter to the Swiss court regarding reopening of the cases. He may also say that since two of the co-accusedBegum Nusrat Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto were no more in the world, the
Swiss court cannot be asked to re-open the case.
If the PM takes this position before the court in his defence, the court
may, inter alia, either punish the prime minister for committing contempt or
constitute a bench to decide the issue of immunity for the president. Now, if
the court exercises the first option, the PM will lose his membership of the
National Assembly as well as his office. But still there would be no escape
from writing the letter to the Swiss court. The new prime minister will
have to comply with the court orders in this regard.
But if the court picks up second option of deciding immunity of
the president, the PM would be safe for the time being till the matter is
decided by the court. But again, the PM would have to comply with the
orders if the apex court gives its verdict against the immunity. There is little
possibility that the SC will hold that president enjoyed immunity from
prosecution given the fact that it would not have asked the government to
write the letter in its judgment on NRO case had it believed so.
The second option before the prime minister is to seek
unconditional apology and give assurance to the court that he was ready
to write the letter. In this case, the PM and his government would be safe,
but the president would be in trouble, something the PM may not like to
happen. He is less likely to go for this option unless he is made to believe
that Swiss court would not re-open the case saying that it had become timebarred.
Given the limited options the prime minister has under the given
situation, the only way to get out of the predicament is that court observes
restraint to bail out the government. Otherwise, the both the PM and the
president along with the government are bound to land in serious
trouble.
TheNation commented: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has been
summoned by the Supreme Court to answer a contempt charge on January
664

19 The timing is such that the only answer to the present crisis is a fresh
election. Mr Gilani should realize that, while a dissolution, which only he
can advise, may not make the court cases disappear, it will certainly
bring the nation out of the crisis in which it presently finds itself, where
the government finds itself in confrontation with two institutions of state.
The government must be much more careful than it has been so far in
managing matters. It should be aware that its worst failure of governance has
not been getting into the confrontations it has, but of failing to solve the
problems of the ordinary citizen, who is afflicted by inflation and energy
shortages even if he has a job. The Prime Minister has little alternative to
appearing before the Supreme Court, as he has agreed to do, something for
which there is a precedent, set by Mian Nawaz Sharif. However, if the nation
is to be brought out of the crisis in which it is plunged, the Prime Minister
must recognize that the nation is more important than any individual,
and act accordingly.
The News wrote: Everyone expected fireworks on January 16 and
fireworks they got. After the attorney general told the Supreme Court bench
hearing the National Reconciliation Ordinance implementation case that he
had no instructions from the government in response to the six options put
forward by the apex court, the bench issued Prime Minister Gilani a
contempt of court notice and directed him to appear before the court on
January 19. A few hours later the government, having consulted with its
allies, decided the prime minister would face the court. Before the
governments decision, and responding to the courts directives, the law
minister had said the government would consult its lawyers and take a
decision in accordance with the law and Constitution. If the law is what is at
stake here, then let it be said that the government given its blatant
refusal to implement sundry Supreme Court orders, including in the
NRO case has become the very antithesis of rule of law, and Mondays
contempt notice thus makes perfect sense.
Indeed, under Article 204(2) of the Constitution, the SC has the
power to punish any person who (a) abuses, interferes with or obstructs the
process of the court in any way or disobeys any order of the court; (b)
scandalizes the court or otherwise does anything which tends to bring the
court or a judge of the court into hatred, ridicule or contempt. The law is
thus clear on the matter: by not writing a letter to Swiss authorities, the
prime minister has indeed interfered with and obstructed the process of
the implementation of the NRO verdict and hence violated his oath and
disobeyed the courts orders, which by law constitutes contempt of court. As
665

for what could possibly happen on Jan 19 when, and if, the prime minister
shows up at court, and refuses to write the Swiss letter he could stand to
become ineligible to be a member of parliament. Under Article 62(1)(f), a
person is not qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of parliament
unless he is sagacious, righteous and non-profligate, honest andthere
being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law. Similarly, Article
63(1)(g) says a person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as,
and from being, a member of parliament if he has been convicted by a court
of competent jurisdiction for propagating any opinion, or acting in any
manner, prejudicial tothe integrity or independence of the judiciary of
Pakistan, or which defames or brings into ridicule the judiciary. If in the
future proceedings the court does convict the PM, a declaration in terms of
clause (f) of Article 62(1) may have the effect of a permanent clog on the
prime ministers qualification as a member of parliament or a provincial
assembly.
Somewhat similar oaths as that of the PM have also been taken by
the co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party before entering the office of
the president and by the federal law minister, and apparent breaches of their
oaths may also entail the same consequences. Prime Minister Gilani had
said on Sunday that he was only accountable before parliament and the
people of Pakistan. The PM also has to answer to the court now. NAB
Chairman Fasih Bokhari has tendered an unconditional apology to the court
for not implementing its orders in the NRO case. In this way Bokhari may
have saved himself from a contempt verdict and other consequent decisions.
Will the PM also make the right choice?
Dr Haider Mehdi opined: What the present democratic dispensation
in Pakistan has done so far, inclusive of the ruling party, its partners, as well
as the friendly opposition, is to deliver political chaos and political
alienation for the nation, eroded justice and economic instability, fear of a
viable future, mayhem and indiscriminate killings of its innocent citizens, a
proxy war for the benefit of a powerful block of nations, mounting debts,
and the polarization between vital national institutions. All of this in the
service of their vested self-interest. And yet, they depict democracy as a
holy cow of Pakistan, as if it will disappear overnight if they are not
allowed indefinite political power.
What todays Pakistan needs is a transitional ideology of politics: A
democratic dispensation committed to concerted political actions, synergy,
political courage, a visionary appreciation of a transformational change in
the political culture, and a revolutionary zealousness to enact a
666

fundamental economic-political-socio-cultural agenda powerful,

meticulously planned, and yet completely practical in its possibilities to be
fully implemented.
The days of bol-bachan democracy are over. It is time for the nation
to say farewell to the Zardaris, Gilanis, Mians, Bhais, Chaudarys and
the rest of their clans: Their political perceptions are in contradiction to the
political realities of Pakistan and its peoples democratic wishes and
aspirations. Will a third political force emerge in Pakistan in line with the
democratic aspirations of the Pakistani people? Behold I give unto you
power to tread on serpentsand nothing shall by any means hurt you (from
a holy script).
S Tariq wrote: We witnessed the demise of our national airline and
our railway system at the hands of what may be the most corrupt tenure of
an elected government in our national history. We passed endless days and
nights without gas and power, and stared with bated breath as law and order
was flouted and court verdicts were mocked with impunity. We watched all
this silently in the knowledge that there remained two institutions still
untouched by the rot, which could be relied upon to look adversity in
the eye and stand true to their oaths the higher judiciary and the armed
forces.
Not surprisingly, we saw both these institutions come under attack
from within the government and responsible figures in the ruling party.
It all began when decisions by the apex court of Pakistan, affecting the right
to rule of the present government, were ignored and even mocked. And then
came the memogate with its attendant stink.
The nation at large termed the wording of the memo as putting
sovereignty on sale. The army correctly visualized the impact this would
generate on the morale of the officers and men, who were laying down their
lives in the ongoing war against militancy, and the resultant effects this
would have on their performance. The men in khaki, therefore, insisted that
an enquiry into the affair be held and the persons found guilty of
perpetrating the act, be held accountable We are today in a state of an
uneasy stalemate as far as conflict with the army is concerned, but now
the battle has swung towards the judiciary.
The Prime Minister has been issued with a contempt of court notice
and has been asked to appear in person before the honourable judges of the
Supreme Court The political pundits are of the opinion that the
honourable way out would be to set a democratic precedence and appear in
667

person before the court, or to choose the path of resigning from office. If
media reports are to be believed, then a decision has already been taken in
the corridors of power to sacrifice Mr Gilani and edify him as a loyal
worker, who went down for the sake of democracy. The twist is that no
matter who the new PM is, he will have to implement the court decisions on
the NRO and come to terms with the memo issue.
Whatever be the scenario, the PPP must take a realistic look
around and realize that things have changed in Pakistan since the times
of Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. The charisma of
the party that brought the two great leaders into power has been challenged
by new political forces and an electorate that is even today being weaned
away from the PPP vote bank. And all this is due to poor governance and a
premier, who did not have the astuteness to live in the real world.
The lines have been drawn in the present crises a large part of
the nation, the political opposition and two great institutions have chosen to
uphold the rule of law and the Constitution, while the government and its
allies appear to be lost at sea in a world of fantasy.
We have seen our Chief Executive lose his head and commit political
faux pas after faux pas and for the sake of the country; I hope this doesnt
happen again. On the other side, the apex court and the army have so far
demonstrated level-headedness. A lot now depends on how our man from
Multan responds to the highest judicial forum in the country on the
nineteenth of January.
On 18th January, TheNation observed: The National Assembly
meeting on Monday evening passed a resolution, which reiterated that the
future of the country and the well being of the people lay in democracy
An overwhelming majority in the country would not question the wisdom
that democracy is key to peoples well being, as the resolution maintains,
provided democracy is practiced in the real sense of the word. Many an
eyebrow would, however, be raised on its claim that Pakistans present
political leadership has strengthened democracy. Speaking on the floor of
the House after the resolution had been passed Prime Minister Gilani
asserted that no one had the right to nullify the peoples verdict, as he
bemoaned that the first democratically elected Prime Minister was being
targeted. Besides, he denied that there was any intention to provoke a clash
with either the judiciary or the army. He claimed that he had endured
hardship for the sake of judiciary and always held it in high esteem.

668

Never has he been able to clarify, though, how his claim for respect
of the judiciary could be justified in the light of his governments persistent
defiance of its verdicts. Also, the contents of the resolution, all state
institutions must strictly function within the limits imposed on them by the
Constitution, echoed Mr Gilanis several earlier utterances, which tended to
question the Supreme Courts jurisdiction about the implementation of the
judgment on NRO. The Prime Ministers insistence that the architect of
the NRO should be arrested also sounds quite strange; for, he
conveniently ignores the parties to the ordinance and, most importantly, its
beneficiaries.
Mr Gilani says that he will appear before it out of respect because
he has been summoned by it. It is difficult to predict how the court would
react to him. The government appears to be in a tight spot. A resolution
in favour of democracy is just that. It is not a vote of confidence in the Prime
Minister or his government and should not be taken as such.
In another editorial the newspaper added: The Supreme Court on
Tuesday suspended the licence to practice of the PMs Legal Adviser Dr
Babar Awan Dr Awans act of contempt was an act of bravado, because
it did not really help the government. His speech apparently contained
intent to refuse to obey a court order, apart from maligning the court. The
Supreme Court has set up the commission which the government did not,
despite Dr Awans announcement. Though Dr Awan succeeded to the Law
Ministry because of his loyalty to the President, his own antics have actually
benefited him less
Dr Awan faces not just removal from the Bhutto case, which he
resigned from the cabinet to contest, but also disqualification as a Senator, if
he is convicted of contempt. He should therefore do whatever is necessary to
purge himself of his contempt and satisfy the court. He should also keep in
mind that others need to avoid contempt only to reach the assemblies, but his
livelihood as a lawyer depends on avoiding it. The party to which Dr Awan
belongs, the PPP, should also contemplate whether the deeds of a single
individual are worth the so-called sacrifices of senior members. If the
Gilani government intends, in the phrase of the law courts, to purge itself of
the contempt, it should buckle down to ensuring that not only the court
verdicts are obeyed, but are seen to be obeyed.
Next day, Ikram Sehgal observed: With Yusuf Raza Gilani hell-bent
on becoming a sacrificial lamb for Zardaris $60 million, the hour of
judgment has come for the man from Multan. A seven-member bench of the

669

Supreme Court hearing the NRO implementation case, headed by Justice

Nasirul Mulk, ruled that the show-cause notice being under Sub-section 2 of
Section 17 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2007, the prime minister
should appear personally before the court on Jan 19 to ask why he should
not be proceeded in contempt of court.
Despite the reconciliatory gesture of having Aitzaz Ahsan, a man
well respected by the Supreme Court and one of the best legal brains of the
country, to represent him (and ironically someone who could well replace
him as prime minister), we will know today if the rule of law is supreme
in the country and not the law of the jungle that, with Gilanis active help,
Zardari and his cronies have introduced in Pakistan, and in the name of
democracy.
As Justice (r) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim aptly stated, when the rule of
law is not obeyed anarchy will step in. That creeping anarchy has now
gathered momentum in the situation prevailing in Pakistan. Going by the
vacillation, inconsistency and legal obstructionism that have become the
hallmark of the PPP-led coalition government in matters before the Supreme
Court, one cannot be certain what is going to come next. To quote Chaudhry
Shujaat Hussain: There are elements in the PPP which want the
government to become a political martyr by locking in a fight and this
obsession is driving them to be into the combat mode.
The prime minister may not have outdone Babar Awan, who is in a
class of his own, in ridiculing the apex court. But given his open defiance,
how can anyone expect the people to respect the laws of the country? Even
through the Supreme Court has exercised tremendous judicial restraint and
pragmatism against the tactics employed by this government, contemptuous
arrogance appears to have now become the rule. The temporary suspension
of Babar Awans licence had no effect on him. He continued to flout the
basic tenets of his vocation. Babar Awan reflects the governments fake
credentials of democracy, the PPPs frontline lawyer shamelessly
continues to repeat the blatant lie that he has a PhD degree! On this count
alone, he should be barred from politics, let alone be allowed to practice law.
Indeed, why did Babar Awan head for the presidency directly afterwards?
Only because
The people of Pakistan continue to suffer from problems that
warrant immediate attention and remedy. The economic decline threatens
the very fabric of the nation. The chronic energy shortages promise only
darker days, and the on-going militancy threatens not only our way of life

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but our very existence. Instead of coping with a vast array of domestic
challenges from growing public frustrations about crippling power cuts,
gas sabotages, etc., to widespread poverty and corruption, our elected
representatives are bent upon engaging in an effort to cling on to power and
perpetuate their corrupt rule. What should one make of the pro-democracy
resolution passed by the National Assembly on Jan 16?
The constitutional clause that the prime minister faces before the
Supreme Court reads: A person shall be disqualified from being elected or
chosen as and from being a member of parliament if he has been convicted
by a court of competent jurisdiction for propagating any opinion or acting in
any manner prejudicial to the ideology or the sovereignty, integrity or
security of Pakistan, or independence of the judiciary of Pakistan, or which
defames or brings into ridicule the judiciary or the armed forces of Pakistan,
unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release. As Zardaris
sacrificial offering, Gilani can himself have no doubt that he not only is
guilty of all of the above on Zardaris count, he has much to answer for
on his own account. This democracy has become hostage to nepotism and
corruption.
Gilani has now only one option (and that may be the route Aitzaz
Ahsan will certainly advise) tender an apology to the court, and at the
same time write the letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen the moneylaundering cases against Zardari. But how can Gilani agree to this when
Zardari has himself publicly said that this will not happen? In parliament
Gilani continued to play to the gallery, saying neither army nor judiciary
can derail system. His erratic behaviour will certainly derail him, sooner
rather than later
As for presidential immunity, while my good friend Aitzaz Ahsan
was brilliantly arguing against President Musharrafs immunity claims under
Article 248 of the Constitution, he very correctly asked that if Hazrat Umar
(RA) could be questioned about his robe why President Musharraf could not
be held accountable? He said: According to Article 248, the president and
the governor could not be made party in criminal cases, they could not be
arrested; but if any of their acts are contrary to the law, they have no
protection under Article 248 of the Constitution. They enjoy no immunity in
this case. Can my good friend Aitzaz kindly remember Hazrat Umar
(RA) today? Whatever Aitzaz may now argue before the Supreme Court,
Gilani has lost the last vestiges of his moral authority to remain prime
minister.

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On 20th January, TheNation observed: Prime Minister Gilani

appeared before the Supreme Court Aitzaz Ahsan pleaded that since the
President enjoyed immunity against criminal cases in the country as
well as abroad, no letter could be written to the Swiss authorities for reopening the corruption cases against him. Once he was no longer the
President, The letter shall be written, he argued. Interestingly, before he
had taken up the case, Mr Ahsan had been emphatic in claiming that the
letter has to be written to comply with the court orders. Not surprisingly, he
had to encounter loud slogans against him being chanted by a group of
lawyers, as he came out of the court building. The government was not to be
left behind. Another group of lawyers and PPP supporters shouted slogans in
favour of the President and the Prime Minister.
Analysts have pointed out that either by design or unintentionally the
arguments put forward both by Mr Gilani and Mr Ahsan before the court for
not writing the letter could shift the focus of the court from the contempt
case against the Prime Minster to the question of immunity of the
President. The government, though crying hoarse on the floor of the
National Assembly and elsewhere that Article 248 of the Constitution
accorded complete immunity to the President, was reluctant to seek the
Supreme Courts opinion on the issue, for fear that in case it held it
otherwise, the government would lose the only argument it had against
writing to the Swiss authorities. The court had, however, clearly mentioned
in one of its judgments that anyone claiming immunity was required to
obtain its verdict.
M A Niazi opined: It should not be underestimated how serious a
danger the Prime Minister was in. The issuing of a show cause notice by
any court, leave alone the Supreme Court, is because the court has in its
mind convicted the contemner. The notice is issued only because the court
wishes to see if there might be any other construction placed on the
contemners behaviour. There are two major areas of contempt: Scandalizing
the court, usually by making allegations against it or any of its judges, or
disobeying its orders. Here, the court has not been scandalized, with the
Prime Minister having always made the most fulsome expressions of
respect. Its orders were not being obeyed. Such a notice is normally issued
in response to an application by an interested party, after the court has made
out that there has, indeed, been a refusal to obey. No court, let alone the
Supreme Court, looks on disobedience of its orders with favour, as
obedience of its orders is the only means it has of justifying its existence.

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A court is there to adjudicate disputes and it can only do so if the

decisions it makes are enforced by the executive. If it is rendered uncertain
about whether its decisions are obeyed or not, it will be unable to enforce the
rule of law, which it has an intrinsic interest in enforcing. It is for that reason
that dictators try and take control of the judiciary, in their search for
legitimacy. However, as has been shown by Pakistani history, this
compromising of the judicial function, where exception is made to the rule
of law, prevents the public from granting legitimacy. Politicians seek
legitimacy in their being elected, and only hold to the rule of law
because they make the laws, and because the concept of the rule of law
means their rule, not of any adventurer strong enough to take over.
Therefore, as the Prime Minister indicated, politicians support the rule of
law, and undermine it only at their own peril.
However, where elections give politicians control over both
legislative and executive branches, the military, within the executive, in
Pakistan, wants to have a special place, with a veto over defence and foreign
policy. It is often said about the military that it represents another medium of
modernization. As that too is one of the roles of the PPP, there is a basic
rivalry at work. As the PPP has not had itself backed by either the
judiciary or the military, it is willing to take on both of them.
It would seem that the PPP would avoid a confrontation with both the
judiciary and the military, but it should be kept in mind that both were
involved in the two dismissals of PPP governments after the Zia martial law.
The dismissals were by the President, but they were both upheld by the
Supreme Court, and both were supported by the military. However, the PPP
should have seen a shifting of the paradigm in the earlier presidential
dismissal of the Nawaz government, in which the Supreme Court overturned
the presidential decision. The court may be seen as trying for the rule of
law, no matter what the law, or how unpopular it might be. Similarly, the
military on all occasions, was merely obeying the lawfully constituted
authority, the President. Neither the judiciary nor the military accept the
party as any kind of authority
Azam Khalil wrote: The Prime Minister has been correctly and
repeatedly saying that difference of opinion between the government, the
army or the judiciary should not be construed, as if they are fighting with
one another. Therefore, one hopes that the government will follow the law
and not hesitate to implement the orders issued by the superior
judiciary. On their part, the judges, too, are expected to dispense justice and

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there should be no reservation on any issue. It is only then that the rule of
law will prevail in Pakistan.
But then again, regrettably, the political parties are busy in point
scoring even on this issue and there is a danger that a legal issue maybe
politicized. That may result in the erosion of authority that is due to various
pillars of the State. However, for those who want to relish in confrontation, it
is essential that a loud and clear message is sent to them by all stakeholders:
That the salvation of this country lies in compromise and tolerance. These
two characteristics are essential, if the State organs are to move towards
institutionalization. Otherwise, adhocism will prevail leaving all in a weak
position.
One can understand that all democratic institutions of the country
are passing through a period of transition and the present problems
will, indeed, be resolved with the passage of time. This could have
happened earlier, if the political, administrative, judicial and military
leadership of this country had learnt their lessons. But since that did not
happen, many issues keep returning that lead to confusion and despondency
among a large segment of the society.
The News commented: The theatrics that some had anticipated as
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appeared in court in the contempt case
against him did not occur on Thursday morning. Of course they could occur
later down the line as the historic case continues after a two-week
adjournment Whatever happens to PM Gilani in the courtroom in the
coming days and after today his days as Pakistans prime minister are
surely going to be a lot harder what is clear is that his government is in
serious trouble. While the SC has adjourned the hearing till Feb 1, the
political crisis over corruption cases and presidential immunity remains
unresolved and threatens to be this governments undoing. Defending
himself against contempt charges before the SC, the prime minister refused
to apologize in a case that could see him disqualified from office if
convicted. In terms of form, the government side was very proper before the
courtroom, exercising just the right judicial protocol and necessary dignity
and courtesy. But hard times could be getting harder for a government that
doesnt realize that form and style will no longer get it out of the myriad
troubles it is in. What it needs is to follow up with substance and deeds.
In the courtroom, Gilani spent much breath talking about his respect
for the courts and the Constitution. However, when it came to answering
honestly about the question at hand whether or not his government would

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write to Swiss authorities he was evasive at best The challenge for the
prime minister is somehow to connect his own worthy but airy talk in court
about accountability and respect for the law with real action. Not following
the law will only further corrode the standing of this government and its
representatives, and that will cost more than writing any letter ever
could.
Mohammad Malick wrote: The prime minister, and his brilliant
barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, would have the seven-member bench, and the 180
million ignorant us, believe that his refusal to write the darned letter to Swiss
authorities in pursuance of the verdict of the 17-member bench was not
willful default but had been sired by the legal advice offered by the
governments team. In other words, the gentleman was at worst just an
accidental defaulter of justice
Was he also advised to issue slanted statements against the
Supreme Court and encourage humiliating and mocking theatrics by his
sitting and former ministers? It would have added to the bona fide of the
prime minister if he had shared why two attorney generals had walked out of
their jobs in a huff and an equal number of changes had taken place in the
office of the federal law secretary particularly so when one of the former
AGs has repeatedly stated publicly that he had advised the Gilani
government to obey the court and write the letter.
Maybe the un-willful prime minister should also have told the court
about the undeclared willful purpose of the special session of parliament
convened in the wake of the dismissal of the NRO review petition.
According to someone who was involved in the entire judio-political
consultative process (and ultimately affected the outcome as well), the core
committee of the PPP advised by its legal eagle had decided to move a
presidential reference against Chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and some
others in parliament. Upon learning of this harakiri move, the leaders of the
allied parties simply balked and plainly told the president and the prime
minister that such a move could lead to a parting of ways. In this particular
meeting, attended by the president, the prime minister and the head honchos
of their closest trusted government allies, Dr Babar Awan faced some rather
harsh criticism for supporting such a suicidal strategy. When the crazy idea
of a presidential reference to the parliament was abandoned in favour of a
parliamentary resolution, another heated debate took place over its proposed
anti-judiciary tenor and the insistence that it come across as a direct vote of
confidence both for the prime minister and the president. Here too the

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government backed off only when faced with the consequence of the allies
walking off.
What transpired in this meeting exposes our rulers intrinsic and
larger contempt for rule of law and not necessarily just the court itself.
When a constitutionally elected government of the day wants to vanquish a
constitutionally constituted Supreme Court only because it wants the
government to observe its constitutional obligations then something is
seriously wrong with the ruling mindset hardly a case of accidental
judicial defaulter.
What is really at stake here in the ongoing contempt case, one
wonders. Is it merely the criminal culpability of an individual called Yousuf
Raza Gilani? Is it about a sitting prime minister telling the Supreme Court to
take a hike come what may? Is it about the lame legal defence of I-didntdo-it-my-lawyer-told-me-to-do-it? Or is it about the court itself
committing contempt of justice by not taking a stand for one ruse or
another and not doing enough to implement its verdicts? It seems to be a
little bit of all the above but the crux of the matter is: who gets to be the
ultimate adjudicator in issues of law and justice and the final arbitrator in a
case of constitutional interpretation? Will it be the Supreme Court of
Pakistan or the lawyer(s) of the prime ministers and presidents? As put
succinctly by former chief justice of the United States, Warrenberger, when
faced with a similar question and referring to the US supreme court: We are
bound by the Constitution, and the constitution is what we interpret it to be.
Will that ever be the case in Pakistan or will we see every recalcitrant
and defiant government attempting to take refuge in the mantra of judicial
activism and judicial overreach? What Pakistan suffers is not judicial
overreach but executive under-delivery. But thats another discourse better
left for another occasion
The government would understandably want this legal wrangling to
continue indefinitely till it runs the course first with the Senate and then the
general elections. The postponement of the contempt case till Feb 1 seems to
have taken care of the first phase. The judiciary now faces the dilemma of
appearing to be in a hurry if it presses with a tougher and tighter
timeline and of being spineless if it continues cajoling the government
while breathing fire at the same time. Its time for both the government and
the judiciary to match deeds with words and let the nation breathe easy. We
have bigger problems like a stagnant economy and millions disappearing

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under the poverty line every day and all this dilly-dallying isnt helping
matters.
It is the realm of the learned judges to decide upon the finer points of
law, but for an ordinary citizen like myself, simply the commitment that yes
we will implement the courts verdict would have been an ample
demonstration of the prime ministers will. Unfortunately, those words never
came. Not even two years after the pronouncement of the NRO verdict. The
country desperately needs rule of law, not that of rulers and lawyers.
The most significant development so far in the contempt case is that
it already shows signs of opening the very debate that the government
has been loathe to even countenance: that of presidential immunity. The
ensuing arguments will surely also end up deciding the complex question of
whether the writing of the letter to Swiss authorities is an issue of a civil
liability (as suggested by the courts) which does not enjoy any immunity
privilege under the Constitution or if it crosses the line as it involves
coalescing in what is otherwise a clear criminal proceeding between the
Swiss government and the respondents. The undeclared, biggest worry of the
lands mightiest however is not of a legal nature. It has more to do with the
political consequences of the truth about where, and how, the $62 million
stashed in Swiss vaults disappeared.
Dr Muzaffar Iqbal opined: The generals, the honourable judges and
the politicians all know that they are involved in a zero-sum game. In the
political sphere, the incidental president is the master of the show;
everyone else is disposable. The prime minister, along with his whole
cabinet can easily be offered as sacrificial lambs, if circumstances so desire.
That will not alter anything in the nauseating political culture of the country.
The master of the show also knows that the generals may be hard pressed for
a change, but they cannot stage a coup; no one will accept that.
The judiciary may also be frustrated by the lack of implementation
of its rulings, but it also knows that the maximum its pen-strokes can
achieve is limited to disqualification of certain individuals, and that too
will be of little consequence because by the time things finally settle down
through the system, it will already be time for the next elections.
Thus, the current high-profile dramas are mere entertainment for a
nation now hooked on such dramas to such an extent that it cannot live a day
without a new twist. Yet, despite all the twists and turns, there is nothing
significant at the end of the road. There is no way to get rid of the master of
the ceremony without a coup and coups are what the chief justice of the
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Republic has himself decreed as something belonging to history. What, one

may ask, is then the raison dtre for the continuation of the show? Mere
entertainment?
The players in the game are all old hands; they are enjoying the
drama, but the nation is suffering in this zero-sum game. Instead of
positive moves toward an honest and healthy political culture, leading to fair
elections in the next few months, the attention has been diverted to a
meaningless show of force, which will neither change the system nor get rid
of the major hurdles which have blocked the arteries of the nation.
With barrister Aitzaz now joining the show, one hopes that a certain
degree of clarity will emerge. Strange is his own rise and fall, but that is
another story. For now, he has been hired to carry on the show and he has
rightly stated what everyone knows: Under the Constitution of the Republic,
Asif Ali Zardari enjoys complete immunity in Pakistan; and by convention,
such immunity is respected in other countries. So, even if the prime minister
were to write a letter to the Swiss authorities, it would have no practical
effect.
He has also candidly said that there are only two ways to remove the
prime minister: a no confidence motion is moved against him in the National
Assembly or he himself resigns. He did not mention disqualification by the
court as a third option, but even if that happens and he is removed, would
that change anything? Certainly not.
What is needed at this stage is rather something else: under the
present circumstances, there is no possibility of holding fair elections: there
are millions of bogus votes, one report says. Even if the numbers are
exaggerated, everyone knows that the voters lists are not up-to-date.
Then, there is the question of delimiting the ridings. The old
divisions need drastic changes because of population changes and it will be a
great service to the nation if the conventional vadera-zamindar-dominated
ridings are reconfigured so that the old faces do not return to parliament. In
addition, all political parties need to focus on matters of great national
importance
The next two years are going to be of great importance for the
future of the region. Whatever happens in Afghanistan after 2014 is going
to drastically affect the entire region. The United States is desperate to find a
way out of Afghanistan before 2014, but at the same time, there are many in
the United States who are interested in attacking Iran after the US

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presidential elections. They would like to prolong the physical presence of

US soldiers in Afghanistan.
Imagine the following scenario: Shortly after the elections, some
excuse is found to attack Iran; the US army in Afghanistan will provide a
strategic ground connection while its satellites in the Gulf region would
provide cover for water routes. The entire region will be engulfed in a
terrible war with unpredictable consequences for the whole world. What are
Pakistans options in such a scenario, especially if Balochistan remains in
the present state? This nightmare does not seem to be on anyones radar in
Pakistan; all that its leadership seems to be interested in is a zero-sum
game.
On 21st January, TheNation wrote: In a development that could have
far-reaching implications for the present political situation in the country, the
Supreme Court has debarred the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)
from holding by-elections in the seven constituencies where seats fell vacant
in the recent past. The logic behind the order passed on Thursday was
simple: since the electoral rolls contain more than 37 million bogus
voters, elections would not make for transparency enjoined by the
Constitution. The Supreme Court directed the ECP to first complete the task
of purging the bogus entries out of the list and then schedule by-elections on
these seats, five of which belong to the National Assembly and two to
Provincial Assemblies, one each to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. As the
ECP seems unable to produce an up-to-date list of voters by February 23,
by-elections as well as general elections could be delayed for several months
even if called earlier
Legal opinion differs whether the court decision would stall the
Senate elections, in case the Punjab Chief Minister asks for the
dissolution of the Provincial Assembly. Some hold the view that since the
electoral college, without the Punjab Assembly, would not be complete, it
would put the Senate elections on hold; others maintain that elections could
proceed for the other three provinces, while elections for the Punjab
province would stand postponed till its assembly comes into being.
With this uncertain legal position, it does not seem likely that the
PML-N, which rules Punjab, would exercise the option of advising the
Governor to dissolve the Provincial Assembly. In the past, the party had
threatened to ask its elected representatives to resign from their seats on the
assumption that the move would stall the Senate polls. There were even hints
at the prospect of the Assemblys dissolution. That was because according to

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the current party positions and their political alignments, the ruling coalition,
particularly the PPP, PML-Q, ANP and MQM, is set to bag quite a large
number of seats and strengthen its position in the Upper House. The best
option now seems to be to activate ECP and Nadra so that the electoral rolls
are revised at the earliest. The whole nation, fed up with the prevailing
political wrangling and uncertainty, economic decline and the rising burden
of making both ends meet, is looking for a change of guard.
Tallat Azim observed: If ever this government played a master
stroke in its tussle with the superior judiciary, it is the hiring of Aitzaz
Ahsan as legal counsel for the Prime Minister. It is easy to understand
why the government, after side - lining him for four years, picked him to
speak for them. Simply, because they could take refuge behind his deference
to the court, as well as pick his brilliant legal mind to find and thus hide
behind nuances in the text interpretation of clauses under debate. I have not
found it as easy to understand, why Aitzaz Ahsan, the undisputed leader of
the lawyers movement and a hero to many, agreed to defend the PM. It is,
probably, a mix of loyalty to his party, as well as the thrill of a challenging
and high profile case that the lawyer in him did not want to pass up.
However, the coming days as the case unfolds will decide if his personal
image/popularity takes a nosedive because of this decision. I certainly hope
that a whole lot of us, who can be called his fan following, do not have to
recite Nasir Kazmis verse: Niyat-e-shauq bhar na jai kahin; Tu bhi dil sai
utar na jai kahin.
Inayatullah opined: It has to be conceded that the federal
government led by the PPP leadership is a hard nut to crack. It is not
only the higher judiciary that this government has decided to confront, but it
also has entered into a conflictual relationship with the military.
The Prime Minister has sacked the Defence Secretary on dubious
grounds and the incumbent, a retired Lt General has approached the
Islamabad High Court against the PMs order. Earlier, the Prime Minister
went out of the way to speak to a Chinese media It would be relevant here
to refer to a TV interview of Aitzaz Ahsan in which he categorically stated
that the Prime Ministers stand against the Army Chief and head of the ISI
was wrong. It may also be mentioned that earlier, in their judgment, the
Supreme Court had noted that the replies submitted on behalf of the COAS
and DG ISI were duly filed before the court through the Attorney General
and their affidavits were delivered by the Defence Ministry to the office of
the Attorney General. The ball is now in the PMs court. He has to admit
that it was unwise and impolitic on his part to cast serious aspersions on
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the military leadership, which has not only expressed their unhappiness,
but also indicated the possibility of potentially grievous consequences.
Meanwhile, the memogate case is heating up. Ijaz Mansoor, earlier
reported to be hesitant to come to Pakistan, has got his visa and is expected
to appear before the Commission next week. The findings of the
Commission will have far-reaching consequences about the future of the
civil-military relations and, in particular, about the future fortunes of the
PPP leadership, currently in power.
Next day, Rameeza Majid Nizami observed: In the aftermath of the
court proceedings, the PMs departure, Mr Ahsans abruptly cut off
victory speech, and the dissipation of the circus it seemed as though
all had gone well. The courts prestige had risen further, they had
successfully managed to summon a sitting Prime Minister to appear before
them and were not about to look Mr Ahsans gift horse, of Presidential
immunity as a defence, in the mouth. The PMs steadily-growing reputation
of giving a good impression of a man unafraid, received further bolstering.
The PPP won by demonstrating that their respect for the courts was not just
empty rhetoric. There has been vocal criticism of the SC reacting with
unusual speed to all cases related to the NRO, memogate etc, but there are
also those who are disappointed. Those who had been hoping that the day
would end with the PMs dismissal. Thus, after suffering this
disappointment, it only made sense that the same evening Mr Mansoor Ijaz
was issued a visa from Lowndes Square. Folks back home needed cheering
up after Plan A proved to be an anti-climax and thus the entertainment for
Plan B, performing on January 26, had to be arranged.
The government has already been asked for written assurance that the
COAS and DG ISI will not be sacked. This was unlikely to happen in any
case, but hearing this case and asking for written assurance seems like
overkill. The military, alarmed by the Kerry-Lugar episode and now
comments that while the invitation to the Americans was found
objectionable in the extreme, under the Constitution, civilian control of the
military is how it ought to be. With four years of bad governance to its
credit, what the government has going in its favour is that it represents a
democratic setup - while the military does not. It is the democratic setup that
will and should receive every kind of backing. The army, while frustrated by
the triumph of mismanagement and the sinking economy, does not have
many options, except to encourage general elections as soon as possible.
After the Senate elections, where the PPP is expected to comfortably secure
the Upper House, this should not pose much of a problem. Any attempt to
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incite some sort of regime change, without elections, will not go down
well in Pakistan. At minimum, we are five months away from elections.
Here's hoping, these months pass without any major mishaps.
Sami-Ur-Rahman talked of hawks, doves and crows. He concluded his
column saying: Strange are the ways of providence. Stranger still are the
ways of our body politics. Who in his wildest imagination, for instance,
would have thought that the counselor, who once so passionately and
untiringly fought the case of a deposed judge, would appear in the same
court - this time only to fight on behalf of a serving Prime Minister? That too
in a hostile milieu. It is time the poet turned politician turned barrister write
a sequel to his famous poem: Dunya ki tareekh gawah hai, Adal bina
jamhur na ho ga.

REVIEW
The serving of show-cause notice to the Chief Executive by the apex
court over non implementation of NRO verdict had an immediate effect.
Political mafias comprising looters and plunderers ganged up against two
chiefs; chief of Army and chief of Judiciary; just as gangs of criminals
would close their ranks against Sheriff and the Jury.
Hamid Mir, who maintains close contacts with the regime and is privy
to inside information of the PPP, was quick to report that party leaders
were congratulating each other over show-cause notice to Prime Minister.
Their rejoicing was over successfully agitating the judges and over enhanced
hope for attaining political martyrdom.
The Saint wasted no time in choosing Aitzaz Ahsan as his defence
counsel in the case. Aitzaz is a PPP jiyala who had been sidelined by the
Scoundrel being one of the items related to Benazir-baggage. This newfound love for Aitzaz was quite significant. The choice indicated that the
regime has apparently decided to offer olive branch to the Supreme Court.
Shouq-e-shahadat seemed to have receded when the sword was seen
flashing.
The presence of Aitzaz in the Supreme Court, however, did not
promise that the PPP government has decided to be mother-like; the one in
praise of which he had been singing during Lawyers Movement: hakoomat
ho ge maan kay jeysi (the government will be mother-like). It is just not
possible when the nation has been blessed (or cursed) with father like
Zardari.

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Aitzaz took U-turn on constitutional immunity to the President.

During Musharraf rule he had argued that the President has no immunity
quoting example set by the Second Caliph. But about Zardari he said the
Supreme Court should accept the immunity clause without being sought as
such; perhaps, Aitzaz being a jiyala considers Zardari someone above the
Second Caliph, not necessarily in words in which Faisal Raza Abidi does.
Earlier, Asma Jahangir was the first to respond to temporary
cancellation of licence of Babar Awan. Using the language for the judges,
which earned her the reputation of outspoken lawyer, she said such actions
on the part of judiciary would dishearten the community of practicing
lawyers. She is the right person who ought to have spoken in defence of
Babar Awan. She was followed by a jiyala from Quetta: Ali Ahmed Kurd
declared that he did not accept the law of contempt of court.
If a doctor could be sued in a court of law and punished for not
abiding by the professional ethics and if an engineer could be punished for
criminal neglect in construction of a building or a bridge; why cant a lawyer
be sued on similar counts? Asma would love to get such doctors and
engineers punished being an activist of human rights, but for her own
community she has different yardstick. This is despite the fact that violation
of professional ethics is far more rampant in the community of lawyers.
A law should be enacted for this community as well and applied
strictly; if not as strictly as Ranjeet Singh had applied during his rule. But,
that wont happen because for men and women like Asma and Kurd the
maintenance of morale of lawyers at all costs is important. Whereas the
justice demands that the defence lawyers of ZAB, during the reference of
which Babar Awan has to have his licence frozen, should be charged and
punished for criminal neglect on their part.
Nevertheless, Babar Awan was received jubilantly as he came out of
court-room after having lost his licence temporarily. He was carried by
jiyalas on their shoulders for his flamboyant performance against the team
of top judges of the country.
He was immediately invited to the Presidency where the team captain,
the Scoundrel, intended to reward him befittingly by installing him once
again as law minister. Chandio had already been asked to resign, to which he
obeyed during the proceedings of the Senate.
When Aitzaz got the news as to what Zardari was up to, he saw his
case as counsel of the Saint likely to be weakened considerably. Setting
aside the jiyala spirit for a while, he advised his client to stop Babars
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appointment as law minister as his presence in the court room on `19 th

January was not likely to be appreciated by the judges whom Babar had
been ridiculing.
The Saint understood the logic perhaps for the sole reason that it
also concerned his person and he talked to the Scoundrel who obliged him
by deferring his plans. This could be termed as first positive impact of
return of Aitzaz, though it might not last for long.
As already said Aitzaz wasted no time and encountered no difficulty
from his conscience in changing his stance on the issue of immunity to
Zardari. This is likely to be the basis on which he would argue in defence of
the Saint in contempt case. He also criticized those who accused him of
following double standards.
He insisted that he was right in both cases. He was right when he had
said that Musharraf did not enjoy immunity by quoting the example of
Second Caliph. He is also right in saying now that Zardari enjoys immunity
as per Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Certainly, all piplias have some thing in common may they be Ahsans,
Abidis or Babars, to qualify as jiyalas. Aitzaz as practicing lawyer had
stressed upon the spirit of the law in the case of Musharraf and in the case of
Zardari he is focusing on the letter of law. He was also sharp enough to take
note of the criticism to which he was subjected because of sudden
awakening of a jiyala that had remained dormant inside him or was
tranquilized for the last four years.
On the eve of Saints appearance before the Supreme Court Aitzaz
was seen defending his changed stance on several TV channels. Out of all
his outings, as usual one with Tallat Hussain was significantly meaningful
primarily due to the impartial and unbiased approach of the anchor.
Tallat talked to Aitzaz mostly in the context of interim decision of the
court dated 10th January, which he kept in front of him to the annoyance of
the defence counsel of the Saint. Tallat repeatedly asked Aitzaz that how
could he contest what the judges have said, especially in view of his role in
reinstatement of independent Judiciary that was routed by Zardaris
predecessor.
Body language of Aitzaz betrayed his inner in-fighting. Most of what
he uttered in reply to the questions by Tallat was not convincing because it
lacked the force of conviction. His conscience was not with his speech;

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many times he found it difficult to answer the questions, especially those

related to constitutional immunity and the offence of contempt of court.
Aitzaz could also not come out with a convincing answer to the only
political question asked by Tallat. The question was that after having been
sidelined for four years dont you think that Zardari was now exploiting you
for his personal interests? This was in the context of a news headline:
Babar out, Aitzaz in.
The same day, Gilani announced that he would go to the Court to pay
respect. However, the manner in which he and the Scoundrel have been
molesting the verdicts of the Judiciary it appeared that he was going there to
pay homage to the late judiciary. At least the perception is as such.
The move made by the Saint and the Scoundrel by launching Aitzaz
Ahsan bore immediate results. He was able to buy two more weeks for them,
though he had asked one month for preparation of his arguments for the
case. Dragging feet still seemed the strategy of the regime.
Saints arrogance remained intact. He appeared before the court in
response to a show-cause notice, but refused to utter a single world of regret
or remorse for what he had done to ridicule judiciary and hamper
implementation of its verdicts. Apology remained more than elusive.
Aitzaz must have noticed the smashing of his idol when he came out
of the court-room to talk to the media men. A group of lawyers chanted
slogans in favour of Judiciary and condemned Aitzaz for appearing in the
court as counsel of the Prime Minister. The slogans chanted by them dubbed
him as traitor. He had to hastily wind up his media chat.
Another unpleasant development that occurred during hearing related
to the person of the Scoundrel. The issue of constitutional immunity came up
before the bench which could be settled for ever to the dislike of Zardari.
Nevertheless, the efforts of the regime would be to delay the case till April,
the time by which the Swiss cases would become time-barred.
To conclude it might be said that irony of the NRO deal is that it was
negotiated by Americans with the evil design to keep Musharraf as President
and install Benazir as Prime Minister of Pakistan, but the latter is dead and
the former has been forced to loiter outside Pakistan. Today both of them
have been replaced by the Scoundrel and the Saint. Man proposes God
disposes.
22nd January, 2012

685

LAW AND LOYALTY

During the proceedings on 19th January, Justice Khosa on seeing
Gilani in the court room had remarked that today is the Greatest Day of
Pakistans history. What Khosa had in mind only he could tell, but the
people were neither impressed by the presence of Gilani nor by the remarks
of honourable judge.
Their perception about the entire episode was contrastingly different.
It had to be so because on that day they saw Prime Minister of Islamic
Republic of Pakistan driving a car with fake registration number and
appearing before a bench on the charge of contempt of court.

686

On that day Aitzaz Ahsan was able to get about two weeks to prepare
for defence of the indefensible; or the court was gracious to grant him so
many days. Aitzaz spent most of these days in correcting the
misperceptions about him and his client through TV channels rather than
preparing arguments to contest the case. This was quite evident from what
he said in the court on 1st and 2nd February.
The court patiently heard him beating about bush for two days and
decided to proceed and frame contempt charge against Prime Minister,
although his defence counsel wanted few more days to speak. On 3 rd
February, the front page headline of TheNation read: Caught between law
and loyalty. And, Aitzaz could say no more than that his client can continue
as Prime Minister despite court ruling.

NEWS
On 22nd January, former Justice Ramday said immunity has to be
claimed in the court; it cannot be claimed while sitting at home. He added
that the matter related to Swiss cases in Civil in nature, not criminal as
widely claimed and there is no immunity in civil cases. Addressing a public
gathering in Sargodha Imran said change is not too far.
Next day, failing to show due reverence to the Supreme Court (SC)of
Pakistans order on preparation of electoral rolls by February 23 and
seemingly joining hands with pro-government political forces to defy the
courts instructions, the ECP said that voter lists could not be completed by
the deadline and staying the by-polls by the SC was unconstitutional.
The consultative meeting of political parties with the EC management
was held on the pretext of discussing the preparation of new electoral rolls,
by-polls, political finance and purchasing Electoral Voting Machines
appeared defying the SC instructions. The Chief Election Commissioner
Justice (r) Hamid Ali Mirza repeatedly and Secretary Election Commission
Ishtiak Ahmed Khan impliedly resorted to the language that clearly
amounted to outright contempt of the SC.
The ECP management expressed inability to prepare the Electoral
Rolls 2011 by February 23 and announced to complete the task by May 25,
despite that SC had turned down the ECP request to extend the deadline.
Justice Mirza, who himself remained a senior judge of the SC, seemed
overlooking to uphold the Apex Courts dignity when he termed the SC

687

decision of barring the ECP from holding by-polls on existing voter lists as
unconstitutional.
Ishtiak Ahmed Khan, who is on two-year extension after retirement,
went too far and said that ECP was As important as Supreme Court, as
independent and respectable as SC and people and political parties stood by
the ECP the same way they stand by the apex court. Khan, however, did not
elaborate as on what grounds he drew a comparison between Pakistans
highest and the most esteemed judicial organ with an electoral body.
Ishtiak Khan claimed that 11 of the 14 political forces were
supporting the ECP in its decision to prepare ER 2011 by May 25. One the
other hand, he conceded that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf and Jamat-e-Islami were opposing any delay in the
preparation of ER 2011. Maulana Fazlur Rehman clarified that his party did
not offer any support to ECP.
Responding quickly the Supreme Court said on Monday that an
erroneous impression had been created during the meeting of the Chief
Election Commissioner with the political parties as well as statement of the
Secretary, Election Commission of Pakistan that as if the Supreme Court had
stayed the holding of bye-election on casual vacancies in the country. The
Supreme Court had directed the ECP not to hold bye-election on the basis of
polluted/un-verified voters list, after deleting 37, 185, 998 un-verified voters
by the Nadra as per their statement before the Supreme Court.
The Senate unanimously adopted a resolution asking the federal
government to institute a case against Pervez Musharraf under Article 6 of
the Constitution and arrest him immediately on his arrival in the country.
Having voted for the resolution the MQM showed reservations at the time of
signing it; the MQM wanted resolution against all the military dictators and
their allies who had been ruling the country.
Aitzaz Ahsan admitted that Article 248 of the Constitution which
gives immunity to the President is a discriminatory law. He however added:
There is no need to go to any court for seeking immunity by the President.
The apex court should also accept this protective clause in the
Constitution, PPP stalwart said while talking to journalists at Lahore High
Court premises. If a writ petition against the Chief Justice Pakistan or the
Chief Justice of High Court is filed, the court office would not accept it
because applications could not be filed against them and neither the CJs
would come to claim the immunity, he said. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court
decided to hear Asghar Khans 16 year old plea on February 29.
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On 24th January, the Supreme Court directed the ADG FIA to proceed
against Khushnood Lashari Principal Secretary to PM, former DGs FIA
Waseem Ahmed and Malik Iqbal for ordering not to arrest Khurram Rasool,
ex-Media Coordinator of Prime Minister. The Chief Justice said if it was
proved that those officials have ordered the Director General not to arrest
then immediately arrest Lashari, Waseem and Iqbal and submit a report in
this regard by 25th.
Rashid Rizvi, counsel for the petitioners, argued that Mian Khurram
has swindled over Rs 430 million from Karachi-based business concern on
the pretext of managing petroleum export licence to NATO forces. He
informed the court that Rasool received money on the pretext of managing a
Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) quota and oil export licence to NATO forces in
Afghanistan for two companies of the petitioners including Sahara Gas (Pvt)
Limited and Pak Delta Enterprises (Pvt) Limited.
Khurram Rasool and his brother Shahid Mehmood and one Ghulam
Ghaus managed to forge the signature of Secretary Petroleum and Natural
Resources on various agreements. The Prime Minister taking notice of it
directed his Principal Secretary to write to Interior Secretary for initiation of
an inquiry. As inquiry found Rasool guilty and an FIR was registered against
him, his brother Shahid Mehmood and other accomplices and officials of
that bank.
But FIA neither arrested any accused mentioned in the FIR nor did it
conduct an investigation. Upon that the petitioners filed writ petitions before
Islamabad High Court against the DG FIA. Rizvi pleaded that Khurram
Rasool also allegedly got the support of officials of a bank in Islamabad
where, he said, accounts were opened in the name of fake partnership
without observing the State Bank of Pakistans instructions in opening a new
account.
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan urged Supreme Court to investigate the
ISIs present role and the role played by it during Musharrafs era. He said
that if Supreme Court could reopen a 23-year old case then why it could not
investigate the role played by the agency during Musharrafs era. He said
that if the present role (political manoeuvring) of ISI was not investigated
then it would be a big joke.
Five more heart patients including a woman lost their lives at different
health facilities in the City due to reaction of free medicine provided by
Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), taking the death toll till today to 72.
The heirs of the deceased staged a demo outside the PIC to protest against
689

the death of their dear and near ones. Shahbaz Sharif warned of stern action
against the persons guilty in the issue of deadly medicines of Punjab
Institute of Cardiology.
With the reaction of free medicine causing deaths on daily basis, the
Punjab Government has enhanced security at the Punjab Institute of
Cardiology to avoid any untoward incident during protests of heirs. At
present, 174 patients are under treatment at various hospitals of Lahore
including 90 at Services Hospital, 45 at Mayo Hospital, 37 at Jinnah
Hospital, 13 at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, 08 at LGH and one at Kot Khawaja
Saeed Hospital.
The Supreme Court directed the ECP to review the modalities whether
overseas Pakistanis could exercise right of vote in the election, analyze the
matter in lieu of the experience of other countries and submit report by
February 6. Joint Secretary (Elections) ECP told the court that problems
were being faced while giving the right of vote to the overseas Pakistanis as
it was very costly.
The Supreme Court referred Afaq Ahmeds petition to the Chief
Justice SHC to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the
government for not removing no go areas in Karachi. Six people were
killed in the city as targeted killing staged a come back.
Next day, Rehman Malik ordered arrest of Khurram Rasool within 48
hours. In apparently a target killing incident, three lawyers were shot dead
by armed assailants in Karachi. The attackers managed to flee from the
scene afterwards. Supreme Court Bar Association President Yasin Azad has
announced that the lawyers fraternity will observe country-wide strike and
boycott court activities against the killing of three lawyers in Karachi.
Shahbaz blamed Centre for faulty drugs as drug control mechanism is
still the responsibility of the federal government despite 18 th Amendment.
FIA foresaw shocking revelations in deathly drug probe as the death toll
crossed one hundred. Altaf Hussain demanded judicial inquiry.
On 26th January, an accountability court indicted Khurram Rasool in
absentia and issued arrest warrants for him in a bank fraud case; sentencing
him for three years in prison. Four co-accused were handed down four-year
imprisonment and Rs500,000 fine each. The court convicted Khurram under
section 31-A of the NAB ordinance for not appearing before the court even
after his being declared a proclaimed offender.

690

Earlier, a two-member bench of the LHC dismissed Khurrams

petition for protective bail as he did not appear himself. NAB officials
requested the court not to allow protective bail to Khurram Rasool. Late at
night the convict reported in FIA office in Islamabad seeking safer custody
which was reported as surrender.
Initial FIA investigations revealed that the six companies involved in
manufacturing suspected drugs were providing medicines only to Punjab. As
FIA started probing in to how Punjab awarded contracts to these companies,
the Punjab authorities refused to hand over the relevant record. The Supreme
Court admitted a plea against Sharmila Farooqui challenging her eligibility
to hold office of advisor to CM because of being a beneficiary of NRO.
Quorum-less Balochistan PA adopted unanimous resolution in support of
Zardari and Gilani.
Next day, President Zardari said that everyday a new conspiracy is
hatched against us but, by the grace of God, we defused every conspiracy.
He said that we want that new generation would not face hardships which
we have faced.
Prime Minister maintained that he would not object if the Supreme
Court sends him to jail for contempt. In an interview with CNN in Davos, he
said the Constitution of Pakistan provides complete immunity to President
Zardari not only in the country but a transnational immunity.
Altaf Hussain said that 'divide and rule policy' of rulers have come to
an end. Addressing a public gathering in Sukkur, Altaf Hussain said that
today's rally is a challenge for the people who want to make Pakistan their
personal asset. He said he only wants elimination of feudalism.
JUI-F held a mammoth public rally at Mazar-e-Quaid. Fazlur Rehman
vowed to defeat Sindhi feudal elite and the forces which want to make
Pakistan a secular state. He urged the establishment stay away from election
process and let the people decide what they want.
ECP deferred by-polls for five days. Khurram Rasool was produced
before the Supreme Court hand-cuffed. He admitted to serving as Gilanis
media adviser. The bench sent his case to trial court while rapping FIA for
claiming credit of his arrest. DG FIA was ordered to appear on February 10
in contempt of court plea.
On 28th January, State Bank released First Quarterly Report on the
State of the Economy, which warned of galloping inflation. Trend of high
energy prices, circular debt and rupee depreciation would continue. Shutter-

691

down and wheel-jam strike was observed in Sindh over 20th Amendment
Bill.
Unleashing vengeance the extortion mafia swore on a trader in
Karachi a hand grenade was lobbed at his hardware shop, leaving five
people wounded. A doctor and a MQM activist were killed in ethnic and
sectarian violence in the metropolis.
Punjab government requested LHC for judicial inquiry to find out
cause of deaths occurring due to use of medicines provided at Punjab
Institute of Cardiology (PIC) and fix responsibility on the persons
responsible for this tragedy. Meanwhile, Secretary Health Punjab and Head
of PIC were made OSDs for their negligence. Meanwhile LHC was moved
against CM as 3 more died.
Next day, three more women lost their lives in the city on Sunday due
to reaction of free medicine provided by the Punjab Institute of Cardiology
(PIC), taking the death toll to 110. FIA arrested PIC Chief Executive while
Punjab Government suspended former Punjab Health Services Director
General Dr Muhammad Aslam Chaudhry and Punjab Chief Drug Inspector.
The medical community vowed to launch a strong protest over the recent
developments.
Sheikh Rashid declared the prime minister the mother of all evils. He
categorically said that the prime minister and his sons were responsible for
the prevailing fake medicine crisis. I am saying this while standing in
Multan that the sons of Yousuf Raza got issued 4,000 licences of medicines
in a day from health ministry. This family is corrupt. Even the in-laws of
Gilani are corrupt too.
Fazlur Rehman said that masses in Pakistan are not satisfied with the
government and Balochistan problem should be solved on political basis. It
was due to flawed policies that insurgency was re-surfacing in Balochistan
province. He said corruption would remain rampant in the country until and
unless the economic system was bettered and the philosophy of Islamic
economic system was the only solution to the global economic problems.
Thousands of activists of Sipah-eSahaba and JuD marched in
Rawalpidi to protest against establishment of a prayer house by Ahmedis.
Two Sunni Tehreek activists were shot dead in Karachi. MQM-H activist
was wounded in mysterious firing outside Afaqs house. Sunni Tehreek
decided to convert itself into a political party and take part in elections all
over the country. Javed Hashmi led a rally in Lahore.

692

On 30th January, CJP took suo moto notice of PIC deaths in Lahore.
FIA got four-day remand of Khurram Rasool and he boasted of proving his
innocence standing in protective custody of FIA. Shahbaz launched laptop
scheme to bring change.
Next day, Supreme Court observed that the government was not
giving priority to murder case of Benazir. The court issued notices to 12
people including Babar Awan, Rehman Malik, Pervez Elahi, Pervez
Musharraf and eight others in petition, seeking to lodge a new FIR in
Benazir Bhutto assassination case. The Chief Justice sought trial court
record into Benazir murder case and ruled that a larger bench of the apex
court would take up the petition on new FIR.
Two more heart patients lost their lives, pushing the death toll to 121.
According to sources, Central Drug Laboratory of Karachi declared one of
the seven PIC medicines as substandard. Meantime, the investigations under
Punjabs aegis also revealed that some PIC officials are involved in the
scam. Shahbaz Sharif suspected a conspiracy against his government
The Supreme Court took suo moto notice of the deaths and sought
complete report from FIA and Chief Ministers Inspection Team by February
06. The SC also instructed LHC-appointed commission to continue the
probe in spurious drugs case. The FIA informed the court that all the record
is under possession of CM's Inspection Team and it is not possible for them
to proceed.
National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice gave
approval to the draft of 20th Amendment for providing constitutional cover to
the parliamentarians elected in by-elections. The main aim of the bill tabled
by Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khursheed Shah is to rectify a flaw
which came to fore when the Supreme Court questioned the legal status of
lawmakers elected to national and provincial assemblies in the by-elections
held while the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was incomplete due
to non-appointment of its members.
The government increased the prices of POL products up to six per
cent while a surcharge up to Rs 14.70 per mmbtu was also imposed on CNG
with immediate effect. Ogra had recommended to maintain the POL prices
by reducing the petroleum levy, but the Finance Ministry, turned down the
recommendations. Similarly, Ogra had recommended no increase in gas
prices but were overruled by the Federal Government.
Six people were killed and several hurt in Karachi violence, bringing
the death toll in the month of January to 143 as compared to 130 last year.
693

Sindh Government imposed a ban on pillion riding with effect 1 st to 5th

February. Altaf Hussain said Karachi's peace was being disrupted under an
organized plot and he urged the citizens to take their own security steps
because 'the government was not protecting their life and property'.
On 1st February, A larger bench of the Supreme Court heard the
contempt of court case against Prime Minister. Aitzaz Ahsan argued that the
premier could not read the detailed verdict of the court thus he had to act on
the advice of aides. Justice Nasir said that the PM had said the decision not
to write the letter to Swiss authorities was his own.
Ahsan added the President of Pakistan had immunity both in and
outside the country. My opinion was there is no issue in writing the letter,
Aitzaz said. Justice Nasir remarked that there would be no need for contempt
proceedings if immunity was proven. Aitzaz also said that implementation of
court orders is the responsibility of high courts so the case should be
transferred to IHC. The hearing of the case was adjourned for the day.
A laboratory in London declared one of the cardiac drugs as
contaminated with an anti-malarial, which caused the deaths of more than
hundred patients in Lahore. According to details, the samples of Isotab
(tablet), which were dispatched to a state-of-the-art lab in London, were
tested as substandard and injurious to health. WHO issued global
instructions to stop the use of Isotab tablets manufactured in a Karachi based
company.
The lab report revealed Isotab samples to be heavily contaminated
with Pyrimethamine, a commonly used anti-malarial. Experts are attributing
Pyrimethamine to those deadly reactions, which continue to kill cardiac
patients using the tainted life-saving drugs. The Punjab Government Health
Department said an antidote has been produced about which guidelines have
been issued to all hospitals.
Shahbaz Sharif reiterated his accusation saying now it remained to be
established that it was an incident of neglect or a result of a conspiracy. The
pharmaceutical company which makes Isotab was sealed. FIA Deputy
Director said the raw material used in making the drug had been seized and
would be sent for further tests. Meanwhile, PM House received an envelope
containing Anthrax.
It was agreed between the PPP and PML-N that the resolvable issues
relating to the eight members of the Election Commission of Pakistan, two
from each province, would be made part of the 20 th Amendment Bill. The
PPP leaders had also given assurance to the PML-N counterparts that they
694

would not give extension to the incumbent chief election commissioner who
would be retiring in the coming March and would appoint the next Chief
Election Commissioner strictly in accordance with the procedure laid down
for it in the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
MQM, PML-N and JUI-F Senators staged walk out from Senate
against hike in petroleum product prices. Meanwhile, MQM MPs also staged
walk out from National Assembly in protest against POL price hike and
target killing in Karachi.
Next day, a seven-member bench after hearing the arguments of
Aitzaz Ahsan, said: After the preliminary hearing we are satisfied that there
is enough case for further proceeding. The case is adjourned till February 13
for framing the charges and the prime minister is required to be present on
the next date.
During the proceedings Aitzaz contended that the question arises
whether to send the prime minister to jail for not writing letter to Swiss
authorities or not. He said whether the court wanted to implement its orders
by arm-twisting and issuing contempt of court notices, adding that prime
minister was being punished though he did not commit any crime. He only
followed the advice of the law secretary, which was not a criminal act. He
prayed that show cause against his client should be discharged.
Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa questioned, If we accept your request
to discharge the notice, will the prime minister write letter to the Swiss?
Aitzaz said he would never want that notice to PM is discharged on this
basis that letter will be written. You want to nail down the PM for refusing
to write letter, he asked. He said the PM had stated before the bench that he
has all the intention to write the letter but no such advice has been given to
him so far.
Justice Gulzar Ahmed said there should not be defence for the sake of
defence but you have to satisfy the court on the bona fide of the PM for not
writing the letter. Justice Khosa asked the learned counsel if his stance is that
PM had valid reasons to believe that letter should not be written because
president has immunity under Article 248? Aitzaz replied that advice was
tendered to the PM that the judgment could not be implemented due to
constitutional impediment.
The court observed that for not implementing the order two attorney
generals and law secretary had to resign. The learned counsel said
investigation and proceeding in Switzerland were closed due to lack of
evidence. Justice Khosa said the letter written by Malik Qayyum, former
695

AG, played a role in closing the cases. Aitzaz contended that inquiries and
proceedings in Switzerland were closed not because of Malik Qayyums
letter but due to lack of evidence. Justice Khosa remarked how the inquiry of
money laundering cases could be completed by the Swiss authorities without
Pakistans assistance? Therefore, the letter played a major part, he added.
Talking to media after the short Supreme Court order, the PMs
counsel said the government could file an intra-court appeal. Aitzaz said he
wanted the democracy to flourish in the country and an end of tension
between the institutions. He pointed out that unfortunately contempt charges
had so far been leveled against four sitting prime ministers. He said it was
not appropriate to hold civilian prime ministers as contemnor and the court
should also hold the generals responsible for contempt, who not only
dismissed the judges but also arrested them along with their children. Aitzaz
warned that there was a tension between institutions, with a danger that the
third party could take advantage of it.
Prime Minister told the National Assembly that he would reappear
before the apex court in the contempt of court case, initiated against him for
failing to pursue corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. Later
the prime minister chaired a meeting of the Core Committee PPP. Aitzaz
Ahsan briefed the meeting about Supreme Courts decision of indictment in
contempt case and the party then decided that PM Gilani would file an
appeal against the decision.
Shahbaz Sharif distributed portfolios of several ministries after being
criticized by opposition for holding the portfolios and concentration of
power. However, Shahbaz Sharif still holds the health ministry despite
severe criticism over the deaths. Five more people died in Lahore of
defective drugs.
On 3rd February, the embattled Prime Minister clearly hinted he will
stay in power even after the coming budget, telling journalists on the launch
of Pak Business Express at Lahore Railways Station that those seeking early
general elections should come to him after June 2012 budget. When asked
that whether he would write or not to Swiss authorities for reopening
President Zardaris cases, the he said the matter was sub-judice and he
should not comment on the issue.
Shahbaz Sharif wrote a letter to Prime Minister as a protest for
discrimination with the province of Punjab over the supply of gas and
electricity. Chief Minister through the letter has asked the Prime Minister for

696

maintaining equal treatment to the federating units over gas and electricity
load shedding duration.
The Punjab Assembly went through a worst clash between the
opposition and the treasury wherein the members had a free fall to accuse,
abuse, taunt and grill each other, creating a whole time rumpus throughout
the proceedings. The opposition members wanted the chief minister to be
present in the house to respond to the queries on drug related killings. Led
by Raja Riaz the opposition in chorus began to blame the CM for killings
and demanded his resignation.
Two separate petitions were filed praying the apex court to order halt
to Senate election and by-elections on the vacant seats of the national and
provincial assemblies. Meanwhile, two policemen were shot dead in an act
of targeted killing in Karachi.
Next day, An ASI and a girl were killed when unidentified bandits
opened indiscriminate fire in Karachi. Differences between PPP and MQM
on local bodies setup in Sindh widened despite intervention by Zardari. Six
countries including Sri Lanka and Afghanistan banned import of medicines
from Pakistan after deaths due to medicines reaction in Lahore.

VIEWS
On 23rd January, Malik Tariq Ali from Lahore wrote: The sanctity of
Supreme Court of Pakistan was violated by few lawyers, who raised
slogans within premises of the court. These men had no business to be
there, nor can they deny to Aitzaz the honor and prestige he has earned for
himself by standing up to a military dictator, when many others were quietly
going around their business appearing before Dogar courts and being
handsomely rewarded for such services. It was Aitzaz who dared to defend
Mukhtaran Mai, a poor woman raped and humiliated by a tribal jirga. Every
citizen of Pakistan has a right to be represented by a lawyer of his choice.
Those who are raising issues of morality questioning Aitzaz for defending
this government tainted with allegations of corruption, had no hesitation to
take up cases defending others, who had defrauded national exchequer. The
sanctity of SC was also violated by a handful of jialas who managed to
squeeze in and chant slogans, as it was grossly violated previously by a fake
PHD holding controversial lawyer, responsible for pitting this regime on
confrontational path with superior judiciary.

697

If these lawyers group who raised slogans against Aitzaz have no

political motives than they must be seen defending common citizens who
cannot afford to hire their services, although they have been denied their
rights by state organizations or powerful feudal and traders. It is high time
the Supreme Court delivered justice to people of Pakistan, instead of
being entangled in technicalities, political and constitutional issues since it
alone has jurisdiction to do so and set precedents for other courts to follow.
Unfortunately the courts in Pakistan do not deliver justice in the puritanical
sense, because they are slave to technicalities raised by lawyers, who are
paid to so, knowing fully well that their clients have no case.
Two days later, TheNation observed: The Chairman, Election
Commission of Pakistan (ECP), has kicked up a row with the Supreme
Court by saying that its order barring the holding of by-elections on the basis
of existing voter lists was unconstitutional. Chairman Justice (retd) Hamid
Mirza maintained that the ECP was an independent body and was
completely autonomous in taking any decision regarding electoral rolls.
However, by adding that, Every organ of the State should act within its
limits, Justice Mirza seems to be putting forward the same argument
that the government and political parties allied to it are in the habit of
using when confronted with the question of not complying with the apex
courts verdicts. It seems that the ECP has missed the underlying point in the
SCs order. The court had asked it to prepare up-to-date electoral rolls on the
ground that the present lists contain a whopping 37 million bogus voters,
and had ruled that any elections held on the basis of these lists could not
meet the constitutional requirements
No one would question the independence and autonomous nature of
the Election Commission, but the overarching position of the Supreme Court
in interpreting the Constitution must not be challenged either. Instead of
entering into a controversy with the SC, the ECP should have employed
the required number of staff to expedite and prepare the lists by
February 23 so that the by-elections which would fall due by that date as
well as the general elections if called earlier could be held on the basis of
accurate electoral rolls. After all, the ECP is obliged under the rules to
update these rolls every year. It might as well avoid further vitiating the
already existing unsavoury climate of clash of institutions.
Dr Haider Mehdi wrote: Let us call a spade a spade: The presently
ongoing political battle for a viable democratic Pakistan is not about the
martyrdom or personal sacrifices of the Prime Minister, the President or
the PPPs so-called democratic mandate for a five-year term. The fact of the
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matter is that in a parliamentary democracy, the public mandate is not for a

fixed term; the privilege to exercise public confidence is conditioned by and
subject to political economic performance and the management of the States
affairs to the overall satisfaction of the public in measurable and absolutely
prismatic proofs of delivering in the service of peoples welfare.
The fact is that the Zardari-Gilani regime has totally failed on all
these counts, and democratically speaking, in ethical and political terms, its
public democratic mandate stands morally revoked, automatically. In
civilized democratic dispensations, failed elected governments have been
known to offer their resignations in the overall interest of the nation. But in
Pakistan, the Prime Minister is indulging in theatrical performances of
political craftsmanship completely devoted to power politics and personal
cult making. This nations misfortune cannot be overstated.
The Prime Ministers recent political performances remind me of
David Bowies 1976 British science fiction film, The Man Who Fell To
Earth. Newton (Bowie), a human-like alien, crash lands on earth with a
mission to transport water to his native planet, which is experiencing a
calamitous drought. In the process, Newton becomes incredibly wealthy as
head of World Enterprises, falls into commercial rivalry, indulges in
crippling deceptions, fails to understand the rules of the game on earth,
develops an incredible appetite for TV, gets so obsessed with his personal
self-interests that he neglects his true undertaking of saving his people, and
amid intense media exposure, finally fails in his earthly mission. End of
story! In my political judgment, I find comparable scenarios in Bowies and
the Prime Ministers failed political missions.
Is the Pakistani Prime Minister, too, seized by a political fantasy
to do and manage political performances beyond the realm of
possibilities? Is the PM confident that he can move the entire nation in
believing that his and the Presidents political survival are tantamount to the
survival of democracy in Pakistan? Or has the PM, under intense media
exposure, proved that his mission - the democratic mission and public
mandate of serving the people - has already faulted, faltered and failed?
Perceptual fantasies do not help in nation-building. Neither do the
assumed martyrdoms and self-believed tales of personal sacrifices. At the
end of the day, it is the political performance judged impartially against the
facts of whether the mission of public service is accomplished or not. That is
how democracies work, and are judged! Whether the hero offers
martyrdom is inconsequential in a democracy! End of story!

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Zaheer Bhatti opined: In the present standoff, in which government

defiance has been grossly miscalculated under the advice from the
Presidents loyalists, who may turn out to be his worst enemies, Mr Asif
Zardari may have bought some time, but would have sensed that he
cannot avoid the inevitable. If, indeed, as often professed by his team
(perhaps, never by him personally that he was innocent) that in spite of
suffering a jail term for eight or nine years nothing could be proved against
him, he ought to have volunteered to face the law, despite his immunity. That
surely would have resurrected his image! But if he had much to hide and
returned to politics from the oblivion to hijack his wifes political
inheritance after her demise, one can make sense in his option to seek cover
by vying for the presidential slot that would provide him immunity as long
as he was in the saddle.
I do not endorse those expressing surprise over Aitzaz Ahsan
appearing as the Prime Ministers counsel, and many ridiculing him for
what they call a volte-face in deposing to the court contrary to his position
taken outside it on the writing of the letter. Mr Ahsans contention that he
would attempt to satisfy the court on the applicability of immunity since it
had been forced upon him by it although the specific proceedings for
contempt did not require bringing in the subject is not correct because it
was the Prime Minister, who landed him in this situation by taking the cover
of immunity; the relevance of which was promptly questioned by Justice
Sarmad Jalal Usmani during the proceedings.
More importantly, the letter ought to have been written
irrespective of the presidential immunity because in the case under
question there are other parties, who are enjoying its cover to which they are
not entitled to any way. But more discerning analysts maintain that the
defiance may not be all that miscalculated, as unless the letter is written by
the third week of February, reopening of the case would become time barred.
It remains to be seen if the rule of law or brinksmanship finally prevails.
On 27th January, M A Niazi wrote: The flurry of activity surrounding
the two major crises surrounding the government, the memogate affair and
the NRO verdict, has obscured the opposition campaign for fresh
elections. Because it was an opposition campaign, it seems that the only
possible way out for the President has been sacrificed.
After discussing the developments in the two crises Niazi concluded:
The present situation, therefore, leaves many questions of importance, but
mainly for the constituencies where by-elections are due. However, those

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questions would have to be asked, many times magnified, were there to be a

dissolution. The ECP would find itself at the centre of a storm, and
would, probably, rely on the elections being put off until the rolls are
prepared.
The government must realize the inadequacy of the motive it has of
avoiding that dissolution, of its members not just remaining in the National
Assembly, but of remaining Ministers. It should realize that this might be a
natural motive to put off elections, but it does not bring to an end the
political crises that demand the elections. Another reason not to have
elections is that elections will not solve the problems that might cause them.
However, holding elections now would let the government avoid the election
being about its record, which is patchy at best. However, if the government
is allowed to complete its term, it might be able to do something that would
allow it to claim re-election. The holding of an election now, while fraught
with difficulties, still offers the government a chance of handling the
crises it faces.
Two days later, Dr Farrukh Saleem wrote: The PPP, GHQ and the
Supreme Court have turned Pakistan into a country where it is now
impossible to exactly describe either the existing state or a future outcome.
We dont know what we are and we dont know what is to become of us.
The GHQ, the Supreme Court and the PPP have turned Pakistan into a
terrain where the order or nature of things is unknown; where the
consequences, extent or magnitude of circumstances, conditions or events is
unpredictable and where credible probabilities to possible outcomes cannot
be assigned. Thats extreme uncertainty.
The PPP, the Supreme Court and the GHQ have turned Pakistan
into a borderland where the state no longer functions because of
conflicting directions from the three power seekers. The PPP, the Supreme
Court and the GHQ are infighting to gain control of the state and this
infighting has created a situation in which nothing is moving and absolutely
nothing is getting done. Thats gridlock par excellence.
The PPP, the Supreme Court and the GHQ have given Pakistan so
many strokes and traumas that there is now a severe impairment of activity.
The State of Pakistan is now completely unable to function. Thats paralysis.
Uncertainty, gridlock and paralysis. The PPP is bent upon preserving a
predatory state where there is rationalization of theft, public policy is
to benefit the rulers and there is massive under-investment in human
capital as well as infrastructure.

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In a predatory state, there are four visible phenomena. One;

human life is poor, nasty, brutish, and short. Two; citizens live in fear of
each other. Three; individuals are free to harm all who threaten their own
self-preservation. Four; there is an endless war of all against all (Thomas
Hobbes).
The new Supreme Court is bent upon establishing a rule of law state.
In a contractual state, that the Supreme Court seems to favor, there are
at least three visible phenomena. One; the general will decides what is
good for society as a whole. Two; a neutral judge protects the lives, liberty
and property of those who live within it (John Locke). Three; individuals,
including the administrative head of state, who could be a monarch, must
bow to the general will, or be forced to bow to it (Jean-Jacques Rousseau).
The GHQ is confused, indecisive and erratic-all at the same time.
Should they be in the barracks or out fathering political parties? The GHQs
messages to the PPP and the Supreme Court are ambiguous, dubious and
inconclusive-all at the same time. Either effect a regime change or stop
destabilizing. It was Henry Miller, the American novelist and painter, who
said, Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not
understood. Certainty and economic growth are first cousins. Uncertainty
kills whatever comes its way. Uncertainty means unemployment,
inflation, chaos, anarchy and turmoil-all at the same time. Uncertainty is
killing me; And Im certainly not asleep; Maybe Ive gone far too deep;
Maybe Im just far too weak; And thats the last place I want to be the last
place.
On 30th January, Ikramullah observed: The pathetic state of affairs
is partly due to the indifferent attitude of the opposition towards
national issues. For instance, the leader of the largest opposition party,
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), in Parliament had in person filed
a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, seeking an investigation into the
memo affair, since the alleged letter/document involved issues of national
security, so that all those involved in the conspiracy could be identified and
charged with high treason. Regardless of its sensitivity, reportedly, he is
currently in London - perhaps, for a medical check-up. Yes, this shows the
level of commitment!
Similarly, he had publicly declared more than once that the rulers
in Islamabad were a security risk for the nation. Therefore, his party
would not hesitate to use all options, including mass resignations and long
march to Islamabad, to oust the federal government. He maintained that his

702

party would motivate people to come out to protest, like Arab Spring, and
force the government to resign and hold snap polls. Adding that, it would not
be allowed under any circumstances to complete its tenure.
Just look at the irony where political manoeuvring has taken over a
previously stated policy or position, resulting in wriggling out and retreating,
albeit without any apparent explanation, and regardless of losing face in the
eyes of people, carrying out political gimmicks, pretending business as usual
to avoid any comments and questions from the media; the easiest way out is
to go abroad for a medical check-up!
Anyhow, the people of Pakistan, at large, are not only confused,
but also frustrated with the prolonged suspense and uncertainty
prevailing in the country, and thus they have lost confidence in the
democratic setup. The PPP-led government definitely needs to make sincere
efforts to improve governance and redress the grievances of the masses,
rather than resorting to politically-motivated rhetoric. Otherwise, it should
be prepared to face severe consequences.
Meanwhile, how can the international community trust Pakistan
when its Prime Minister, attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) in
Davos, Switzerland, chooses to inform the world that Pakistani courts
might send him to jail for which he is ready? In his interview to CNN, he
said that I am ready to go to prison, if the court so desires, clearly hinting
how far his government was prepared to go to defend President Asif Ali
Zardari on the issue of immunity in Swiss cases. The question, however,
remains: Is this likely to attract the worlds sympathy and support for the
survival of Pakistans rapidly sliding economy?
On 1st February, TheNation wrote about Laptop politicking. The
initiative is one which will provoke much thought, and among the
questions arising is the cost of the project and how much of an impact it
will have on the average school child in Punjab. With teacher standards
and attendance at dismal levels, curriculums which are insufficient and
unprepared for modern times, schools with corrupt enrolment practices, what
has the government planned for these more basic, grass root problems?
Private schools are unregulated and springing up on every corner, while
government schools pay teachers highly but get little effort in return.
There is great use in distributing computers, but the utility of a
good basic education cannot be underestimated, and is needed to make
use of the laptops. The same money if spent on correcting the curriculum
and weeding out the undeserving from the education system may be a better
703

investment in our future. Government schools which lack even blackboards

may not be the best place to teach computer skills, and they deserve to have
their facilities completed if they are to impart the right education in future. It
is not so much a matter of lower or higher standards, as of a completely
different kind of education. Meanwhile, the Punjab government must not
think that its giving its students laptops in any way absolves it of its
responsibility towards students of private schools, or to provide government
schools missing facilities. It must do so alongside the distribution of laptops
and on top priority. Over 50% of our uncontrolled population is under 20
years of age. The only security of Pakistan's future is in their education.
Two days later, Mohammad Malick commented: The meandering
prime minister had long stood convicted in the court of public opinion,
guilty of crimes like incompetence and corruption. Now he has also earned
the sobriquet of being indicted in a court of law. But we know what will
happen. Unlike any ordinary law abiding citizen who would hang his head
in shame for falling foul of the law, the prime minister will instead wear
this stigma as a badge of honour. He has been heard talking about how he
has chaired more cabinet meetings than late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto; has served
longer than both Mr Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir; and will bring honour by
being the Seraiki to sacrifice himself for the party instead of being one to
sacrifice the party for his own personal motive (ala Farooq Leghari). Noble
words indeed but the reality remains that he has been indicted for refusing to
honour the verdict of the highest court of the land, and there is no honour in
this. But a word here for the honourable court as well. Hopefully, it will also
not shirk from passing similar indictments and convictions against erring
generals an opportunity that may soon be coming its way in the form of
the Asghar Khan case.
And talking of generals, till a few days back, the chief of the army
staff had felt it beneath his dignity to attend even official functions of the
prime minister who had spoken unkindly of him and his institution. There
was talk of the army doing everything to help the judiciary take the memo
affair to its logical conclusion Next, both the COAS and the DG ISI called
on the prime minister a day before his departure for Davos. Barely had this
sudden development been digested that the prime minister returned the
favour by giving the duo a clean conduct slip and then slipping away to
Davos.
On the sidelines, Mansoor Ijaz huffed and puffed and decided to be a
no-show in court Everyone, it seems suddenly wanted to just hush up

704

the matter and move on with life. Everyone, it appears knows something
about a dirty deal here, but well of course never know.
One day the country was faced with a near existential threat. The
civil and military establishments openly squared off against one another. It
had come down to being a do-or-die situation. Ambassador Haqqani lost his
job, and his freedom. The president reportedly lost his mind. The COAS
came close to losing his pips. The judges faced the dilemma of losing their
credibility. Meanwhile the country lost whatever little remained of any
semblance of working order.
Then, in a few days, magically, it was all over Will this shameless
circus of dirty power arrangements ever end in Pakistan? Will there ever
be closure on issues? Because unless matters are taken to their logical
conclusions, things will keep recurring and with greater ferocity. Absence of
desired accountability only guarantees the presence of undesirable
happenings.
The prime ministers indictment, being seen by many as a prelude to
serious accountability, has started the next round of political uncertainty in
the country. The loyalists will deem it the latest threat to democracy at the
hands of an activist judiciary. The complexion of matters to come will
however be decided not by the judges but by the response of the ruling
coalition. The prime ministers future may stand threatened by the judges
but not of the democratic system and this fine difference must not be
deliberately smudged.
Ironically, the charging of the prime minister may prove the finest
hour for democracy in our political history. Could there be a greater
example of the maturing of the political system than an elected prime
minister submitting himself to the Supreme Court and for the democratic
process to cough up his replacement were he to lose his job in the process?
The judges may have contributed to adding to the uncertainty of affairs but
the real challenge to democracy comes not from a bunch of judges but from
the future actions of those lording over the parliament. How the democrats
behave today will determine democracys future in Pakistan.
The prime minister still has nine days to comply with court orders
and avoid any extreme action but judging from the mood of the PM house
and the presidency, defiance will persist. And this may make political
sense for the PPP in particular because the beleaguered party could easily
use another political martyr in the coming elections. Gilani has almost run
his entire term in office and even if the PPP were to come to power again
705

there would be a new prime minister in office. Surely, Gilani would have
little desire to sit in the same house as an ordinary parliamentarian. Were he
to remain steadfast in his stance and be convicted by the court he would then
go out in a blaze of glory. He would secure a special place in his partys
history and also ensure loftier perches for his children, all of whom are
already active in politics. On the other hand, were he to beat a conviction
somehow, he would emerge as a much stronger prime minister.
The issue of writing the letter will not go away with Gilani and
any future prime minister too would have to face the dilemma, in theory
at least. In practical terms, the issue would be as good as dead if Gilani was
mowed down in this standoff. Its not easy for even the mightiest of supreme
courts to strike down two prime ministers in one case. Gilanis replacement
would definitely get time from an understanding court for formulating
his/her actions. The PPP leadership would be able to get through with the
Senate elections and the new prime minister could then announce early
elections and thus set the transition process in motion. In such a scenario,
where general elections are scheduled, say, a few months down the road and
matters like the formation of a truly independent election commission
cobbling together an acceptable interim-care taker setup etc are being
tackled, the supreme court will surely be weary of upsetting the delicately
balanced apple cart by insisting on another conviction. Three cheers for
democracy, PPP-style; three cheers for justice Pakistan-style!
On 4th February, TheNation observed: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza
Gilani will face a formal contempt of court charge in the Supreme Court on
February 13 Mr Gilani should understand well that obedience to the
law is not merely achieved by appearance in court. By announcing it, and
that too before the National Assembly, he is doing no one any favours. If he
does not, he should be made to understand his position by his lawyer. If he
refuses to write to the Swiss authorities, he might demonstrate thereby his
resolve to protect the President from prosecution. He himself runs the risk of
conviction, and thus of disqualification from membership of the National
Assembly.
Also he could possibly lose his present office and be unable to
contest in future. He should also understand the compulsion of the Supreme
Court in prosecuting him for contempt. It has to make sure that its orders are
obeyed. It is this obedience which ensures that all courts are obeyed and that
the same law applies to everyone. Thus there can be no exceptions, relying
on the high office enjoyed by an individual.

706

Tallat Azim wrote: The Supreme Court (SC) has stood its ground and
if the government thought Aitzaz was the answer to its contentions with
it, it miscalculated. Aitzaz has, probably, advised the PM well on presenting
himself and refraining from histrionics, but the fact remains that the
honourable judges did not buy any of the reasoning presented by the PMs
lawyer. Particularly interesting was the reply of a judge when he said,
hamay sharminda honey dain, in reply to the argument that writing of the
letter may embarrass the SC as the Swiss authorities might not oblige. The
only feel good in this episode is that we are inching towards the goal of
respecting and protecting democratic processes
Babar Sattar commented: The prime ministers contempt case
involves no legal complexity. Our Constitution and contempt law define
civil contempt as willful disregard of a court order. So the question is
whether the Supreme Court should make an exception to this wellunderstood legal principle because the person willfully disregarding the
court order is the prime minister of the country. When Lord Mansfield used
the phrase fiat justitia, ruat coelum (let justice be done though the heavens
fall) in John Wilkes case back in 1770, he was merely reiterating the courts
obligation to rule of law that requires it to disregard extraneous
considerations in deciding cases. Justice doesnt demand that courts dispense
justice such that the heavens fall. It only requires that they be oblivious to
the consequences of enforcing the law, including the possibility of
heavens falling.
Even if Yousuf Raza Gilani is indicted on February 13, it will neither
cause the PPP-led government to fall or the skies to cave into Pakistan.
If the court holds the prime minister guilty of contempt, it could possibly
hand him a jail term for up to six months and also disqualify him as a
parliamentarian. The prime minister could seek a review of such conviction
by a larger bench. As the review jurisdiction is extremely narrow and only a
means to correct an obvious error floating on the surface of the order,
utilizing such opportunity might only delay the inevitable for a little bit. In
case the Supreme Court hands down a guilty verdict on the next hearing and
doesnt suspend the sentence pending review, Gilani could conceivably wind
up in jail and continue to function as prime minister from there till such time
that his successor enters office.
If the Supreme Court finds that the prime ministers actions have
ridiculed the judiciary or prejudiced judicial independence, Gilani could
stand disqualified as member of the National Assembly under Article 63(g)
of the Constitution and consequently as PM. If such declaration is made, the
707

question of whether or not the prime minister has become disqualified as

member of the National Assembly would stand answered and there would be
no need for the matter to be considered by the speaker of the National
Assembly or the Election Commission. The court could simply instruct
the Election Commission to issue a notification of disqualification as it
has done in other cases. Even if convicted Gilani could remain prime
minister under Article 94 of the Constitution if President Zardari asks him to
continue till his successor enters upon office.
If found guilty of contempt and disqualified as member National
Assembly under Article 62(g) of the Constitution, Gilani would be barred
from becoming a parliamentarian for at least five years. The president could
pardon and remit any sentence passed by the court against Gilani. That
would protect the prime minister against being sent to jail. But such pardon
would not erase the conviction or override the five-year ban against
becoming a parliamentarian. Either way, the PPP and allies in the
government have a comfortable majority in the National Assembly to be
able to elect a successor prime minister. But none of this really needs to
happen. The prime minister can simply show up on the next date of hearing
with an unconditional apology and give the court a solemn commitment that
the letter required to be sent to the Swiss authorities will be written as
instructed.
Should the Supreme Court desist from applying the law out of fear of
grave consequences, as the PPP government continues to negotiate with the
court holding a gun to Gilanis head? In the NRO implementation case
things have reached this ugly pass not because of the courts failure to
apply restraint, but despite it. At each hearing it is obvious that the court
desperately wants the government to follow the NRO judgment in letter
(forget spirit), save face and be done with it. It is the PPP government that
wishes for the circus to continue. The Zardari-led PPP seems to entertain
with relish the idea that the heavens might fall and throw up further
opportunities to claim victim-hood and slander the court. But the judges
ought not take account of such sadism or the political mileage the ruling
party seems to be vying for in case of a guilty verdict.
Let us quickly revisit what the prime ministers contempt case is
about and what it is not. This case is not about Asif Zardari and his
immunity from criminal proceedings. It is arguable that the NRO case and
its ruling requiring the federal government to reclaim Pakistans status as
civil party in the money laundering proceedings pending in Switzerland (that
were relinquished under the NRO) were linked to Zardari. The judgment in
708

that case could possibly be criticized on the ground that the court didnt
address the issue of presidential immunity. And as withdrawing the previous
withdrawal letter could possibly open up cases against Zardari, the net result
of such letter could be the initiation of criminal proceedings against the
president and that is prohibited under Article 248.
The counter-argument could be that a cause of action can lead to both
criminal and civil proceedings. Money laundering, if proved, could result in
a jail term and such proceedings are of a criminal nature. But there is also
the issue of who has a claim over the $62 million, previously frozen by
Swiss authorities, if such money is found to be laundered. And a claim to
recover such amount would be of a civil nature. Now whether or not the
accused are guilty of money laundering and should be handed jail terms is a
criminal matter between the state of Switzerland and the accused, including
Zardari. But as Pakistani state is only claiming such money that is found
by Swiss authorities to have been laundered from Pakistan, reasserting
a claim to the $62 million is not a breach of Article 248 of our
Constitution.
We can continue back and forth about the scope of Article 248, the
nature of proceedings that were initiated against Zardari in Switzerland and
the nature of Pakistans claim in such proceedings. But all of this is
irrelevant for our present purpose. With apologies once again to Justice
Robert Jackson of the US Supreme Court, who succinctly summarized the
nature of authority of apex courts by claiming that, we are not final because
we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final. All courts
can and do make mistakes, including our Supreme Court. But even if we
agree that in ordering that the letter be written to Swiss authorities the
Supreme Court erred, the NRO ruling is now infallible because it has
attained finality.
The question before the seven-member bench hearing the prime
ministers contempt case is not whether the NRO judgment is correct or
desirable, but whether the chief executive of the country has flouted it. The
question is not whether the Supreme Court erred in the NRO case or the
Bhutto case, or whether the khakis have historically been above the law or
this apex court has followed a go-slow policy toward them (though it is
welcome that even that seems to be changing with the Asghar Khan case
fixed for hearing and the ISI/MI being pushed to produce missing persons).
The question simply is whether the prime minister willfully disregarded a
court order and whether he can get away claiming that the advice of the Dr
Babar Awan-led law ministry superseded the unambiguous order of the
709

Supreme Court. How should we describe ourselves if we have become a

society where uniform application of the law to the weak and the mighty
alike is odious for it might cause the heavens to fall?
Next day, Ikramullah wrote: Needless to say, the basic conflict in the
words of the so-called respect shown to the court for compliance with its
verdicts by the PPP leadership and its total defiance in not implementing it
by the Chief Executive is at the heart of the present unfortunate standoff
between the two major organs of the State, namely the Executive and the
Judiciary. This had been building over a period of time and reached its
peak when the court issued a show cause notice to the PM.
PM Gilani is a seasoned politician and not new in this game
where advisors can mislead or misguide him, as if he was a novice. No
sir! He has been a Speaker of the National Assembly. Many analysts believe
that the PM may be heading for a political martyrdom. This time around the
party may have chosen him to play this role, since there are speculations that
the general elections will, probably, be held by the end of 2012 i.e.
September-October. Otherwise, the PM during his visit to Davos would not
have said: I will rather go to jail than write a letter to the Swiss government.
Keeping this in view, Barrister Aitzaz had no choice, but to follow
the instructions of his client no matter what his personal views might have
been on the matter. At the moment, the only available option before him is to
quit from this case. But, perhaps, the stakes are too high! So, Aitzaz might
have decided to put at stake his professional credibility for the sake of
saving the party and the PM during the interim period till the situation
takes a favourable turn. Only time will tell whether Zardaris gamble pays
off or not in which the PPP and major stakeholders are playing their cards.
Nevertheless, it would be best to wait till the next hearing, i.e. on
February 13, when charges are to be framed against the Prime Minister.
Thirteenth is an ominous figure and anything could happen, including
Gilani writing the letter to the Swiss courts even before the fateful date. Had
the Chief Executive chosen to write the letter earlier, he would not be in
trouble today!

REVIEW
As pressure on the regime mounted on account of non-implementation
of the NRO verdict and constitution of judicial commission yet another front
was opened to ridicule the judiciary. Chief Election Commissioner accused
710

the Supreme Court of committing an unconstitutional act by ordering

stoppage of bye-elections.
In a display of blatant defiance the ECP expressed its inability to
update voter lists by date given by the Supreme Court. Election Commission
asserted its independence by announcing that the lists would be completed
by 25th May; not by 23rd February as ordered by the apex court.
One of the two prongs that put the regime under some pressure was
blunted quite effectively. This prong pertained to the memo to Mullen. It
happened not because of ECP overtures but due to many other internal and
external factors. The other prong of contempt however remained active.
The regime did not appear doing well on this front.
The chosen defence counsel of the Saint argued in the court for two
days. Talking to media after court proceedings on 2nd February Aitzaz Ahsan
cut a very sorry figure. Like a typical lawyer he did not admit that he had
miserably failed to convince the judges on the bench despite frequently
claiming that he would do that.
He lacked the courage to admit that he was defending a very weak
case. By mere parroting out a statement that no contempt charge could be
framed against his client Aitzaz could convince no one, not even a man in
the street what to talk about the learned judges of the court.
The line of defence preferred by him was stinking of moral
degeneration. Aitzaz said that Gilani had acted on the advice of his advisers;
thereby trying to say that he had not deliberately disobeyed the court orders,
but because of the wrong advice of the subordinates.
Only a democratically elected leader could dare passing the buck to
his subordinates so blatantly. Any other leader worth their salt would have
owned the responsibility of his decision and action no matter how faulty his
advisory channel had been.
His post-hearing media interaction stripped the jiyala naked that has
been hibernating inside Aitzaz since the days of Lawyers Movement. He
appeared no different from Babar Awan when he blamed Judiciary for
framing charges against civilian prime ministers and turning the face other
way when Generals committed contempt against the Constitution.
The events have proved the extent to which the Scoundrel could go to
protect his personal interests. For him the Saint is worth a black goat that the
Scoundrel slaughters daily. He is prepared to slaughter Gilani, the black goat

711

from Multan, to protect his black money that he has kept in banks in
Whitemans lands.
But it wasnt without duly rewarding the Saint before attempting to
use him as a sacrificial goat. The Scoundrel had given about four years to the
Saint to plunder as much of national wealth as he could for his family and
near and dear ones. The Scoundrel too believes in tradition of feeding
sacrificial animals well before slaughtering them.
However, the observers which have been disappointed by the
judiciarys activism that has invariably ended up in exercise of unjustifiable
restraint were of the view that nothing would happen on 13 th February. Even
if Gilani is indicted on contempt charge it would mean fulfillment of
regimes desire of achieving political martyrdom.
According to them if the apex court was serious about punishing
someone out of those accused of committing crimes it had plenty of
corruption cases pending before it. In last three years not a single accused
was punished and based on that experience the observers feel that in
contempt case too Gilani may be rewarded with martyrdom status.
In a democratic system the political opposition capitalizes on
governments failings, but the PML-N failed to do so in any of opportunities
presented to it. Presently, however, PML-N was in deep trouble in Punjab to
think of taking any advantage of adversarys failings. The defective drugs
after Dengue were taking toll of the rulers and the ruled in Punjab.
Amid turmoil in the province Shahbaz Sharifs made a stunning
revelation that during Dengue fever attack a prominent person in Islamabad
had tried to scare away the team if Sri Lankan experts from Lahore. Based
on that anti-Punjab act, Shahbaz feared that the present drug debacle too
could have been deliberately triggered.
If apprehension of Shahbaz comes true, it would unveil yet another
ugly aspect of the ongoing democratic revenge. The Scoundrels revenge, in
general, targets Pakistan, but he specifically has been focusing on Pakistan
Army, ISI, Judiciary, political opponents linked to Punjab and religion, and
the province of Punjab. He has taken all of them on simultaneously and
inflicted considerable damage on Army and Punjab. Nevertheless, it was not
the right time for Shahbaz to mention Dengue.
5th February, 2012

712

SIGNS OF LIFE
The events of 10th February indicated that the superior judiciary in
Pakistan was not only alive but has the desire to safeguard its credibility,
honour and prestige. This revived the hope and expectations of many that the
Judiciary would ensure establishment of rule of law in the country.
On that day the apex court rejected an Intra Court Appeal filed by
Aitzaz Ahsan in contempt case against his client. The Judicial Commission
decided to record statement of Mansoor Ijaz using modern information
technology. Another bench of the Supreme Court showed resolve during
hearing of the case of missing persons, though the counsel of the suffering
families was not happy as he rightly wanted some heads to roll.

713

Earlier, on the 60th coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II

Pakistani cricketers had whitewashed the British cricket team in Dubai. This
free-of-cost service could be termed as a thanks-giving gesture in return of
the verdict of British judge that helped in getting rid of match fixers in
Pakistani cricket team.
The victory of the cricketers carried a timely message for the judges
of Pakistans Supreme Court, who have been avoiding punishing the Saint at
the service of the Scoundrel. One could only hope that the judges have read
that message.They must press for accountability of the ruling elite and
punishing few of them would bear the same result as has been in the case of
cricketers.

NEWS
On 6th February, the Supreme Court suspended the membership of 28
members of parliament and provincial assemblies, including two federal
ministers (Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and Asim Hussain, whom the government
appointed as advisers) whose elections had been challenged on the plea that
they had been elected on bogus voters lists. Imran Khan had filed a petition
in the apex court.
Chief Justice, as head of a four-member bench issued the order. He
remarked that the court did not receive any clear stance on the issue of bogus
voter lists. He said the court did not declare election of the members null and
void and only suspended their membership. He said the suspended members
will not get any privileges unless they are restored.
Intense talks between the ruling PPP and the opposition parties to
evolve consensus over ratification of the 20th Constitutional (Amendment)
Bill-2012 from the National Assembly remained inconclusive because the
stakeholders kept sticking to their positions on the issue of future caretaker
setup. Meanwhile, IMF warned Pakistan over its widening fiscal deficit and
slow growth, saying the economy remains deeply at risk to both internal and
external shocks.
Next day, Imran termed the 'unholy' troika of Zardari, Nawaz Sharif
and Fazlur Rehman, as root cause of prevailing bad governance and
corruption. Efforts to seek consensus on 20th Constitutional (Amendment)
Bill, failed to make break through as PML-N insisted upon consensus on
care-taker setup. Syed Khurshid Shah hoped that both sides would succeed
in evolving consensus over the issue.

714

Iran offered Pakistan assistance in building the much-awaited gas

pipeline, as the two countries resolved to enhance the volume of the bilateral
trade from $1.5 billion to $5 billion by exploring new avenues of economic
cooperation. The offer to build the Pakistani portion of the Iran-Pakistan Gas
Pipeline project was made by the visiting Iranian Vice-President meeting
with President Zardari. The offer came amid mounting economic pressure
exerted on Iran due to sanctions.
On 8th February, in the appeal filed through his lawyer PM Gilani
pleaded before the court to set aside the February 2 order as well as recall
the notice forthwith in the interest of justice, and suspend the proceedings
before the seven-member bench. The appeal was instituted with the request
for fixation on February 10, 2012. The chief justice then issued a short order
saying the hearing could not be fixed on the requested date of February 10
because of prior engagements and, with consent of AOR, he fixed it for
February 9.
It was also a demand of Gilanis counsel that judges who ordered to
indict the PM should not be included in the new bench and it should have
more members than the seven-member bench. Barrister Aitzaz told reporters
after filing the ICA at the Supreme Court that it was inappropriate for the
judges who ordered to indict Gilani to sit in the larger bench that would hear
the appeal.
Ahsan had several times stated that he will not appear before the chief
justice in the hearing of any case, but during the press conference, he agreed
to appear before the CJ in this case. After the restoration of chief justice it
would be the first time that Aitzaz would appear before him in any case
except as amicus curae in Presidential Reference on Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
murder case.
An eight-member larger bench of Supreme Court will hear the appeal
in which the learned counsel; has raised 54 questions of law for
consideration in the instant appeal, and cited 51 judgments from Pakistan,
India, United Stated, UK and Australia. Aitzaz contended that it was
necessary for the larger bench to satisfy itself that he had completed his
arguments before it passed an order to frame a charge upon the PM, while he
had informed the bench that he had yet to make further submissions. Aitzaz
stated in the appeal that the larger bench did err during the preliminary
hearing in departing from the apex courts own precedent of patience and
forbearance in the PCO judges case, where arguments were allowed to be
made on 24 actual dates spread over several months.

715

The principles against arbitrariness and use of unfettered discretion

require that every court (indeed authority) must pass speaking orders i.e.
orders that spell out the facts, the law applicable, the submissions made, and
the reasons for the decision/order. The impugned order does not reflect the
salient and salutary guarantee against arbitrariness that all judicial (even
quasi-judicial and many plain administrative) orders must state the express
reasons for the conclusion arrived at by the court.
The failure not to record the submissions made to it, as well as the
reasons justifying the order, particularly in a criminal trial, are violative of
article 10A of the constitution. The said order could not have been passed
without even recording the submissions thus far made by the counsel for the
appellant, and such an order could not have been made without allowing him
the opportunity to even complete his submissions.
When section 17(3) itself and specifically requires the court to pass an
order in the interests of justice, it is essential for that court to expressly
spell out the specific interests of justice that will be served by its order, and
how. It is essential for any court to spell out those specific interests of
justice required by statute, and seek the appellants opinion/version/defence
with respect to those specified interests.
A statutory right of appeal is a continuation of the main cause, and
therefore all the pleas taken and submissions made (and those that could
have been taken/made but for a denial of adequate opportunity) before the
larger bench (and not adverted to in the impugned order) are now to be
decided on merits by this court under its appellate jurisdiction.
In the circumstances of the case in question, contempt of court
proceedings are not at all appropriate proceedings for enforcement of a
judgment, even if a judgment is enforceable and implementable in its true
letter and spirit. It may be added that the constitution itself provides a
mechanism in Art 187 (2) read with the Explanation to Art 175(1) for the
implementation of the orders of the Supreme Court. Where the order or
judgment in question is either not implementable or for some compelling
reasons, could not be implemented immediately (for the time being), it will
not make it a case of willful disobedience and that too, to call for contempt
proceedings.
The Rules of Business having been formulated under Article.99 of the
constitution for transaction of business by the federal government been held
to have a binding force and have to be strictly adhered to by the appellant
before taking any decision. Thus the appellant had offered valid
716

justification with respect to his own conduct regarding the implementation

of Para 178 of the NRO judgment. It was a valid justification on the part of
the appellant that he acted in accordance with the advice given to him, which
too was in compliance of the aforesaid Rules of Business and the appellant
had no reason to believe otherwise.
Moreover, a decision taken by the appellant on the basis of legal
advice would be covered under the provisions clause (1) of article 248. In
view of the foregoing, the appellant had a right to show that the directions in
the judgment in the NRO case had entirely been acted upon, except those
that had already been acted upon before that judgment; or, such as were
impossible to be acted upon due to there being no proceedings pending in
respect thereof, in Switzerland; or such that would be impossible owing to
an immunity allowed to all incumbent heads of state by international law.
The apex court has itself held that Rules of Business are binding and
mandatory. The advice of the Law Department is crucial towards the
interpretation of the law, including judgments of this court, and action of a
prime minister on such advice is immune from criminality. The prime
minister does not commit a crime when, even after having accepted the
advice of the Law Minister and the Law Secretary, he writes expressly that:
The law secretary, as well as the Attorney General for Pakistan may
appropriately explain the position to the Honble Supreme Court.
The prime minister cannot be even issued a show cause for contempt
of this Honble Court leave alone being indicted for it. Such conduct cannot
be described as contempt of this Honble Court, leave alone talk of willful
contempt. Furthermore, a prime minister who undid the draconian action of
a dictator (of arresting judges of the superior courts, including the chief
justice and his children) even before he had taken oath as prime minister,
cannot be presumed to have contemplated committing contempt.
In any case, it is not contempt of court to remind the court that its
orders may not be actionable abroad and thus may jeopardize its esteem. It is
not contempt of this Honble Court to thereby try to maintain its esteem. The
incumbent prime minister is being dealt with in a manner far worse than
real, actual and blatant contemnors, who sacked the superior courts and their
judges in November 2007.
PPP Core Committee approved the draft of a tentative agreement
reached with PML-N-led opposition parties for the unanimous passage of
20th constitutional amendment from the parliament. Zardari and Gilani who
co-chaired the meeting reiterated their partys wish to continue the policy of
717

reconciliation and consensus. Earlier in the day efforts at securing a full

consensus on the 20th amendment bill did not bear fruit as the negotiating
teams decided to meet again.
Khurshid Shah briefed the party leaders on the negotiations with the
PML-N for the smooth passage of the amendment and the proposals on
which both sides agreed for making the interim setup neutral and
independent, which would be made part of the amendment. He informed that
it was agreed between the two sides that a parliamentary committee
comprising members of the national assembly with equal strength from
ruling and opposition sides would be made which would finalize the names
for the interim setup to ensure its neutrality. The same procedure would be
adopted for making interim setup at provincial level where the equal number
of treasury and opposition members in the respective provincial assembly
would appoint such a setup with consensus.
After the PPP leadership gave approval to these agreements, the draft
would be put up before PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif so it could then
culminate into a final accord after agreement on the remaining points too. It
was further decided in the meeting that prime minister would appear before
the apex court if asked and would fully comply with the dictates of the court.
The party leadership also discussed the matters pertaining to partys
relations with the coalition partners and it was agreed that genuine concerns
of the partners would be addressed keeping in view the mutual benefit and
interests. The party leaders who attended the meeting reposed their full
confidence in the party leadership and their policies.
Demonstrations against gas load shedding in Faisalabad turned
violent. Protesters stopped Pakistan Express and clashed with Police. About
one hundred protesters were detained. In Gujranwala a court ordered
registration of cases against 8 SHOs for patronizing gas theft.
As the court proceedings began on 9 th February, the CJ showed
displeasure over certain parts of the 200-page draft of the appeal. The
premiers appeal had said it would be ironic to send to prison a
democratically elected prime minister who had released detained judges of
the court even before taking oath as the chief executive. Justice Chaudhry
remarked that a countrys prime minister should have high ethical standards
and that the language of the appeal gave the impression that the premier
wanted to influence the courts judgment.
The chief justice questioned Ahsan on how he (Gilani) could include
paragraphs in his appeal which say that the contempt case cannot be initiated
718

against a prime minister who helped in restoring the judges. Ahsan, in reply,
said that even if a contempt case was initiated against him, keeping in view
his struggles for the restoration of the judges, he would have taken the same
stance. The court said relief was being sought in return for so-called favours.
We do not know how you were convinced to write such things in the
appeal, the CJ remarked. By the grace of Allah we did not bow before
those who considered themselves powerful, he added.
Justice Tariq Parvez in his remarks said that the prime minister keeps
reiterating that he freed the judges and that whatever a prime minister does,
he does in his official capacity. We refused to take oath under the PCO and
did not request anyone to reinstate us, Justice Parvez said. The three
objectionable paragraphs of the draft appeal were later removed on the
directions of the CJ, after Aitzaz and the advocate on record agreed.
He said that Gilani was appearing before the court in a personal
capacity and if convicted, he would be sent to jail not as the prime minister,
but as a citizen. He also maintained that the court should dispose of the
contempt notice, saying that the case is not one of contempt whether the
prime minister is right or wrong. Aitzaz argued as per the Rules of Business
the PM followed advice of law secretary and attorney general therefore has
not committed any contempt.
Justice Saqib inquired from the learned counsel why the PM not
applied his mind to take stance on the summary. He said summary is actually
the proposal and has no binding effect. He further asked should the PM
follow the advice given to him by the law ministry or need to follow orders
of the Supreme Court. Aitzaz maintained there was no willful disobedience
on the PMs part and he had good faith in not writing the letter.
The bench remarked that instead of asking to dispose of the notice, the
prime minister should be asked to tender a statement of repent and assure the
court that he will comply with its orders. The counsel said that it is not the
duty of the Supreme Court to enforce the orders, but is the responsibility of
the High Court. The bench, in response, said that the High Court can
proceed with the case, but even then there would be no way out. You have
to implement the judgment in any case, the chief justice said, addressing
himself to Aitzaz. You have to persuade the chief executive that this is court
judgment and you have to implement it, the CJ insisted.
Justice Saqib Nasir asked the learned counsel that the NRO judgment
has to be implemented at all cost and for that give us the options how the
para 178 of judgment would be given effect in letter and spirit. Your client
719

was issued show-cause notice as he was not implementing the 17-member

benchs judgment. Aitzaz said that he was prime minister of Pakistan. The
chief justice remarked it does not mean that being a PM he ridicules the
judgment of the apex court.
The chief justice insisted that the prime minister should have taken the
initiative in re-opening those cases instead of defending chairperson of his
party. He said in the interest of the nation, being the chief executive of the
country, it was the duty of the prime minister to implement the court order.
The court said it had shown patience in the two years and three
months, since it ordered that the matter be taken up with the Swiss
authorities. The judges, CJ Chaudhry said, had taken their oaths under the
constitution of Pakistan and gave judgments in accordance to it. The prime
minister should not be the person to undermine any institution. This money
will not come to our pockets. Actually it is the nation which wants this
money, the chief justice said.
Justice Khawaja inquired whether the government has probed how
much money was lying outside the country. We should not feel ashamed
that the money lying in Swiss banks pertains to money-laundering cases, but
have to see this as national wealth, the court observed. The chief justice said
that huge amount of national wealth is lying in Swiss banks. Yousuf Raza
Gilani is representative of 180 million people of Pakistan and he was elected
without any opposition. The prime minister should rise above the party
affiliation.
The court noted that President Asif Ali Zardari in an interview to
Hamid Mir, an anchorperson of a private channel, stated that letter to Swiss
authorities would not be written. Aitzaz said that for almost one year the
court did not take up the NRO case. The chief justice said: We have shown
restraint.
The court questioned what are the impediments in writing letter to
Swiss authorities if the government says there was nothing in Switzerland?
Aitzaz Ahsan said even if the government writes to Swiss authorities on the
Supreme Court order, it would be great embarrassment if the Swiss courts
refused to accept apex court verdict. Justice Saqib Nisar remarked the shame
for Supreme Court would be when the government will refuse to implement
its judgment, while under Article 190 the executive and all other authorities
are bound to obey apex court judgments.
Aitzaz said that international law grants immunity to the head of the
state. Justice Saqib said that if the international law has immunity for the
720

president then those could not be imposed domestically. He argued that the
court should not use contempt of court (CoC) notices as tool to implement
its order. Justice remarked that the power of CoC will always be with the
court to implement its orders.
Aitzaz said that money could be brought back from the Switzerland
after the conviction. Following that the Pakistan government will have thirdparty right to bring back money. But present position is that the cases of
NRO beneficiaries stand closed. He said in 1997 numerous documents under
International Mutual Legal Assistance were brought to Pakistan.
The chief justice said these things were not brought before the
knowledge of the apex court at the time of appeal and review petitions,
while Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and he himself (CJP) asked the
federations counsel that whether he wanted to seek immunity under Article
248. The court directed Gilanis counsel to complete his arguments on
Friday by 10:30am and adjourned.
Zardari said there were very few politicians, who had been benefited
by the NRO, as most of the cases were related to criminals and bureaucrats.
He asked the politicians not to target each other, just like the generals and
the judges, who never got involved in infighting. The president was
addressing a dinner hosted in honour of the outgoing senators at the
Presidency.
The Council of Common Interest (CCI) approved in principle, the
Petroleum Exploration and Production Policy 2012. After a presentation by
Sindh Chief Minister, Prime Minister directed the Planning and
Development and Economic Affairs divisions to provide full support in
arranging funds for the Thar coal project on a priority basis.
Chief Justice took suo motu notice of Lahore factory collapse. Threemember bench headed by Justice Shakirullah Jan would hear the case on
Friday. The report said that the CJ took notice on note written by Justice
Shakirullah Jan and Justice Khilji Arif. The death toll in the collapse of
factory reached 26.
Contempt case of Babar Awan was adjourned till 20th February.
Railways Minister said his resignation was no solution to the problem to the
plight of rail network. PPP claimed that consensus has been reached on 29 th
Amendment. PTI accused government and opposition were reaching
underhand agreement.

721

On 10th February, the Supreme Court (SC) rejected the Intra Court
Appeal (ICA) filed by Prime Minister against the verdict of a smaller bench
for framing charges of contempt of court against him. Gilani will now have
to appear before the SC on February 13 for contempt proceedings.
The CJ again said he wanted a clear answer on whether the prime
minister would write the letter, telling his lawyer: We are ready to give you
10 minutes to talk to the prime minister on the phone and let us know. I
have no mandate to do that, replied Aitzaz Ahsan. No one wants unrest. We
are exercising restraint, the CJ observed. Tell the prime minister this is not
in the interests of the country (to defy the court order), he told Ahsan.
Next day, Registrar Islamabad High Court rejected application filed to
challenge restoration of deposed judges of Supreme Court including Chief
Justice. The applicant contended restoration of the judges under executive
order was in complete violation of the Constitution. However, it was yet to
be accepted or rejected for hearing by the court registrar.
Addressing a public gathering in Jaranwala Prime Minister hinted he
was prepared to forego his office, saying it was time leaders rendered
sacrifices. Nawaz Sharif has said that defiance of the judicial decisions is
akin to weakening the base on which the whole democratic structure rests.
Implementation of the court decisions is imperative not only for the stability
of the constitutional institutions but also for the smooth running of the
democratic system.
The State Bank of Pakistan on Saturday announced to keep its key
policy rate unchanged at 12 per cent for the next two months in a bid to
contain expected inflation in the second half of the fiscal year 2011-12. The
move came as fastest inflation in Asia after Vietnam curbs scope to ease
policy and bolster economic growth.
On 12th February, all eyes are on the Supreme Court and legal experts
were of the opinion that if found guilty of court contempt, the prime minister
can face prison and disqualification from his office, besides losing his
parliamentary seat and a five-year ban on holding any public office. The
prime minister has two options: one, he seeks unconditional apology from
the court for non-compliance of orders and expresses his willingness to write
the letter to the Swiss authorities; two, he sticks to the stance that Zardari
enjoys immunity.
However, there is greater possibility that Prime Minister Gilani would
opt for the second course. He had reportedly indicated in his interview with
Al Jazeera TV channel that if convicted he would resign. However, the
722

Prime Ministers House in a clarification said there was no question of his

resignation as the PM would automatically stand disqualified if convicted.
In the event of his refusal to write the letter, Gilani would face the
proceedings until conviction that could land him in prison for at least six
months. But President Zardari, who is also Co-Chairman of the ruling PPP,
could exercise his powers as President of Pakistan to pardon the prime
minister.
Abrar Saeed reported: The coalition partners of the ruling Pakistan
Peoples Party advised President Asif Ali Zardari to avoid confrontation with
judiciary as it would have negative fallout on the incumbent political
dispensation as well as the future of democracy in the country.
All the coalition partners of the government were against
confrontation with apex judiciary and all of them had advised President
Zardari to play cool in the apex court in the contempt of court case. Except
ANP all the coalition partners would not stand with PPP in case of clash
with the superior judiciary and they had tacitly conveyed the message to PPP
leadership as well.
Sources further informed that President Asif Ali Zardari was also of
the view that the party would not go for confrontation with Supreme Court
of Pakistan and would devise the future strategy in the light of the court
decision in the case and would most likely project the party image as victim
and not as oppressor.
Earlier, in a Core Committee meeting of the party held under the chair
of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, after participants blowing hot and
cold, the saner elements prevailed and it was decided that party would not
take any hostile posture against the judiciary and would face the brunt with
fortitude and patience.
On the other hand in the earlier meeting of the Core Committee of the
party which was held under the chair of Prime Minister Gilani at Prime
Minister House some of the hawkish elements in the party blew hot and cold
against the superior judiciary and some of them even asked the prime
minister to withdraw the notification which lead to the restoration of the
judges to their slots after remaining under suspension for several months.
Sources in the party informed that the senior party leaders which later
joined the meeting at Awan-i-Sadr were present in the Core Committee
meeting it was finally decided that PPP would not take any hostile posture in
the Supreme Court and the prime ministers demeanour in the court would

723

remain that of a gentleman which he demonstrated on his previous

appearance on Feb 2.
The legal wizards of the party threw light on the legal implications of
the case and it was the consensus view of the legal team of the prime
minister that the merits of the case be presented before the court and the
court would be convinced that all what had done by the prime minister was
in good faith and there was no intention, whatsoever, to defy the dictates of
the apex court. Before the Core Committee meeting Prime Minister Gilani
had long telephonic conversion with his counsel Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, who
could not attend the meeting due to some personal reasons.
Legal and constitutional experts commenting on volatile situation said
that the chances of Prime Minister Gilanis acquittal in the contempt case are
bright, as the focus of the case would likely turn towards the debate on the
merits of article 248, providing immunity to President of Pakistan in
criminal cases as long as he is holding the office of president. These experts
said that Gilani could easily save his skin by simply submitting before the
court that article 248 of the constitution bars him to write letter to the Swiss
authorities and in his mind he had acted as per the constitution of Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court administration took a number of
security measures ahead of the hearing. Special security cameras were
installed in the courtrooms, at public entry gates and reception areas of the
court. The office of additional registrar, Supreme Court, would issue the
passes. Entry into court building would be allowed after checking/frisking
and searching of bags/purses etc. No mobile phones would be allowed inside
the courtroom.
Imran Khan said the corruption is the biggest problem plaguing the
country. Talking to the media on his arrival at Karachi Airport said the rulers
were responsible for rampant corruption in the country. He urged the public
to forge unity against the corrupt rulers.
Referring to Prime Ministers contempt of court issue, the PTI chief
reiterated his partys support to the judiciary. He added that billions of
rupees were looted from the country. About the ISIs alleged involvement in
funding political parties to defeat the PPP, he said the case was already in the
Supreme Court and everyone knew who took money from the ISI in
elections.
The PML-N announced the names of its candidates for the upcoming
senate elections. Zulfiqar Khosa, Rafiq Rajwana, M. Hamza and Zafarullah
Dhandla will be the candidates for the general seats. Ishaq Dar will contest
724

the technocrat seat while Kamran Michael will be the candidate for the
minority seat. Nasba Aamir Sadiq will be candidate for the womens seat.
The PPP awarded tickets to two diehard party workers ignoring
Zardaris close aides. PPP circles have hailed the decision of awarding
Senate tickets to party workers describing it a matter of happiness for old
PPP guards who had been giving vent to their anger over party policies in
the past. Aslam Gill is likely to contest against a general seat, and in that
case, one of the two other ticket holders, Aitzaz Ahsan and Babar Awan, will
have to file nomination papers against a technocrat seat.
The PML-Q has nominated only one candidate, Kamil Ali Agha, from
Punjab as a result of seat adjustment with the PPP. Negotiations among the
parties are underway to make the upcoming Senate polls end up unopposed,
though there is some resentment within the parties over the move.
Firdous Ashiq Awan said the government is taking concrete steps to
overcome energy and gas crisis. She announced that one more gas pipeline is
being laid down from Wazirabad to Sialkot to resolve the problem of gas
shortage in the city. We are focusing to generate electricity from hydel
power which is cheaper and also directed provinces to initiate small projects
to overcome the energy crisis, she said.

VIEWS
On 10th February, M A Niazi commented: Though the Prime Minister
seems intent on fighting the contempt charge, and even though his appeal on
Thursday was heard by the Supreme Court and turned down, the question
remains: Why is he so intent on protecting the President? One reason
seems to be that he holds his position because of the President, and once
he leaves it, he will not get it back again. However, by not protecting the
President, he would be accounted in PPP circles a failure. More important,
that is how he would be accounted in PPP Co-Chairman Bilawal ZardariBhuttos eyes.
The argument that the letter would be written after the President
leaves office may not have been persuasive in getting the appeal accepted,
and so it is unlikely to be very successful in the trial itself, but as the PMs
counsel does not have much else to argue, it will probably be raised at
the trial.

725

The consequences of the PMs conviction are very serious. It means

straining the Constitution to its maximum limits. It is even possible to
sympathize with Mr Gilani, at the figure he will cut, of a Prime Minister
convicted of contempt of court, and thus under threat of disqualification, but
not allowed to dissolve, awaiting the time when he will have to vacate
office. However, probably of greater importance will be the consequences
to the country, which has already suffered from having a Prime
Minister, who has to answer to the President, not to Parliament. The PM
may see as his primary duty the defence of the President, not the solution of
the problems of the people, the reason for which they voted in this
Parliament, which gave both President and Prime Minister their offices.
Next day, TheNation observed: The Supreme Court turned down, on
Friday, the Prime Ministers appeal against the show cause notice There is
no doubt that the apex court has demonstrated remarkable restraint in
the face governments defiant attitude to its orders. There were
observations galore made by Mr Gilani, though, even on the floor of the
National Assembly which questioned the justification of judiciarys
interference in the executive domain. In fact, it was pointed out by the
court to the Prime Ministers counsel Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan that in order to
avoid the possibility of any discontent or turmoil in the country, the judges
adopted a soft posture, yet there could be no compromise on obeying the
court. Mr Gilani, it would be recalled, had stuck to the position that the
government had no intention of writing to the Swiss respecting the wishes of
the PPP, rather than asking for the reopening of the cases in compliance with
the courts wishes. The Prime Minister was given another chance during the
inter-court hearing on Thursday to write to the Swiss authorities in order for
the court to drop the idea of indicting him. But his attorney could not give
any assurance to that effect, thus losing a golden opportunity of having the
case against his client dropped.
The only attitude befitting a democratic order would have been
an unqualified and unquestioned obedience to judicial decisions.
Defiance at the highest echelons of power, in particular, only threaten the
system so painstakingly reinstituted in the country. That Pakistan has to face
a situation unheard of in a civilized society functioning on democratic
principles in itself constitutes the greatest indictment on its ruling leadership.
The sooner this attitude is dropped the better for the nation and the future of
democracy in the country.
The News wrote: The Supreme Court on Friday threw out an appeal
by embattled Prime Minister So theres another court decision and more
726

mounting anxiety. But the rejection of the prime ministers intra-court appeal
by the eight-member bench did not come as a surprise. The learned counsel
was able to offer nothing that was new on Friday. He ventured to some
degree towards the related issue of presidential immunity, but then backed
away from this and held steadfastly to his clients old mantra of not
implementing the NRO verdict handed down by a full bench of the Supreme
Court. Still, despite the fact that the brilliant Aitzaz brought none of his
brilliance to the proceedings, he was given a patient hearing by the larger
bench, a fact also ceded by him. Legal arguments notwithstanding, the court
also offered every possible opportunity to the prime minister to walk away
from a possible eventual conviction by performing the simplest of acts:
placing obedience to rule of law over party loyalties; doing the right thing
over doing what the boss would approve of. Clearly the premiers priorities
are different.
Now, the next step will be the formal framing of contempt of court
charges on the prime minister come February 13. If the court rejects Aitzazs
pleadings at that stage, as is expected, we will see a full blown trial. It is
indeed unfortunate that politics is being played by the ruling party in what is
clearly a straightforward judicial matter that has attained legal finality. The
ruling partys dilemma, that the implementation of the NRO verdict will
harm the PPPs co-chairman, is certainly understandable but it is in no
way condonable. If anything, it has thrown the country into another
unsettling storm of what-ifs. Indeed, while the prime minister may emerge a
political hero within his own party ranks. whether he is spared or speared by
the court, Pakistan will inevitably be damaged by these destabilising flurry
of events. The country needs political stability, economic certainty, an
anxiety-free polity and, above all, a system based on the inalienable
principle of the supremacy of rule of law. The buck stops with the prime
minister to make all this happen. And he can still do the right thing by
implementing the apex courts verdict. It is still within his grasp to prevent
the political system from descending into another needless spiral of
uncertainty, the consequence of which will be a certain contempt conviction.
Will better sense prevail? While everything about this governments trackrecord suggests no, the well-wishers of Pakistan cant help but keep
praying.
Babar Sattar observed: Given the feeble arguments in the intra-court
appeal filed by the prime minister against the decision of the apex court to
frame charges in the contempt case, its dismissal was a foregone conclusion.
The manner in which the bench led by the chief justice conducted the
727

proceedings made justice stand tall. But unfortunately the text of the intracourt appeal included within it an obituary of spirit that drove the rule of law
movement.
Aitzaz Ahsan had ably led the movement for constitutionalism and
rule of law that galvanized this nation and unleashed winds of change. The
combination of his political dexterity and legal acumen deserves all credit
for enamouring ordinary people with the idea that in Pakistan law can be
king. When Prime Minister Gilani stood in parliament on that historic day of
March 2008 and announced that his first order as prime minister would be to
release the deposed judges from illegal detention, people had tears in their
eyes. These were tears of joy inspired by the sense that democracy and
rule of law were finally being wedded together in Pakistan.
But the joy was short-lived. Even disregarding how the PPP-led
government dragged its feet over the restoration issue, the manner in which
it has conducted itself as the executive and the ruling party over the last four
years has nurtured the destructive notion that democracy and rule of law are
pitted against one another.
The proceedings in the intra-court appeal on Thursday probably
exposed the falsity of this projected duel when Aitzaz Ahsan stood in Court
Room No 1 and called in the favour the prime minister had done the judges
now sitting in judgment over the conduct of the prime minister. The
contempt case is now largely an open and shut case, its importance lying
primarily in the political consequences it could produce. The real
significance of this case is not legal or even political, but sociological. It
provides an insight into the mindset of our ruling elite and our collective
approach to state authority, patronage, loyalty and rule of law.
It is hard to see how parts of the appeal reminding the judges that the
prime minister now being tried for contempt had released them (and their
kids) from illegal detention were meant to emphasize the high esteem in
which Gilani supposedly holds the judges. The reminders were in bad
taste to put it mildly, as also noted by the judges. But they raise crucial
questions not just about the nature and exercise of state authority, but also
the rationale of the rule of law movement. Lets start with the latter.
What was this movement about? Was it merely a service matter,
to use legal jargon, limited to getting wrongfully dismissed judges their jobs
back? Or was it about ensuring that the courts in Pakistan become neutral
arbiters of the law, rule of law restrains whims of rulers, and the judicial
system ensures legal equality for ordinary citizens and reduces the gap
728

between the letter of the law and its practice? If the lawyers movement was
about a higher ideal aimed at reigning in abuse of state authority,
perpetration of injustice and strengthening constitutionalism and democracy,
wasnt restoration of judges only the means to this worthy end? In standing
behind the rule of law and restoration of judges, didnt every lawyer and
citizen stand for his personal cause i.e. building a state decent enough to live
in and raise ones kids?
The biggest failing of the rule of law movement was that it
cultivated within lawyers active in the movement a sense of entitlement
and an expectation of reward for their role in facilitating the restoration of
the judges. Those who were of age thought they deserved to become judges.
Those who were beyond that stage in their careers thought they deserved
preferential treatment in courts. The younger ones thought they had a licence
to indulge in hooliganism.
And the biggest failing of the restored judges was that they did
not quell this sense of entitlement. The appointment of judges to the high
courts and the Supreme Court at times affirmed the impression that loyalty
during the movement was being rewarded. Bar councils got divided on the
basis of allegiance to restored judges. Elections were won and lost on
grounds of closeness to the bench.
The reminder during court proceedings on Thursday that the
prime minister was a key benefactor of judges was a culmination of this
toxic trend. The judges handled it well. Enough time has now passed for the
hangover of restoration to subside and the nonsense about lawyers being
foot soldiers of the court to wither away.
When the prime minister ordered the release of the judges, did he not
exercise state authority vested in him to undo an illegality? Is the chief
executive of the country not a fiduciary mandated to exercise public
authority in accordance with the law and the Constitution? What is Gilanis
self-perception of his job and the responsibilities it brings along if
upholding the law and doing the right thing seems to him to be doing
others a favour?
Isnt that the larger problem with exercise of public authority in this
country that even elected representatives treat state authority as a
handmaiden meant to benefit and patronize individuals and not a trust to
be discharged for the collective good of all citizens? Do elected public office
holders ever consider that once elected they have a solemn duty to serve all
citizens and not just the local clique that secured their electoral victory?
729

Will we ever graduate from the present state where the

government is an assemblage of personalized networks of patronage to
one where parties are judged on the basis of the system of governance and
the policies they propose to bring along? And can it even happen in a society
where loyalty is meant to be unconditional and all criticism personal?
At the back of the melodrama this country is presently enduring
is the simple matter of legal charges brought against the PPPs cochairperson in Switzerland, that carry the possibility of establishing that he
is corrupt. And the largest political party of this country (together with its
political allies) has sprung into action to ensure that the veracity of charges
against the person of Asif Zardari is not determined.
Such idol-worship and blind allegiance to individuals transcends
political parties and characterizes all our state and societal institutions.
Abraham Lincoln had famously stated: I am not bound to win, but I am
bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the
light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with
him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.
Is our sense of loyalty such that it will always demand of us to
stand with a comrade whether he is right or wrong? Must devotion to an
individual or a cause trump ones ability to say it as it is? Is flattery and
hypocrisy now an integral part of our national character?
The change that we crave will not be brought about by a change
of faces. Instead the choice of a different lot to lead the nation will be the
consequence of a preceding change in our existing individual and collective
attitudes and preferences that are neither compatible with the spirit of
democracy nor with rule of law.
We must realize that in a constitutional democracy legal
accountability and political accountability are complementary concepts
and the latter is not a substitute for the former. And in a civilized country
ruled by the law, those who hold law in contempt and celebrate its defiance
are criminals and not heroes.
Inayatullah observed: What takes the cake in the current picture of
the country is the cavalier way the verdicts and directives of the highest
court have been and are being defied so to say, to save the boss. The
Prime Minister has repeatedly refused to obey the Supreme Court order to
write the letter to the Swiss courts.

730

It is sad how an honourable and capable lawyer, like Aitzaz

Ahsan, is playing party politics in his arguments before the court. We all
know how the deposed judges were restored. Aitzaz himself was the
recipient of a phone call from the Chief of Army Staff about the decision to
restore the judges. It was much later in the night that the Prime Minister
followed this development when he formally announced the decision.
For Aitzaz to advance the plea that the Prime Minister had
obliged the Supreme Court by restoring them was, to say the least,
inappropriate. Again referring to the PMs acceptance of advice from
government legal officials as a ground for not obeying the courts order was,
indeed, inapt.
Dr Haider Mehdi wrote: I suggest that, for the sake of deliberation,
we look at the political agenda of Tehrik-i-Insaf. Let us put Imran Khan
aside for the time being as a hopeful in the future political landscape of the
country. Let us simply analyze what he says and has been saying, what he
has done in the past and what he promises to do for the nation in the future.
Lets examine how Khans envisioned and planned socio-economic-political
prescriptions can bring the country out of its present crisis, and how the
country can be saved from internal and external subversive and ruinous
political discourse.
There are two distinct and yet intrinsically linked areas in this
respect: a) the ongoing economic meltdown with its significant negative
socio-cultural fallouts; and b) externally linked issues of foreign policy,
foreign alliances, national sovereignty, stability and peace associated with
major external interventions in Pakistans domestic policy and national
decision-making. It is hoped that the PTI will offer the nation a
comprehensive economic-financial plan by the end of the month for national
scrutiny and analysis. It is only then that the people will be able to determine
the credibility, viability and implicit promise in the PTI agenda of change
and socio-economic equality necessary for an Islamic welfare State. That is
a fundamental challenge that its leadership must address and offer with a
visionary and realistic approach.
As for national stability, integration, peace and the issues of foreign
policy and external alliances, Imran seems to have already taken bold and
impressive initiatives. He has been consistently vocal on ending the socalled war on terror, the need for a fresh reengagement with the US and
Western Europe, ending external interventions in Pakistans domestic affairs,

731

resilience in economic self-reliance, ending dependence on foreign loans and

US aid, and the exercise of full sovereign rights as a nation.
Imrans latest sincere reflection on political change and justice for all
has been his ingenuity to talk to Baloch leaders in Dubai, readjust the date of
PTIs Quetta jalsah on their demand, make plans to travel to London for
further talks with them and to bring Balochs nationalists back into
mainstream politics. The Baloch leaders reaction to his initiative has been
very positive and it is good news for Pakistans stability and salamati. Be
mindful that Balochistans plight is Pakistans top priority issue and the
PTIs chairperson is already taking steps for its peaceful resolution. By far,
his most impressive accomplishment has been the political mobilization of
the Pakistani people: From all segments of the society, men, women, young,
middle-aged and even the elderly. Let us see if the PTI becomes successful
to move the Balochi people on a massive scale in Quetta soon. That will be a
test of his political popularity and political effectiveness. It seems that
Imran Khans message to the people of Pakistan is: Uttho, jaago, badal
doh, Pakistan! (Arise, wake up and transform Pakistan!).
On 13th February, The News wrote: When the express train is coming
down the track with its horn blaring it is a good idea to get out of the way.
The horn will have been heard when the train was still far away. Other
warnings of its approach will have sounded. But the government stands there
bland-faced and smiling, and the impact is imminent. The horn in todays
scenario is the State Bank of Pakistan and the train it is attached to is
the economy. Government finance is not a simple matter of in one pocket
and out of the other. It is a complex weave of educated guessing, outright
gamble, calculated risk and sober book-keeping and prudent and thrifty
housekeeping. Prudent and thrifty are not part of the script for the current
dispensation. The SBP has reiterated what financial analysts have been
saying for months that our financial woes are in large part driven by the
government borrowing from itself, from the SBP, and that this is increasing
inflationary pressure with a rise to 11 or 12 percent by the end of this year
now inevitable.
The gamble for the government is whether support funding which
will slow or halt the erosion of forex reserves will come to the rescue. It is
too late now in this term for the structural reforms that might have averted
the current crisis, so hopes are being pinned on payment of $800 million into
the Coalition Support Fund; and the auction of the 3G licences which is
expected to bring in $850 million. Even if these gambles pay off, they are
short-term solutions to a chronic problem. International oil prices are
732

unlikely to fall and may rise sharply if the face-off between Iran and the US
worsens; and our own imports of oil and oil products rose by 33.7 percent to
a value of $19.7 billion in the last H1 FY12. The government has borrowed
(from itself, remember) Rs197 billion between July 1 last year and Feb 3 this
year, a 25.8 percent growth year on year, and tax collection falls far below
the target alongside ever-shrinking inwards investment driven by domestic
insecurity and a lack of confidence by investors. How we finance the fiscal
internal and external current account deficits is a massive challenge,
and the SBP has blown the horn as loudly as it can. Whether the
government has heard the horn is entirely a matter of speculation. Is it even
capable of hearing, embroiled in the ear-deafening din of massive corruption
and a stampede for its survival?
Ikramullah observed: The intra court appeal filed by Prime Minister
Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani against the decision of the apex court to frame
charges in the contempt case, has been rejected The decision was final,
since the eight-member bench hearing the intra court appeal had provided
ample opportunities to amicably settle the contempt issue. But Barrister
Aitzaz, instead of saying that the letter would be written in order to save
his client from the consequences, took this opportunity as give-take
bargaining. The Chief Justices offer was not heeded, giving the
impression that the Prime Minister, as he declared would rather go to jail
than write the letter to the Swiss authorities. It seems, however, that the PM
has been left with no other options, but to appear before the court on
February 13 to face contempt charges.
Whatever happens, one can imagine that this case will make history
and be long debated for the consequences that the judgment shall apply. The
issue shall follow legal and constitutional course of action, resulting in
conviction, if not an honourable acquittal. In democratic countries, usually
the Prime Minister resigns before reaching such a situation. But Aitzaz has
ruled out this possibility, which was reflected in his brief statement before
the media and after the rejection of the intra court appeal by stating that his
client should be present before the court on February 13. Perhaps, the
constitutional expert has something up his sleeve, since he did not
choose the option offered by the Chief Justice on February 10.
The President would, most likely, exercise his constitutional
power of pardon. But it is likely to raise a debate whether the constitutional
pardon can whitewash contempt charges itself in the manner that money
laundering turns the black money into white. Perhaps, some circles feel that

733

the presidential pardon can enable Gilani to continue holding office of the
PM.
`
Regardless of high moral ground that the Prime Minister should
enjoy, Pakistan will suffer if an attempt is made to reinstate Gilani. The
best course would be to appoint a new PM through an in-house change. In
spite of this, it should be remembered that the letter issue cannot be put on
the backburner; it will be equally applicable to the new Chief Executive. If
he, however, follows Gilanis footsteps, he will meet the same fate!
It is quite evident that Pakistan cannot afford such a ridiculous
situation and yet call itself a democracy. The question, however, remains:
Under such a political environment, can Parliament complete its tenure and
will the next elections be held on due date? It is time that the political
leadership seriously think and work out solid programmes before the next
general elections.

REVIEW
Aitzaz Ahsan, who sang in praise of rule of law through length and
breadth of Pakistan, was now defending the Saint and the Scoundrel, the two
men at the top of the ruling elite which have defied the law to the best of
their evil prowess. Reportedly, he has charged Rs100 only from the Saint but
the payment to be made by the Scoundrel in kind is never mentioned a seat
in the Senate of Pakistan.
It is not an easy thing to defend a naked king. The best option is to
yell like the child and say king is naked. Unfortunately, like Gilanis
loyalty to the Scoundrel, Aitzaz Ahsans loyalty also prohibited him from
accepting the naked reality. He, therefore, wove a fabric to cover up exterior
and posterior of the Saint that stood naked before his nation.
The fabric so woven and presented before the Supreme Court had 54
threads. The golden strand of this precious fabric carried a clear message
for the judges not to punish the culprit because he had done a favour to them
by freeing them from illegal detention ordered by a military dictator. This
fabric ought to have made the Saint more naked.
The judges of the superior judiciary must at least understand that
masses know that the king id absolutely naked, if not they care for what the
people want. They have often conveyed very clear messages that they want
speedy justice, especially against plunderers and looters. Recently, a

734

message came from Multan where the residents got hold of three
robbers/dacoits and thrashed them at will.
If the judges cant perform the duty assigned to them let the people do
that. Hand over some of these distinguished plunderers to them and the will
make an example of them. If the judges dont favour such out of court
dispensation of justice, they should at least learn a lesson from what a
British judge did to purge Pakistani cricket of criminal elements by sending
three players to jail and the result so produced.
Indications are that the judges have resolved to establish the rule of
law and punish those who defy them. This was made quite clear when
Aitzazs fifty-four points elaborated over two hundred pages intended to buy
time could only get him no more than two days.
The Don and his gang also seemed determined to defy the judges and
a dangerous element has been added to their defiance. Aitzaz is a meekly
defiant person as compared to Babar Awan who was irritatingly crude in
defying the court. It could mean that in the longer run a quieter dog could
prove more harmful than the barking one.
13th February, 2012

CONTEMPT COMPOUNDED
Till the eve of appearing before the Supreme Court, Gilani and other
PPP leaders continued harping loud and clear that no letter would be written
to Swiss authorities. When the charge sheet on the same count was read out
in the court room, Gilani rejected the charge and vowed to contest.
And, outside the Supreme Court Gilanis information minister and
Zardaris spokesman were compounding the contempt by reiterating that
Para 178 of the NRO verdict would never be implemented, yet the bench
gave two weeks to AGP and Aitzaz to prepare prosecution and defence
respectively for the contempt case. It was quite intriguing that both of them
were men of choice of the accused.
The prevalent situation was aptly described by the renowned
cartoonist Maxim. In one of his latest cartoons for TheNation he showed a

735

man lying on rail-track and telling his wife standing besides him: Begum if
train comes I will be a martyr; if it doesnt come I will be a martyr. The man
was Saint from Multan and Prime Minister of Pakistan.
He knew very well that through courtesy of GA Bilour the trains
seldom come in Pakistan. And, even the danger so depicted has never
materialized in Pakistan. The judicial trains often come rumbling and rattling
contempt but always stopped short of crushing anyone. Gilani being
descendant of Ghaus-ul-Azam must have been blessed with revelation that
no train would turn up.
But many Pakistanis hoped that the train might come this time. With
bundles of evidence submitted and copy of that handed over to the counsel
of Gilani, now a Senator, the people expected some logical outcome of the
proceedings that would commence from February 28.

NEWS
On 13th February, Prime Minister Gilani arrived at the Supreme Court
along with Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Asfandyar Wali, federal ministers,
Governor Punjab and a large number of members of the parliament and
leaders belonging to PPP. He was indicted for contempt of court for willfully
defying the Supreme Court judgment requiring him to write to Swiss
authorities for reopening cases against the NRO beneficiaries, including
President Zardari. If convicted, Gilani could be imprisoned for six months
and face possible removal from office after being disqualified from holding
public office for five years.
The prime minister appeared in person and within minutes of
appearing Justice Nasirul Mulk read out the indictment. Gilani pleaded not
guilty and said he would defend his case. Two-page charge-sheet signed by
all seven judges of the bench read. Attorney General was asked by the apex
court to act as the prosecutor by the Court. He would produce the relevant
documents and list of the witnesses by February 16 and then exhibit them in
the court on February 22. The court dismissed Barrister Zafarullahs plea to
become party in the case.
Gilanis counsel Aitzaz Ahsan said: I have to file nomination paper
for Senate in Lahore and from 18th to 21st (of February) I will be in London
so give me time to file the reply. The court adjourned hearing of the case till
February 22, asking Aitzaz to file the defence document and list of the

736

witnesses by February 27. The evidence of the defence will be recorded on

28th, after that, a date will be set for trial.
Some experts pointed out that President Zardari could pardon Gilani
by using his powers. S M Zafar was of the view that if Gilani is convicted
and is granted a presidential pardon, the amnesty would apply only to the
punishment handed down by the court while the conviction would remain on
record. Therefore, he says, the premier could be disqualified despite securing
presidential pardon.
In the wake of NROs judgment, it was incumbent upon the federal
government to implement it, particularly with reference to revival of the
cases outside the country. On different occasions the federal government and
the prime minister were asked to implement the order, but the same was not
done.
Soon after the indictment of Prime Minister, the coalition parties
heads gathered at PMs House and expressed solidarity with the Prime
Minister and pledged to stand by him. All the coalition partners were
appreciative of the demeanor of the Prime Minister in the courtroom and
once pledged that the government would continue to work together for
continuation of the political and democratic process in the country by
avoiding clash between the institutions.
Earlier talking to media persons outside the Supreme Court of
Pakistans building PML-Q President Ch. Shujaat Hussain said that he had
given good piece of advice, how to get out of crisis but he did not disclose
what exactly he had said to the Premier Gilani a day before. Similarly
signals have also come from the MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain from London
wherein he had stressed upon the government to respect the proceedings of
the Supreme Court of Pakistan and avoid confrontational course.
Imran Khan asked Prime Minister to step down under the light of his
induction in the contempt of court proceedings. He posed a question to the
Pakistan Peoples Party-led government What moral justification does
Prime Minister Gilani have after being charged with contempt-of-court? He
said that democracy is governed by morality, not force, as force remains
with the armed forces. Why was the contempt done? Imran questioned.
Was this done to benefit or to serve the people of the country? No.
Nawaz Sharif demanded of the government to write the letter asked
by the Supreme Court o Swiss authorities so that peoples money could be
brought back from Swiss banks. He criticized the government and its allies
for not respecting court verdict and aspirations of the nation for getting back
737

the public money, looted and moved abroad. He also blamed the government
for hiding behind immunity.
The process for the Senate polls, scheduled for March 2, started as
candidates from various political parties submitted their nomination papers
at the offices of the ECP in the federal and provincial capitals. The
nomination papers will be scrutinized on coming February 16 and 17, while
the rejected candidates could file appeals on February 22 and 23. The final
list of contestants would be displayed on February 24.
An MQM activist was shot dead whilst three dead bodies, stuffed in
gunny bags, were found in different areas of Karachi. Tension erupted in
Kharadar, Lea Market, Khadda Market and Jodia Bazaar where shops were
closed. The Rangers arrested 40 suspects in separate raids whereas the police
apprehended six men allegedly involved in various crimes.
Next day, the NA unanimously passed 20th Amendment Bill 2012,
which would primarily give a constitutional cover to some 28
parliamentarians placed under suspension on the directives of the apex court.
The amendment will also guarantee establishment of an independent
Election Commission and appointment of a neutral chief election
commissioner and impartial caretaker set-ups at the federal and provincial
levels to ensure free and fair elections in the country.
The Supreme Court directed the Defence and Interior Secretaries to
submit a detailed report over the Railways lands under the possession of
armed forces. The court expressed dismay over the Railways Chairman, who
did not turn up despite the court notice, and directed him to ensure his
personal appearance on next hearing. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry observed that it had become culture of the country that law was
enforced only on poor and no one dared to touch the influential.
Meanwhile, the federal cabinet unanimously reposed confidence in
the leadership of Prime Minister Gilani and applauded his conduct in the
Supreme Court. Two activists of Sipah-e-Sahaba were shot dead by known
gunmen in Karachi.
On 15th February, Marvi Memon said 20th Amendment was a golden
opportunity to include minimum electoral reform agenda, but that has not
been done. I had personally been leading one of those caucuses in my
parliamentary days and so I am eyewitness to the wealth of superb
recommendations parliamentarians from all sides of the divide could have
included in the 20th Amendment.

738

Imran Khan asked the federal government to call All Parties

Conference for adopting a way to appoint the interim set-up for holding next
general elections. He criticized the PML-N, PPP and other coalition partners
for passing the 20th Amendment, saying his party would not allow anyone to
act against the peoples will. He said the amendment had not been made for
the people but it was a compromise of the PPP and PML-N to save their own
interests. Meanwhile, three senior PML-N of KPK resigned from the party.
Next day, Attorney General submitted four volumes of documentary
evidence before the Supreme Court regarding contempt of court proceedings
against Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani for not implementing the
apex court judgment on NRO. The AG has not submitted any list of the
witnesses. His stance is that this is civil nature contempt; therefore, there
was no need of witnesses. But former acting Attorney General Shah Khawar
and former Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan told The Nation that if
they were summoned in the case, they would appear as witnesses.
The AGP said proceedings regarding the NRO case were civil in
nature, but the court had directed him to act as a prosecutor under Order 27,
Rule 7, of the Supreme Court Rules, 1980, which was applicable in criminal
contempt of court. He said he would contend on the next date of hearing that
such an order regarding him to work, as a Prosecutor General was not
applicable. He said he would express his viewpoint to the court, but he was
bound to obey the courts order.
An international money-laundering watchdog added Pakistan,
Indonesia, Ghana, Tanzania and Thailand to its blacklist of nations that fail
to meet international standards. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has
found that those five countries were flaunting recommendations made to
them toward fighting money-laundering and financing terrorism.
Assets of Senate nominees Babar Awan, Aitzaz Ahsan, Zulfiqar Khosa
and Zafarullah were challenged in the Election Commission. Babar Awan
has assets worth Rs20.5 million in Spain, while Aitzaz Ahsan and his wife
have 27 bank accounts. Zulfiqar Khosa of PML-N pays tax of Rs 7,000 a
year. Babar Awan pays agricultural tax worth Rs 3000.
On 18th February, the probe into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto,
ordered by the Interior Ministry, revealed that Musharraf orchestrated the
murder through two police officers and TTP leader Baitullah Mehsud. The
report to be submitted before the Sindh Assembly says a cell had been
established at Room No 96 of Haqqania Madrassa, Akora Khattak, to plan

739

the execution and the students of the seminary were in contact with
Baitullah.
But the plot was originally finalized in Waziristan, while Baitullah
executed the al-Qaedas orders on December 27, 2007 and assigned various
groups the task to carry out suicide bombings with the assistance of
Musharraf and the two police officers. Members of Sindh Assembly were
upset over Rehman Maliks decision to abort briefing over murder of
Benazir as had been promised by him. Maulana Sami-ul-Haq denied
involvement of Madrassa Haqqania.
Next day, Gilani while commenting on the contempt charges framed
against him said he would either be martyred or return as a victor. In his
address to thousands of women and children who had gathered for the
Baiktiar Aurat, Mazboot Pakistan (Empowered Women, Strong Pakistan)
rally, the MQM chief Altaf Hussain said that to make Pakistan stronger and
more prosperous it was essential to ensure the empowerment of its women.
On 20th February, the Supreme Court directed its office to make
arrangements for showing the footage of the Press conference held by Dr
Babar Awan along with other PPP leaders at PID on December 1 wherein
they ridiculed the court order to constitute a Commission on memo scam.
Justice Athar Saeed, member of two-member bench during the proceedings,
said: We have noted the conduct of those lawyers who made mockery of the
court when contempt of court notice was issued to Babar Awan.
Barrister Zafar on behalf of Babar Awan had filed a reply to a
contempt of court notice issued to his client. He argued that the court is like
a parent while the alleged contemner is similar to an errant child, and this is
why the world over this contempt jurisdiction is used sparingly, in
exceptional circumstances and not by way of punishment.
Another expressed serious concerns over the increase in number of
Polio and Hepatitis C cases in the country, holding the faults in drug
regulator mechanism responsible for the insurgence of disease. The matter of
Polio and Hepatitis C was taken up by the two-member bench during a
hearing of suo-motu on the deaths of the cardiac patients due to spurious
medicines provided by the Punjab Institute of Cardiology. The court would
review the reasons behind the increase in Polio and Hepatitis cases besides
the drugs reaction issue of PIC.
IHC directed ISI chief to ensure presence of an army major before it
on next hearing scheduled for March 14 of missing persons case. Families
of Doctor Qayyum and Doctor Waheed had filed a petition with the court
740

saying the two had gone missing from Rahim Yar Khan last August. The
families, in the petition, claimed that Major Tariq had allegedly kept the two
doctors under illegal custody and subjected them to torture in agencys office
located at Sector G-9 in Islamabad.
Senate passed the 20th Constitutional Amendment with two-thirds
majority after government mustered support of all the parliamentary parties
except Jamaat-i-Islami (JI). The bill was passed after payment of record
development of funds to Senators and Rs8 billion package to FATA area.
Meanwhile, five people were killed in Karachi violence.
In compliance with the resolution passed by the Sindh Assembly,
which urged the federal government to make public the findings of the probe
into murder of Benazir, the federal minister along with the JIT members
from the FIA and police, briefed the house on the findings on 21 st February.
The report said the assassination was planned and implemented by the
Taliban, while at least 27 terrorist groups associated with al-Qaeda and TTP
had been planning to eliminate Benazir because of her firm belief in
democracy and strong stance against the extremists.
Malik told the Sindh Assembly members that the government was in
the final stages of asking the Interpol to help arrest Musharraf by issuing a
red notice, adding that his name had already been mentioned in the final
challan of the FIR, as he had deliberately denied the VVIP security to
Benazir Bhutto on her return to the country.
JIT chief Khalid Qureshi said they had examined the then IB chief
Aijaz Shah, whose name was mentioned by Shaheed Benazir Bhutto in the
email, but he had not cooperated with them. However, he said, the findings
did not show any link between Aijaz and the assassins. Similarly, Saud Aziz
claimed that he took the decision of hosing the scene on his own and he did
not get any instruction from Musharraf, the JIT chief said.
Malik said the TTP chief, Baitullah Mehsud conspired, planned and
financed the suicide bombers. The JIT report says Saeed Bilal, with the help
of Qari Ismail, carried out the suicide hit on October 18, 2007, adding that
the DNA samples retrieved from his body parts matched with those collected
from the clothes at his house.
Malik recalled that on October 18, 2007 in Karachi, some people
wanted to throw a child towards Benazir, but she did not accept the offer
and said the baby was a dummy carrying a bomb, adding that the terrorists
adopted the idea from Palestine, where dummy baby had been used in
bombing.
741

The minister said renowned journalist Mark Siegel in his statement

said Musharraf, in his presence, threatened Benazir in a telephonic
conversation not to return home before the 2007 polls. And he would not be
responsible for her security in case she did not follow his dictates. But
Benazir categorically declared that the decision to come to Pakistan was
final and of her own.
Malik said he tried to get a confirmation of Afghan President Hamid
Karzais statement, who had advised Benazir not to return to Pakistan as
terrorists were planning to kill her, but Karzai refused to do so. Similarly,
former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who in her book claimed
that she arranged reconciliation between Benazir and Musharraf, but she was
also not ready to record her version.
To a question, Malik said he was not in charge of Benazirs security
and had been assigned the task to negotiate with Musharraf and his team as
well as PML-N, MQM and other political parties for reconciliation in the
country. Malik also caused aspersions on Nawaz Sharif for his links with alQaeda and Taliban.
On 22nd February, AGP submitted before the Supreme Court certified
copies of judicial verdicts and orders passed earlier by the court in support of
contempt of court charges against Prime Minister Gilani. The court rejected
a plea against Attorney Generals acting as a prosecutor in the contempt
matter against the prime minister. The court directed PMs counsel Aitzaz
Ahsan to submit complete evidence to the court by February 27 and
adjourned the hearing until Feb 28. Meanwhile, the ECP failed to follow the
Supreme Courts directives to finalize voters lists.
On 25th February, Prime Minister Gilani interacted with media and
hinted at creating around one hundred thousand job opportunities in the
country and announced that his government would present tax-free next
budget. He said that it was the opposition which had violated the Charter of
Democracy (CoD) by fielding their candidates on the seats which were
previously held by the PPP.
He denied making any bargain for the passage of the 20th Amendment
and said that it was actually the outcome of the policy of reconciliation and
consensus being pursued by the PPP led coalition government. To a question
about the possible fallout of the Contempt of Court hearing against him,
Gilani said it was not a rocket science as he would either be a Shaheed or
Ghazi.

742

Regarding the shortage of power and gas, Gilani said the government
has been taking a number of steps to overcome the shortages. On the issue of
Seraiki province, PM said that he was committed to fulfill the demands of
the people of southern Punjab as their grievances were grave. Answering a
question about Khuram Rasool, who is being investigated for corruption
charges, the prime minister said these charges against Khuram relate to a
time prior to his assuming the office of adviser to PM.
About the resolution in the US House of Representatives on
Balochistan, he said, it had already been clarified by the US. To a question
about the Defah-i- Pakistan Council which is opposing resuming of NATO
supplies, Gilani said its leaders were not popular among the masses.
PPP and PML-N were proved equally strong in Multan as they won
one seat each in the by-polls held on Saturday. PPP also retained the vacant
seat NA-168 in Vehari, while ANP was leading the much-awaited race for
NA-09 Mardan. A total of ten seats, six of National Assembly and four of
provincial legislatures, were to be decided in the bye-polls. PML-F was sure
to win in NA 195. The battle between two independents for NA 140 Kasur
was close, as Dr Azeem-ud-Din Lakhvi got 47, 477 votes, while Malik
Rashid, also enjoying the support of PML-N, obtained 47, 213 votes.
Festivities proved fatal, as aerial fire claimed a life during a rally by
the PPP workers, as they celebrated the victory of Syed Musa Gilani, the
PPP candidate and son of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. It resulted in
immediate reaction by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who ordered
an inquiry into the incident.
There were reports of incidents of violence and a low voter turnout in
other constituencies, as rivals used the opportunity to flex their muscles for
the next general elections expected later in the year. In a disgusting incident,
PPP candidate Waheeda Shah lost her temper at a polling station of PS-53
Tando Muhammad Khan and thrashed the polling staff.
Imran Khan pledged the people of Umerkot, after Swat, that he would
free them from clutches of the landlords. Separatists attacked railway tracks
at 14 locations across the Sindh and jammed rails movement for hours. The
Interior Ministry issued directives to the FIA to contact the Interpol for
issuing red warrants for former Musharraf in Benazir Bhutto murder case.
Next day, the provincial election commissioner received the report on
the incident of manhandling of a woman assistant presiding officer, Shagfuta
Memon, by the ruling PPP candidate, Waheeda Shah, at a polling station
during the by-election to PS-53, Tando Muhammad Khan. Meanwhile, PPP
743

candidate arranged a press conference along with the victim presiding

officer, who happened to be fake. Meanwhile, ANP activist was among three
killed in Karachi.

VIEWS
On 14th February, The News Commented: Indeed, the prime minister
has become the face of the governments brazen refusal to write to
authorities in Switzerland asking them to re-open corruption cases against
President Zardari and the contempt indictment could see him jailed for six
months and disqualified from office. After the PMs intra-court appeal was
rejected by the court last week, we hoped against hope that the prime
minister would finally do the right thing and instead of falling for party
loyalty, he would stand up for rule of law. But the much hoped for did not
happen in Courtroom No. 4; the expected did. Do you plead guilty?
asked Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk. No, said the prime minister, who had
swept into court dressed to the nines and looking like he hadnt a care in the
world.
The court has now ordered the attorney general to prosecute the
case Its never too late to do the right thing, and the right thing would be
for the chief executive to set an example of submitting to the rule of law
regardless of the adverse political and personal costs involved. This case is
no longer about President Zardaris immunity or PM Gilanis unflinching
loyalty towards him; it is a defining moment in Pakistans politicojudicial history, one that cannot be sacrificed at the altar of selfish
leadership. Democracy trumps autocracies and the misrule of military
juntas primarily because of its moral authority as exemplified by the rulers.
If the verdict of the countrys top court is blatantly violated by the countrys
top elected leaders, we can call this a dark moment not only for one mans
political fortunes but for democracy itself. The prime minister may be hailed
as a hero within his own partys ranks, but history will definitely not be as
kind to him in its own hour of judgment.
TheNation wrote: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday
became the first head of government in Pakistans history to have been
indicted for committing contempt of court. He is accused of flouting the
Supreme Courts decision advising the government to write to the Swiss
authorities about reopening the corruption cases against President Asif Ali
Zardari. The court told Mr Gilani, who appeared before it, that under the
744

Constitution he was obliged to obey judicial verdicts. But, in this particular

case, he had failed to abide by the order contained in para 178 of the
Supreme Court judgment
It would be recalled that Mr Gilani had, in his previous appearance
before the court, refused to rethink his position and tender an apology
Although there have been reports that the PPP would make a public show
of defiance of the court in the eventuality of Mr Gilanis conviction, the
latest advice given by saner elements within the party and allies appears to
be not to clash with the judiciary, but accept its decision. Speculations are
also making the rounds that the President might pardon him, as he has done
in some previous cases of close associates. But that would not undo the
penalty of Mr Gilanis disqualification, albeit for a limited period. One
would very much like to hope that the President does not exercise this
privilege; for, it would once again prove that the leadership is ready to go to
any extent to save its skin, even if that meant disobeying explicit judicial
verdicts. The manner in which the ruling leadership has violated the court
injunctions has already brought a bad name to Pakistan in the eyes of the
world. Democracy, restored in the country after a long and arduous struggle,
already stands greatly weakened, thanks to the rulers shenanigans. Any
further jolts would pose too great a danger for its survival for the nation to
bear with equanimity. To avoid that calamity, the government must change
its attitude of being above the law.
Next day, Dr Farooq Hassan wrote: On the last day of the hearing of
contempt case, the Supreme Court (SC) had ruled Keeping in view the
current state of this important matter involving international law, other
countries and domestic constitutional developments, it is necessary to
understand the situation properly. Under international law, money laundering
is the most serious of contemporary crimes and now specifically designated
as such by the international conventions of the UN. On the NRO case, I had
earlier deliberated that Pakistan is a signatory to this treaty and thus bound
to act upon it. No head of state can claim immunity under any
international law or convention, if guilty of money laundering. Ex
hypothesis, if President Zardari felt that the money in the Swiss banks
genuinely belonged to him, he would have surely declared it before the
Swiss authorities to end this process.
Nevertheless, the facts of the Swiss case are so damning against the
accused as to make us realize why the PMs counsel did not press the
immunity issue after raising it in the contempt case. Even a moments
reflection would bear this emphasis. Mr Zardari had not only been
745

convicted in October 2007, but also his appeal against his conviction was
rejected by the Swiss Court of Appeals on March 19, 2008. Not only this,
it had even rejected his plea to exclude the State of Pakistan as a civil party
from the money laundering case; it may be emphasized that Pakistan had
made requests of mutual legal assistance as well. The Zardari government
never brought this to the notice of the court, nor did it sought any relief for
it. So, this vital distinction has never been clearly spelled out by the
government. But why?
Perhaps, to keep the pretence of it being somehow a criminal matter
and thus conceivably covered by the immunity clause of the Constitution.
The involvement of the State of Pakistan was under the general rules of
international law pertaining to procuring the mutual assistance from another
sovereign state; this particular request for mutual assistance pertained to a
state claim to have a verdict in its favour in the property on question that at
the relevant time was in the physical control of that state. Initially, the
criminal process began since Jens Schlegelmilch, the manager of the
company that had been set up by the accused, was a Swiss citizen thus
enabling the local authorities to proceed against him. Furthermore, Zardaris
plea that the Swiss Court of Appeals should keep the issue pending till the
court in Pakistan, the then Dogar court, decides the fate of NRO was also
decisively rejected for being utterly irrelevant to the merits of the appeal
filed by the accused; thus, furnishing no grounds whatsoever to him.
The Court of Appeals found Zardaris appeal so weak that it even
ordered the costs and fees to be paid by the appellant. Whether these
crucial facts were purposely withheld or the PMs counsel may not have
known these matters, the reality is that Zardari had presented such a poor
case before the Swiss courts that despite being convicted he was ordered to
bear its expenses; be that as it may, the case in Geneva shows eloquently the
modus operandi of those who wield power in Pakistan.
At the time, the Pakistani government played its final part. The
Swiss trial court was to sentence Zardari on the basis of conviction by
investigating magistrate, which had been upheld by the Swiss Court of
Appeal consisting of three judges. It was presided over by Judge Valerie
Laemmle-Juilliard, along with two judges Mr Louis Peila and Mrs Carole
Barbey, who had rejected all the pleas and passed an order OCA/67/2008
that was delivered on March 19, 2008, within the legal time of three months.
To satisfy the Swiss law, Attorney General Malik Qayyum withdrew the
requests of mutual legal assistance, thereby surrendering the civil party
status of the State of Pakistan for claiming its right on the plundered money
746

lying in the Swiss banks. It is also noteworthy that at the time of the post2008 elections, Malik Qayyum had continued as Attorney General just
to undertake this ugly task. Just after the passage of the NRO in 2007,
Zardari sent Farouk H. Naek to Switzerland for the same purpose. However,
he had returned empty-handed because the Swiss authorities had told him
that that was not possible!
The Swiss concept was that there had to be a direct order, rather than
a general kind of law to bring about the desired result by Zardari, which
should come from the Attorney General rather than the government; the
Swiss authorities believed the Attorney General to be independent as it is
in their case. So instead of going home after the 2008 elections, Malik
Qayyum proceeded on this mission for which he got a few more months
in office.
The immunity matter, therefore, has no substantive value to the
contempt case and this realization forced the PMs counsel to just not argue
anything about this point during the two days that he presented this case.
The learned judges reminded him about this striking omission. Furthermore,
the court was well aware of the fact that in the NRO matter itself was this
immunity point ever raised by either the government or the President.
On the matter relating to contempt, the PMs counsel contended
with the astounding admission that Mr Gilani did not read the detailed
verdict of the SC and had acted on the advice of his legal aides. He also
submitted that different benches of the apex court had taken up the matter
of implementation of courts order on the NRO; however, the PM was not
held responsible for not abiding by the court order. Even a moments
reflection will show that the court was deeply concerned about the constant
delays by the government on the issue. These are, to put it mildly, strange
tactics that display a devastatingly lack of application by the PM, both in the
style of his working and pursuit of the case in court. Anyway, the PM cannot
be allowed to plead the kind of ignorance that is being pleaded on his behalf
by his own counsel. As such, it is obvious that the defence having adopted
the plea of saying that PM is not guilty as charged would mean either an
acquittal or conviction in the absence of an apology; manifestly, it seems
legally probable, that should his lawyers surmises be rejected by the court
there would be a conviction of the PM.
It is apparent that the writing of the letter to Swiss authorities is
not covered by this supposed embargo of immunity, nor in substantive
terms does it prohibit them from annulling the earlier decision to stop the

747

hearings of this case before it was unlawfully stopped by the antics of the
infamous NRO declared as such by the SC. The questions, however, remain:
If the stage has been reached to take the shelter of international conventions
to hide the alleged corruption of the President, what is left to be said to
anybody with any dignity? Is morality an alien concept when we deal with
the top leadership of the country?
Roedad Khan commented: A long line of thinkers, going back to
Aristotle have spoken of the middle class as an enforcer of democracy and
the rule of law. The middle class is the backbone of Pakistan. It provides
the social glue that holds society together.
By middle class, I mean people who are neither at the top nor at the
bottom of their societies in terms of income. It means people who are
relatively well-educated, own property and are technologically
connected to the outside world. They mobilize easily as a result of their
access to technology. The chief instigators of the Arab Spring were welleducated Tunisians and Egyptians whose expectations for jobs and political
participation were stymied by corrupt, authoritarian rulers.
In the course of its evolution, the capitalist society necessarily
becomes polarized into two classes: the rich and the poor. This is what is
happening in Pakistan today. The country has bifurcated into these classes.
The yawing gap between the two is increasing, with a tenuous common
culture linking them.
There was always a gap between the rich and the poor in this
country, but it wasnt this big. What is worse, the salt of the earth poor are
preyed upon by a decadent, nefarious financial elite. The rich live in gated,
affluent enclaves, segregated from the poor who live like animals in
disorganized slums lacking drinking water, electricity, gas and other
necessities of life. You might say the two live on different planets.
The rich are getting richer; the poor are getting poorer and rapidly
increasing in numbers No nation has ever lost an existing middle class
but Pakistan is in danger of losing it. If the middle class withers, what
might Pakistan look like? The middle class should be the barrier that
protects the citizens from the howling winds of revolution. If it withers
away, who will be able to stand the winds that follow?
The middle class has always played a major role as a stabilizer
and harbinger of change in the politics of Pakistan. All the uprisings
against elected or unelected rulers in the history of our country were
bourgeois democratic revolutions, not real revolutions not simply the
748

removal of a ruler but the complete overthrow of the social, economic and
political structures. Revolution is like fever. It passes through different
stages. That is what is happening in Pakistan today. Khan recalled Lawyers
Movement in this context.
He then added: After the restoration of the deposed judges, the clock
of history had stopped. Now it has started again. While political leaders are
dithering, the middle class is preparing for another showdown. Today, they
are, in the words of Marx, the bulldozer of history and are writing a page of
history that would one day be read and admired by their children. Unlike the
Arab Spring which produced flowers of a decidedly Islamist hue, the
political awakening in Pakistan is driving the middle class into the arms
of Imran Khan with his clarion call for corruption-free politics, good
governance and change radical change, not cosmetic change.
In Imrans public meetings, one can see a clean, neatly-dressed
crowd, a variegated mixture of people with faces that betray intellectual
pursuits: lawyers, clerks, professors, students, engineers, school teachers,
civil service employees, shopkeepers and traders. The predominant
element in the picture is the de-classed middle class, creatures visibly
down at the heel, spiritually crushed in the struggle with everyday reality,
distraught under a perpetual worry about the indispensable necessities of
life. They are mostly young.
One thing is clear: the youth of today, the new angry ones are the
light at the end of the long, dark tunnel. Today Imran alone represents the
passionate optimism of the youth. There is an authentic feel to him. Let us
hope he bends historys arc back toward justice
In the current political debate one hears only two words. The
first is leadership. The second is change. The rest, as the French say, is du
blah blah. If the people decide that clean, honest, dynamic leadership in
sync with the spirit of the times, is more important, they will elect Imran but
if they decide that tried and trusted leadership should be given another
chance, they will, as Dr Samuel Johnson said of second marriages, embrace
hope over experience and re-elect Nawaz Sharif or Zardari.
On 16th February, TheNation wrote: The National Assembly has
passed the 20th Amendment unanimously. While the affected legislators
experience relief at not being unseated, the major political parties would
prefer to dwell on the provisions relating to the Election Commission and
the setting up of interim governments that were also included. The
Amendment was made necessary to avoid the unseating of legislators
749

elected in by-elections carried out by an incomplete Election Commission.

The opposition took this opportunity to have some amendments made to the
Constitution which also reduced the role of the President in the appointment
of caretaker governments. This also made sure that the Election Commission
had a role in resolving any dispute that arose over such appointments, at
both the federal and provincial levels. This role was made necessary by the
ignoring of consultation with the Leader of the Opposition that the
government has practiced so far in respect to other appointments where there
is supposed to be consultation. This has given the opposition some
assurance that its input into these crucial appointments will not be
ignored. It was already settled at the time of the passage of the 18th
Amendment that there were supposed to be caretaker governments, even
though the original 1973 Constitution did not include them. So it was
perhaps inevitable that these provisions would be subject to amendment. The
issue was given more importance by the fact that the opposition has been
demanding elections which might take place later this year.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is that this
provision is part of the Constitution. It will govern any future election, and
as such demands from all the parties which have passed it complete
obedience. The unanimity of the passage also means that the Senate should
also see smooth passage, and since the Amendment was the result of an
agreement by the parties, there should be no problem with its receiving
presidential assent. Since the nation has been traumatized by a number of
issues, such as the NRO implementation and the Memogate Affair, it was
something of a relief to have this matter resolved. It was perhaps not
going to be something to break the government that there would have been
so many legislators unseated, but it would not have been conducive to
smooth governance
Ameer Bhutto commented: I watched a show on television some time
ago in which a young contortionist, in an amazing display of flaccidity and
litheness, passed his entire body through the frame of a tennis racket. It was
an incredible sight. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is trying to achieve
an even more spectacular feat: he is trying to pass his unconstitutional
conduct, specifically the non-implementation of the NRO verdict, through
the eye of the constitutional needle. Judging from his indictment for
contempt of court on February 13, he does not appear to be having
much success.
The position adopted by the prime minister is totally untenable. On
the one handthey say doing so would amount to putting the grave of
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Benazir Bhutto on trial. On the other hand, the prime minister has pleaded
not guilty to charges of contempt of court. If he is adamant about not writing
the letters, a stand further confirmed by the information minister
immediately after the prime ministers indictment, then it is a non sequitur
that he is not guilty of contempt.
All talk of not putting Benazir Bhuttos grave on trial is a
smokescreen, an appeal to peoples emotions, on which the Peoples Party
thrives in lieu of any political substance or vision. No legal system in the
world is so blind as to put a deceased person on trial. The real issue is
that of saving Zardari from prosecution for corruption.
In his first appearance before the Supreme Court in this matter, the
prime minister blurted out that he could not implement paragraph 178 of the
NRO verdict because the president enjoyed immunity Subsequently, the
court repeatedly pressed his lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, to convince them on the
matter of presidential immunity; he declined on the grounds that his brief
was limited to the contempt of court case. He chose, instead, to defend his
client on the grounds that he could not be held in contempt of court because
he was following rules of procedure and was acting on the advice rendered
to him by his advisers, including the law secretary and the attorney general.
This is a pretty lame defence in light of the fact that three AGs resigned
because the government refused to heed their advice on this matter.
The prime minister is under no compulsion to act on anyones advice
as he is ultimately responsible for his decisions and the consequences that
flow from them. He must give precedence to court rulings, which he is
constitutionally bound to follow, over the informal and subjective advice of
any advisers or state functionaries. The Supreme Courts NRO ruling
leaves no room for exercise of discretion. It is not up to the prime minister
or his advisers to decide whether or not to implement a court ruling.
The contempt case which could have been wrapped up in one
hearing by asking the prime minister the simple question are you going to
write the letter or not?, has unnecessarily been dragged out till at least the
end of the month even though, prima facie, the prime minister has no fresh
line of defence that he has not already tried and tested to extricate himself
from this legal knot. The emperor has no clothes and he knows it.
As if it was not enough that Pakistan has had to endure
unmentionable global ignominy because of the soiled hands and ill-repute of
those who govern it, we must now also suffer through this prolonged
humiliation and uncertainty. The fact that the countrys pride and self751

respect are being dragged through mud due to the governments

obstinate defiance of the rule of law is evidently of scant significance for
those whose sole objective is survival in power to continue their recordbreaking loot and plunder of the state, come hell or high water.
But it matters deeply to the rest of us for whom strengthening the
state institutions and establishing supremacy of law is the only way forward.
Leaders have resigned and governments have fallen around the world on far
lesser grounds than this to save national institutions and interests from harm.
But here, in the land of the pure, the past of one man, whom this government
is going out of its way to protect, stands in the way. The whole nation has
been made hostage to the legal consequences of his misspent life.
The important question now is not regarding the fate that awaits
Yousuf Raza Gilani. He may have sealed his own fate with his impudent
defiance of the apex court, but in the larger scheme of things, he is
insignificant. The issue that we need to grapple with is establishing the
writ of law and dealing with the real impediments. So what if Gilani is
sent to prison? Another prime minister will take his place. But will the next
prime minister implement the NRO verdict? How can he, when he is likely
to be handpicked by Zardari, who stands to lose the most with the
implementation of paragraph 178 of the NRO ruling and who has already
declared that his government will not implement it? Then what? Will the
next prime minister be sent to prison as well? And then what? Before we
know it, we will have a cozy little fraternity of prime ministers in Adiala jail,
but the NRO verdict, together with a long list of other judicial orders, will
remain unimplemented.
Zardari is very fond of talking about mindsets. When asked whom
he was referring to as the qatil league, he said he was talking about a
mindset, though at that time he left little doubt as to whom he was
referring to. Well, there is also a mindset that is preventing the
implementation of the NRO verdict and it emanates from Aiwan-e-Sadar.
Unless this mindset is nipped at the source, it will continue to poison
our political and legal systems and sending a long line of prime
ministers to jail will not produce the desired result.
When Benazir Bhutto took over the leadership of the Peoples Party, it
underwent a dramatic transformation, leaving no doubt in anyones mind
that the party had distanced itself from its past under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and
had been moulded into Benazirs own image. Similarly, when Zardari took
control of the party, he not only moved it even further from its original roots

752

but also distanced it from the identity it enjoyed under his wifes leadership.
Make no mistake about it; this Peoples Party is an entirely new entity,
owing allegiance only to Zardari, despite all the futile, hollow lip-service
paid to the Bhuttos who lie at rest in Garhi Khuda Bukhsh Bhutto, who are
now no more than convenient political ATM cards for the scavengers that
feed off their legacies.
Having jettisoned the ideology and vision of the Bhuttos to make room for
a corrupt mafahimat and a vile, unquestioned servitude of foreign masters,
these wily scavengers know that if Zardari falls, they will fall with him.
As long as Zardari occupies Aiwan-e-Sadar, the present mindset will
prevail.
Next day, M A Niazi wrote: It is symptomatic of the general clamour
drowning out specific noises that the Prime Ministers supplementary
declaration, that the cases against the President are politically motivated, did
not drawdown the sort of accusations that followed what he said about the
military. Or perhaps, no one really believed that there was need for any
more evidence that he was on a collision course with the judiciary. The
political motivation argument would stand the test of a Swiss court, where
the Pakistani state has no influence, not even that (which it still has in
Pakistan) of a court feeling the need to prove its independence.
One glaring motive is that of saving the President and that statement
by the Prime Minister reveals it. However, what the PPP should realize is
that the Supreme Court has nothing against the President. But not
having anything against him does not mean favouring him. If the Prime
Minister expects the Supreme Court to help in covering up any crimes
committed by the President, he is mistaken.
The Prime Minister has taken the stand that conviction would mean
losing office. That would mean a replacement, and it has already been
decided that that would come from within the ranks of the PPP. If that
indeed took place, then it would put off elections. It would also mean that
this Parliament, too, would see a change of Prime Minister before its
end. However, the removal of Mr Gilani would not solve the matter, for the
letter would still remain unwritten.
Then it would depend on the USA. That Musharraf had a pact with
the Presidents late wife, Benazir Bhutto, is borne out by then US Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice in her memoirs. Therefore, the present
government has USAs blessing. However, the present government has had
difficulties rooted in two things. First is US imperialism, which has made
753

them disliked. Then has been the regimes greed and incompetence which
has made it less useful than was supposed. There is still the memogate affair
in the background, which has more American figures than the NRO. The
President must not forget the fate of his predecessor.
On 21st February, TheNation observed: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza
Gilani has said that he would return from the Supreme Court either
victorious or a martyr. He said this at Pir Jo Goth The Supreme Court
would convict him unless it felt that his disobedience of its orders by not
writing to the Swiss authorities to re-institute the case against the President,
did not constitute contempt. Though he might portray his refusal as
martyrdom, only the President could regard it as such. He should
remember that after a conviction for contempt, one is not a martyr, but a
common criminal, a convicted contemner. And if acquittal means victory,
over whom? The Supreme Court? The Prime Minister claims to respect the
Court. Is this the language in which respect is expressed?
Two days later, the newspaper assed: Interior Minister Rehman Malik
briefed members of the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday about the joint
investigation teams findings into Benazir Bhuttos assassination that took
place on December 27, 2007. He, however, failed to make the eager
Pakistani, particularly her fans in the party, any wiser in that he unveiled
virtually nothing new Mr Malik vowed to bring former President
Musharraf back through the intercession of the Interpol any time soon
to stand trial for not providing adequate security to Ms Bhutto.
Interestingly, at the same time, Mr Malik charged al-Qaeda and the
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan with planning as well as executing the
assassination. He maintained that as many as 27 terrorist groups had been
involved and that Haqqania madrasah had been used for undertaking the
sordid affair. He could not say, though, whether Maulana Samiul Haq, who
runs the seminary, was in the know of it. The question is: How the Interior
Minister would establish collusion between the self-exiled President and
the militant outfits. It would hardly convince the man in the street, let alone
an informed person, who is quite aware that General (retd) Musharraf was,
in fact, fighting these outfits. That is what the war on terror is all about. He
could not possibly be in league with them, facilitating the murder. It is, thus,
doubtful whether the government would be able to persuade the Interpol to
issue red warrant, arrest and deport him to Pakistan on the basis of the
perception that he had not provided security in accordance with promise.

754

Reacting to Mr Maliks statement, General Musharraf said that he

was sure the Interpol would not touch him; the local administration and not
he, as President, was responsible for her security. He raised two questions:
who advised Ms Bhutto to raise her head out of the sunroof, and who
was beneficiary of her death? Considering the loopholes in the charge
against him in the PPP leaders case, one should have wished that he was
rather formally charged with the assassination of Nawab Akbar Bugti for
which the evidence implicating him was much more solid enough for the
Interpol to act. One really wonders whether the government is at all serious
about getting hold of dictator Musharraf and bringing him to trial.
The News wrote: The briefing given to the Sindh Assembly by
Interior Minister Rehman Malik about the death of Benazir Bhutto may not
have been earth-shattering but it certainly held everyone who heard it
spellbound. The briefing followed a demand by the assembly that the report
on the assassination of Benazir which had been kept a secret so far be
made public. After the talk and the slideshow in the Sindh Assembly, the
report was made public in Lahore. People everywhere wanted to know what
it said. We now know. It directly points an accusing finger at General (r)
Pervez Musharraf
New points have also been raised. One is that of the possible
involvement of some former students of the Darul Uloom Haqqania
seminary run in Akora Khattak by the leading cleric Maulana Samiul Haq.
This has, of course, been immediately denied, but does raise questions about
the possible scale of the plot and all the elements involved in it. Pervez
Musharraf, from abroad, has added to what will inevitably be a growing
controversy saying Asif Ali Zardari knows precisely who killed his wife.
Also, there are some significant omissions, and insinuations, in the report.
There is no mention of PML-Q leaders whom the Peoples Party and Zardari
had accused earlier of having a hand in the deed. That party is now a key
PPP ally.
There is also an apparent effort to contort some realities. Naheed
Khan, who was Benazirs political secretary, is rather oddly held responsible
for her security or the lack of it while Rehman Malik, long believed to be
responsible for this key role, says he had nothing to do with it. How many
will be convinced? Other questions, such as those about the choice made of
the route for Benazirs entourage, go unanswered. However, now that the
report has been brought into the open, it can be discussed, matters of
credibility can be raised and the issue of an assassination that changed the
course of our history can be taken finally off the backburner where it had
755

lain for long with many wondering what ingredients were being stirred in
as the time passed.
On 26th February, Jalees Hazir observed: The government continues
to outsource its economic policy to the IMF bent upon squeezing the last
drops of blood from the poorest section of the country's population. The
democratic government is eager to disregard public outrage and open up the
NATO supply routes. The scary reality of Pakistan's democracy is that it has
nothing to do with public interest or popular opinion. The Zardari-led
dispensation can shout about their faith in democracy and make loud
claims about caring for the people, it can pretend that it is concerned about
the issues that affect the lives and livelihood of those it represents, but these
claims ring hollow for the people of Pakistan. As they say, actions speak
louder than words.
Raja Arsalan Khan discussed inadequacies in Imran Khans political
manifesto and then concluded: So far, you have failed to offer any
definite programme, particularly about the economy or the problems it
is facing. The kind of team you have gathered around yourself without
exceptions is rural-cum-feudal. With no specialist of any field, who can
make a difference in any particular sector, are you trying to prove that PTI is
a jack of all trades and master of none?'
Close to 60 years of age, you say you discovered the true Islam and
values. Is it the waning age or should we expect another discovery from you
after a few years? Voting for somebody should not be whimsical. I have
been betrayed in the past too. So, I want to be sure this time, who should
I vote for. Isnt it my right?

REVIEW
The setting is not at all favourable for those who want rule of law
established in the country. As of today, a convict and an accused are
President and Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In heavens, it
must have led Quaids head to hang in shame.
Gujrati cousins and descendants of Sarhadi Gandhi stand steadfastly
with the Scoundrel. It would be appropriate to recall that Chaudhry Zahoor
Elahi and Khan Wali Khan once sued Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for contempt of
court. Irony of Pakistani politics is that Chaudhry Shujaat son of Zahoor
Elahi and Asfandyar son of Wali Khan recently went to the Supreme Court

756

as allies of Bhuttos son-in-law to stand alongside his front man Gilani who
faced contempt charge.
Both have forgotten, or made to forget, the bitterness of the past. The
credit of this historic transformation goes to the Scoundrels politics of
reconciliation. Both of them were indebted, the former for NICL case and
the latter for giving new name to the province he belongs to.
The convict Scoundrel, the accused Saint and their allies have no
shame in all that is happening to them in courts and instead they feel some
kind of pride. Even a day before the Saint assembled countrys media men in
PM House and proudly announced that he would come out of the Supreme
Court of Islamic Republic of Pakistan as shaheed or ghazi.
The drama of martyrdom is linked to the forthcoming general
elections as the year 2012 has been often termed as an election year. The
Zardari regime, however, is not leaving everything solely to the drama of
Contempt of Court. It is working on many fronts with elections in mind; two
of these need brief mention.
PPP once again indulged in playing card-game by choosing the venue
of Sindh Assembly to brief parliamentarians about the progress made into
the probe into the murder of Benazir Bhutto. But, Interior Minister could
hardly add anything to what investigators had found within few days after
her assassination, except of course, that he accused Musharraf, Baitullah and
Naheed Khan of conniving in unison to kill his beloved leader.
Persistent violence in Balochistan has been one the many issues which
tarnished image of the regime. the medication diagnosed was no different
from what the nation has been seeing in the past. APC (All Parties
Conference) the widely used medicine in self-prescription was
recommended by Gilani and Dr Rehman Malik recommended withdrawal of
criminal cases; as part of pardon policy of which he himself a beneficiary.
27th February, 2012

757

LAST CHANCE
Contempt of court case against Prime Minister Gilani overshadowed
other events of the last eighteen days under review. The learned counsel of
Gilani, Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, had only one thing to say with parrot-like
repetition: My client has not committed contempt of court. The court once
again exercised restraint having nothing else to exercise it gave one last
chance to Gilani to write letter to Swiss authorities.
Meanwhile, the much debated Senate elections were held, which were
more of selection by party leaders than exercising the right to vote.
Nevertheless, as expected, Zardari and his coalition partners emerged
politically stronger after this pseudo-democratic ritual. They are now in
position to block working of the next government if that happens to be
unfriendly.

758

Having consolidated his position in the Senate, Zardari was now well
set for cooking the goose of his political opponents. His team had been
pressing the Apex Court to resume hearing of 16-year old petition of Air
Marshal Asghar Khan; the court obliged. It was the result of a calculated
hype created by Zardari team; no doubt the sense of timing of the evil
genius is meticulous.
In addition to giving one last chance to the Saint and obliging the
Scoundrel by dusting the Asghar Khan petition, the court remembered and
made a mention of corruption cases of Pakistan Railway and Pakistan Steel
Mills. The only good news during the period was decision to confer highest
civil award on Oscar-winner lady, but its brighter side would remain eclipsed
by the evil shadow of the decision-maker.

NEWS
On 27th February, Aitzaz Ahsan submitted the reply in the Supreme
Court in the contempt of court case against the Prime Minister. The plea
submitted by MS Khattak, Advocate on Record, said PM Gilani acted upon
the summary forwarded by Nargis Sethi, Babar Awan and Masud Chishti;
accordingly, all these three should be called as courts witnesses under
Clause-94 and 540 of Criminal Procedure Code.
PM Gilani, the plea states, cannot defend himself in his personal and
private capacity, as he exercised the powers in official capacity, adding it
would be tantamount to misuse of power if he calls personally not officially
witnesses to defend him. To summon these witnesses is highly vital and the
prosecution should have called them; however failing to do so, it
(prosecution) has lost right to cross-question, the plea states.
Information Minister dispelled the impression that the new laws and
regulations that the government is proposing will threaten the freedom of
media in Pakistan. Firdous said the new regulations will build on the
traditions of accountability and healthy debate and competition which have
been introduced by the media. She said that the objective of the policy is to
curtail all illegal operational mechanisms and enforcement of Pakistan
Media Regulatory Authority rules.
A case was registered against Waheeda Shah, who slapped a female
Assistant Presiding Officer at a polling station. On the directives of the
Provincial Election Commissioner, Retuning Officer Ali Asghar went to the
police station in Tando Mohammad Khan and after an investigation the case

759

was registered. Sindh Home Minister Mansoor Wasan said the incident was
being investigated.
At least twelve students were injured when two rival student groups
clashed at the Karachi University. Classes were also suspended as a result of
clash while Rangers arrested two students allegedly involved in the riot. Five
people were killed in incidents of violence in the mega city.
Next day, Zardari signed 20th Amendment. The seven-member bench
resumed hearing of contempt case against Gilani. Aitzaz argued that his
client had not willfully flouted, disobeyed and disregarded the court orders.
He only acted on the advice given to him by the Law Ministry, adding that
he was bound to act on the Law Minister's advice. He had recommended
summoning of three persons in this context as court witnesses.
The court agreed to summon Nargis Sethi as witness and hearing was
adjourned till March 7. Aitzaz insisted that the other two, Babar Awan and
Chishti should also be summoned. After the days proceedings Aitzaz said: I
am quite sure that the prime minister will be exonerated in the case. He also
rejected that Senate seat was included in his court fee.
On 29th February, the Supreme Court issued notices to former DG ISI
Lt-Gen Asad Durrani, the defence ministry and dissolved Mehran Banks
chief executive Younis Habib directing them to file their replies by March 8.
The bench hearing Asghar Khan petition also directed its office to trace out
the 1998 record of the case pertaining to the statements of former army chief
General Mirza Aslam Beg, interior minister Naseerullah Babar and Asad
Durrani, and produce it in sealed envelope on the next hearing.
The hearing on Air Marshal (r) Asghar Khan petition, which he filed
some 16 years ago against distribution of million of rupees by the ISI among
the anti-PPP politicians to manoeuvre 1990 election, resumed after the gap
of 13 years. The chief justice said this case is of very sensitive nature and
requires transparency therefore the proceedings of it would be held in open
court.
Akram Sheikh, counsel for Asad Durrani, informed the court that his
client was visiting Colombo and would not be able to come back till March
5 or 6. Earlier, Akram Sheikh had represented Aslam Beg in the case when it
was being heard by an SC bench headed by Justice Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui
in May 1999. That bench had reserved its judgment in the matter.
The court observed that the affidavit of the Asad Durrani that he had
submitted earlier at the court was very important which states that the case

760

not only involves two former top generals but also a number of key
politicians and important players in the present political and media
chessboard of the country.
The court noted that receiving of notice to Asad Durrani could not be
ensured due to change of his available address. Salman Akram Raja, counsel
for Asghar Khan, apprised the court that the statement of Asad Durrani was
origin of the case. He said it was a matter of illegal meddling in the
democratic process.
During the hearing, a June 16, 1996 letter of Asghar Khan addressed
to former chief justice of Pakistan Sajjad Ali Shah was also read out on the
court orders. According to the letter, the then army chief Aslam Beg
withdrew Rs150 million from Mehran Bank and used this money to doctor
1990 election.
The chief justice noted that the letter also contained the names of
Bazenjo and Kakar tribes and inquired as to who were the beneficiaries of
these tribes. Salman Akram Raja stated that Asad Durrani had also submitted
three documents along with his affidavit. The chief justice then noted that
presence of Asad Durrani was imperative in the matter.
The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission secretary and
Nadra chairman to explain as to why the court order for preparation of
electoral rolls by February 23 was not complied with. The ECP displayed the
new electoral rolls at over 5,000 display centres across the country. Besides
displaying the electoral rolls, the ECP has also launched a landmark move
and worlds biggest short message service (SMS) for over 83 million voters.
The CJP took suo moto notice of slapping by Waheeda Shah. Prices of
petroleum products and gas were increased, while electricity consumers
have to pay 39 percent more with effect from August last.
On 1st March, the prime minister rejected the impression that the
democracy was threatened and said matters pertaining to security situation
were discussed during the meeting with the army chief, adding the
undemocratic elements would only be disappointed. He refused to answer a
question about the possible extension in the tenure of ISI chief saying, No
comments.
Nawaz Sharif termed the government incompetent and said PML-N
would form next government in Sindh. He was addressing a big rally in Qazi
Ahmed during which bashed the Sindh government, amid exciting chants of
Go Zardari Go.

761

The Lahore High Court rejected the objections of Babar Awan on the
amicus curies appointed by the court for its assistance on the maintainability
of the petition challenging his nomination papers for a slot of Senator. The
LHC had appointed Khawaja Haris, AK Dogar, Salman Akram Raja and
Salman Mansoor as amicus curies, friends of court for its assistance on
important legal points.
A Supreme Court bench reserved the judgment over the show-cause
notice issued to Senator Babar Awan for addressing a press conference
against the December 1, 2011 court order on the memogate. During the
hearing, the counsel for Babar Awan, Barrister Ali Zafar, argued that his
client had not given any remarks, which ridiculed the judiciary, but the court
said the comments were passed against the family of an apex court judge.
Next day, the PPP-led ruling alliance secured the highest number of
Senates 54 seats, making its tally to 70 in the House of 104 and thereby
gaining ample space to set countrys future roadmap. PPP alone secured 19
seats that raised its number to 41. PML-N emerged as second-top scorer by
bagging 8 seats, bringing its tally to 14 and enabling the party to claim slot
of Opposition Leader in the Senate.
ANP strengthened its position by seven seats while MQM and PML-Q
bagged four seats each. The seven new seats have raised ANPs number of
Senators to 12, making it the third largest parliamentary party in the upper
house. But the MQM has been now left with 7 seats in Senate, while the
JUI-F, which was earlier the main opposition party in the house, has also
been left with 7 seats.
The results of seven general seats from Balochistan were withheld. All
of PPP candidates won their respective seats. Aslam Gill was the only
exception who lost in the Punjab thanks to partys flawed election strategy of
preventing its legislators from casting second priority votes to its candidates
coupled with unexpected desertion by six MPAs.
The Supreme Court, while hearing the case of slapping one of the
polling staff by PPP candidate Waheeda Shah observed the ECP and the
Sindh Police chief had failed to take prompt action in the matter. A threemember bench heard a suo moto notice on the application of Anita Turab, an
officer of District Management Group. Turab had stated in her application
that most civil servants wished to work in an environment where their selfrespect and dignity was not made vulnerable by all and sundry.
During the hearing, chief justice remarked the assault on polling staff
was an act worse than the extrajudicial killing of Sarfraz Shah. The court
762

said the ECP should have been not only a witness, but also a complainant in
the case. ECP Secretary Ishtiak Ahmed said he directed the provincial
election commission to take action as soon as he received the report, adding
a summary trial was underway. Justice Tariq said slapping a government
employee is like a slap on the face of state, adding the incident had brought
bad name to the country. It was prima facie interference in discharge of the
duties of a public servant, the chief justice said.
The court observed the incident took place on February 25, but the
police registered an FIR under Section 86 (3) (b) of Representation of the
People Act 1976 on February 27 when the TV channels not only in Pakistan
but also in the US and London showed the incident. It was sheer negligence
of the law enforcement agencies, it added. The CJP asked Sindh IGP
Mushtaq Shah not to take the issue lightly as he too could face the same, on
which he replied they had experienced these incidents. He said following the
incident, he suspended two DSPs for not taking timely action.
The accused, Waheeda Shah, who came to the court wearing a burqa,
sought unconditional apology from the aggrieved party and the apex court,
saying it was unintentional. But her apology was rejected. The court ordered
the ECP, Sindh IGP and others to strictly follow the law and the Constitution
and submit their respective reports and adjourned the hearing till March 12.
However, the ECP secretary later resigned as his boss was not happy with
actions he had taken fir the accountability of the culprit.
Yadgar Raisani, the son of the Balochistan chief minister, along with
17 other persons was booked over the charge of quarrelling with law
enforcers in Karachi. The accused along with his accomplices engaged in a
brawl near the residence of former provincial home minister Zulfiqar Mirza
in boozy condition. They not only had beaten up the policemen but also
snatched weapons from them ran away from the scene.
On 3rd March, Prime Minister Gilani said Pakistan PM is the
strongest man at present. He will neither go upward nor downward and will
not go inside or outside, he said while talking to media men after attending
inauguration ceremony of Air University Multan Campus as chief guest. He
said Seraiki province was not his demand but it was demand of the people.
Colluding with the ECP, the government mounted pressure for
reconciliation with the apparent victims of Waheeda Shah slapping incident
in an alleged bid to save the ruling party candidates skin and weaken the
Secretary ECP stance on the issue. The Presiding Officer for PF-53 Habiba
Memon announced forgiveness for the accused Waheeda Shah, who had
763

repeatedly slapped Habiba Memon and the Assistant Presiding Officer

Shagufta Memon.
Next day, Prime Minister Gilani rejected a proposal from Nawaz
Sharif of creating new administrative units in the country, saying that Seraiki
people wont accept anything less than an independent province of their
own. The PPP was the name of a movement having a rich history of
sacrifices and the people affiliated with it will never sell-out nor surrender,
he added.
Parting her ways with PML-Q, former MNA Marvi Memon on finally
announced to join Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. Before making public
her decision at a press conference, she held a meeting with PML-N chief
Nawaz Sharif at Raiwind, putting an end to speculations about her joining
Imran Khans Tehrik-i-Insaaf.
Addressing the press conference, Nawaz Sharif said that no
compromise would be made on principles. He said that people like Marvi is
an asset of the party and all those who want to do something for the country
should join PML-N. Marvi was of the view that PML-N leadership was
serious and mature politicians as compared to others. She regretted for
becoming part of rivals false propaganda against PML-N leadership.
On 5th March, the Supreme Court issued notices to Interior Minister,
Babar Awan and Pervez Musharraf on a petition regarding the murder of
Benazir Bhutto. The petition seeks lodging second FIR of the 2007
assassination. The court was informed that notices could not be served to
Babar Awan, Rehman Malik and Pervez Musharraf. The bench ruled that
notice be displayed outside Musharrafs residence in Pakistan with a
warning that some other cases were also being heard in the country.
The court was told that Rehman Maliks counsel Anwar Manoor was
abroad. Punjab Police argued that second FIR could not be lodged into
Benazir murder as challan was submitted to the court. The police contended
that petitioner Aslam Chaudhry was not an affected party in the case.
The ECP upheld previous results of Senate elections in Balochistan,
setting aside the reservations of the PML-N, which had accused the
opponents of rigging and wrong use of ballot-papers. The PML-N
challenged the result in the Supreme Court. The ANP demanded eight slots
including deputy chairmanship in the Upper House. Four people were
wounded in firing at rally organized to welcome Shahi Syed on his return to
Karachi after having been elected as Senator. He vowed to continue working
for peace in the mega city.
764

PML-N and PML-(L/M) group agreed on electoral alliance formula.

PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif will finalize the details. Nawaz Sharif opposed
another possible extension in service tenure of DG ISI and told generals to
stay away from politics. Shahbaz Sharif was elected unopposed PML-N
Punjab president and Ch Jaffer Iqbal senior vice president of the party.
Next day, Chief Justice, while hearing the electoral rolls case,
observed they would not allow anyone or any institution to flout the court
orders. The court noted that ECP Secretary Ishtiak Ahmed on July 4, 2011
told the court the electoral rolls would be finalized by February 23, 2012, a
promised not fulfilled yet.
The chief justice remarked that the finalization of the rolls was not in
the benefit of the Supreme Court but the over 80 million voters who send
their representatives to the legislatures. The chief election commissioner,
secretary, and the Nadra chairman filed their explanations. The secretary
submitted reply on behalf of himself and the chief election commissioner,
while the attorney general read out their replies in the courtroom.
The court observed there was a difference between the stance taken by
the secretary and explanation given by the ECP members, adding that the
secretary kept them in the darkness, as the ECP members did not have any
knowledge about the deadline. They came to know about the deadline first
time in December 2011. The AG said the ECP members were appointed in
pursuance of the 18th Amendment. The members said they came to know
about the 23rd deadline for the first on 10th of December 2011.
The Nadra explained that the delay caused by the census blocks,
which previously stood at 1,04,000 but the Population Census Organization
had now increased their number to around 1,40,000 census block with 250
households. The bench directed the attorney general to assist the court about
the position taken by the ECP secretary and Nadra. The hearing was
adjourned till 14th of March 2012.
On 7th March, Nargis Sethi spoke high of Gilani while recording her
statement during the hearing of contempt case against Prime Minister Gilani.
She gave an excellent character certificate on the requests of defence
counsel but to the displeasure of the court.
When Aitzaz asked Nargis how she would describe the prime minister
during her working with him as principle secretary, she said though she had
worked with many bosses but found Mr Gilani very soft spoken, smiling,
and one who believes in reconciliation and has great respect for the
judiciary. Upon this, Justice Asif Khosa remarked: What do you (Aitzaz)
765

want to drive out of these questions and whether there was any need for your
client to have a character certificate from his (former) secretary?
Besides recording her statement, Nargis Sethi submitted before the
bench two summaries dated May 21 and September 21, 2010 sent by law
ministry to prime minister regarding reopening cases against President
Zardari. The summaries contained advice/consultation to the PM urging him
not to write letter to the Swiss authorities. According to Aitzaz, the prime
minister was bound to follow the legal opinion of the law ministry. Aitzaz
also presented 18 documents.
Attorney General, who is prosecutor in the case, raised objection on
the contents of the documents. He said there was no problem in submission
of documents by PMs counsel but the correctness of these could (only) be
approved from the persons who have authored them. Aitzaz said the
purpose of submitting the documents was to show that such material was
produced before his client. The counsel said he would take up the objections
at the time of his final submission.
The PMs counsel put over 30 questions to Nargis Sethi. The bench
showed reservations on most of the questions for being irrelevant and
observed that the defence lawyer cannot cross-examine a defence witness.
Justice Ijaz Chaudhry remarked: You cant cross-examine your own
witness. The court however on his insistence allowed Aitzaz to ask
questions from the defence witness as he maintained that those queries were
in fact leading questions and that he was not cross-examining Ms Nargis
Sethi. But during the proceedings many times he himself said, Let me
cross-examine Ms Nargis, the witness.
Mr Aitzaz asked questions that included: What kind of departments
the prime minister deals with on daily basis. What is the relationship of
parliament with the PM? How many members are there in the parliament?
How many sessions of the parliament the PM attended? What kind of
government Mr Yousaf Raza Gilani is heading? How many parliamentarians
meet the PM on daily basis? How many foreign tours the PM did during
your tenure as the principle secretary? How many meetings of the cabinet,
Defence Coordination Committee (DCC) and Economic Coordination
Committee (ECC) he participated in and does the prime minister heads those
meetings and what was normal duration of the meetings.
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa asked the learned counsel what he wanted to
drive out of these questions. Justice Sarmad Osmany remarked: Do you
want to prove that the prime minister is very upright person and work very
766

hard. He further questioned: Does the PM genuinely showed respect to the

judiciary? Justice Ijaz remarked there are many orders of the apex court
which have not been implemented yet.
Mr Aitzaz further asked that how many files, orders and opinions the
PM has to deal with on daily basis. Nargis replied that 1,000 formal files in a
month; besides that the PM also handles countless informal orders and files.
Aitzaz asked from the former principal secretary to PM that were she aware
that Gilani was sentenced for 10 years in imprisonment along with Rs100
million fine and he served five years in the jail. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa
remarked: (There was) no need for these questions as we (all) are also
aware of it.
Aitzaz maintained there was a purpose of these questions. He also
questioned Nargis whether it was in her knowledge that conviction in that
case was set aside in the appeal and the PM was honourably acquitted and
did the PM show any bitterness to the judge who had sentenced him. Ms
Sethis reply was No. Did he ever utter derogatory words against the
judiciary? Aitzaz further asked and she again replied in negative.
Justice Asif Khosa remarked whether it was required for his client to
have a character certificate from a principle secretary. Aitzaz said it was
relevant. Upon that Justice Khosa expressed his displeasure saying: You
allow the secretaries to write character certificates for prime ministers and
ministers. The hearing was adjourned till Thursday.
The top PPP leadership could not gather on same page on the
selection of the new Senate Chairman. Reportedly, Zardari wanted to
continue with the incumbent Chairman Senate for the next three years but
could not withstand the tide in the party leadership against Chairman Farooq
H Naik who according to them, had fallen far below the expectation of the
party in the trying times on party when the President was abroad in
connection with his heart ailment and instead of boosting the partys morale
Farooq kept mum and not uttered even a single word in support of the party
leadership.
Senator-elect Raza Rabbani was annoyed over the preposition of
making him Leader of the House in Senate in case the incumbent Leader of
the House is made Senate chief as he (Rabbani) considered himself as the
most deserving candidate for the slot of Chairman Senate and previously
kicked the slot of Leader of House in Senate when he was ignored for the
slot of Chairman Senate and Farooq Naik was given the position.

767

The ECP disqualified PPP candidate Waheeda Shah for two years.
Election Commission also declared her election on PS-53 Tando Muhammad
Khan null and void. She was disqualified with 3-2 split decision with Chief
Election Commissioner Justice (R) Hamid Ali Mirza and member from
Sindh expressing dissent.
Next day, the AGP crossed-examined defence witness Nargis Sethi
and asked her about her precise duties regarding the summaries moved
through the Law Ministry. She replied that she used to forward summaries to
the premier, which is what she had done with the two summaries in which
then law minister Babar Awan and law secretary Pir Masud Chishti had
informed the premier that there was no use of writing a letter to Swiss
authorities because the cases filed against President Zardari in Swiss courts
had already been withdrawn.
Nargis Sethi said the summaries were placed before the PM after
being received. The AG further asked whether the summaries were dealt
with under normal course of business, to which Nargis Sethi replied that
some were dealt with under normal course of work while some were dealt
with under Rules of Business.
The AG asked whether she had made any personal inquiry into
whether the approval of the premier for the summaries was intimated to the
apex court or not. Sethi replied that she did not make any such inquiry,
adding that when directives were not complied with, it was the responsibility
of the concerned secretaries to comply with them.
Once the cross-examination was completed the court told Aitzaz to
conclude the defence. Aitzaz said he reserved the right of defence in case
new evidence came up. He also told the court that his client wanted to
submit a written statement in the matter. To another query, he said his client
would either submit his written statement or personally appear before the
court. Justice Khosa said if the prime minister gave a statement on oath, he
could be cross-examined.
Meanwhile, during the hearing of the NRO implementation case, the
bench was informed that the (NAB had sought a reply from the PM over the
illegal appointment of Adnan Khwaja as the chairman OGDCL. Shaiq
Usmani, senior counsel for the NAB chairman, told the court that Cabinet
Secretary Nargis Sethi, who appeared as PMs defence witness before the
bench, had stated in her statement that the appointment of Adnan Khwaja as
the head of the OGDCL was made by the PM. He said the reply had been
sought from the PM on the statement of Nargis Sethi.
768

He said an inquiry into the illegal appointment of Ahmad Riaz Sheikh,

an NRO beneficiary, had been completed and a reference was being prepared.
Dr Basit, counsel for Ahmad Riaz Sheikh, said he was seeing seven judges
sitting on the shoulders of NAB officers, adding it seemed as if the president
and prime minister were being involved in the case through Ahmad Riaz
Sheikh and Adnan Khwaja respectively. The court reprimanded him for saying
this.
The Court directed Prime Minister to implement its order in the NRO
case by writing a letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen the cases against
Zardari without seeking any further advice and submit his written statement
before the court on March 19 regarding the implementation of its order. The
court ordered the premier to implement Para 178 of the judgment on the NRO
verdict without seeking any advice from the concerned secretaries and write to
the Swiss authorities to reopen the cases against President Zardari. Regardless
of the advice of the secretaries, the PM must decide the matter, the court
ruled, adding that if the PM decided to submit his written statement, he should
file it before the court on March 19, but if he wanted to record his statement,
he should appear before the court on March 21. The court directed Attorney
General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to communicate the courts orders to the PM
and adjourned further proceedings till March 21.
Prime Minister will not write a letter against his own leadership at any
cost, said Federal Railways Minister Bilour while talking to newsmen after
meeting leaders of the Railways Drivers Association. He said if it was
necessary to write a letter to the Swiss authorities, the Supreme Court should
do this job itself or exercise patience till the government was changed.
He said it needed to be mentioned that when Pervez Musharraf imposed
the martial law, uniformed people belonging to the Establishment and some
politicians became loyal to him. Even the courts ignored the 1973 Constitution
and recognized him. He said the PM was a man who spent six years behind
the bars but remained loyal to his party and leadership. Now he is being asked
to write against his own leadership. How it is possible for him to become
disloyal to his party, Bilour asked.
Another bench of the Supreme Court decided to formally indict Babar
Awan on March 20 in a contempt case, made out against him for addressing a
press conference against the courts order on the memo controversy, in which
he passed derogatory remarks against the apex court and one of its judges.
During proceedings, a large number of lawyers accompanied Babar Awan to
the courtroom. After the court announced its decision, the lawyers raised
769

slogans in favour of Babar Awan and pasted stickers on the walls of the
Supreme Court building that claimed Babar Awan is innocent.
On the last hearing, Ali Zafar, the counsel for Babar Awan, had argued
that his client had not given any remarks that had ridiculed the judiciary. The
court, however, had pointed out that the remarks were passed against the
family of an apex court judge in the December 1, 2011 press conference.
Ali Zafar had stated that his client, in his statement, had reconfirmed
that he had utmost respect and regard for him (judge) and considered him to
be a leading luminary and in case he (Justice Asif Saeed Khosa) was hurt, he
(Babar Awan) had offered deepest regrets to the honourable judge. Justice Ejaz
Afzal Khan then had observed that Babar Awan had only expressed regrets but
not tendered an apology about his remarks about the family of an apex court
judge. He had said that Babar Awan was a popular lawyer as well as a
politician and, therefore, he should have respected the judiciary.
A three-member bench of the apex court heard a plea moved by Air
Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan in 1996 regarding the alleged disbursement of
money among the anti-PPP politicians by the then army chief General Aslam
Beg, the then DG ISI Lt Gen Asad Durrani and the then Mehran Bank
president
Younis
Habib
to
disrupt
the
general
elections.
Former ISI chief Asad Durrani and Younus Habib, former chief of Mehran
Bank, appeared before the court, while commander Shahbaz represented the
Defence Ministry. Mirza Aslam Beg was also present in the courtroom.
Salman Akram Raja represented the petitioner, Asghar Khan, while
Muhammad Akram Sheikh represented Aslam Beg.
On the court directives, Younis Habib read out his three-page written
statement in the court, stating he met Mirza Aslam Beg at the residence of a
senior army official and then he and Mirza Beg talked to each other
frequently. Later in March 1990, he submitted that Mirza Aslam Beg told
him that President Ghulam Ishaq Khan wanted to talk to him and ordered to
arrange Rs400 million before the elections.
He further submitted that a few months later, Mirza Aslam Beg invited
him to a ceremony held in Karachi where he was treated like the chief guest.
Younis Habib also provided the court a photo with his written statement in
which he had been shown to be one of the persons along with the then
president of Pakistan Ghulam Ishaq Khan and uniformed officers of Pakistan
Army
having
conversation
with
Mirza
Aslam
Beg.
He further submitted that Aslam Beg phoned him again, saying that the

770

president wanted to meet him at the Balochistan House. He said in the

meeting, President Ghulam Ishaq asked him to arrange the said amount in the
name of a national cause.
Younis Habib said he had told the then president that it was impossible
to arrange such a huge amount legally, however, Ghulam Ishaq asked him to
arrange the money by hook and crook and for the national cause. He said the
then army chief Mirza Aslam Beg demanded Rs340 to Rs400 million for the
election. Younis Habib said Rs400 million were distributed among the
politicians, while over Rs1 billion were utilized by different people for
investment purposes.
He said Mirza Aslam Beg, with a colonel, opened various accounts for
transferring the money. Younis Habib said as the head of a nationalized bank,
he had no other option, but to accept the presidents orders and further said
that he was pressurized by Roedad Khan and the attorney general to get a
case registered against Zardari in 1990.
Upon his refusal to file the case against Asif Ali Zardari, Younis Habib
said he was arrested at the Karachi Airport and was kept in an FIA cell for six
days. Later, after spending four years in jail in the name of national interest,
he said he was bailed out by Jam Sadiq Ali. The chief justice observed that it
was a huge amount and asked Habib to give the court a break-up of the
details. Habib, however, said he it was not possible for him to give the breakup.
During the hearing, former ISI chief Asad Durrani rose up and tried to
say that the ISI was not involved in the distribution of money. The chief
justice asked him to be seated and said that he would be heard later on.
During the hearing, Younis Habib claimed the affidavit filed by him be
considered as a classified document. However, on having gone through it, the
court observed that it did not fall in the category of classified documents, in
respect whereof privilege could be claimed, thus it was declared as not
classified.
The court directed its office to prepare photocopies of the affidavit
filed by Younis Habib and hand over them to Muhammad Akram Sheikh,
Salman Akram Raja, Asad Durrani and Sheikh Khizar Hayat. The court
further directed that they might go through the document and if desire or
instructed, might opt to file their replies.
Meanwhile, in compliance with the courts order of February 29, 2012,
the courts office placed on record a sealed envelope under the cover TOP

771

SECRET report of the commission to review the working of security and

intelligence agencies. The court observed that commissions review of the
working of security and intelligence agencies has not been filed. The court
ruled that in the interest of nation, the documents shall be kept confidential.
The court also directed Rafaqat Hussain, who produced the said documents
to the court, to hand them over to the registrar of the apex court, who shall
put them under seal.
Similarly another envelope was also produced before the court,
containing two audiocassettes relating to HRC 19/1996 containing details
including cassette number 1: Dated November 20, 1997 timings 10.30 to
11am. Cassette number 2: Dated November 25, 1997 timing, 10am to 11am
and 11:30 to 1pm (side A) and dated November 26, 1997 timings 11:45am to
1:15pm (side B).
A file was also produced before the court, containing three pages in
original. Page 1 of the file included details of May 28, 1999 wherein the then
additional registrar with regard to obtaining the orders of HJ (1) whether Lt
Gen (retd) Nasirullah Babar and Lt Gen (retd) Asad Durrani may be asked to
read their statements and sign them in the presence of an officer of this court.
The Page 2 included the details of June 1, 1999 regarding submission of
unsigned statements/cross-examination of Gen (retd) Naseerullah Babar and
Lt Gen Asad Durrani to the then HJ (1), while Page 3 contained the order of
Justice Saaiduz Zaman Siddiqui in 1999.
Another record was also produced before the court relating to the case.
The court in its order ruled that its office has also made efforts to find out
whether examination of Gen (retd) Naseerullah Khan Babar and Lt Gen
(retd) Asad Durrani was recorded; according to the report, no such document
is available on record.
However, Salman Akram Raja, appearing for the petitioner, stated that
they were subjected to cross-examination on the affidavits, which have
already been filed. The court ruled that as these proceedings were drawn in
camera, therefore, the same be sealed and handed over to Rafaqat Hussain
for depositing them with the registrar. As regards proceedings drawn by the
office of the registrar to locate the documents, they are also made part of the
record and are ordered to be deposited with the registrar. The court adjourned
the hearing till Friday.
The MQM, brushed aside the allegations against its chief in the Asghar
Khan case, said that Altaf Hussain had refused to take money from Brigadier

772

Imtiaz in 1988 and later from Brigadier Hamid in 1990. The statement noted
that Brig Imtiaz had also conceded before the media that Altaf Hussain refused
to take the money. The statement of giving money to Altaf by Yousuf
Advocate is merely a lie, it said, and added that conscience of MQM
leadership was satisfied and the party leaders were ready to respond to this
allegation at any forum. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, meanwhile,
termed the statement of Younus Habib on the distribution of money among
politicians as baseless, concocted and a bundle of lies.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Sheraz Kiani granted bails to
Director Technical Khurram Munaf and General Manager Plant Shakeel
Ahmed Khan of Efroze Chemical Industries (Pvt) Ltd, accused of showing
negligence which claimed the lives of nearly 150 cardiac patients registered
with the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC).
On 9th March, Chief Justice said that those who had distributed money
and those who had received the money in the Mehrangate scandal were
equally responsible, adding that the allegations would have to be proven.
Former army chief Mirza Aslam Beg apologized for using contemptuous
language in the counter-affidavit in which he had claimed to have completed a
hat trick of appearing before the Supreme Court. Chief Justice took strong
exception to the language used by the former army chief in the counteraffidavit filed in response to the affidavit filed by Younis Habib.
The chief justice admonished Akram Sheikh, counsel for Mirza Aslam
Beg, upon his failure to properly guide his client on filing the affidavit. Do
you think such language could be used for the court, Justice Iftikhar asked
Akram Shiekh, Give us a written apology right now otherwise we will take
action against your client. Akram Sheikh then asked Aslam Beg, who was
present in the courtroom, to come to the rostrum and tender a written apology
before the court, which the former army chief did.
The court accepted the unconditional apology of Aslam Beg along with
the request to delete the paragraph from his counter affidavit. Earlier during
the hearing, when the court drew the attention of Akram Sheikh towards para
14 of the affidavit, Akram Sheikh stated that it was to be read in the context of
other paragraphs as according to him, his client was being maligned at the
behest of the Pakistan Peoples Party government.
During the hearing, Lt Gen (R) Asad Durrani, former DG ISI, submitted
under oath that he received instruction from then army chief Mirza Aslam Beg
that a certain business community in Karachi had raised some contribution to
support the election campaign of the IJI and If I could arrange for it to be
773

distributed as per the formulas, that would be conveyed to me by the election

cell in the presidents office. He added that he already stated that there was no
political cell in the ISI but that political work could be done by some
designated persons.
Muhammad Akram Sheikh said from day one his point of view was that
this case was absolutely based upon disputed facts. Under instructions, he
said, he was of the opinion that a political cell was created under an
administrative instrument/executive order passed by the late Zulfikqar Ali
Bhutto by means of an SRO issued in the year of 1975. The existence of such
a political cell is unwarranted and is an interference in the fundamental rights
of the people of Pakistan, guaranteed under Article 17 and this court could
declare that no such political cell be allowed to continue in the security
agencies, Akram Sheikh said.
Salman Akram Raja, counsel for the petitioner, stated that his client had
sought relief for direction that all persons, including defence/army officers,
who were respondents, who acted so as to interfere with and manoeuvre the
electoral process in any manner, including through disbursement of funds, had
subverted the constitution. He further recalled that the petitioner had prayed
for direction to the federation to initiate appropriate proceedings under
criminal and election laws against the alleged givers and recipients of funds
for political purposes, including the respondents and the various persons
named in Lt Gen (R) Durranis letter to the premier dated June 7, 1994 and
affidavit dated July 24, 1994.
The court directed the AGP to inquire from the federal government
whether commission reports regarding Mehran Bank and Habib Bank had
been made public and if not, reasons should be assigned and the said reports
should be made available for court perusal in camera. The attorney general
said he would submit an application for permission to go through the crossexamination of the affidavits of Lt Gen (R) Asad Durrani and Maj Gen (R)
Nasirullah Khan Babar and thereafter would assist the court whether such
proceedings could be considered classified by the state or if the courts could
declare them declassified.
The court adjourned the hearing till March 14. Mirza Aslam Beg in his
counter affidavit denied the contents of the affidavit submitted by Younus
Habib. In his counter affidavit, he said Younus Habib had tried to malign him
and former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan and several others in this sordid
game of mixing politics with justice, with the intent to obstruct the wheel of
justice.
774

He said in response to the allegations of Habib, a self condemned

perjurer, he considered it proper to bring on record for the kind attention of the
court, the disappearance of the statements of General (R) Asad Durrani and
Maj General (R) Naseerullah Khan Babar recorded by this court in camera but
not yet found. This fact supports the respondents apprehension that the
vested interests, which carry the legacy of the vendetta of the lady Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto against the respondent for allegedly causing the fall
of her government in 1990, continue to haunt him and endeavour to interfere
with even the record of this august court, Aslam Beg said.
The former army chief further said in the earlier statement quoted to
have been made by Younus Habib, there was no mention of Rs1,800 million
and other allegations that he talked about now and claims that he was directed
to produce this amount by hook or by crook. He submitted Habib had tried to
develop a new story to cover up his own crimes of having siphoned of
Rs1,800 million from Habib Bank/Mehran Bank for which he was prosecuted,
jailed and made to pay almost double the amount of over Rs3 billion. Thus,
politics and crime mingled together to create space for denial of justice, he
added.
I find myself handicapped in properly replying to the affidavit filed by
Younus Habib without having in hand the report of Mehran Bank Scandal
Commission and Habib Bank Scandal Commission, Aslam Beg submitted.
He requested the court to direct the present incumbent PPP government to
supply him a copy of the report so that he might submit his detailed response
to what he called malicious, prompted and absolutely false allegations.
The Senate unanimously passed the National Commission for Human
Rights (NCHR) 2011 Amendment Bill, which provides for the establishment
of a national commission to safeguard human rights. The bill was moved by
the Leader of the House in the Senate, Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari. The
establishment of the NCHR will not only fulfill the international obligation of
creating a human rights commission but also serve as a driving force to negate
the propaganda of human rights violations in Pakistan.
Next day, Zardari in consultation with his coalition partners nominated
Leader of House in Senate, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, and Senator Sabir
Baloch for the candidature of Chairman and Deputy Chairman Senate
respectively. None of the coalition partners or any senior PPP leader raised any
objection for which Zardari thanked the heads of coalition parties.
The office of AGP received the Supreme Court order on writing letter to
Swiss authorities for reopening of corruption cases against Zardari. On March
775

8, the court had directed Prime Minister to write to Swiss authorities for
reopening of the cases against the president regardless of advice of the
secretaries. Previously, the directives were conveyed through the Law
Ministry.
Talking to media persons at the Prime Ministers House, Gilani said he
used to go by book while handling the official files daily and that was the
reason he was crystal clear that he had not committed any contempt of court.
He further said he had all respect for the courts and personally appeared before
the Supreme Court. When asked what would be his response to the latest court
directives regarding writing the letter to the Swiss authorities without seeking
advice, the prime minister said he did not know exactly about the order and he
would take decision in consultation with his lawyer, as he did not know right
now in which case the court had issued directives.
Younus Habib, former Mehran Bank chief, revealed that he had
personally given money to PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. He also revealed that
Rs2.3 million was sent to Shahbaz Sharif through TT on September 27, 1993.
He said he supported PPP in 1993 election to atone for his wrongdoings
committed in 1990. He said he had supported religious elements against
Nawaz Sharif in an attempt to correct the mistake.
Jamaat-e-Islami rejected the recent voter lists and demanded flawless
and transparent electoral rolls. Mehanti claimed that voter lists carried more
than 35 percent bogus entries. He alleged the bogus voters were deliberately
inserted so as to favour a particular political party.
On 11th March, declaring he will follow only the constitution in NRO
case, Prime Minister Gilani said that contempt of court proceedings should
have been started against the parliament instead of him. The parliament and
not the prime minister should have been indicted (for not writing the letter to
Swiss authorities), as it is the parliament that has authored the constitution
providing immunity to the president, he told print media representatives at the
State Guest House in Lahore. I am too small a person not to follow the
constitution, which gives immunity to the president, he said.
When pointed out that Supreme Court has asked him to write the letter
irrespective of anybodys advice and that it (SC) has the power to interpret the
constitution, Gilani replied, The court can only interpret the constitution but
cannot rewrite it. Its only the parliament that could do so. The immunity to
the president was quite visible and hence the relevant law needed no
interpretation, he insisted. There was a need to differentiate between
interpretation of the constitution and re-writing of the constitution, he
776

added.
The courts insistence on writing the letter had given rise to a global
debate over the question of presidential immunity, he said. All over the
world, the presidents and foreign ministers enjoy trans-national immunity
(from prosecution). I cannot undo it (the immunity). Let the parliament
decide the question of immunity, he added. Gilani said there was consensus
in the parliament that immunity should be retained for the president. None of
the political parties which had extensive sessions over 18th, 19th and 20th
constitutional amendments came up with the proposal to end immunity for the
president, the PM substantiated his point.
Gilani said that if the letter in question was not being written since long,
it was because of this reason (immunity) and reiterated that he would follow
the constitution given by ZA Bhutto over this issue. Those (parliament) who
have given immunity to the president should be tried for contempt of court (if
required) since I have not committed any crime (by following the
constitution), he asserted.
The PM believed that media was mixing up two separate cases the
NRO implementation case and contempt proceedings against him. Is it right
that neither I have the services of a lawyer nor could I seek advice from
anybody over the letter issue, he asked from the media men while referring to
the latest court orders in this regard. How can I write the letter without
seeking advice from Mr Babar Awan, he remarked with a tongue in cheek and
a smile on his face.
When this scribe asked the prime minister if he still saw conspiracies
being hatched against him after successful conduct of the Senate polls, he said
his government was facing conspiracies on almost daily basis. But now the
PML-N people are talking of conspiracies (against them) after the reopening
of Mehran Bank case, he said, adding the case should have been opened
much earlier. It has been opened so late that now the petitioners have become
too old to pursue the case.
About the early elections, he said that he would consult the allies in this
regard after presentation of the fifth budget. He said elections could not be
held before schedule on the demand of a single political party (PML-N). He
said he believed in step-by-step approach and setting small targets to tackle
issues. The first small target I set earlier was holding of Senate polls, and now
it is the national budget. Then I would see the possibility of early elections in
consultation with the allies, he added.

777

Next day, PPPs Nayyer Bokahri and Sabir Baloch were elected
unopposed chairman and deputy chairman of Senate respectively, after 54
newly-elected senators took oath. The opposition parties did not field their
candidates, a step appreciated by the veteran legislators from treasury benches
who said such practices help strengthen democratic institutions.
Amid continuous sloganeering of PPP Jiyalas during the oath-taking
ceremony, Senator Zafar Ali Shah of PML-N staged a walkout from the house
saying that chanting party slogans in the house was a sheer violation of
parliamentary norms and Senate rules. However, Zafar Shahs protest could
not stop PPP diehards from sloganeering, which went on with intervals until
the election of deputy chairman senate.
The visitors galleries of the upper house were packed with supports and
guests of the new senators and majority of them belonged to PPP. The slogans
in support of PPP and its leadership did not go well with senators from other
political parties as well, and some of them also raised voice against it. PPP
chief whip in house Islamuddin Sheik requested several times the visitors to
maintain order and stop chanting slogans but they turned a deaf ear to his
requests.
Afaq Ahmed made a candid confession that he did receive Rs5 million
from Younis Habib to organize the MQM-H. He alleged that Altaf Hussain had
received money from retired chief of army staff Aslam Beg through Younis
Habib, saying he was a witness to this deal. I am ready to testify before any
court, if needed.
The Supreme Court directed establishment division secretary, chief
secretaries of all the four provinces and Islamabad commissioner to file
comments regarding ways and means for the protection of fundamental rights
of civil servants. A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice was hearing a
suo moto case regarding slapping to polling staff by Waheeda Shah.
The chief justice said that the civil servants are bound to obey only the
lawful orders and directed them to follow the law and adhere to the legal
provisions of the constitution. He observed that when the officers follow the
law and legal provisions they face lot of resistance, humiliation, transfer, they
are made OSD and baseless proceedings of disciplinary nature are initiated
against them.
Referring to a recent incident, the chief justice said DPO Sargodha Dr
Rizwan was transferred to Gilgit-Baltistan for taking action against PPP MPA
Aslam Midhana, who beat a schoolteacher. The IGP Punjab was directed to

778

look into the matter personally, as the DPO has been transferred out of the
province. The IGP was directed to submit the report in two weeks.
The chief justice quoting Quaid-e-Azam words said that civil servants
are the steel frame of the government and they are the servant of the state and
if they will be demoralized, they would not work whole heartedly, fearing
they will be transferred. The court noticed that there were frequent transfer
and postings in various departments, which are contrary to the rules and
regulations. The court further noticed that the protection of fundamental rights
of the civil servant is given in various judgments of the apex court.
The court directed that the letter of Anita Turab, a bureaucrat, should be
treated as constitutional petition under article 184(3) of the constitution. Anita
in her letter complained that servants were being pushed to the wall by every
succeeding government and were treated as personal servants of the influential
people in the government.
Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi, a human rights activist, informed the
court that a good number of police officers have been given shoulder
promotions in Sindh province. The court observed that shoulder promotion
should not be allowed and stated they expect the IGP and Sindh chief secretary
would take immediate action on the issue of such promotions as these
discourage the merit. The chief justice said the heart burning and uncertainty
among police officers is due to out of turn promotion and he directed the IGP
and chief secretary to file the report in this regard on the next date of hearing.
The case is adjourned till March 28, 2012.
Pakistan Railways increased the fares of the passenger trains (shortdistance) by 15 per cent and express trains (long-distance) by 20 per cent due
to raise in fuel charges. The new fares will be effective from March 15. The
cash-strapped Railways, about six weeks ago, had increased the fares of goods
trains by 30 per cent with the same justification.
On 13th March, the Supreme Court directed NAB to arrest people
involved in Railways corruption within three days and ordered that the
Railways Board Secretary be posted back immediately. The chief justice said
it was the job of NAB to eliminate corruption and not to enter into plea
bargain. He said that even Minister and Chairman Railways were being named
in the corruption in Railways. He said NAB was arresting only poor people
and people in the institution were just passing time and they have no interest
in the service of the country. He said if the NAB had the courage to arrest the
influential people, it could have done so within three days.

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The Supreme Court was presented a report by the Pakistan Steel Mills
attorney Fakharuddin G Ibrahim that disclosed that the Pakistan Steel Mills
have borne a loss of 26.5 billion rupees so far. According to the report, the mill
bears a daily loss of Rs 40 million which accumulates to more than a Rs onebillion monthly loss. The attorney also claimed that the officials who were
involved in the corruption have been released on bail and the former chairman
of the mill has never been detained. Ibrahim also suggested that the case
should be forwarded to the NAB to which the Chief Justice agreed. The Chief
justice adjourned the hearing till the March 15.
President Zardari approved conferment of Hilal-i-Imtiaz upon
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, the first Pakistani to win Oscar for her documentary
Saving Face. Sharmeen Chinoy, known for documentaries dealing with life in
the Muslim world, has produced numerous films and has won a number of
awards and honors including the Emmy Award. She became the first nonAmerican to win the Livingston Award.
Next day, Chief Justice said that the intelligence agencies of the country
are doing things that are beyond their mandate. Hearing Asghar Khans
petition, he observed that this country belongs to all of us and its protection
is a collective responsibility contrary to the thinking of some people who
consider themselves exclusive guardians of the state and think they can run the
country according to their wishes.
The chief justice asked Salman Akram Raja, counsel for Asghar Khan,
to file a petition regarding the distribution of money by IB to topple the
Punjab government in 2009 as reported in an English language daily. The CJP
inquired whether a civilian force too indulges in such practices. Raja said the
case was tip of the iceberg and for the last 65 years the nation is facing this
flouting of mandate by different state institutions. The court issued notice to
the newspaper, publisher and the reporter, who filed story on IB distributing
funds among the politicians.
Attorney General informed the court that he had examined the
statements of Gen (r) Naseerullah Babar and Gen (r) Asad Durrani, which they
had given in-camera at SC registrar office during the hearing of the same case
in 1999. The AG stated he has no objection if the statements of Mr Durrani
and Mr Babar are declassified as all the relevant facts in the documents are in
public domain. The court said that a written order to make the report public
will be passed during the next hearing.
However, the court expressed discontentment with the attorney general
for not producing the former inquiry commission reports regarding Mehran
780

Bank and Habib Bank. The AG sought time, saying the law secretary did not
have the reports while the secretary interior was out of the country. The
Supreme Court sarcastically remarked whether the interior secretary carries
the reports in his pockets.
Salman Akram Raja said that it was the federal governments
responsibility to procure these documents as Interior Minister had stated two
days ago that he has lot of documents regarding the case and if the Supreme
Court would summon him he would furnish the documents in the court. The
chief justice sought clarity from Gen (r) Durrani regarding his statement
wherein he had said he distributed the amount on his own behalf and not on
behalf of the ISI. The CJP said at that time you were holding the charge of two
agencies MI and ISI. Durrani replied he was not DG MI then.
The CJ wondered that how could Durrani deny the involvement of the
ISI given the fact that he was holding office at the time when the money was
being distributed. Durrani told the court that there were elements outside the
ISI who were appointed for the task of distributing money. He added that he
involved some officer from ISI but not the ISI as an institution. The chief
justice remarked: At that time you and Gen (r) Beg were sitting general,
therefore, now the burden is on both of you regarding the case.
Yunus Habib submitted an affidavit in response to the rejoinders of
General (r) Aslam Beg and Lt-Gen (r) Asad Durrani. He submitted that with
all sincerity, honesty and in order to bring the truth on record he filed an
affidavit on March 8, 2012, and there is no question of scandalizing the
highest court of the country. He stated since Air Marshal Asghar Khan filed
the petition he never met any political figure till he deposited affidavit on
March 8. Only General Mirza Aslam Beg spoke to me in the last two years
only 4 to 5 times.
It is correct that I paid more than Rs3 billion. I actually have so far paid
Rs345 crores to the Habib Bank Ltd and only Rs115 crores is to be paid to
HBL, and this amount can be easily paid by selling a plot of 32 acres situated
at Gulshan-e-Iqbal Karachi. He stated that in his March 8 affidavit he
submitted that Brig Hamid Saeed and Col Akbar were introduced to me as ISI
officers. However, after the affidavit of Lt-Gen (r) Durrani I pray the court to
delete the word of ISI from my previous affidavit.
The chief justice asked Yunus Habib and Lt-Gen Asad Durrani to
engage counsels as under Article 10A the court would like to give them fair
opportunity. The chief justice ordered Yunus Habib to avoid giving interview
to TV channels. The attorney general was directed to get the verification and
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attestation of Yunus Habib. The hearing was adjourned until March 30.
Shahbaz said Younus Habib, who had accused them (Sharifs) of
receiving money in two installments of Rs 2.5 million and Rs 3.5 million
before the 1990 and 1993 elections respectively, had repeatedly changed his
stance. Moreover, Younus did not mention even a single allegation against
them in the affidavit presented in the Supreme Court, which proved that his
claim was baseless and a pack of lies. Shahbaz flanked by party leaders
announced to move the court of law for damages against the former banker for
targeting him and his brother through unfounded, false and baseless
allegations.
To a question on the role of agencies, the chief minister said they never
let democracy flourish in the country. Not only will the ISI but the IB also
now have to account for the money it received, he said, while appreciating
the court notice to the IB using of Rs 270 million funds. Shahbaz pledged to
appear as witness if called by the court as he knew certain facts about the said
money.
Meanwhile, PML-N has constituted a panel of jurists at the head of
former Advocate General Punjab Khawaja Harris Ahmad to file a suit for
damages against former head of Mehran Bank Younus Habib, who had leveled
allegations against Sharif brothers which, the party says, are baseless and
unfounded. The panel in the first instance, will serve legal notice on Habib
following a formal suit would be filed before the Lahore High Court to claim
the damages if action was not taken as per the demand in the notice.
The Supreme Court reiterated it will go to any extent for the protection
of the constitution and rule of law in the country. The CJP said the ECP was
bound to review the electoral lists annually but it had not done that so far. He
said on July 4, 2012 the secretary ECP himself gave commitment regarding
updating the electoral rolls.
Referring to a letter written by ECP secretary to the PM complaining
about SCs interference in the affairs of the ECP, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain
said that the court had showed restraint on the delay of preparation of voter
lists but ECP secretary has blamed the court for interference in commissions
affairs. Expressing his displeasure, the chief justice remarked: Everyone has
right to express his views but within certain limits
The court asked the secretary ECP as to why he had kept the ECP
members in the dark about the deadline for the preparation of new lists. The
secretary replied that four meetings were held with the ECP members and they

782

were aware about the delay in the preparation of lists. The court directed the
attorney general to go through the ECP reply as well as secretarys letter and
then assist the court as to whether after making commitments before this court
on 4-7-2011 to complete the process of revising the electoral lists under the
command of article 219 of the constitution, was there any justification to
postpone this process till the month of May, 2012 even without seeking
permission from the court. The court adjourned the hearing on April 9.
Imran Khan cancelled his participation as keynote speaker in the India
Today Conclave being held in New Delhi immediately on learning of Salman
Rushdies participation in the same. He expressed his regrets to the organizers
but stated categorically that he could not even think of participating in any
programme that included Salman Rushdie who has caused immeasurable hurt
to Muslims across the globe.
On 15th March, Gilani said he was prime minister not a peon and would
prefer jail instead of writing letter to Swiss authorities against President
Zardari. Addressing a public gathering in Mailsi he said the judges consider
him as peon rather than a prime minister. Later in the afternoon, he told PhD
students of Islamia University Bahawalpur that if he writes letter to Swiss
authorities to reopen graft cases against Zardari it would be in violation of the
constitution and he could be awarded death sentence under Article 6 while he
would be sent to jail for six months if punished with contempt of court for not
writing the letter.
Playing to the gallery, Gilani asked the students whether he should write
the letter, to which the audience shouted: No, no. Ok, we will send your
message to the court and tell them that they should charge parliament with
contempt of court because parliament has given immunity to the president. All
heads of state all over the world have this immunity. Gilani said he was loyal
to Pakistan Peoples Party and would not change his loyalty. He said he would
leave politics but would not stab Zardari in the back. Gilanis remarks revive
speculation that he would rather risk losing his job than capitulate in a twoyear showdown with the judiciary.
Federal Minister Khursheed Shah maintained whether court punishes
Prime Minister Gilani or not, he has played his innings. He was talking to
journalists at a function held in connection with Lithuanias national day. To a
question about speculations that he (Khursheed Shah) may be the next PM if
Gilani is convicted in contempt of court case, the minister said: All of our 179
members are eligible of becoming the prime minister.
The Lahore High Court adjourned hearing of a plea seeking
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disqualification of Senator Aitzaz Ahsan and asked the petitioners counsel for
arguments on whether the court had authority to disqualify any senator. Tariq
Mahmood had in his petition alleged that Ahsan owned 110 acres of land and
was a defaulter of Rs 204,100 tax on it. He further alleged that the PPP leader
earned Rs1,800,000 in a year but paid Rs55,592 as tax. He pleaded that the
respondent be declared ineligible to hold the seat of senator while invoking
provisions of Article 63 of the Constitution.
The revealing of names of those who tried to buy loyalties of the N
lawmakers during the Governors Rule of 2009 by using Intelligence Bureaus
secret funds will stun the public, Shahbaz Sharif expressed these views while
talking to Waqt News. Shahbaz Sharif said the corrupt rulers had tarnished the
image of Pakistan in abroad. While giving an example, the chief minister said
Turkey had gifted 100 vehicles for cleanliness to the Punjab government and
on the other side no one ready to give even a single penny to Zardari
government.
MQM staged a walkout from the National Assembly session in protest
against rising incidents of extortion and targeted killings in Karachi, saying the
party might not attend the joint sitting of the Parliament if appropriate and
immediate action was not taken to tackle the issue. The Muttahida legislators
raised slogans Bhatta Khori Band Karo (Stop Extortion) and Karachi
Bachao (Save Karachi) before staging walkout from the house. Meanwhile, a
police constable, stationed at the Saudabad Police Headquarters in Karachi
was shot dead.
Chief Justice hearing the case of Pakistan Steel Mills said that
corruption in the PSM has not only been established in the forensic audit
report besides that the government did not take action against the responsible
persons, who sank the mills. The loss was bifurcated into three parts; business
loss Rs 4.68 billion, losses due to corrupt practices Rs 9.99 billion and losses
due to mismanagement is Rs 11.84 billion.
Gul Muhammad Rind Secretary Ministry of Industries informed the
court that on the direction of the court he had discussed the audit report with
the Minister. In the last hearing, the court had ordered Industries Secretary Gul
to come up with an explanation why his Ministry had failed to take timely
action on a forensic audit report (2008-09) that identified cumulative losses of
Rs 26.5 billion suffered by Pakistan Steel Mills in one year.
Rind also told that the Ministry on receipt of the forensic report six
months ago, referred the matter to FIA, but so far have not received their
findings, adding, after receiving the FIA report they would decide about
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sending it to NAB. The Chief Justice said that audit report has proved that
massive corruption took place in the Steel Mills.
Barrister Zafarullah, a petitioner, argued that the PSM is facing
functional and financing crisis due to rampant corruption, mismanagement and
incompetence. The FIA instead of proceeding against M/S Abbas Steel
Group, owned by Riaz Lalji, for criminal corruption and Ms Sabina Sakina,
daughter of Riaz Lalji, alleged accused in FIR No.39/2009, have exonerated
them, Zafarullah said.
He said the apex court stopped privatization of the mills, but it bore no
fruits. Justice Khilji remarked that they could not run the PSM. The Chief
Justice stated their mandate is to point out corruption, which they had done.
He said it was up to the government whether it like to run the Mills or not?
The court after the statement of Secretary has not yet decided to refer the case
to NAB and reserved the judgment.

VIEWS
On 3rd March, Tallat Azim observed: All the last week has been about
two Pakistani women; one to be extremely proud of and the other to be
ashamed of with an equal amount of feeling. Almost like from one end of
the pendulum to another. The young lady, who made Pakistanis joyous the
world over was Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and who showed the talented,
educated and resilient face of Pakistan and spoke so well when receiving the
first-ever Oscar won by a Pakistani. I loved Jemima Khans tweet on the
occasion told you, told you, told you, it is going to be Pakistans year!
Sharmeen was dignified and beautiful as was Dr Jawad, the Pakistani plastic
surgeon, who is central to the documentary.
The other end of the pendulum was Waheeda Shah, PPP MPA elect,
who was caught on camera slapping a couple of teachers handling the vote
count at one of the polling booths in her area. Her act is symbolic of all
that is wrong with our political elite and the culture of power. Whatever
may have provoked her; this is certainly not acceptable behaviour from
somebody we are about to place as a lawmaker. It was a never-ending saga
because after the hue and cry raised on her action, Waheeda Shah went on to
have a press conference with the insulted teacher sitting in complete purdah
with face also covered to say that all was now hunky-dory and forgiven and
forgotten between them. What pressure the slapped woman came under to do
this or even whether it was actually the abused woman or not (because
785

nobody could see her to identify her, despite the fact that she was not face
covered on the Election Day), we will never know. What is reassuring is,
however, that the Supreme Court has taken suo moto notice and will decide
whether the lady in question can retain her newly won seat or not. I do hope
they take the road less traveled and do justice to the women, who were at the
receiving end of the boorish behaviour.
Nawab Mumtaz Ali Bhutto wrote: All know that true democracy has
to stand on three legs: The executive, the legislature and the judiciary.
Pakistan, however, has made history of sorts by the fact that in the gaps
between 31 years of military rule, which also the generals claimed to be
democratic, it has had 33 years of 13 different democratic dispensations,
seven of which came and went within the first 11 years of the new country.
Examining each of these democracies under the microscope of the
sacrosanct tenets of the same, one clearly sees a picture of Dorian Gray.
Therefore, let the past be interned with the bones of those who have come
and gone and let us examine what we are trapped in now.
Mumtaz went on to describe how two of its legs have been crippled
and then added: This leaves only the third leg of democracy, the
judiciary, which is carrying such a load as to be sinking. It has become
bogged down with petitions ranging from the trivial to murder and treason
together with the suo moto action that it is compelled to take. It is only the
higher courts that the people flock to for relief and look upon the judiciary,
as the only venue of redemption. Litigation in the lower courts is endless
with the complainant carrying the entire burden, while the defendant or
respondent rests unconcerned. Judgments, if and when forthcoming, are
ignored and warrants remain unenforced by the police. Corruption is also
rampant, the burden of which too falls on the person who knocks at the door
of the court. However, regardless of such drawbacks, the lopsided edifice of
the collapsing democracy is being propped up only by the damaged leg of
the judiciary and this cannot last long, as it is under heavy attack from the
executive. Zardari says that the Supreme Court orders to reopen the Swiss
cases will not be carried out. The Prime Minister is charged with contempt.
Here it becomes relevant to recount an event of epoch-making importance:
The whole world knows that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did not get a fair
trial and was hanged on Zias orders delivered through the Supreme Court of
the day. Nevertheless, he never committed contempt of court by declaring
that the judgment was unjust and it should not be carried out. When he stood
on the gallows, finish it were the only words he uttered. Thus, out of the

786

three legs of democracy, it is only the limping judiciary that survives? Can
this honestly be called a democratic setup?
There has to be an immediate rescue operation not just to save the
judiciary, but the entire edifice of democracy. All the institutions of the state
are in a state of chaos and collapse. A complete accountability and
reconstruction job is urgently required. An honest government of technocrats
and patriots with no political ambitions and only the desire to serve, watched
over by the Supreme Court, is one suggestion. But will anyone complain if
the desired results are produced by a dictator? Another year of Zardari will
leave nothing to be saved. Do we want Pakistan or do we want a
democracy standing only on one damaged leg? What is the use of political
leaders organizing and showing off mammoth gatherings, which bear no
results and allow the rot to continue? Nothing is achieved by competing to
put on the biggest show. There are millions of lives at stake here, which
cannot be told to wait and see. While political leaders are busy blowing hot
and cold, termites are eating away at the foundations. If the shows that have
been put on for the media and self-glorification are turned around and aimed
at changing the rotten and intolerable status quo, success will be instant. Not
to do so will make those responsible and as much answerable to the people
as the ruling prophets of disaster and doom, who are the beneficiaries of this
one-legged democracy.
Mariam Habib, despite the adverse circumstances, was proud of being
Pakistani. She wrote: I love being a Pakistani; it is the most exciting
existence ever! I laugh in the face of blue (yes, you read right blue), red
or even yellow (is there one???) passports, for I have my cherished green
one. Like Gollum I clasp it to my bosom, during all security checks at most
airports, when Im stripping halfway in the name of safe passage to
anywhere of any consequence, while I throw furtive glances all around,
protecting my precious from the awe it inspires in all those around; and yes
I stick my nose up and peer benevolently at the officers who in the name of
random checks take me aside to question me some more. I see through their
facade clearly, they are enthralled by the enigma that I am someone
beyond their comprehension (doesnt say much for their comprehension, still
much must be forgiven of mere mortals) for I am a Pakistani.
Whatever others might think about my identity, I am a formidable
pathan, a noble balochi, a resilient sindhi or a valiant punjabi, but my true
essence still remains adamantly Pakistani. Despite ranking 145th on the
Human Development Index, Pakistanis rank 34th on the list of the most
charitable nations in the world and that too before all our flood relief efforts
787

were taken into account. So what if our government will not lift a finger
unless it is to cast aspersions at political tsunamis, I make up for all that the
marauding monchars in power lack, you know, intellect, patriotism, merit,
bachelor degrees, the works.
Despite all the hoopla of match-fixing scandals and cowardly covert
slandering of our cricket spirit, we showed the jealous goras what it means
to be the worlds best spinners and are firmly on our way to be the worlds
best cricket team (even if Im the only one saying it). Here a word of thanks
to the IPL without whose bigoted discrimination, we would never have been
spared the boredom of playing inferior cricket. You will find us speculating
on how Bilawal can be a Bhutto when his father is not, whether Nawaz got a
hair transplant or not, or whether a particular TV host is a nut or just a bigot.
All this while we try to decipher what our esteemed head of government was
saying, when he was not saying what he said he meant to say, while he said
what he did not say! Combine this with rumours of impending coups and
threats of civil disobedience and Christopher Nolan could not have given the
world a better thriller - no wonder, the Americans show such meddling
interest in our business when it is none of theirs.
You know the thing, that makes everyone so frustratingly mystified
with us, is I think our resilience, and our stubborn refusal to sink into
oblivion. I mean look at us, political turmoil, sectarian violence, crumbling
economy to no end. So, how is it that we continue to survive, considering
almost 60 percent of our population lives below the international poverty
line? There is this suspicion that it might be due to sheer force of numbers,
after all a 55 percent population growth rate in the last decade alone, is no
laughing matter. At this rate, we just might take over the entire world
literally.
Considering how many ups and downs (rare ups and rampant downs)
weve endured, it is small wonder weve evolved into a nation where we can
endure traumatic experiences, such as horrific murders, suicide bombers and
natural disasters, with at least a semblance of equanimity if not outright
apathy. Not to say, weve lost any of our compassion, mind you, if any proof
is required, just look at us watching Humsafar and bawling our hearts out.
Just as tired as we are with the mantra of do more from our socalled allies, we are tired of explaining our position to the world. If
sacrificing our blood and our peace for their wars is not enough, I dont
know what will ever be. So, let them bring on their prejudices and their fear,

788

their questions and their scrutiny, their awe and their bewilderment, I will
remain most adamantly a proud Pakistani!
Next day, TheNation commented on Senate elections: The election
results have brought into focus at least two telling facts. The disunited
Muslim League failed to bag 11 seats it would have easily won had its
splintered groups heeded the call for sinking their differences and joined
hands. The second significant outcome is that the ruling alliance led by the
PPP now enjoys an unassailable position in both the Houses of Parliament.
As for the Upper House, it has secured a two-thirds majority and is able to
give an overwhelming approval to any legislation passed in the Lower
House. One would sincerely hope that it would rise above the game of party
politicking and address itself, unhampered by voices of dissent coming from
the opposition parties, to providing relief to the people. Its policies of the
past four years have had little to do with its election manifesto: roti, kapra
and makan. Rather, it could be blamed for the spiraling across-the-board
inflation that proved counterproductive to its commitments. One would
expect it to do as much as it can to undo the impact of its policies, if
anything, to raise its prospects of faring well in the coming general
elections.
In another editorial, the newspaper wrote: Waheeda Shah, a Sindh
Assembly PPP candidate from Tando Muhammad Khan, was caught by TV
cameras repeatedly slapping a woman official of the ECP and yet for the
CEC to have adopted, allegedly, an attitude that tends to favour the accused
ruling party candidate would obviously raise many an eyebrow. And
questions about his close association with the PPP would be raised, as some
reports appearing in the press have openly done. It is high time that such
cases must be tried and if the accused is found guilty severely punished
to serve as a lesson for others.
Winning the Oscar Award was loudly applauded by certain sections of
the media and the civil society without paying any attention to the motive of
those who nominate and judge the winners. Madiha Viquar from Karachi
observed: The worlds most prestigious film award, the Oscar, was given to
Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy for her short documentary
Saving Face, which focuses on one of those issues which the West loves to
promote about Pakistan violence against women. I wonder whether Ms
Obaid-Chinoys work would have received the same international acclaim
had the documentary highlighted any positive aspect of our country?

789

Sami ur Rahman in concluding remarks of his column wrote: In the

flurry of mass communications onslaught, we also overlook some important
piece of information. And it happens almost every time. No one seems to
bother to acknowledge that Obaid-Chinoy also has a co-director on her
documentary: Daniel Junge. Is not it a bit unfair? The good co-director is a
US citizen and some pro-American nincompoop might even say we
cannot achieve anything of value without the USAs help, even in the
entertainment business.
I personally have no problem with the topic in so far as it is treated
with a critical, unbiased and unprejudiced mind. It just so happens, however,
that political theorists and analysts in the West invariably entwine
violence against women with the religion, Islam. Such a practice in itself
is a sorry affair and calls for correction. The shuttlecock burqa, for instance,
is notoriously depicted in the Western press, as the particular brand of
Islamic veil. Few have the realization that such a practice has more to do
with local customs and traditions than the religion itself.
Our past experience with the noble prizes is not that pleasant, too.
Look what we have done to the good physicist; Dr Abdus Salam. He was the
only Pakistani ever to receive the Nobel Prize a prize more revered and
coveted than the Oscars. We even denied him his resting place. No wonder
then. There is a great dearth of great men and women in our land of the
dispossessed.
In the final analysis, Ms Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy deserves all the
kudos, laurels and accolades, for she has bravely exposed the grim,
deformed and maligned face of our society. Her theme is a sorry one. But
thats OK. That is how we are, after all. One just hopes she serves as an
inspiration to all the daughters of the land.
Jalees Hazir was quite forthright in expressing his views hinting at
some valid reservations. He asked: Would Ms Chinoy's sponsors have
found the cash to fund a film on women and children bombed to death
in drone attacks? What are the chances of such a film being nominated for
an Oscar? Is it just a coincidence that the one shown saving faces of victims
of acid attacks lives in the UK and the film does not highlight similar
initiatives by Pakistanis? It is not difficult to decipher inter-connected and
inter-dependent interests promoting a certain view of the world that fits into
larger political goals that are shared by them. Perhaps, the easiest thing to do
for a filmmaker, or any other creative artist for that matter, is to use her skills
to reinforce the narrative of the powerful international establishment, the

790

super-rich and the super-famous, those with the funds and the contacts, and
awards for those who sing their tune.
Those celebrating Pakistan's first Oscar say that one should not try to
read conspiracies into everything. For them, the Oscar Awards are about
excellence in film-making and one should not interpret them in the language
of politics. They argue that the craft of film-making is independent of the
content. They would like to ignore the power of films to shape perceptions
and the way Hollywood uses that power to control minds in America and
around the world. The Oscar establishment is an essential part of this project
of the super-rich, promoting films that strengthen the view of the world that
those wishing to control it would like all of us to have. Granted that every
award is not decided on these political motivations, but there are many
that are. Take the case of The Hurt Locker that was awarded the Oscar
Award for the best movie not long ago. It is, perhaps, the best example of
using the medium of cinema to twist reality.
This particular Oscar winner unfolds in Iraq and is the story of an
American bomb squad that goes around defusing bombs in the occupied
country. It humanizes the occupying American soldiers as regular guys
trying to do their job in a difficult environment. The local Iraqis are
constantly in their way, creating problems for them due to their stupidity.
The irony is monumental. The American soldiers are not bombing and
killing Iraqis, they are defusing bombs and actually saving them. The film
not only glorifies the occupying soldiers, it dehumanizes the local Iraqis. Is
it just a coincidence that it got the best movie award? Was it just because the
film was well-made? Is Saving Face just a well-made film that the Oscar
establishment honoured? We will find out on March 8, the International
Women's Day, when it is aired.
On 9th March, Mihannad Malick commented: Who could have
thought that a frail old man, crouched in a wheelchair would bring the
house down on the ruing generals, regretful politicians and a few
journalists thrown in for good measure. When Yunus Habib was wheeled
into the Supreme Court on Thursday, he was expected to merely dilate upon
the Rs180 million sleaze fund created by Gen (r) Asad Durani-led ISI under
the watchful eye of his boss Gen Aslam Beg, who wants us to believe that he
was acting purely on the behest of late president Ghulam Ishaq Khan.
Having deposed, the headline-making banker of the 90s was
supposed to make a quick exit and go back to his near-invisible existence.
But clearly old habits die hard. After almost two decades, Habib had his

791

headline moment once again. Why talk about a mere Rs180m gravy train
when the real amount is a massive Rs1.48 billion? Habib told the court,
and the world, that almost Rs400 million were ploughed into the sordid ISIIJI affair. And that it was done through Gen Durrani and his crew, and of
course one mystery man called Advocate Yusuf.
All these years, Yusufs identity had remained an enigma, but as it
transpires the gentleman had started his career as a simple typist at the
MQM markaz and later earned his legal spurs. It was during this period
that he developed an acquaintance with Habib, which was to prove
immensely profitable in his later years. To date, we were also led to believe
that Gen Beg had contacted Yunus Habib on the orders of president Ishaq
Khan but here too an equally interesting revelation is in order.
Yunus Habib was not introduced to Gen Beg by Ishaq Khan; on the
contrary it was Gen Beg who had known Yunus Habib for years and it
was he who had taken him to Ishaq Khan. According to Yunus Habibs
recollection, he had become friends with Gen Beg when he was a brigadier
in 1978. How and why, he no longer remembers. But over the years the two
developed extremely close family terms. It was also obvious that the army
chief had more than a passing interest in the Machiavellian ploy and was
demonstrably doing a lot more that was imposed upon him by his skewed
concept of call of duty.
Clearly, the dirty plan of creating a holy political alliance was not
necessarily hatched exclusively inside the presidency. While Yunus Habib
cannot remember the exact date, he does remember that his first meeting
with president Ishaq had taken place on a balmy May evening at Islamabads
Balochistan House. Why didnt you meet him at the presidency, I asked, to
which Habib replied, I dont know. It was Gen Beg who had organized the
meeting so he would know why we met there. In all, according to him, he
met the late president three times during this conspiracy and each time in the
company of Gen Beg.
Habib remembers telling the president in their very first meeting that
he could not take out such huge amounts from the bank in a legal manner
and that would have to maneuver things around to which the president
responded: Do it whichever way you want, but this must be done in
national interest (sic). Habib may not have taken the oath to uphold the
Constitution and the law but the two other gentlemen in that room surely
had. What a moment for the country and rule of law.

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To this day, Habib appears convinced that he did it all in the

national interest but today has only these words for others, It was a
mistake, we should not have done it and hopefully no other banker ever will.
Thats why I have thrown myself at the mercy of the court.
But memories arent without bitterness either, like that of the biggest
beneficiary of this dirty game, Mian Nawaz Sharif, punishing him (Habib)
after his own falling out with his erstwhile benefactor, Gen Beg. When the
then prime minister Nawaz Sharif had a tiff with Gen Beg over their
divergent views on the Iraq war, Habib recalls, the prime minister removed
him from Habib Banks top job just to make a point with Beg.
Coming back to the present, in his affidavit before the Supreme Court,
former COAS, Gen Beg has indicated that he had been acting purely on the
orders of President Ishaq Khan and while Yunus Habibs statement does not
absolve the late president of being an integral part of a despicable
constitutional violation it also reveals that the roles played by the Begs and
Durranis of this world were way larger than what is being claimed by them.
In his latest submission before the apex court, the other key player
and former spymaster Gen (r) Durrani has described his actions as being
purely of his own accord with the ISI having nothing to do with all that had
happened. Whether the valiant soldier is offering his head to protect
the name of his former agency or this candour is being sired by
something that the agency knows and we dont, is also something we dont
know, and probably never will. But the joke isnt over yet.
While Gen Durrani insisted that he had acted in his personal
capacity, he totally forgot about the affidavit of his former boss Gen Beg
who had insisted that he (Durrani) had been following lawful orders. So if
Gen Durrani was acting on his own while heading the ISI while the ISI had
nothing to do with this entire affair, then which lawful orders had Gen Beg
been referring to, one wonders.
Every time an army dictator is eventually sent packing, we the people
are told that we must learn to differentiate between the individual and
the institution. That all the wrongs he committed were his own doing and
must not be attributed to the institution. We are now hearing the same with
Gen Durrani himself saying he had acted in his personal capacity and thus
the ISI or the army must not be incriminated either in the court of public
opinion and of law. If only reality were so simple. Musharraf remained in
power that was never his, only because the army was. Similarly, Gen
Durrani was in the thick of things not because of his own personal magic but

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for the majesty of his office. Whatever he did then was and could be in only
one capacity: official.
A chief of the army staff too cannot claim immunity after violating
the Constitution with criminal impunity. Generals Beg and Durrani have
confessed to their acts of violating the Constitution, their professed national
interest motive notwithstanding. It is time that legal examples are made
of those who have soiled the proud uniforms in pursuit of illegal
objectives.
The national interest will only be served if rule of law is not made
colour-blind. Its time for recrimination for individuals and reform for
the institutions. The erring generals may have paid millions to dirty
politicians but its time for them to pay for their own actions.
Tariq Butt wrote: President Asif Ali Zardaris complete confidence
in the total loyalty of Aitzaz Ahsan and Raza Rabbani is yet to be fully
reinstated otherwise the two would have been preferred for the prestigious
slots of the Senate chairman and federal law minister. The incumbent Senate
Chairman, Farooq H Naek, a committed Zardari loyalist, who retires on
March 11 after completing his first three-year term, is being touted as the
next main legal federal advisor or law minister.
Nayyar Bokharis name as his replacement is said to have been
firmed up by the president Both Aitzaz Ahsan and Rabbani know that they
are unlikely to be picked up by the president for any top position because he
could not have blind faith in their loyalty due to their independent nature. A
source close to Aitzaz Ahsan said that the eminent lawyer has no doubt
that Zardari would not prefer him for any senior government or
parliamentary position. He said in the presidents view Naek was much
more reliable and trustworthy.
However, both Aitzaz Ahsan and Rabbani have been doing their
utmost to bail out the government in one way or the other in difficult
situations. But they have been avoiding taking up unpleasant jobs even in
this pursuit President Zardari still have much more confidence in
Babar Awan than Aitzaz Ahsan and Rabbani, and was about to re-appoint
him as law minister the day his bar licence was temporarily suspended by
the Supreme Court. But sanity prevailed as some presidential advisors
counseled him that this would amount to taunting the apex court and
ridiculing its decision.
Ansar Abbasi observed: The prime minister is playing politics with
the Supreme Court in the contempt of court case because in the
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courtroom his counsel refers to the Law Ministrys advice as the reason for
not honouring the apex courts ruling but in actual practice a political
decision to this respect was taken much earlier.
Not only President Asif Ali Zardari himself recently admitted in a
Geo interview that it was the PPPs decision not to write the letter to
foreign authorities for the reopening of corruption cases but much before the
initiation of the Law Ministrys advice, key PPP and government figures,
including Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, had been clearly indicating that
it would not be done at any cost.
While Gilanis counsel is trying to shift all the blame on the
Baboos by focusing on the Law Ministrys advice given to the prime
minister in Sept 2010, the premier had told the media on December 19, 2009
(shortly after the SCs NRO verdict) that the government could not proceed
with the cases which the Government of Pakistan itself cannot initiate in the
country. On Jan 27, 2010 Prime Minister Gilani reiterated his commitment
On Feb 24, 2010, the prime minister was given a briefing on the Swiss cases
against President Zardari and was informed that these cases could not be
reopened On May 15, 2010 the prime minister told the National
Assembly On April 3, 2010, the then Law Minister Babar Awan said that
the president enjoys immunity On April 4, 2010, Babar Awan told his
parliamentary colleagues that he would prefer to go down fighting rather
than order reopening of money laundering cases against President Zardari in
Switzerland
Ansar kept quoting the defiant utterances and ended with: On Sept
28, 2010, Babar Awan publicly asked the Supreme Court to take up the 2.2
million cases pending in courts instead of focusing on the person of
President Zardari. Babar Awan, in a TV interview, said that there were about
2.2 million pending civil and criminal cases before the courts and all the
attention had been given to one case because of one person.
Major General (retd) Tahir Ali opined: For predicting the future
political landscape of Pakistan, it is imperative that we have a clear
understanding of our national psyche developed over centuries and where
we stand today with respect to the major players who are likely to shape
Pakistans political future, at least in the near term.
To understand as to why we are what we are, we should
understand that through centuries, warriors from the North
(Afghanistan/Central Asia) invaded the fertile lands of Punjab and further
south, ruled the area by brute force and used influential locals (sell offs) for
795

collecting tax on their behalf, in return for some privileges and status. The
locals, instead of defending their motherland, always succumbed and a
number of young men normally joined the invading forces as low rank
soldiers to share the booty. The remaining masses in general learned to live
under subjugation, seeking survival by all means, right or wrong.
The British adopted the same strategy, ruled for a century by
using or controlling through enticements the same two segments of this
region-influential who became feudal lords and the uniformed lot. These
became distinct elite classes for serving the British and for the remaining,
subservience became the norm.
After creation of Pakistan nothing changed with the exception
that a tussle started for ascendancy between the same two elite classes,
i.e. predominantly feudal based political leadership and the uniformed
establishment, in which, barring few intermittent periods, the latter mostly
prevailed due to division amongst political leadership and their failure to
deliver whenever in power, successful conversion of Pakistan into a security
state by the establishment ensuring their relevance, indifference of the
masses and most importantly, support by the US administration who felt
comfortable to deal with one man at the top. (This has remained USAs
practice, especially in countries where strong anti-US feelings exist, little
realizing that such sentiments emanate because of this very approach).
Paradigm shift in the political landscape of Pakistan started to
manifest in the last 6-7 years with the reversal of most of the above factors.
It started with the US administrations decision to invest in the political
leadership, albeit a pliant one, rather than Musharraf, who, in their view, had
started double-dealing with them.
Benazir played a major role in bringing about this change of
thought as she, while in exile, was able to convince the US
administration that they were betting on the wrong horse. She was able to
successfully convince the Americans that she had the popularity at grass-root
level, could change public opinion in USAs favour, she was capable of
controlling extremism and willing to play USAs game in the region.
Convinced, the US administration acceded and Musharraf was
accordingly convinced for her return to Pakistan. The other fundamental
change came from within, whereby, an understanding developed between
Benazir and Nawaz Sharif that they would not let themselves to be used by
the establishment against each other, rule by consensus amongst
themselves and let their children and their children reap the fruits.
796

Benazir was unfortunately assassinated and succeeded by her spouse,

Zardari.
With USAs support waning, Musharrafs fall was a matter of
time, bringing down with him the entire edifice of establishments
ascendancy. Zardari, being a very shrewd politician and bestowed with many
hidden qualities, both positive and negative, successfully formed the PPP led
government, he himself became the president and since then has
successfully overcome many challenges by adopting a simple strategy; for
those who matter, support me and get whatever you want and for the
Americans, support me, empower me and get results.
Today, one can safely assume that Zardari is very close to the US
administration, has out-smarted all politicians, neutralized the establishment,
diluted judiciarys power base and has been able to woo some of those,
including media-persons and journalists, who could act as spoilers in his
pursuit for maintaining ascendancy. He knows how to win-over willing and
unwilling partners and has accumulated enough resources to buy
loyalties. The only thing lacking is his ability to deliver to the masses and
ensure good governance, but then in our beloved country this has never been
the criterion. Those who do not agree may go through the results of recently
held by-elections.
Nawaz Sharif, the second major player in the political arena, simply
stating, lacks the abilities and political acumen to counter Zardari who has
already taken the former for a ride, not once but many a time. Nawaz
Sharifs anti-establishment phobia and unwillingness to forgive those
who sided with Musharraf have been successfully exploited by his main
rival. Living with self-conceived euphoria that owing to his so-called
principled politics he would clinch the top slot in the next elections, Nawaz
Sharif fails to comprehend that, as the indicators are, he is already confined
to Punjab.
Thus, with the establishment cornered, judiciary gradually losing
relevance because of inability to assert in important cases, media with loopholes to be exploited, Nawaz Sharif in a state of war with everybody,
including his own self and living in illusions, as well as delusions, ANP as
willing and MQM as unwilling partners, PML-Q in the bag, Imran Khan
lacking the understanding of Pakistans real politics, un-flinging USAs
support and above all, subservient or indifferent masses, PPP is likely to
head the next coalition government also and we must learn to live with
Zardari as our president for a long haul.

797

Of course, under him Pakistan will neither remain a security state nor
become a welfare state but will be converted into pliant state, a status we are
doomed to be condemned being a bunch, at least a sizable majority, who stay
indifferent during elections, sell cheaply, consider corruption as a non-issue,
for whom self-elevation by all means, right or wrong, remains the norm and
who willingly allow themselves to be exploited. We deserve Zardari.
Next day, Tallat Azim wrote: I had written earlier that the letter
M seems to play a distinctly furtive role in our national lives. Consider
memogate, Mansoor Ijaz, the military, the mullah, the month of March, the
media, the minorities and now, a cherry on the M factor cake, the Mehran
Bank disbursement! Things are looking bad, as they are revealed with a lot
of black smear on the faces of all involved. What a lot of money has been
used for forging desired election results. It is not just the Chaudhrys who,
according to Mian Nawaz Sharif, should apologize to the nation for
propping up a military dictator, it is each and every one connected to
cheating the people of this country of their rights who have to ask for
forgiveness for their horrible deeds.
Despite the fact that it has been more than a decade since the
disbursement, with many of the key players no longer alive, it is a blessing
that the Mehran Bank case is now out in the open. It serves as an excellent
case study of how not to do things and should be taught as such at the
NDU and wherever else future generals, politicians and corporate executives
get educated. Something also to be learnt out of all this is that history
remembers people like General Waheed Kakar and Justice Salimuzzuman
(Saeeduzzuman) Siddiqui, who opted for doing the right thing in the wrong
circumstances, in better words than it does those who sold us the doctrine of
necessity. It is absolutely time that we stopped manipulating things to the
advantage of the pliable and manoeuvrable. It happens at all levels. Take the
press advertisements placed by the government and other organizations
wanting this or that service in all the papers as an example. They ask for
certain spelt out services, but 99 times out of 100 the result is already prefixed and the contract awarded to person or company of choice. The shame
is that there is nothing that those deserving the contract on merit can do to
prove this
To come back to the millions spent on manoeuvring election results,
more than meting out punishments, one wishes that Pakistans money could
be re-channelized to providing better health and educational facilities to all
Pakistanis. It is a country that waits to be rescued.

798

Roedad Khan observed: Today, parliamentary democracy is a

reality in India. This is greatly to the credit of the Indian people as a whole,
but even greater credit is due to the Indian leadership, untainted by
corruption, that has been serving the country as a political leaven The
constitution has kept the country united, allowed its democracy to survive
and kept the armed forces at bay. In our case, the military has seized power
four times since 1947, ruling directly or indirectly for more than half the life
of the country, with disastrous consequences.
Where do we stand today? A palpable sense of melancholy pervades
Pakistan. Tragedy aplenty: no cash; no gas; no electricity; no hope; and
Zardari. How could anyone be hopeful in the face of such a litany of misery?
63 years after independence, this is what we get: a spurious democracy
brokered in Washington, an accidental president facing corruption charges,
a rubber stamp parliament, a figurehead prime minister defending
corruption, Potemkin villages dotted all over the country, the nations army
at war with its own people; flagrant violation of our air space and national
sovereignty by US aircraft, resulting in the killing of innocent men, women
and children.
There is no protest by our democratic government, no expression of
remorse by our coalition partner in the so-called war on terror, no regret. The
state of the federation is chilling. The country is spiraling downward into
anarchy. The rupee is in a death spiral. We are a breath away from ground
zero. Pakistan faces an existential challenge. It is a case of failed leadership,
not failed state...
The most important three words in the American Constitution are:
We The People. In this country the people do not matter. No wonder,
today we have a government that is not a government of the people, by the
people, for the people. We are suffering criminal syndicates, an organized
crime ring. If you want to know how a cabal is plundering this poor country,
visit the Supreme Court and watch the proceedings. An impoverished
population, downtrodden by years of corrupt rule is trying to understand
whether the countrys transition from dictatorship to democracy is real. Like
the Biblical Thomas, they seem to want more proof.
The engine of history is moving Pakistan backwards. Our fledging
democracy may, after all, turn out to have been a historical accident and a
parenthesis that is closing before our eyes. Perhaps no form of government,
said the historian and diplomat Lord Bryce, needs great leaders so much as
democracy. Isnt it a great tragedy that at a time when statesmanship of a

799

very high order is the need of the hour, the fate of 180 million Pakistanis is
in the hands of Mr Zardari and hordes of weak-kneed triflers, mountebanks
and charlatans begrimed with corruption?
No government which is authoritarian in principle and corrupt
in practice and is built on falsehood can hope, particularly in the
atmosphere of foreign military intrusions, to retain the allegiance of those
who do not share in the benefits of its corruption. The good news is that
the people are thoroughly fed up with the current crop of politicians. That
means there is a chance that the younger lot could come in to fill the
vacuum. The two larger parties have already been drained of political capital
by years of self-interest, corruption and poor governance and are fast
becoming irrelevant.
Ordinary Pakistanis are sick and tired of the corrupt power games
being played in Pakistan today. While there is no sign yet of a spring tide,
millions of tiny waves are lapping the shores of despair. Our only chance is
to revolt against these practitioners of grand larceny who are looting and
plundering this poor country with impunity.
The News commented: The prime minister has appeared before the
Supreme Court twice, his counsel Aitzaz Ahsan has made several attempts to
defend him, and the court has read out its orders: write the letter to the Swiss
authorities to reopen cases against President Asif Ali Zardari without seeking
further advice. So far, Barrister Aitzaz has had two main lines of defence
for why the prime minister has not complied with the court orders in the
National Reconciliation Ordinance case: one, the PM didnt write the letter
because the president has immunity; and two, the PM did not comply with
orders because he had received at least two summaries advising him not to
do so. According to the two summaries recorded in court as evidence on
last Wednesday by Nargis Sethi The summaries also categorically said
that the court orders were not implementable. According to Barrister Aitzaz,
then, the PM was only acting on advice received and following rules of
business.
With its latest orders, the SC has left no room for prevarication
or interpretation: if the PM had previously avoided writing the letter
because he received contrary advice, the court has now ruled that he must
write the letter without seeking or obeying any other advice but the courts.
The onus is now on the government to avoid a possible clash. If one were to
believe the government, parliament is being relentlessly and systematically
relegated to the margins by the courts. But lets not forget that parliament

800

itself never supported the NRO and so, the court can only be commended for
trying to bury an ill-conceived ordinance that a majority of parliamentarians
have themselves deemed contrary to Project Democracy. Current complaints
of judicial overreach are thus wide off the mark. Many see Pakistan as
slowly moving, over time, from being a country in which the law has been a
tool of consolidation in the hands of those in power, to becoming a country
where everyone, including the chief executive and other power players, is
equal before the law. The SC has adjourned the contempt hearing until
March 21 when the prime minister is expected to inform the court that he
has written the letter. We hope against hope perhaps - that the PM will give
us some good news on that day.
In another editorial the newspaper wrote: In his statement before the
Supreme Court on Thursday, former Mehran Bank president Younis Habib
revealed it all: he was forced by former president late Ghulam Ishaq Khan
and former army chief Aslam Beg to arrange hundreds of millions of rupees
in the supreme national interest The story of a cell set up at the
presidency, of the involvement of many military officers and of a chain of
unfortunate events has now been told. The court wishes to know more and
has asked the attorney general to produce classified documents pertaining to
the affair. The AG said he would seek the governments permission to do so.
The documents could reveal even more about the sordid affair. But at a
broader level, still more significant is all that it tells us about the way
our state is run and crucial matters decided. The hearings by the SC are
beginning to turn conjecture into concrete. Till now, beyond whispers, little
has been said in public about the ISI role in politics. The wraps have
suddenly been thrown off and many of our worst suspicions confirmed.
Democracy needs transparency and openness. Our state needs to be relieved
of the burden of so many secrets and dubious deeds. The SC verdict in this
matter may just help make this possible.
On 11th March, Jalees Hazir commented: Last week, the Supreme
Court of Pakistan released its order detailing the reasons for rejecting the
appeal of Prime Minister Gilani against his indictment on contempt charges.
Authored by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, the order by the eight-member
bench puts in perspective the spurious debate around the issue kicked up by
the one-eyed champions of democracy. These half-baked democrats with a
thick icing of insincerity are quick to scream about the judiciaryexecutive tussle, supremacy of Parliament, judicial over-reach and
derailment of democracy whenever an attempt is made by the apex court to
hold the erring government accountable for its unconstitutional acts. They
801

would have us believe that democracy has nothing to do with the rule of law
and our elected representatives have the privilege to flout the Constitution;
disobeying court orders with pride, slapping Election Commission officers
and breaking the legs of school teachers who do not submit to their abovethe-law status.
Elaborating upon the constitutional imperative, the order states: He
(the Prime Minister) has, in his grounds of appeal, asked the court to show
greater restraint and forbearance with respect to a duly elected Prime
Minister...when the very stability of the democratic system obtained by the
people of Pakistan after so much sacrifice, may depend on the outcome of
this case. This averment, coming as it is from the Chief Executive of the
country appears to be based, firstly, on a claim to some special privilege that
accords the appellant preferential treatment by sheltering him from receiving
equal treatment in accordance with the law and the Constitution, and thereby
allowing him to disregard the orders of the court because of his office. And,
secondly, it calls upon the court to formulate its opinion, not in
accordance with the mandate of law as applicable on the facts of this
appeal, but in fear and anticipation of a possible outcome that may flow
out of a decision, which may be arrived at by the learned trial bench on the
basis of the law and the Constitution. In other words, the appellant is urging
this court to resurrect and adopt a form of the doctrine of necessity, which in
the past had blighted constitutional rule in Pakistan.
The reasoning of the Prime Minister, echoed by the army of loyal
yes-men and yes-women populating his party, as well as various one-eyed
commentators infesting the media, exposes a lack of basic understanding of
democratic principles. For the 'all-supreme' cause of not rocking the ratinfested boat of our elected government, they would like the Supreme Court
not to do its constitutional duty of deciding the case according to the law and
Constitution. The reasoning is simple: If the Prime Minister violates the
Constitution, the Supreme Court should violate it as well in order to
save his skin and, hence, the system. These one-eyed champions would
like to put the entire burden of 'saving' our oh-so-fragile democracy on the
shoulders of the honourable judges, while giving a carte-blanche to the socalled democratic government. Shouldn't they be advising the Prime
Minister to save the system by not flouting the Constitution?
As noted in the detailed order: If the appellant apprehends instability
as a consequence of this case, such apprehension can easily be allayed by
ensuring that the Constitution is adhered to... The appellant may also draw
comfort from the fact that institutions and systems provided in the
802

Constitution ensure political stability. What happens to an individual can

be of little consequence as long as State institutions continue functioning
in accordance with the Constitution.
And this is the distinction that all the well-wishers of democracy
must learn to make. Somehow, the entire discourse on democracy in
Pakistan has been turned topsy-turvy by insincere opportunists and
ignorant commentators, who have created the impression that democracy
is another name for the government of the day and individuals running it. In
their tainted eagerness to save democracy, they are ready to condone any act
of the incumbents, no matter how unconstitutional, criminal or
undemocratic. And any effort to confine these powerful individuals to their
constitutional role and to hold them accountable is viewed as an attack on
the democratic system itself. The PPP-government has actively promoted
this view of democracy by constantly harping on conspiracies against
democracy and vowing to complete its tenure, as if the survival of
democracy depended on it.
Rather than giving any special licence to those in power to violate the
Constitution as demanded by the Prime Minister in his appeal, the Supreme
Court order points out that the onus of responsibility to uphold the
Constitution is greater on holders of high constitutional offices and
more stringent legal standards are applicable to them as compared to
ordinary citizens. In fact, the government must set an example of promoting
the rule of law, rather than hiding behind high offices to trample upon the
Constitution. The order provides a valuable insight that should bring an end
to numerous misguided debates regarding the role of judiciary and its
relationship with the executive: We may at this point add that there is no
conflict in the respective roles assigned to the executive and the judicature,
and nor is there any room for institutional or individual egos to create one.
All that is required is the humility to recognize that these institutions and
their functionaries are in the service of a common master, the people.
It further states: It is thus clear that our constitutional order is
founded on the fundamental instruction that each organ must give effect to
and act in accordance with the Constitution. Insofar as an act of any one of
the organs of the state travels beyond the limits laid down in the
Constitution, the said organ can be said to have strayed from representing
the will of the people of Pakistan. Conversely, in so far as all organs of the
state remain within the limits prescribed by the Constitution, they have a
legitimate claim to being enforcers and exponents of the will of the people.
Our Constitution conceives of an order wherein the various organs of state
803

are co-equals, each manifesting the will of the people and giving effect to
such through adjudication, executive action or legislation. It is important
that the primacy of the Constitution over the government as also over
the judicature be fully understood.
On 13th March, Dr Haider Mehdi observed: The decades-old and
presently continuing dis-equilibrium in the political system has had
staggering consequences for all major national institutions. The
incumbent political leadership has ridiculed the judiciary; it has failed in
carrying out 39 judicial decisions of the Supreme Court; it has been
attempting to unduly undermine the military establishment; and its foreign
patronage (especially US-Western Europe) has resulted in making foreign
policy compromises that have directly damaged Pakistans vital national
interests. The country has already suffered irrevocable harm to national
security, loss of sovereignty, deteriorating law and order situation and
turning the country into killing fields because of its alliance with the USNATO in the so-called war on terrorism.
The question is: How long can the nation tolerate this skillfullyorchestrated and deliberately organized dis-equilibrium in Pakistans
political structure? The fact of the matter is that no heavenly help from the
skies will change the fate of a nation. It is always the people themselves who
rise in unison and force a change in their national destiny. And that is
precisely what todays Pakistan needs a peoples revolutionary movement
to control their own future and destination as a nation.
Contemporary dis-equilibrium in Pakistans political system is
an enemy of every Pakistani. The common citizens feel they are under
siege; they have a shared feeling of doubt, fear and insecurity, and they have
a common stake in the future. Consequently, people will have a common and
natural reaction to the oppression of dis-equilibrium of their times and they
will seek protection and reassurance in a sense of belonging a peoples
revolutionary movement. That is Pakistans destiny now to go forward or
plunge into the abyss.
One day soon, the Supreme Court, in order to facilitate the end
of political dis-equilibrium in Pakistan, might have to play its
constitutional role and the military establishment might have to come to
the rescue of peoples national predicaments at the call of the Supreme
Court. Indeed, within any important issue, there are always aspects that no
one wishes to discuss.

804

On 15th March, Azam Khalil opined: Coming back to mehrangate,

one would like to give some marks to the veteran politician, Syeda Abida
Hussain, who had the guts to admit that she received Rs1 million that she
returned later. Her statement also proves that the money was distributed, and
that no denial or side-tracking of the issue will convince Pakistanis to
believe that those who have been named in this gory affair were innocent. It
is now up to the government to formulate laws that would not permit any
such activity in the future, and that no officeholder, however highly placed,
could issue instructions that may lead to the subversion of democracy.
Nevertheless, we as a nation are quite confident that after having created a
consensus that resulted in the enactment of the 18th, 19th and 20th
Constitutional Amendment, the framing of laws that would act as a strong
deterrent against any such activity should be well within the reach of the
government.
As far as interference in domestic political affairs is concerned, the
government can enact laws that will not only discourage, but also streamline
the working of the intelligence agencies ensuring that they concentrate on
their primary job of safeguarding Pakistans territorial integrity. The army
should have no objection, if such rules are framed that will not only guide
them, but also create conditions where Parliament has the authority to
oversee their activities, including the ISI. These measures would help to
create conducive conditions where the civilian and army leaderships
remain on the same page as far as critical matters related with the state's
national interest are concerned.
The army would not like to interfere in a democratic setup and, at the
same time, the politicians should avoid hobnobbing with the generals so
that there is no mishap in future and the country can progress and
prosper. Whatever is the outcome of the Mehran Bank case in the Supreme
Court, but one thing is certain: It will become extremely difficult, if not
impossible, for any general or politician to create another unholy alliance in
the future to challenge the established democratic norms in Pakistan.

REVIEW
With due respect for the honourable judges, it can be said that only a
fool would buy the line of defence taken by Aitzaz Ahsan that his client as
Prime Minister had acted upon the advice of his subordinates put up before
him in the form of a summary. According to the argument of the learned
counsel that summary or advice was binding on the prime minister.
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All over the world the summaries are meant only to facilitate
decision-making and under no circumstances these intend dictating or
imposing decision upon the superior in whom the decision-making authority
is vested. Once decision is taken, irrespective of the quality of advice
rendered, the decision-maker is solely responsible for the consequences.
It is also known to all Pakistanis that decision of not writing a letter to
Swiss authorities, in defiance of court orders, was not based on any
summary, but it was taken by the selected members of PPPs core
committee in a meeting held in the Presidency chaired by the Scoundrel and
of course the Saint was sitting besides him. It is a case of well-deliberated
defiance (contempt) of the court orders.
Aitzaz had himself said quite a few times that the government must
write letter as ordered by the Supreme Court. He now has no shame
defending a clear case of defiance of court orders. This shamelessness is
equaled only by his denial that the Senate seat was not part of the package of
his fee as defence counsel of the Saint.
Aitzaz Ahsan as a practicing lawyer accomplished yet another feat
when he coaxed Zardari regimes favourite bureaucrat, Nargis Sethi to issue
character certificate for Gilani. It was just like a head clerk verifying
character of his boss. It is just matter of exercising the freedom of choice
that one person would be ashamed of this while the other would feel proud
of it.
Not to be forgotten that in the process he has knocked out a
professional rival whom he had proposed as a witness in the contempt case.
Babar Awan, who himself was facing similar charge against him in the Apex
Court was constrained not to oblige and thus lost the favours of the Saint and
the Scoundrel.
Irrespective of the strength of the argument of the defence, or lack of
it, Aitzaz has bought few more days for his client. It is the days which
constitute weeks and months; and months make the years. Some observers
feel the court has once again exercised restraint and many of them refuse to
believe that it would be the last chance for Gilani and that has been evident
from his even more defiant stance since then.
In this exercise to administer justice at highest level, the highest court
in country has set an example of justice delayed is justice denied. And, in
the backdrop of this mocked accountability the Saint and the Scoundrel
applied their political acumen to strengthen their position in the Upper

806

House. As always, money remained the major driving democratic force

behind Senate elections
Soon after this victory the Saint went to his home town and with
confidence oozing out of his mouth like saliva, he disdainfully rejected
Nawaz Sharifs proposal about creation of new administrative units. He
was determined to make the future of next generation of Gilanis secure by
carving an independent Seraiki province.
Meanwhile, Waheeda Shah of PPP faltered while aping her party boss
during by-polls of Sindh Assembly. She slapped a presiding officer at a
polling station and was caught doing that by TV cameras. Thereafter, she
tried every trick to wriggle out of the clutches of law but could not do so.
She first arranged a press conference wherein a fake presiding officer
pardoned her. There was no need for that because rabbits always pardon the
hounds, but the hounds seldom do. Then she and her party tried to influence
the ECP, but to her misfortune there were only two Sindhi members out of
five in the commission. She could also not muster sympathies being a
widow, unlike her party boss who flourished after being a widow.
This woman by default has conveyed a message to the judges of the
Supreme Court. The Election Commission of Pakistan punished her for
slapping a lady presiding officer within 17 days, but a man who has been
slapping 17 judges of the Apex Court for more than two years still remains
at large. Is it a case of gender or provincial discrimination?
Having used authority and the cash to get desired results in Senate
polls, Zardari and his coalition partners and aides shifted the focus onto the
resumed hearing of the petition of Air Marshal Asghar Khan which too
primarily relates to misuse of authority and money about two decades ago.
The government had been urging the Supreme Court to take on the longpending petition.
The timing of the resumption of hearing of the petition suited superbly
to draw attention away from proceedings Abbottabad Commission,
Memogate Commission and contempt of court case against Gilani. It is this
sense of timing that makes the Jiyalas proud while chanting: Eik Zardari
sab peh bhari.
16th March, 2012

807

NOTE
Musharrafs unwarranted action against Chief Justice Chaudhry
Mohammad Iftikhar marked the beginning of still continuing confrontation
between the Executive and the Judiciary. Musharraf considered Chief Justice
a possible hurdle in his extended rule and the Chief Justice had also annoyed
the Crusaders by accepting hearing of missing persons case.
The military dictator thought it was two-in-one opportunity; to
remove the hurdle as well as please the Americans. Musharrafs
opportunistic move back-fired and triggered a mass movement against him.
It was for this reason that all that happened afterwards was included in
the war on terror and considering its own significance the relevant articles
were also compiled separately under the title Helmet vs Wig. The Helmet
denoted the military dictator and Wig representing the hooded men of the
Judiciary.
Two years later, Musharraf was ousted disgracefully; he could neither
dump the Chief justice forever nor could please the Americans, who

808

contracted Benazir as his replacement and when she was killed her spouse
stepped forward and volunteered to be at their service.
Musharrafs successor, Zardari had genuine reason to be fearful of the
Chief Justice because of his past criminal misdeeds. Thus, the ExecutiveJudiciary tussle continued to date, but title of the segregated articles was not
changed though the military dictator was no more.
Now, the Crusaders have started talking about end-game in the
context of their holy war waged against Islamic militancy. The Chief
Justice will also be retiring next year and the general elections the same year
could also result in the change of the government.
In view of these aspects of the end game, the format of articles has
been revised out of which a series of articles titled War Within contain the
events related to Executive-Judiciary confrontation and those will be placed
herein here after.
21st March, 2012

WAR WITHIN
The war within encompasses everything that aims at de-stabilizing
Pakistan, less of course operations against al-Qaeda and Taliban. The
outlook of such events is of two types. Type One includes non-violent events
related primarily to maintenance of status quo that suits the Crusaders and
their puppets. Type Two comprises incidents of visible violence and
militancy which prima facie are not related to the war on terror, but are
definitely encouraged, funded and supported from outside.
The de-stabilization is progressing as per the conceived designs.
What Pakistan needs for its survival is the change, a change that not only
breaks the status quo, but also promises reversal of most of the things that
are happening at this point of time. Only such a change can help Pakistan in
getting out of the quagmire into which it is sinking rapidly.
The Crusaders who had manoeuvered regime change in Pakistan
through a deal and ploy of democracy would like to resist such a change and
Zardari regime and its partners would go to any extent to help their mentors.
809

To preserve and perpetuate Zardari rule its political opponents, judiciary and
more importantly, the military have to be kept in check.
Zardari has excelled in power politics by rendering all its political
opponents ineffective one way or the other. Judiciary has been incapacitated
not only through defiance of its verdicts but also by ridiculing it. Military
too has been defanged by forcing it to fight an ever-escalating unwinnable
war with no end in sight.
In addition, with a view to taming military its image has been
tarnished with frequent mention of its past misdeeds. Militarys failures in
Abbottabad, Mehran Base and Salala Post have made the task of defaming it
easier. The cases of missing persons too have not helped in mustering any
public goodwill, for which military can blame no one. Resumption of
hearing of Mehrangate scandal has added icing on the cake. Defamation,
ridicule and demonization pave the way to cutting military to the size.
With political opponents and military generals having been taken care
of, the ruling coalition, most of them professing to be secular, faces a
possible threat from religious parties. Their sect-based division, however,
hampers them posing any immediate threat, yet even a remote possibility of
its materialization has to be preempted. To that end, their unity various sects
as well as propagation of Islam has to be discouraged.
This coincides with the Crusaders goal of de-Islamization as they
have rightly identified it as the key to de-stabilizing a country that has come
into being on the basis of religion. Islam is the glue that has bound various
nationalities inhabiting various parts of Pakistan. Once this glue is taken out
pieces will start falling apart.
Emphasis on de-Islamization is because it guarantees instability of
Pakistan, which is closely linked to two other goals of the Crusaders, i.e. demilitarization and de-nuclearization. Many other factors also contribute
towards instability, e.g. misgovernance, financial corruption, misuse of
authority, obstructed accountability, defiance of the rule of law, institutional
rifts/confrontations, provincial disharmony, economic recession and
disparity and so on.
In view of the foregoing, the layout of articles of this Set is changed.
The events covered in paragraph NEWS will be mentioned under various
sub-headings as enumerated below; out of these comments on some will be
reproduced in paragraph VIEWS. The possible sub-headings will be:

810

Power politics: The existing power setup is managed by Zardari

under benevolent guidance of the US. All the members of ruling coalition
are experienced players of card games, i.e. Sindh Card, Pashtoonistan Card
and Jinnahpur Card. PML-Q is the newest member of Card Club after
benefitting from NICL case which was like using NTM or Visa Card for
instant drawing of cash.
Hither-to-fore, politics have been all about family aggrandizement; a
short-cut to acquire status, authority and wealth if one has resources to
invest. Therefore, all politicians, irrespective of their party slogans, would
like to maintain status quo, especially those in power. In other words, they
would like to save and preserve the system, as some of them want it keep
going.
Zardari has ably thwarted all possible threats emanating from Punjab,
Army and religious parties, which he and his mentors would like to
maintain. Of late, however, there has been simmering desire for change in
the silent majority (the sleeping beauty); therefore, in future there could be
a fierce contest between forces of status quo and forces of the change.
Rule of law: Establishment of rule of law is the primary duty of any
government worth its name, but this cant be priority of a government run by
the Scoundrel and his deputy, the Saint. In the absence of rule of law most
political parties, even some of those with religious inclination, patronize
gangs of out-laws and look after them like their in-laws.
That blatant disrespect for the rule of law at the highest level has
trickled downward. The people tend to take law into their hands when they
catch a criminal red-handed, ironically perceiving to be dispensing on the
spot justice. This is not common with ordinary citizens; men well-versed
with letters of law too mishandle police officials and judges even when they
are on duty.
Defiance of judiciary: For any Executive that thrives on plunder of
resources, misuse of authority and favouritism at the cost of merit has to
detest the rule of law. It must undermine all setups meant for accountability,
especially the judiciary that tends to be independent and neutral, irrespective
of what the Constitution says. It is for this reason that Zardari and his party
men disdainfully defy orders of the Apex Court and even ridicule them in
public.
Taming the military: Politicians of all hues in Pakistan consider
Pakistan Army as their enemy number one; because Generals have
frequently disrupted democratic dispensation and denied politicians the
811

honour of serving their people. They do not want the boots to stage yet
another thumping comeback.
Though in every military coup the politicians not in the government
had urged the Generals on, yet only the men in uniform are blamed for all
that has gone wrong in last six decades. Generals serve as ready-made
scapegoat for all the failings of politicians, but now the latter want an end to
this revolving door entry and exit as Generals tend to stay in for too long.
Not only that, politicians want Generals must accept the supremacy of
elected rulers for good and stop even interfering on issue to issue policy
matters. On this count, the judiciary and media are standing with politicians.
They all want the military tamed and the method chosen for taming the
untamed is ridicule. This also fits in the scheme of de-militarization.
Recessing economy: War on terror has been the major contributory
factor in turning the wheel of economy backward. It is true that the mistake
of joining the war was committed by Musharraf, but Zardari has not returned
to end this ugly war; he is here under contract to deliver more than
Musharraf and he has. Some other contributory factors are: plunder,
favourtism over merit, incompetence, poor implementation of plans,
inadequate energy resources, law and order situation and unjust distribution
of wealth.
Provincial disharmony: Leader-to-leader (not people-to-people)
provincial disharmony has always been a problem in Pakistan. The reason
behind has been the lust of politicians to secure more and more resources for
respective provinces, not for the good of people but to benefit the rulers; all
sought in the name of provincial autonomy.
The present democratic setup boasts of being bountiful in dispensing
plenty of autonomy through 18th Constitutional Amendment. This show of
generosity in the name of de-centralization has sown new seeds of
disharmony. Three provinces have exacted democratic revenge from Punjab
by granting the right to first use of natural resources to the province that
produces.
PML-N led by Nawaz Sharif failed to see its negative fallout blinded
by his eyes fixed on his third term as prime minister. The result is that gas
and electricity load shedding has devastated Punjabs industrial sector and
also adversely affected the agriculture. This dispensation of autonomy,
which has targeted more than 60 percent of Pakistan, has in no way
enhanced solidarity of the federation.

812

Ideological subversion: In case of Pakistan ideological subversion

and de-Islamization is one and the same thing. De-Islamization undermines
the foundation of Pakistan Ideology. For achieving this goal the secular
political forces have been manoeuvered to occupy the corridors of power in
Islamabad using the vehicle of democracy. They are doing fine job under the
cover of promoting secularism and often dubbing the founder of Pakistan as
a secular.
It is obvious that no government can ban preaching, teaching and
practicing Islam altogether. De-Islamization, therefore, has to be selective
and based on some concocted pretext. The concoctions began soon after the
start of the ongoing Crusades. Islam has been blamed on various counts out
of which three are mentioned herein even at the risk of repetition.
One, Islam preaches militancy and its concept of Jihad has been
misinterpreted and propagated to prove this allegation; hence Muslims are
blamed for lacking the ability to co-exist with other people peacefully. Two,
Islam promotes gender discrimination and in that all that has been prescribed
to enhance the respect and dignity of women has been dubbed as
discrimination out which observance of hijab is the main target of the critics.
Three, Islamic Shariah prescribes harsh (cruel) punishments for various
offences and thus it has not been in step with humanity that has advanced
and progressed by leaps and bounds.
Based on the above the Crusaders, who happen to be main donors to
successive governments in Pakistan, demanded certain actions soon after
waging their holy war. They wanted all privately run madressas closed or
brought under government control. They want removal of all verses of
Quran and Hadiths related to Jihad removed from the syllabi of governmentrun education institutions; discouragement of use of hijab; and no
promulgation of criminal laws based on Islamic Sharia and repealing those
which have been already imposed.
These ideas were partially accepted by Musharraf and the brave
commando had initiated certain steps and Zardari regime has been installed
with the undertaking of delivering more. Zardaris PPP and his secular
coalition partners have been and continue to deliver on all counts.
Baloch militancy: The militancy in Balochistan is the most misread,
misperceived and ill-presented of all the natural and man-made catastrophes
that have fallen upon Pakistan in last decade or so. It is an organized crime
or terror perpetrated by some disgruntled nawabs and sardars having lust for
money and power and they are now supported and funded by Pakistans
813

established enemies and allies. Most unfortunately, this barbarity is given

holy look by its perpetrators and condoned by politicians and favourably
presented by the media.
Those who have denied the rights to common Baloch people for
centuries now claim to be fighting for their rights and media wizards tend to
present it as insurgency and some prefer even nobler term of freedom
movement. In fact, this is the worst kind of terror perpetrated by sardars
which are responsible for deplorable plight of their people and the blame is
shifted on to Punjabis. Ordinary Punjabi, who is being slaughtered randomly,
has done no harm to any Baloch.
Turf war in Karachi: The mega city of Karachi is virtually oneeighth of Pakistan population-wise and much more in economic terms.
Whoever controls Karachi can dictate terms to the rulers sitting in
Islamabad. It is this urge for controlling the port city that has led to
mushroom growth of various types of mafias; extortion mafia, land mafia,
gun-running mafia, drug mafia and the targeted-killing mafia; think of any
crime and then add the word mafia to it. All these mafias enjoy patronization
of one political party or the other; the result is the mess into which this city
has been turned by their turf war.
Sectarian militancy: This is a chronic ailment which has been
aggravating with the passage of time. This poses gravest threat to national
harmony and successive governments have left the matter of Islamic
teachings to belligerent religious leaders. Their belligerence is hired through
foreign funding; funds have been accepted even from the US.

NEWS
Power politics: On 17th March, amid worst uproar, President Zardari
Saturday that the government has successfully met enormous
challenges established rule of law and assured supremacy of the Parliament.
Opposition members marred presidents record fifth address to joint session
of the Parliament, raising slogans Loot Maar band karo (Stop looting) and
Aazadi, Aazadi (Freedom from corruption). However with clipping voice,
the President continued his speech narrating achievements of his regime.
Next day, Nawaz Sharif expressed the hope that General Kayani will
make sure the new ISI chief General Zaheerul Islam keeps his hands off the
political affairs. He addressed a press conference here in London and alleged
that PPP government was busy currying favour with the establishment in a
814

grand conspiracy to stay in power and weaken the democratic process. He

resolved that no matter what the temptations his party will never become
part of the conspiracies hatched by the secret agencies to manage politics.
The PTI old guards have forced Imran Khan to abandon bringing
interim party organization. They have also led the party to intra-party polls
in an effort to dispel the public impression that the PTI has become another
traditional political party. The plan to bring an interim setup was aimed at
accommodating those political figures who have joined the PTI after
October 30 public moot, apparently to make peace between the founding
members (the old guards) and traditional politicians (new entrants) over the
issue of grabbing various party positions.
They also told Imran that a feeling among the party supporters was
growing stronger that the party had been hijacked by the traditional political
faces who havent rendered a single sacrifice for it, while the mentioned
political figures were fast becoming a steering force of the PTI instead of
those who founded the party and remained with it through thick and thin.
Taking the argument further, they told the party chief that PTI should
it was vital for the party to establish its democratic credentials keeping in
view the possibilities of general elections this year by holding the intra-party
polls instead of making nominations to party offices through an interim party
organization. They added that the party workers themselves should be
allowed to choose their leaders at the union, tehsil, district and province
level and that only the elected leaders should have the right to hold any party
office.
While the traditional political lot in the PTI, to counter this move by
the old guard, have started separate campaigns to form their groups within
the party to muster support for grabbing the party positions during the intraparty polls, which the PTI chief has said would take place after the
completion of membership drive to be kick-started in the last week of this
month and expected to conclude in next two months.
On 21st March, The Supreme Court dismissed the ECP application for
extension in timeframe for preparation of electoral rolls. The ECP had filed
the application that it was not possible for the Commission to meet the given
regarding preparation of voter lists. On July 4, 2011 the Secretary ECP
himself had given commitment regarding updating the electoral rolls.
The court said that when the Commission failed to meet the deadline
they approached the court, while they should have filed this application
earlier. Chief Justice said what would people have expectations from the
815

ECP, which does not obey the orders of the Supreme Court. He said that
application of mind and sincerity is lacking everywhere.
Next day, PTI demanded an autonomous Election Commission,
unbiased caretaker government and genuine voter lists for holding free, fair
and transparent elections in the country. Political parties outside the
parliament should be taken into confidence on the appointment of new Chief
Election Commissioner for five years and the Commissions members for
three years. The CEC and the members should not be removed from their
offices by the President or Prime Minister.
Rule of law: On 19th March, Anti Terrorism Court sent Mian Aslam
Midhiana, former PPP lawmaker, to jail on judicial remand after he was
declared by police a key accused in teacher torture case. The ex PPP
legislator had broken legs of a school teacher who had been raising voice
against Midhiana for his alleged crimes.
Defiance of judiciary: On 16th March, Prime Minister Gilani with
reference pending contempt of court case said he was not afraid of anybody;
as, had he been so, he would not have entered politics. Next day, the
disqualified candidate for Sindh Waheeda Shah termed the ECP's decision to
hold by-poll in the said constituency as 'unlawful' on account of a pending
case on the matter. Anti-Terrorism Court extended police custody of former
MPA of PPP, Aslam Madhiana, for five more days in teacher torture case.
Madhiana denies the charges, saying he does not even know Nafees Khan
therefore torturing him is out of question.
On 18th March, a day ahead of next hearing on contempt case against
him, Prime Minister Gilani said that the matter of immunity to the president
should be referred to the Parliament, which, according to him, was the
appropriate constitutional forum to settle the issue. Much like the issue of
judges appointment which was finally resolved by the Parliament, the issue
of presidential immunity should also be referred to it, Gilani told
representatives of print media at his DHA residence in Lahore.
He was asked if there was any other option available within the
constitutional framework to resolve the conflict regarding the issue in
question to avoid his possible punishment by the court and to save him from
violation of the Constitution which he believes he would be doing in case he
writes the letter. The prime minister reiterated that only Parliament could
waive off the immunity and even the president himself was not competent to
do so.

816

Next day, the written reply of Prime Minister Gilani in contempt case
was submitted to the Supreme Court by an assistant to Barrister Aitzaz
Ahsan in which he has once again declined to write letter to the Swiss
authorities to re-open graft cases against President Zardari. Gilani asserted
that the President of the State cannot be thrown before any foreign
magistrate. He asked the court to show patience and let the people of
Pakistan decide the matter.
Aitzaz Ahsan said letter cannot be written to the Swiss officials till
Asif Ali Zardari is President of Pakistan. In an interview with a private TV
channel after the prime minister submitted his written reply to the Supreme
Court Aitzaz Ahsan said the president enjoys immunity world over and
pointed out that countries do not like to allow their citizens to appear in the
courts of other countries.
Aitzaz Ahsan said the president is a symbol of Pakistan federation,
parliament and supreme commander of the armed forces. He said one could
be against an individual but we should not allow our president to submit
before a foreign magistrate. He said the prime minister feels that the
president must not appear in foreign courts.
Aitzaz expressed his utter surprise that certain TV commentators
started making strong comments over the reply immediately after it was
submitted. He pointed out that the prime minister is an accused in the case
and he has the right to express his concern. He said for a fair trial, there
should not be decision without listening to the accused and remarked that
justice is not only to be done but seen to be done. He said the issue is
whether a letter can be written and whether the letter should be written.
On 20th March, Imran Khan said that the Prime Minister was prepared
to commit contempt of the Supreme Court to save five hundred crore rupees
of the biggest dacoit of the country. Addressing a public meeting he said that
the people of this country were fed up of the rulers and wanted to get rid of
them. PTI fully supported the judiciary. He further said that Yousaf Raza
Gillani and his corrupt mafia will not be allowed to succeed in next
elections.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Gillani was trying to politicize a judicial
matter and history would never forgive him. He alleged President Zardaris
manipulative politics was leading the country to disintegration. Rulers talk
of honoring constitution and judiciary but they dont deliver what they say,
he charged.

817

Governor Khosa revealed that all Swiss cases against President

Zardari had been closed even before Malik Qayyums letter written to the
Swiss authorities. The governor further stated that all institutions including
courts were subservient to the Constitution. He said Gilani was a consensus
Prime Minister and was following the Constitution in respect of the
contempt case against him.
Next day, as the bench headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk resumed
hearing of the case, Aitzaz argued that the court cant force the prime
minister to write letter to Swiss authorities for reopening graft charges
against NRO beneficiaries, including President Zardari. Aitzaz accused the
judges of prejudice and said the court cannot proceed on assumptions as it
is a criminal trial and decision be made on evidences submitted before the
court.
Aitzaz maintained that, judging from the harsh language used in the
January 10 six-option decision given by the SC, it appears as if the judges
had already decided to punish the prime minister. The counsel also
demanded that the bench, which issued show-cause notice and gave a verdict
against the prime minister even before the case was started, should not
conduct proceedings. Justice Nasir told Aitzaz that he should have expressed
no confidence over the bench earlier. Aitzaz responded that he had the right
to do so at any moment.
The counsel said that Article 10-A gave the right of fare trial to an
accused; Article 10A inserted in 1973 Constitution through 18 th amendment
says, there should be fair trial and due process. Justice Osmany remarked:
(Are) you telling us there should be fair trial and earlier the courts were not
conducting fair trial? Aitzaz said under Article 10A fair trial was made
mandatory therefore the fundamental rights cant be surrendered or waived.
Justice Khosa told the lawyer not to think that the bench would depart
from justice. He also remarked that the court never used harsh words and it
would not provide several opportunities. He said if the court was harsh
towards the PM then why an opportunity was accorded for hearing his case.
He said that the 8-member bench, which heard the appeal, also noticed that
no intervention was made and if he (Aitzaz) was making it base then there is
no forum for the trial of this case.
Aitzaz said the prosecution has failed to prove that the prime minister
willfully flouted, disregarded, disobedience and disobeyed the court order on
NRO verdict. In criminal jurisdiction the sentence can be harsh and severe

818

but the court cant proceed only on assumptions; hard and solid evidence is
required for it. There is no evidence of contumacy against the PM.
Do you want to say that the PM had no mala fide intention, Justice
Khosa asked. Justice Usmani remarked that the court was never informed
about the PMs view. Aitzaz said the AG should be standing in the witness
box to answer why the PMs comments were not conveyed. Justice Khosa
said the AGP himself told the court that he waited for instruction till 2am,
and it is part of the court record. He further said on Jan 3 the PPP cochairperson (Asif Zardari) in an interview on a private TV channel said that
the party has decided not to write letter, then how come the PPP vicechairperson did not know about that court order.
Justice Gulzar Saeed said that the case is being tried in court, protest
rallies and media. Aitzaz said that his opponents are saying that they would
give him a setback; therefore, I had to go to media. Justice Osmany said they
hear about the case (developments) in media before it comes to the court.
Aitzaz remarked: Do not pay attention to newspaper headlinescriminal
cases are not dealt with on the basis of news reports.
Aitzaz said that the court had inquired about the implementation of
NRO judgment from the NAB chairman and the prosecutor general, the
AGP and secretary law, but only the PM was selected for the prosecution.
He also contended that only the prime minister was held responsible for the
contempt though former attorney general and former law secretary advised
the premier for not writing the letter to Swiss authorities to reopen graft
cases against Zardari.
PM counsel said that he never stated that judgment could not be
implemented but said that it could not be implemented for the time being, as
President Zardari has complete immunity during the term of his office. He
however clarified that neither he was asking the court to review its order and
nor he said the NRO verdict was wrong but the implementation of the
relevant part of the order was not possible because the president enjoys
immunity under international law.
Justice Nasir remarked that the courts direction to the federation was
to take immediate steps for the implementation of NRO judgment. He
questioned why this aspect was taken up in review petition that the judgment
could not be implemented immediately. Justice Khosa reminded the learned
counsel that he himself had said that this bench has no authority to change
even comma and full stop in December 16, 2009 judgment.

819

The bench without passing any judgment on Aitzazs allegations made

clear in its remarks that their minds were not already made up. Rejecting
Aitzazs reservations and his demand for a new bench, the court adjourned
hearing, besides deciding to hear the case on daily basis. Speaking to the
media after the contempt case hearing, Aitzaz Ahsan said that Prime
Minister Gilanis punishment cannot be of more than six months.
Talking to media persons after attending a conference on food
security, Gilani declined to comment on the contempt proceedings pending
against him while saying that the matter was sub judice. To another question,
Gilani said two friends, one who restored the judiciary and the other who led
the movement for its restoration, were appearing before the Supreme Court
and added, Once a friend is always a friend. He said presidential immunity
was an issue of the president. Answering another question, he said the
cabinet reshuffle was a routine matter but his resignation would not be an
ordinary affair.
Prime Minister Gilani appointed his lawyer in contempt case Barrister
Aitzaz Ahsan as member of the Parliamentary Committee on Judges
Appointment and he could also be made the chairman of the committee. The
Senate Secretariat also issued a notification of appointment of Aitzaz as
member of the committee. Reportedly, PML-N would not oppose the
candidature of Aitzaz as the chairman of the committee because of his amity
with the N leadership.
On 22nd March, Aitzaz Ahsan again insisted that constitution debars
the judges, who issued show cause notice and framed contempt charges, to
hear this case. Justice Gulzar Ahmed said that it does not matter if the
contempt hearings are initiated on an application or on a suo motu notice,
the same bench will hear the case. Aitzaz insisted that any judge who has
inquired into the matter previously should not continue to be part of the
bench.
Justice Khosa inquired whether the counsel meant to suggest that their
(judges) minds have become prejudiced. We are sitting with an open mind.
Aitzaz said that it shouldnt be that justice has been done but the justice must
need to be seen done. Justice Gulzar Ahmed pointed out the apparent
contradiction in the counsels statement, saying, You have confidence in the
bench but (at the same time) saying it cannot hear this case. The court
inquired whether he wanted this matter should be referred to another bench.
Aitzaz said this is a criminal trial that will have serious consequence.

820

Justice Nasirul Mulk questioned whether the procedure laid down in

the Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003 or the procedure the court has
adopted in this case is violative of the due process and fair trial, and the
spirit of Article 10-A. He said the existing Contempt of Court Ordinance
2003 stood void after incorporation of Article 10-A in the constitution
through the 18th amendment. The lawyer argued that Article 10-A has the
primacy over the said ordinance.
Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa remarked that if he had any problem
with the law (Ordinance) then he should challenge it. The counsel argued
that the court has the power to strike down any law, which is contradictory to
constitutional provision. The court inquired, Does the constitutional
jurisdiction can be controlled by Article 10-A? Justice Khosa said that under
Article 204 the court has power to sentence anyone for Contempt of Court.
Aitzaz said that the use of power is subject to law; adding no body, including
the court, has arbitrary power. Justice Khosa questioned whether one
provision of the constitution could be utilized to scuttle the other provision
of the constitution.
The bench observed that this is contempt on the face of the court.
Justice Osmany said: When the contempt is on the face of the court, cant
we (judges) send anyone accusing the court to jail then? He said that in
many cases the court allow leave grant but later in same cases many a time
the decisions are delivered against the petitioners. Similarly the stay order is
given. The court observed that in many cases it is said that prime facie the
accused has committed crime but later due to insufficient evidence he is
acquitted.
Aitzaz said Article 10-A is an important provision and was introduced
after much deliberation. The members of it were intellectuals like Raza
Rabbani, SM Zafar and Waseem Sajjad. The article was introduced to bring
change. Justice Gulzar Ahmed said through Article10-A the legislature has
conferred the power to court to interpret itself. Aitzaz said, No, the
legislature has restricted the court. Aitzaz said Article 10-A has given right
of fair trial. Justice Osmany said you are saying that before Article 10-A
there was no fair trial. Aitzaz replied earlier the fair trial was due to law, but
now it is guaranteed by the constitution.
After the court adjourned the contempt case till Monday, Aitzaz told
the media that a section of it was deliberately twisting his statement
regarding confidence on judges. He said he has no objection over the

821

qualification of the judges and he has clarified the misunderstanding during

the hearing of the case.
Taming the military: On 16th March, Chief Justice said they could
not close their eyes and remain silent on the issue of missing persons. He
passed the remarks during hearing of the Adiala Jail missing persons case.
The court also took notice of disappearance of a young man, who supplied
food to the missing persons relatives. Tariq Asad, the missing persons
counsel while submitting a miscellaneous application, complained that Umer
Muhammad Ali Khan, who was voluntarily provided food to the relatives of
the detainees, was forcibly taken away in a car on March 10, while his
whereabouts were also not known yet.
The chief justice directed Islamabad IGP to submit a report by fax by
18 at the SC Registrar Office. The police chief was also ordered to take
necessary steps for effecting recovery of Umer Khan and produce him
before the court on Monday (March 19). The court also issued notice to the
attorney general on the subject. The chief justice expressed his serious
concerns, saying a man had been abducted right under the nose of the federal
government.
th

KPK Advocate General on behalf of the chief secretary submitted a

report before the bench, which says three detainees Dr Niaz, Syed Abdul
Majid and Abdul Basit required further medical treatment, adding that as
per the recommendations of the medical board, Mashar-ul-Haq, Shafiq-urRehman, Muhammad Shafiq and Gul Roz had recovered with satisfactory
health conditions; therefore, their discharge from the hospital had been
recommended.
He prayed that the detainees with improved health should be shifted to
an internment centre near Peshawar to enable their relatives to visit them in
accordance with the law. The advocate general said he would consult the
chief secretary and others authorities concerned on the issue to make a
suitable decision. He was directed to intimate the SC registrar within three
days.
The court also directed the chief secretary to arrange fortnight visits of
the supervisory board to the detainees and submit a report to the registrar.
During the hearing, the chief justice said they would not tolerate violation of
constitution in any manner and asked Raja Irshad, the counsel for the
intelligence agencies, to punish anyone found in anti-state activities.
On 19th March, the Supreme Court questioning the role of intelligence
agencies directed the AGP to warn them (agencies) not to detain people
822

illegally. The court said that under Article 9 of the Constitution 1973 it is a
fundamental right of every citizen of Pakistan that he/she shall not be
deprived of life and liberty, save in accordance with law. The State of
Pakistan, being guardian of its citizens, is bound to implement the
constitutional provisions in letter and spirit, particularly fundamental rights,
which are guaranteed by the Constitution.
The court took up a case regarding the abduction of a 16-year-old boy,
who was supplying food to the heirs of missing persons, who have set camp
in front of the Parliament. The IGP Islamabad produced 16-year-old Umer
Muhammad Wali Khan, who went missing on March 10. He also submitted
an investigating report in this regard as well. The IGP also stated that the
abductee Umer Mehmood Wali Khan had been recovered due to his formal
and informal efforts. He stated, agencies had abducted the detenue and that
he made a request to his counterpart for helping him to trace out the
abductee.
When the court inquired that whether he contacted the Inspector
General of Police, Punjab for this purpose, the IG stated that he contacted
ISI. When he was asked to disclose who is involved in this case of
abduction, he again replied that he contacted all the three agencies i.e. ISI,
MI and IB. The chief justice said that it should be investigated that who
kidnapped the boy, saying the number of missing persons is increasing.
The court also inquired from the boy that who had abducted and
detained him, he stated that he is not in a position to disclose the name of the
persons, however, he stated that they had been interrogating him for a period
of six days. The father of Umer informed the bench that some unknown men
had abducted his son in front of him. He observed; We came to Pakistan
one-and-a-half years ago and now mulling to go back.
The CJP said it is illegal to arrest people without any case and there
was no reason to hold Umer for six days and the court had given several
decisions on this matter. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain observed that the court
could not allow anyone to do against the Constitution. The court also asked
the Islamabad police to submit an investigative report regarding the
abduction of a boy, within the next two weeks.
Recessing economy: On 17th March, the government increased the
sugar prices by Rs 6 per kg at Utility Stores Corporation outlets. On 19th
March, the electricity shortfall in the country rose to 5,800 MW. At present
7,500 MW of electricity is being generated while demand stands at 13,300
MW. Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and other cities
823

in Punjab are experiencing 13 hours of load shedding while in rural areas the
duration is almost 19 hours.
On 20th March, Laxmi Chowk, Lahore once again became the venue
of protests against elongated power shutdowns, turning the city centre into a
Hyde Park for the provincial capital. At present the large cities including
Lahore are experiencing at least 13 hours of load shedding, while rural areas
are facing up to 20 hours of power shutdown. Power consumers in
Faisalabad during a protest blocked Samundari Road, burnt tires and also
pelted stones on the police.
Meanwhile, Nepra approved Rs 6.39 per unit raise in power tariff as
four months fuel adjustment charges. The meeting approved hike in tariff
from October 2011 to January 2012. Power tariff has been increased by Rs
2.22 per unit for October 2011, Rs 1.27 per unit for November, 0.94 paisa
per unit for December and Rs 1.96 per unit for January 2012. New tariff will
be added to May, June, July and August bills.
Economy is expected to grow by 3 to 4 percent in the fiscal year to
end-June, though risks to macroeconomic stability have increased in recent
months, the central bank. This compared to the governments target for gross
domestic product (GDP) growth of 4.2 percent for the year. GDP expanded
by 2.4 percent in the previous fiscal year.
On 21st March, speaking at the workshop on Food Security in
Pakistan - Future Challenges and Cooping Strategies, the prime minister
said the government was committed to ensure food security and protect
fundamental right of every citizen to be free from hunger. In this quest, two
landmark decisions by his government had changed the very dynamics of
decision-making and governance in the country, he said, while citing the 7th
NFC Award and the 18th Amendment.
We have achieved extraordinary success during the first four years of
my government. Wheat production has reached its highest level of 25
million tons. We have exportable surplus and are now recognized as a net
wheat exporting country, he informed. He said sugarcane production was a
record 63 million tons and they were expecting five million tons of sugar
production for the first time in the history of Pakistan. Let us not forget rice.
As our major export commodity, rice is fetching higher prices due to quality
improvement, he added.
The World Banks board of executive directors approved two projects
totaling $1.09 billion aimed at supporting Pakistans growth agenda for
reducing poverty. The schemes include Tarbela IV Extension Hydropower
824

Project and the Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement

Project.
Cameron Munter said that Pakistan should not look to the US
government and instead solve its problems on its own. He said this during
his visit to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(KPCCI). He told that the US has provided Pakistan $2billion for assistance
since 2009 which is much higher than the other countries. But, it did not
seem to have benefited the people.
The Commerce Ministry issued the SRO, stating that India could
import everything from Pakistan, except 1,209 items, placed on the Negative
List by Islamabad after granting MFN status to New Delhi in last month.
The decision of switching to Negative List will pave the way for granting
the MFN status to India as mandated by World Trade Organization (WTO)
commitments from next year onwards.
Provincial disharmony: On 18th March, Jeay Sindh Tehreek (JST)
chief Dr Safdar Sarki called for a referendum on independence of Sindh.
The dignity, resources and honour of the Sindhi nation were severely hurt
by the establishment in the name of Islam and federation, he said while
addressing a party rally at Tibet Centre, Karachi. Participants were carrying
flags and portraits of the Jeay Sindh Movement founder, Sain GM Syed. The
JST claimed it assembled one million people in the march against what they
said the slavery of Sindh imposed on it by the establishment.
On 22nd March, Sindh Taraqi Passand Party Chairman Dr Qadir Magsi
has demanded the government to declare Pakistan as a country of five
nations including Sindhi, Balochi, Siraiki, Pakhtun and Punjabi with
different cultures and civilizations. Dr Magsi said that status of nation was
not recognized in the 1973 Constitution and the dictators as well as civilian
governments have amended the Constitution for their own benefits. He said
that 18th Amendment has distorted the Constitution. He said that a
Constitution should be approved accepted to all the nations living in the
country.
Federal Minister for Petroleum announced that Pakistan was mulling
import of LNG from India, which had offered to supply it by laying a
pipeline across the border. He told All Pakistan Textile Mills Association
24/7 gas supply in case more gas enters the system ahead. Dr Asim
announced five days a week gas supply to industry in Punjab from March 26
onwards.

825

Ideological subversion: On 16th March, protest rallies were held

across KPK over changes in Islamiat syllabus for higher secondary
certificate. The government of red-cappers had removed certain Quranic
verses and Hadiths from syllabus which were not liked by their foreign
masters.
On 21st March, PPP MPA Saleem Khursheed Khokhar, during the
question-hour session in Sindh Assembly, suggested shutting down all the
liquor shops in the province and said an unrestricted sale of alcohol be
allowed like any other cold drink. The minister in his reply advised his
colleague to shut down his own licenced shop first. Another PPP legislator
Anwar Khar Mehar clarified that even the various minorities faiths did not
allow liquor use.
Baloch militancy: On 16th March, the Balochistan government
decided to remove cases against Brahmdagh Bugti, President Baloch
Republican Party who is currently seeking political asylum in Switzerland.
The cases were being withdrawn on the directive of Federal Interior
Minister. About 28 cases were registered against Brahmdagh Bugti for
carrying out attack on security forces and national installations.
Next day, Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the PPPs government would
resolve all grievances and concerns of Baloch leaders; she said this during
meeting with Balochistans Information Minister. She applauded the efforts
made by Aslam Raisin to high light core problems of the province. On 19th
March, unknown armed men gunned down two persons in Quetta. Both the
father and the son were killed on the spot. The attackers fled the scene after
committing dual murder.
On 20th March, the Supreme Court sought comprehensive report on
kidnappings for ransom in Balochistan from Chief Secretary and Inspector
General of Police. The court observed that disappearances, target killings
and kidnappings for ransom are increasing in Balochistan. The court
reiterated its suggestion to call a grand jirga in the province to resolve the
law and order issues permanently.
A three-member bench heard the petition on Balochistan law and
order and target killing filed by Balochistan High Court Bar Association
President Hadi Shakeel Ahmed in which he made Balochistan IG, FC IG,
and heads of three top intelligence agencies, federal government through
Attorney General for Pakistan, and provincial government through Advocate
General Balochistan as respondents. The court directed IGP and Chief

826

Secretary to ensure arrests of the murderers of Zohaib and recovery of

Hamza Shahwani within two days.
About the issue of Domkis family murders in Karachi, the court also
asked IG of Police Sindh, Mushtaq Shah, to inform the court about the
progress in the murder case. During the proceedings, the Chief Justice was
annoyed when he found that no official of Sindh Police was present in the
court to appraise it about the progress of the investigation. The counsel for
Sindh Police told the court that the police department was not asked to
present any progress report as a report had already been submitted on the last
hearing.
Next day, five people including two police personnel were killed in
firing incidents in different towns of Balochistan. Meanwhile, police arrested
three suspects during a search action against anti-social elements in
Kharotabad area of Quetta. Police shifted them to undisclosed location for
investigation.
Turf war in Karachi: On 16th March, traders in Karachi announced
complete strike on 17th March over rampant cases of extortion. MQM and
PPP MPAs marred Sindh Assembly session by exchanging harsh words over
the issue. A teenager was killed in sectarian violence in Karachi.
Next day, point buses of the Karachi University were attacked by
unidentified troublemakers on the MQMs Black. The worse law and order
situation in the city, starting from Friday night, has forced the KU
administration to get these buses locked in the universitys garage. MQM
chief thanked the business community and people for observing a peaceful
protest against government and police inaction in curbing the extortion
mafia.
On 18th March, Interior Minister said that the police had arrested 31
people allegedly involved in extortion in Karachi. He met CM Qaim Ali
Shah and discussed the issue of extortion. Later, talking to media, he said
that target killings in Karachi had been stopped but the extortion problem
was still continuing.
Lyari echoed with gun-shots following the target killing of Katchi
Rabita Committee (KRC) leader Rasheed alias builder at Ghausia Road,
Agra Taj Colony within the limits of Kalri police station. Rasheeds security
guard Zubair and a police guard were also killed in the attack while four
more people sustained bullet injuries. KRC leaders strongly condemned the
incident and demanded of the government to take stern action against the
Peoples Aman Committee.
827

Next day, ANP and MQM-H decided to join hands for peace in
Karachi, both parties also decided to form an alliance. MQM-H leader Afaq
Ahmad told a news conference in that a delegation of the alliance would also
meet Altaf Hussain. Also addressing the press conference, ANP Senator
Zahid Khan disclosed that a number of mafias were operating in the mega
city. He ruled out any ethnic tensions in the city.
A student was gunned down and another wounded in a clash between
rival student unions at the Saifee Technical College. Students were
submitting their semester forms, when four unidentified gunmen, riding on
bikes, barged into the college and resorted to indiscriminate firing.
Afterwards, scores of Islami Jamiat Talba (IJT) workers gathered outside the
campus giving vent to their anger against the firing incident. The security
personnel were maltreated by the protesters, who also destroyed one of the
police mobile vans.

VIEWS
Presidents speech: In his address to the joint session of parliament,
the president was supposed to make a serious speech, reflecting the
countrys current situation and the pointing to the improvement the people
can expect in their living conditions from the policies the government
intends to pursue. But what the tense-faced Zardari said in his 30-minute
talk in the midst of opposition protests could at best be categorized as a set
of cruel jokes. His utterances were detached from ground realities, which
would add to the depression the common man is already experiencing
because of the myriad problems.
For example, the president said inflation has been brought down to 11
per cent; 3,300MW electricity has been added to the national grid (although
the long spells of load shedding threatens to become more painful when the
mercury starts going up). Rule of law has been established and supremacy of
parliament ensured, the president claimed. Will anybody take these and
some other claims seriously? They can only be laughed at. (Ashraf Mumtaz,
TheNation 18th March)
Rule of law: There is a rampant sense of injustice at the hands of the
police, magistracy and the local judiciary. Police brutality, corruption,
extrajudicial killings and torture within and outside the jails are common.
The district court is the handmaiden of local people with influence. Some
828

proto-Taliban and sectarian groups operate as instruments of state patronage

and manipulation. (Mohammad Waseem, Dawn 20th March).
Contempt case: The prime minister may be right as far as stand
relating to the immunity of the president is concerned. But may I ask him:
are not all (including the prime minister and the peon) equal before the law
(and Islam) as laid down in the Constitution under which he is so
strenuously asserting his right? This statement denigrates and hurts the
feelings of hundreds of thousands of those working in low category jobs.
Besides, it sounds alarm bells amongst those who abide by the law. (Zahid
Bokhari from Karachi, Dawn 17th March)
Perhaps the only positive that can be taken away from this
confrontation between institutions is that it has not triggered panic and
pandemonium in the political class as yet. A prime minister is on the verge
of being ousted and the democratic order is not being perceived as under
fundamental threat. It could be read as a sign that the democratic order has
matured and is more resilient.
Of course, the fact that the real target is the president and he isnt
directly in the cross chairs as yet has much to do with the relative calm at the
moment. The PPP must ask itself this: If court action does lead to the ouster
of the prime minister, would the court haul up his successor too or go
directly for the president? To live to fight another day is arguably the smarter
political strategy here. (Editorial, Dawn 17th March)
Take the case of our Prime Minister who has declared that he is not a
peon. His loyalty to President Zardari is clearly the force that has driven him
to interpret the Constitution in his convoluted unprincipled way. He has
chosen to flout his constitutional obligations in order to obey the orders,
right or wrong, of someone he considers responsible for elevating him to the
position that he likes to throw around as a licence of unbridled authority. He
understands his place in Zardari's PPP, and looks up to the PPP-lord, hopeful
of the generosity that will be showered upon him for his undying loyalty. A
lord in his constituency, he understands that in the PPP-darbar he is a serf.
The problem is not that as Prime Minister he feels that he should not be
ordered around. The problem is that the Supreme Court does not fit into his
feudal hierarchy that ends at the person of President Zardari.
So while this feudal circus gets more and more obscene in the socalled democratic corridors of power, the nation pays a heavy price to keep
democracy alive. Government structures are shamelessly used as chequered
boards to play feudal power games of privilege and patronage. Political
829

parties that espouse democracy for the nation, operate like feudal estates
complete with lords and vows of loyalty to them. State institutions that
refuse to become a part of this gory drama of deception and greed are
maligned and pushed against the wall. The Constitution is a heap of words to
be used, abused and amended as and when required. And people of Pakistan,
in whose name these revolting games are played, figure nowhere in the
picture. The nation is expected to stand in a circle around the circus and
clap, feeling good about being a democracy. If only our champions of
democracy could see beyond their games, they'd see that there are only a few
serfs who are clapping half-heartedly. And the peons are not amused. (Jalees
Hazir, TheNation 18th March)
In Pakistan, we do not like objective, detached commentary; we find
it boring. So the experts, if they want to be called to express their views on
the show again, must strongly express an opinion favouring one camp or
the other. In this case, one camp says that Section 248 gives immunity to the
president from criminal prosecution, including continuity of such
prosecution.
The opposite camp says that the prime minister should either have
blindly obeyed the order of the Supreme Court or approached the latter for a
review to clarify whether he should really write the pesky letter or interpret
the order in some other way.
The interesting part is that neither camp is claiming that the section
does not give immunity to the president. It would appear that the order is
more important than interpretation of this particular section of the
constitution.
Strange and complicated logic? A little too sophisticated for the
ordinary citizens of the state? A little too removed from the everyday
problems of poverty, load shedding, inflation, delayed justice and other
issues of the ordinary people? But then, is not everything a little bit too
complicated and overly sophisticated in Pakistan? (Zia ul Islam, Dawn, 19 th
March)
What will be the parameters which structure, or guide, the SCs
interpretation of presidential immunity? Firstly, the language of Article 248
and international law and various court judgments interpreting these legal
norms.
Secondly, as lawyer Muneer A Malik rightly points out judges realize
their real strength comes from moral authority with the people. So, the SC

830

will take into account the public perception about President Zardari and
presidential immunity in its interpretation.
Thirdly, the issue of eradicating corruption is a strategic tool of
judicial governance utilized by the SC, which is being used to reform the
Pakistani state through the judicial process. The fact that presidential
immunity is being used as a shield to protect allegedly corrupt acts by
President Zardari will effect the SCs interpretation.
Fourthly, whether President Zardari is given full or limited
presidential immunity will also depend on the political fight-back. For
example, when the prime minister says that he will implement the
constitution, and not the SC judgment, what he is really doing is questioning
the monopoly of the SC over constitutional interpretation. Therefore, the
balance of power between the political and judicial elite will play a critical
role.
But this constitutional conflict is not simply about presidential
immunity; it is about how Pakistan is to be governed, whether by laws and
rules or political consent and compromise. Only political and constitutional
battles can resolve these issues as no readymade or instant solutions are
provided in the document called the constitution. (Faisal Siddiqui, Dawn,
19th March)
Mr Gilani did not change his oft-repeated position and told the bench
that he stands by his earlier stand on the subject. In fact, he overstepped his
jurisdiction when instead of complying with the court order, he advised the
bench to refer the matter to parliament or leave it to people. This clearly is
the logic of the guilty. Those with clean hands dont rely on such excuses
Gilani, who sounded more like a judge than the head of government,
declared that writing the letter as ordered by the court will amount to
subverting the Constitution, an offence punishable with death.
He said contempt carries only six months imprisonment and thus
would prefer it to the gallows, which he would be facing in case of violating
the Constitution The SC-government conflict has now entered a decisive
phase. The court has to look into all aspects of the matter before coming up
with an authoritative judgment.
The court is expected to give its opinion on whether the accused in the
money laundering cases is President Zardari or the PPP co-chairman.
Constitutional experts are of the view that it is Mr Zardari who faces the
charge of keeping ill-gotten money in Swiss banks. He had become

831

president much later, because of which he is not entitled to the immunity his
lawyer claims he has.
If the allegation is against the ruling party boss, the prime minister
cannot refuse to write the letter the court wants him to write. The SC should
also decide whether its the prime minister alone who committed the
contempt by defying the apex court orders or the cabinet ministers who
advised him against sending the communication are also culpable.
The matter was discussed at a meeting of the federal cabinet and at the
end of it reporters were told that the cabinet was of the view the president
enjoys immunity. If all ministers and even the political allies of the PPP
also have the same view, then all of them should be proceeded against. They
are all obstructing justice, which is more serious an offence than contempt of
court.
This is clearly breach of the oath of the prime minister. He is trying to
save Mr Zardari from any negative fallout, turning back on the commitment
he had made to the nation before taking over The issue of the NRO case
judgment implementation has already been pending with the court for long.
Thousands of news items and columns have been published about it and
countless talk shows held. However, the controversy about the immunity
issue persists.
The court should not take more time to decide the matter now. The
entire nation wants to see how the supremacy of the Constitution is upheld.
All eyes are focused on the judiciary. It has to come up to peoples
expectations. (Ashraf Mumtaz, TheNation 20th March)
Mehrangate scandal: But perhaps some good will come from this
series of disasters that have befallen the ISI. Maybe there will be an internal
review of the agencys role. There needs to be a realization that it cannot
simultaneously be a covert organization devoted to internal and external
military intelligence, as well as a political player.
More important is the need to establish political control over the ISI.
When this government tried to place the ISI under the interior ministry, its
ill-judged attempt was quickly rebuffed. But now, the top military and
civilian leadership ought to sit down, out of the glare of publicity, and
hammer out a new charter for the ISI, MI and IB.
Currently, there is no oversight over the ISIs budget. Similarly, there
is minimum information on military expenditure in the national budget.
There is no parliamentary debate on the countrys largest single expenditure.

832

Clearly, this needs to change, and our defence forces ought to justify their
budgetary proposals to our elected representatives.
These suggestions need not alarm our generals. Given the propensity
of our politicians to roll over before them, it is unlikely that their budgetary
requests will be denied by the National Assembly. Let us not forget that
when the ISI chief appeared before parliament in the wake of the Abbottabad
raid, no politician had any words of criticism.
In an act of rage and frustration, the ISI has leveled Osama bin
Ladens house as if its demolition will erase its shame. And bizarrely, it has
charged the dead terrorists widows and children with illegal entry into
Pakistan. Its a pity they couldnt have included Bin Laden in this charge
while he was still alive. (Irfan Husain, Dawn 17th March).
Economy: The State Banks mid-year report on the economy brings
some good news. But it also raises areas of serious concern A couple of
developments over the last half-year have contributed to this scenario. For
one, Pakistans external account position has worsened Some of these
developments are beyond the governments control. But what isnt is the
creation of a productive economy able to withstand these external shocks.
Behind the broader statistics a picture emerges of an economy whose
problems are deeper. (Editorial, Dawn 22nd March)
Provincial disharmony: One is at a loss for words to condemn the
deplorable act on the part of the ANP government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
to expunge from text books an essay on founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah. That this has happened in the backdrop of the
devolution following the passage of the 18th Amendment, only provides
grist to the mill of those who allege that the constitutional move was driven
by ulterior motives. It also lends credibility to all those pointing a finger of
accusation at the ANP setup for being still reluctant to reconcile itself to
Pakistans ideology particularly the veritable miracle that Quaid-i-Azam had
performed of creating a separate homeland for Muslims of the sub-continent.
This disrespect to the founder of the country cannot be condoned
under any circumstances that the party might argue caused it to do so. It
must be mentioned that the ANP first changed the title of the essay, Quaid-iAzam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Sarhad to Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali
Jinnah in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when it came to power in the province.
Even this constitutes an unpardonable offence because a change in the name
of the province even though through a constitutional amendment does
not necessarily mean that a historical literary piece mentioning that very
833

name should also be changed. It is quite disturbing that this has happened
under the officer who also holds the chairmanship of the Bacha Khan Trust.
The worrying thing that it could set a dangerous precedent whereby
other provinces might also start following in the footsteps of the KP
government. The consequences of consigning the founder of the country to
this willful amnesia are a foregone conclusion. In the wake of the step taken
by the ANP government the fear that each province would start glorifying its
own leaders no matter how much parochial and secessionist is not
misplaced. Already we are well aware of the polarization prevailing in the
society.
While Balochistan is the biggest victim of this harmful tendency, there
are several other regions that are currently clamouring to be turned into new
provinces. Ultimately, we must realize that this inclination can only act as a
catalyst for dismemberment of the federation. It was only after a long
struggle that we were able to achieve independence. The federal government
as well as all the concerned quarters in the education sector must swing into
action to take notice of this glaring act. Devolution of the education ministry
is in no way a passport to take chapters and essays detailing achievements of
the founder of the nation out of the text books. (Editorial, TheNation 22 nd
March)
Ideological subversion: Pakistans ideological base is badly
tarnished and weakening the national purpose, as enshrined in the
Constitution, i.e. to strive for a democratic order based on the principles of
Quran and Sunnah. The component of democracy is protected by
Parliament, judiciary, armed forces and civil society, but the ideological
component has been relegated and subordinated to the political authority.
The threat to national purpose, thus, has become endemic, since the
US has succeeded in achieving media management goals and now is
aiming at perception management of the Pakistani nation. For this purpose,
$1.4 billion have been allocated by the US Congress, which is to be spent in
Pakistan for institutional support; support to the civil society and perception
management. Therefore, safeguarding Pakistans ideological base is the
most serious challenge. If Parliament does not take it seriously, then the
impacting ideological forces of Afghanistan and Iranian revolutions and the
Islamic surge within Pakistan, would gain overpowering influence over the
masses and cause violent change. Change is inevitable, but must be induced
through the democratic dispensation. (General Mirza Aslam Baig,
TheNation 23rd March)

834

Balochistan: On the positive front, this resolution has finally jolted

the Pakistani civil society, which now recognizes that Balochistan is a major
problem and needs immediate attention. One hopes that sanity will prevail
and the powers that be will attend to the grievances of Baloch people
through negotiations. One also wishes that in future, we as a nation will start
openly discussing, deliberating, and debating about our pressing issues much
before a bill exposing our fallacies is tabled in the Congress of the United
States.' (Zeeshan Adhi, TheNation 18th March).
Sectarian violence: Police officials believe that in Karachi, gangs of
four to five men usually carry out targeted sectarian killings without any
planning or formal instructions from major sectarian outfits. The rise in this
trend of communal vigilantism is cause for concern, especially considering
the extent of sectarianism in this country. Police officials say that Sunni
sectarian groups such as the Sipah-i-Sahaba/Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat and its
deadly offshoot Lashkar-i-Jhangvi have begun to target ordinary members of
the Shia community, whereas in earlier decades mostly Shia professionals
and scholars were killed. Conversely, Shia militants, apparently working
under the banner of Sipah-i-Muhammad, have concentrated their attacks on
SSP activists. Until 2008, most victims of sectarian violence in Karachi were
Shia; however, as the report notes, the past two years have witnessed an
increasing number of SSP workers killed, indicating that Shia militants have
begun to strike back.
As the state has failed to punish sectarian killers, this is the natural
outcome. Sectarian demagogues often with blood on their hands have
been set free by the courts due to lack of evidence. This perhaps results
from the fear of consequences of convicting a terrorist, as well as shoddy
investigation methods. The state particularly the law-enforcement and
intelligence apparatus is squarely responsible for letting the situation reach
such alarming proportions. Justice has not been done, which has opened the
door for sectarian operators who are often more radical than organized
sectarian outfits. (Editorial, Dawn 20th March).

REVIEW
The system about the safety of which politicians keep striving is in
place and working. The only thing about which they seem to be unaware is
that the wheels of the system are moving on auto-crumble mode. The
system-lovers are busy collecting falling bits and pieces thinking that the
system is delivering something at least for them.
835

They do not want the wheels to stop especially the one that produces
maximum bits and pieces; the wheel of corruption. Anyone who tries to
halt it is taken as threat to this benevolent system. In fact, it is only the
superior judiciary that has made some half-hearted attempts to stop it and
once or twice attempted to turn the wheel back.
The system-lovers have countered all such attempts. They have gone
to the extent of defying court verdicts and risking confrontation between
institutions that are called pillars of the State. The blatant defiance by the
Executive has led to the enacting of contempt drama in which Aitzaz Ahsan
is playing the lead role.
The NRO verdict has delivered many children but not the desired
baby called justice. The litter of unwanted babies so delivered, especially the
latest by the name of contempt of court, has got on to the nerves of Pakistani
nation and pushing it to the brink of breakdown.
People have failed to understand the wisdom behind judges dragging
their feet for so long over a clear cut case. Is it a cat-and-mouse game which
the over-worked judges playing to relax? The judges dont realize that in this
game they represent Toms, which are being made fun of by the Jerry and his
party. Or, are the judges of apex court, like a horde of mice, scared of belling
the cat? Or, is it noora kushti, as they say it?
The judges are capable of punishing the ordinary culprits only, who
can be administered on the spot instant justice even by a mob. Or, are they
avoiding punishing him to save themselves from the curse of Heavens as the
PM is not a peon but a gaddi nasheen? Aitzaz, has perhaps correctly read the
mind of reluctant judges and cautioned them: Beware my client is a gaddi
nasheen of Multan!
The word shame has different meanings in the dictionary of practicing
lawyers. Lying is an art added to the science of practicing law. Not only the
lawyers themselves tell lies under the cover of arguments construed by
twisting letters of law, but they also tutor the witnesses to tell lies in the
court under oath.
They surely need to be reminded: A dishonest PM is not worth a peon;
not even worth worn-out pair of shoes of an honest peon. This holds good
even for a PM who happens to be from the City of Saints and claiming to be
a direct descendent of Ghous-ul-Azam. Considering the matrimonial habits
of most gaddi nasheen, DNA tests can point out lot of impurities.

836

Of late, Aitzaz, running short of any convincing argument in defence

of his client, has shamelessly expressed lack of trust in the court as he had
done about seven-member bench soon after he became the counsel of Gilani.
That brings the total of untrustworthy judges to 15, with only two left to be
accounted for.
As most of the nation focused on court proceedings, the Red-cappers
silently encroached upon the ideological foundation of the country with the
intention of achieving their goal for which they had blackmailed PML-N for
getting new name for their province. They have been moving steadily
towards realization of dream of their Congress-linked fore-fathers.
The government of KPK incorporated some changes in syllabus of
Islamiat for higher secondary classes, which were protested across the
province. The Red-cappers, however, would deny it as an attempt at deIslamization; they are simply curbing militancy and promoting tolerance and
secularism; something like Gandhis non-violent movement for
independence.
Having corrected anomalies in Islamic syllabus, they then removed a
chapter on Quad-i-Azam from history book. In not too distant future a
chapter about Sarhadi Gandhi could be inserted to fill the space. KPK wont
be left without a founder father, but his surname Sarhadi has to be changed
appropriately.
Meanwhile, Pakistans economy is in tatters. If the people here are not
starving like Somalis or Sudanese, it is because of the bountiful Mother
Nature that has blessed Pakistan with one of the most fertile river basins in
the world. India and India-sponsored opponents of Kalabagh Dam, however,
are bent upon turning it into a desert.
23rd March, 2012

WAR WITHIN-II
Like implementation of NRO verdict, the contempt case against the
descendent of Ghous-ul-Azam also started getting on to the nerves of a
nation, which according to Allama Iqbal has already been massacred by the
three oppressive elite classes in its history and one of those is the class of
gaddi nasheen. Gilanis learned defence counsel used the familiar delaying
tactics which the Scoundrel and the Saint have been using quite successfully.
The Supreme Court has been showing extraordinary judicial restraint
in cases against the democratic rulers led by the Scoundrel. Having shown

837

restraint in the case of Rental Power Projects the court at last announced
detailed verdict after having it reserved more than three-and-a-months ago.
The verdict caused silence in regimes quarters.
In the case of Asghar Khans petition the regime found the bank
records went missing soon after the question of misuse of funds by IB to
dislodge PML-N government in Punjab in 2009 was raised during the
hearing. Meanwhile, discriminatory electricity load shedding and
indiscriminate killings in Karachi and Quetta resulted in violent protests.

NEWS
Power politics: On 24th March, TheNation reported that PML-N and
its Punjab government were seriously considering holding the local bodies
elections ahead of the general elections. MQM has also started demanding
local bodies elections without further delay. Both these political players
believed that local level elections at a time when they are in government
would give them better results, and they would be also advantageous to them
for gaining good scores in the next general elections.
After Nawaz Sharif failed to seal a deal with Sindh National Front
(SNF) Chief Mumtaz Bhutto, Imran Khan has contacted the latter for merge
with PTI. The SNF is considered as a nationalist party with influence in
various parts of Sindh province. A crucial meeting regarding this matter is
likely to be held between Imran Khan and Mumtaz Bhutto at the end of this
month.
Next day, addressing the Islam Zindabad Conference in Peshawar,
JUI-F chief said that many governments came to an end due to rampant
corruption, but corruption itself never ended in Pakistan. Fazl said that
Pakistan was made as a result of promises and dreams. He said people still
waited for the realization of those dreams and the fulfillment of those
promises. Shouting slogans and making promises will not help this
country. Corruption and inflation will prevail and keep increasing if the
budget is not devised properly. He said that currently, Pakistan neither has
an economic policy nor a foreign policy
On 26th March, declaring that PPP has failed the nation, particularly
the Sindhis, Nawaz Sharif has said they will change the fate of the country if
his party is voted to power. He was addressing a public gathering in village
Betto Jatoi of Mehar tehsil in Dadu the home town of former Sindh chief

838

minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi, who announced merger of his newly formed party
(Sindh Awami Ittehad) with the PML-N.
On 28th March, disgruntled and annoyed by the decisions of the PMLQ leadership, Ameer Muqam, along with other office-bearers, called on
Nawaz Sharif at Raiwind and expressed his complete confidence in the
leadership and political acumen of Nawaz Sharif and his party leaders. He
was all set to join PML-N along with other office-bearers and supporters.
On 31st March, TheNation reported that some incidents taking place
during the last couple of days indicated that cracks have started appearing in
the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) a conglomerate of over 40 religious
and political parties and groups that had emerged with a firm resolve to
strengthen the defence of the country. Jamaat-e-Islami has started distancing
itself from rallies and protests of the DPC with a go-slow policy that is a
cause of major concern for the alliance.
Sheikh Rashid wanted to gain political support from these rallies, but
the response disappointed him and he thought that it would not be a proper
forum for him. He had been weighing options to join Pakistan Tehreek-eInsaf (PTI) but currently looking into other possibilities to save his political
career. Ijazul Haq is facing tough resistance from the activists of Ahle
Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), formerly known as SSP, for being the former
federal minister for religious affairs when the Lal Masjid operation was
launched during the Musharraf regime.
Moreover, the criticism has started from the inner ranks of DPC over
the recent incident of arrest and release of ASWJs chief Maulana Ahmed
Ludhianvi. Some of the component parties have started criticizing Ludhianvi
for his participation in the March 27 event, saying he should have avoided it
as the local administration had already imposed a ban on his entry in the
capital. The Islamabad Police have also registered a case against him for
delivering speeches allegedly to promote sectarianism in the society.
After losing the membership of the Parliamentary Committee on
National Security, former federal minister Babar Awan was further decrowned as PPPP vice-president the slot many in party considered not
existing. Babar Awan, the once-blue-eyed boy of President Zardari famous
for his benevolence toward his friends, is under the cloud since he refused to
appear as witness in the contempt of court case against Prime Minister
Gilani in the Supreme Court.
Rule of law: On 28th March, the Supreme Court directed NAB to
conduct broad inquiry into ISAF containers scam and submit its report at the
839

Registrar office fortnightly and disposed of the case. In his report, the FTO
has informed the court that as many as 28,802 commercial Afghan transit
trade containers and 3,396 non-commercial containers were known to have
not crossed Pak-Afghan border.
At the outset of hearing, counsel for the FBR Raja Irshad submitted
before the bench that the incumbent Chairman FBR Mumtaz Haider Rizvi
has some reservations on the report and sought two-week adjournment in the
case saying during the given time Rizvi would have to go through the entire
exercise relating to the issue. Expressing his annoyance over the contention
of Raja Irshad, the Chief Justice observed: were we engaged in a futile
exercise since two years as we had also engaged the FTO who worked on a
report in the pursuance of court orders.
Chief Justice also said in his remarks that now it would be the
responsibility of NAB to probe the matter, adding, that exporters,
transporters and Customs authorities were allegedly involved in the
containers movement which were containing goods cleared without charging
Customs etc on the pretext that goods were meant for ISAF-NATO forces.
Instead of taking the goods to Afghanistan it were allegedly delivered in
Peshawar and Chaman, the CJP said in his order.
During the proceedings, Deputy Prosecutor General NAB Fouzi Zafar
read out a report pertaining to the Bureau inquiries detail in the case saying
in the first phase NAB was referred a total of eight complaints from FBR
probe committee against eight clearing agents and others, containing 10012
containers and involving an amount of Rs19.098 billion in the shape
allegedly evading duties and taxes. He informed that as many as 13
complaints against 26 clearing agents and others, involving 11979 containers
with alleged revenue loss of Rs22.772 billion along with four other
complaints against 237 clearing agents involving 6811 containers were also
sent by FBR to NAB.
DPG further apprised the bench that the NAB also called record from
Pakistan Railways and NLC to confirm the transportation of the containers
to the destinations. He said that after receiving the complaints in second
phase, record of 24 clearing agents out of 26 was examined, adding, that in
the cases of non- commercial cargo notices to 39 clearing agents were issued
against which 23 agents appeared before the NAB so far. While giving
details of adjudication proceedings by the Customs Department, DPG NAB
told the bench that the adjudicating officers of Customs Collectorate at
Karachi have issued about 11143 show-cause notices involving 28615

840

containers to the clearing agents, importers, NLC and others related to

containers, reported as missing by Probe Committee.
On 29th March, NAB arrested Railways GM Operations Saeed Akhtar
just after three days of his reappointment by the PM on the key post. Akhtar
is considered very close associate of Railways Minister Haji Ghulam Ahmed
Bilour. Gilani had reappointed him as GM Operations on a one-year
extension which was likely to be extendable for another year. He has been
hired as GM thrice.
Akhtar was arrested over alleged misuse of authority and other
charges in relation to a multi-billion scrap scandal. The NAB, on the orders
of the Supreme Court, had initiated the investigation into alleged disposal, in
clear violations of prescribed rules, of 39,000 metric tons of scrap valued at
more than Rs300 million. It was claimed that when the tenders were
awarded, the rate of scrap was around Rs37,000 per metric tonne, while the
Railways auctioned it for Rs28,700.
Some accused, including the PR officials and contractors, had already
been arrested and some were released on bail after depositing back the
plundered money. Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour and former
secretary Samiul Haq Khilji were also named in the scrap scandal. NAB has
established a Special Operations Division to investigate the cases against
Akhtar.
However, Akhtar was refuting allegations against him, saying he had
no role in the scrap issue and was innocent, as all charges were baseless.
Akhtar is considered a pioneer in introducing public-private partnership in
the utility. He started two trains, Business Express and Shalimar Express,
with the cooperation of private companies. He enjoys a good reputation
among majority of the PR officers.
Next day, the Supreme Court announced the much awaited decision
on one of the mega corruption scams of Zardari regime. Declaring all RPPs
illegal, the apex court ordered their immediate shut down, besides directing
for initiation of legal action against former federal ministers Liaqat Jatoi and
Raja Pervez Asharaf, and all the others responsible for bringing the countrys
effectively working sector to its knees. The court also directed the
government for taking effective steps to arrest corruption and pilferage in the
power sector.
The court directed NAB chairman to proceed against ministers for
water and power holding charge in 2006 and onward and from 2008 to
onward, during whose tenure the RPPs were approved/set up and minister as
841

well as secretary finance holding the charge when the down payment was
increased from 7% to 14% and submit fortnightly progress report to
Registrar for perusal in chambers.
The court observed that prior to the introduction of RPPs, the
electricity generation system had sufficient potential to produce more
electricity, but instead of taking curative stepsbillions of rupees were spent
on Bhikki and Sharaqpur RPPs, which proved complete failure because the
object could not be achieved as the shortage of electricity persistently
continued, and yet more RPPs were installed. The verdict further holds the
finance ministry, Wapda, Pepco and Gencos responsible for causing huge
losses to the public exchequer, which run into billions of rupees by making
7% to 14% down payments to RPPs and purchasing electricity on higher
rates from them.
All the functionaries of Pepco, Gencos, PPIB and Nepra who derived
financial benefits from the RPPs contracts are, prima facie, involved in
corruption and corrupt practices, therefore, they are also liable both for the
civil and criminal action. Consequently, they are liable to be dealt with
under the NAB Act-1999 by the accountability bureau.
The court lauded the role of Faisal Saleh Hayat and Khawaja Asif for
highlighting the corruption and corrupt practices in RPPs contracts. But, it
observed: It is the constitutional requirement that every action of
governmental authorities should be aimed at socio-economic development of
the country In terms of the constitution and the Act, the Nepra is
mandated to safeguard the interests of the consumers, but the concerned
officials of Nepra failed to perform their duties diligently.
The Economic Coordination Committee decision dated September 10,
2008 has been violated blatantly, the court noted, saying that as per latest
report, Karkey and Gulf are producing only 31 to 81MW and 51 to 61MW at
an average cost per unit kWh of Rs35 to Rs52 and Rs18 to Rs19 rupees
respectively. Thus, it is clear violation of the rights guaranteed to the citizens
in terms of Articles 9 and 24 of constitution and the Power Act, 1997.
The court observed that on accepting the ADBs report, 9 out of 19
RPPs were allowed to operate. But 6 out of 9 RPPs were discontinued either
having been signed off or having failed to achieve the target COD whereas
remaining RPPs, Karkey, Naudero-I and Gulf are functioning, but they are
producing electricity much less than their generation capacity, except Gulf
which is producing electricity close to the agreed capacity.

842

PPR (Piranghaib, Multan) has not generated electricity at all, although

down payment was made to it, which has not been returned. As far as
Reshma is concerned, though it achieved partial COD, but the same was not
accepted by Nepra. Bhikki and Sharaqpur were paid exorbitant rentals in
billions of rupees, but generation of electricity was much below the agreed
capacity.
The court directed the authorities concerned to take steps for
recovery of the amounts with mark up outstanding against the RPPs whose
contracts have been signed off or who had failed to achieve COD within the
stipulated time in terms of the performance guarantees. Naveed Qamar said
that the National Transmission Dispatch Company would release notices of
termination of contracts to all RPPs the same day in line with the Supreme
Courts order.
During hearing of another case, Chief Justice expressed his
displeasure over the progress of Sonia Naz rape case submitted by Punjab
police and observed that if the Supreme Court could summon the Prime
Minister, it can also summon the Punjab Chief Minister. The bench
reprimanded the Punjab police officials for changing their stances over
whereabouts of the accused (retired and serving officers) involved in the said
rape case.
Defiance of judiciary: On 24th March, the PML-N chief told the
media that his party will take on the PPP-led regime to make it obey the
court directives. We will take to account all those who have made plans to
flout the court orders, Nawaz warned while deploring the apparent
disrespectful treatment being meted out by the government to the judiciary.
On 26th March, at the start of the hearing of contempt case, Barrister
Gohar, an associate of Aitzaz Ahsan, submitted an application for
adjournment of the contempt case at least for a week. He informed the court
that Aitzaz Ahsan was sick with food poisoning, thus was unable to travel.
The court disregarded the application and adjourned the hearing for till
tomorrow.
Had he listened to us, he would not have been struck with the foodpoisoning, Justice Nasirul Mulk remarked while smiling. Barrister Gohar
replied that it was a sheer coincidence otherwise he never missed his duty in
his 40-year stint with the courts. It is worth mentioning that Aitzaz Ahsan on
the last date of hearing had prayed the bench to adjourn the case till first
week of April. He then requested adjournment for three to four days. The
court did not agree with him on that point as well.
843

Next day, Aitzaz complained to the bench that previous day he was
suffering from food poisoning but whatever the bench remarked, which
appeared in the newspapers, had hurt him. The bench had advised Aitzaz to
take heavy dose to ensure his presence before the court. The PPP leader said
he was unable to continue his arguments, adding, due to his sickness he
could not attend joint session of the parliament too, which was very
important. Justice Nasirul Mulk asked Aitzaz to complete his arguments in
five days. The counsel replied: I cant make promise but would try. The
Supreme Court adjourned the hearing of the contempt of court case against
Prime Minister till April 12.
On 29th March, during the hearing of the NRO verdict implementation
case, the court said that PMs not writing letter to Swiss authorities despite
its clear and unambiguous order of March 8 could lead to another contempt
of court case. Justice Nasir said the PM defence that he acted on the advice
of the secretaries, is no longer valid as they had passed specific order to PM
regarding the matter.
Instead of submitting a report regarding the implementation of order
through his secretary, the PM on March 21 through AG wrote an application
to the court wherein he refused to write to the Swiss and conveyed the court
to take up this matter after the final decision on contempt of court
proceedings. Justice Gulzar said if the PM does not comply with the order, it
would aggravate the situation.
Justice (r) Tariq Mehmood talking to media said that prime minister
this time has ridiculed the judiciary in various public gatherings in
Bahawalpur and Mailsi. This time he is defying the court order intentionally.
Tariq Mehmood said this time the contempt would be on the face of the
court that would attract judicial contempt. He said the court may exercise the
third option of setting up a judicial commission, which would execute the
relevant parts of the original judgment of 2009 on NRO.
Taming the military: On 25th March, Fazlur Rehman also took shot at
the Army saying that the establishment has obstructed the JUI-Fs way and if
it doesnt get out of its way then it will be responsible for any discord that
takes place. Addressing the Islam Zindabad Conference in Peshawar, he said
that the amount of money spent on education and health in a year is less than
what is being spent on the armed forces in a day. Hinting at the armed
forces, he said, We do not want deductions in anyones budget, but why
should a common man remain deprived of basic rights like education and
health?

844

On 30th March, the Supreme Court during hearing of petition filed by

Asghar Khan reminded the AG that he was ordered in the last hearing to get
instruction from the IB about the veracity of a news item appeared in an
English newspaper, which claimed that Rs270 million were allegedly used
by the civilian spy agency to dislodge the Punjab government in 2009. The
reporter of the newspaper, who filed the story, appearing before the court
claimed that besides other sources, ex-DG IB Tariq Lodhi had confirmed
about the funds.
The attorney general said the IB DG wanted to brief the court on the
money in-camera. But the chief justice asked him to submit the request in
writing, as he (AG) had neither confirmed nor denied the story and directed
him to call the IB chief to appear before the court in half an hour and to
explain his position. IB DG Aftab Sultan, while appearing before the court,
said the inventory, which contained the detail of spending, was not with him;
therefore, he could not confirm nor deny the report at the moment. He
further told the bench that they maintained the record of spent funds but they
did not mention the purpose.
The chief justice asked the DG why such a huge amount was spent,
saying, If you can brief the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) about the
expenditure, why you cannot inform us. The DG replied that the PAC only
asked about whether the money was spent or not. The DG requested the
court to give him sometime so that he could collect all the details to brief the
bench in in-camera. The ordered the DG to submit a report in a sealed
envelope.
Earlier, the AG informed the court about the unavailability of Mehran
and Habib banks reports. The court expressed anger over missing reports of
Mehran Bank and Habib Bank after Attorney General (AG) Maulvi Anwarul-Haq informed the bench that the secretaries interior and law and justice
ministries had told him that the reports on the affairs in the two banks were
not available.
Justice Khilji said: The reports are very important; therefore, we cant
ignore them because they are relevant documents and seeing them is their
right as the judges of Supreme Court and High Court headed the
commissions constituted to probe the withdrawal of money from these banks
in order to give politicians to rig the elections. He further observed that the
reports were not provided to the court intentionally in order to create
hindrance in the proceeding of the case.

845

The chief justice said the reports were not made public as it contained
names of many important personalities. He observed that a notable persons
like Asghar Khan filed the petition against the two-army generals, as he had
many things in his mind. The court was informed that Lt-Gen (r) Asad
Durrani and Younus Habib had engaged Khalid Ranjha and Munir Paracha
respectively to plead their case in the court. The hearing was adjourned till
23rd April.
Recessing economy: On 24th March, it was reported that despite a ban
on issuing new licenses to CNG stations since 2008, OGRA admitted, in an
in-camera briefing to a parliamentary panel, issuing 523 licenses. The
unregulated rise in CNG consumption is directly affecting the common
household and the industry.
Mian Nawaz Sharif threatened to launch a strong protest drive against
long hours electricity load shedding if the federal government will not take
action. In a statement issued, he said 15 to 20 hours daily load shedding
would not be accepted by the masses as well as the PML-N also.
On 26th March, a meeting of Technical Committee of IRSA held in
Islamabad reported 21 per cent water shortage expected as compared to
previous years in the early kharif season this year starting from April 1 to
June 10. The agriculture sector could face a jolt due to expected water
shortage in the country. The country would have to face water shortage this
year due to low water level in dams. It is worth mentioning here that the
government this year emptied dams to generate electricity instead of
providing fuel to Independent Power Producers.
On 31st March, Ogra issued separate notifications of hike in oil and
CNG prices to be effective from 1st April. The government raised per litre
price of petrol by Rs8.02, high speed diesel (HSD) Rs4.70, kerosene oil
Rs5.29, high octane blending component (HOBC) Rs8.94 and light diesel oil
(LDO) by Rs5.45 per litre. The price of petrol has thus jumped up to
Rs105.68 per litre from Rs97.66, LDO Rs98.74 from Rs93.29, kerosene oil
Rs101.96 from Rs96.40, HOBC Rs135.81 from 126.87 and HSD to
Rs108.16 from Rs103.46.
CNG price has been increased by Rs11.57 per kg in Region-1 and by
Rs9.93 in Region-2. Thus the price has been increased from Rs77.13 per kg
to Rs88.70 per kg in KPK, Balochistan and Potohar Region (Rawalpindi,
Islamabad and Gujar Khan) and form Rs71.05 per kg to 80.98 per kg in
Sindh and Punjab (excluding Potohar Region). The government has imposed
20 per cent Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) on CNG in a bid
846

to collect revenue for gas pipeline projects including IP and TAPI. The price
of CNG has also been brought at 55 per cent parity of petrol.
Accepting an offer from Chief Minister, Prime Minister Gilani
announced convening of National Energy Conference in Lahore on April 9.
The conference is an effort to discuss various possible solutions to the
energy crisis, which has stifled the national life and invited the public fury
across the country. Gilani said all stakeholders have been invited to this
important gathering and they must give their input because it was in the
national interest to solve this problem.
He mentioned that business community in Punjab was facing energy
shortage and voicing their concern over it, therefore, the province was
selected for holding the conference. The conference in Lahore would give
the message to the people that government is serious about resolving the
issue, he added. The prime minister has already directed the technical subcommittee of the Energy Committee to remove bottlenecks in import of
Liquefied Natural and Petroleum Gas to help the country meet its energy
needs.
Instead of telling what his own government did about the energy
maladies, he was satisfied at taking refuge in history and portraying bringing
in of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) as an accomplishment of first
Benazir government in 1994. He lamented criticisms at this achievement of
his partys former leader. He even said that one major cause of present
energy shortage was making of corruption cases against Benazir Bhutto and
taking the matter to the courts. This, he said, scared away the IPP investors,
forcing them to flee Pakistan.
Next day, there was strong reaction to the whopping increase in the
prices of petroleum products with traders and transporters delivering
ultimatums, and political parties gearing up for massive protests. The PMLN, while rejecting the recent increase in oil prices, will boycott the meeting
of PCNS on 2nd April in protest and will hold a protest rally on Wednesday.
This was announced by Nisar Ali Khan in a statement, which said that the
recent raise in the POL prices was injustice with the poor masses of the
country as it would bring more inflation. Nisar said if the government did
not change its behaviour, the masses would come to streets and would
launch a countrywide agitation against the government. He added the people
would not accept the recent raise in the POL prices and would start
movement against it.

847

MQMs Coordination Committee expressed its grave concern over the

sharp increase in POL prices saying it was gross injustice to the people of
the country. The committee demanded of the government to take back the
increase in the POL prices immediately. PTI Sindh President criticized the
decision saying government was not interested to address problems of the
masses. Jamaat-e-Islami Sindh Chief denounced the increase in CNG and
POL products.
The traders in Karachi have given an ultimatum of three days to the
government to withdraw increase in petroleum prices. They threatened the
government to launch civil disobedience movement in the first phase while
business community in Peshawar has also issued an ultimatum of 72 hours
to the government. The manufacturers and the trade leaders have termed the
move as the last nail in the coffin of business activities in the country.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association central chairman Mohsin Aziz
observed that due to high cost of production the local industry would be
wiped out absolutely from the region. He said the country had already lost a
number of international markets to China, Bangladesh and India due to high
cost of doing business and the decision to increase power tariff would make
the Pakistani goods more uncompetitive. He opined due to ongoing energy
crisis as well as the hike in fuel prices the country had lost three per cent of
its GDP.
All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) has asked the government
to review the decision saying it would put extra burden on masses especially
commuters. Paracha said Pakistan was the leading CNG user in the world
with approximately 4 million vehicles both public and private using locally
produced fuel. Criticizing the government decision, he said the government
during last few months had increased CNG prices by Rs16 per kg, adding its
price was Rs44 in July 2008 which reached Rs78 per kg in March 2012 and
after the current hike it would hit almost Rs90 per kg.
Meanwhile, All Pakistan Transport Owners Federation (APTOF) has
decided a 5-10 per cent increase in fares on inter-city routes. APTOF
Secretary General said that a notification had also been issued in this regard
and it would be implemented from the very next day. However, management
of PIA and Pakistan Railways will take decision after working out the issue.
Meanwhile, the country kept suffering from an acute power crisis and
despite tall announcements and claims by the government. The power
demand in the country was 14,000 mega watts but the supply way below at
just 9,000 mw thereby a shortfall of 5,000 mw. There is as much as 12-hour
848

load shedding in the big cities while smaller cities are reeling from as much
14-18 hours of longish and unannounced load shedding. Furnace oil in
required quantity is not being supplied by the government to the power
producers and thus there has been no increase in power generation.
Prime Minister Gilani in his talks with Chinese Executive Vice
Premier called for setting up an umbrella Pakistan-China Power
Cooperation, which would include specialists and entities in a range of
energy fields. The prime minister singled out energy cooperation between
the two countries as being of particular importance in Sundays talks,
underscoring Islamabads keenness on securing greater Chinese investment
in hydropower, and particularly civilian nuclear energy projects.
State-run Chinese nuclear energy firms are currently in talks to set up
three 1,000MW nuclear power reactors in Pakistan two at the Karachi
power complex and another reactor at Chashma, where Chinese firms have
already built two reactors and are in the process of constructing two more.
Gilani also called for the early materialization of an MoU signed
between Pakistan and the China EXIM Bank in 2009 for US $700 million
credit for building dams in Pakistan, which has been slow to take off. He
sought cooperation from the Chinese side on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline
project.
Provincial disharmony: On 25th March, hundreds workers, unwaged
by 18 hours long power cut, held a protest against load shedding in
Faisalabad and blocked Samandri Road. They also shouted slogans against
the government. SSP Operation Sadiq Doggar reached there for dialogue but
did not dare to discuss the issue with angry mob and ultimately returned.
The electricity shortfall has increased to 6500MW forcing power
shutdown in many cities. Residents of Lahore burnt tyres on the road during
a demonstration against electricity load shedding while defiant traders
blocked main Mall Road. Gujranwala residents came out on to the streets
burnt tyres and disrupted traffic on main GT Road. Police resorted to aerial
firing and hurled teargas shells to disperse them while the agitators pelted
stones.
Punjab Chief Minister reiterated his earlier statements on load
shedding, as he talked of injustice being done with Punjab regarding power
outages and vowed to come out with a strategy to overcome the problem. He
said entire Punjab including provincial metropolis had been plunged into
darkness and shortage of electricity was falling on the people like lightning.

849

Zardari was pleased to take note outages and protests and issued
directives for clearance of Rs152 billion bank guarantees for the IPPs. The
president also directed for immediate payment to IPPs, oil and gas
companies. The Sui Northern Gas was directed to start gas supply to 10
power plants by stopping it to other industries.
Next day, one person was killed as a security guard opened fire on
angry protesters who attacked a petrol pump in Lahore, as people came out
on streets against unending power crisis which paralyzed life across Punjab.
Violent protests were also reported from Faisalabad, Bahawalnagar,
Gujranwala, Kamalia, Rawalpindi, Multan and other towns and cities.
Amidst worsening power supply, traders and industrialists in Faisalabad and
Sialkot have announced to shut down the industries and markets tomorrow.
Police registered separate case against some 250 people on account of
destroying public property in Faisalabad.
PEPCO Managing Director Rasul Khan Mehsud told the reporters that
shortfall would be brought down to 3,000 during the next two days, adding
that outages would decrease to four hours in the cities. The Ministry of
Water and power also claimed to resolve the crisis within 24 hours, saying
the current crisis was due to annual renovation and mechanical faults in the
power plants.
The Parliament witnessed rumpus over the load shedding issue when
some members from the treasury and opposition (PML-N) criticized the
government. Chaudhry Nisar warned the PPP-led government to resolve the
issue of load shedding in 48 hours; otherwise, protests would be launched on
the roads of the country. He also asked the government to give time to the
masses for depositing bills as extra surcharges were included in this months
bills.
In response to the speech of Nisar, PPP Chief Whip Syed Khursheed
Shah said the power outages were not a problem of Punjab only, adding that
the government was working on Thar coal and the load shedding issue
would probably be reduced by 2015. We need cooperation of the Punjab
government for ending power load shedding as it would be reduced by
around 40 per cent in 2013.
He further criticized the Punjab government for not generating
electricity in the province as it wasted money only on Tandoor Programme.
The Punjab government is a defaulter of Rs120 billion, he remarked. He
asked the Supreme Court to take suo moto action on the issue. These
comments infuriated the PML-N members. Ahsan Iqbal said the Centre was
850

creating hurdles in the way of power-related projects of the Punjab

government.
On 27th March, in Lahore, citizens experienced no reduction in load
shedding, which resulted in violent protests in several. The owners and
workers locked all industrial units and came out on the streets in Faisalabad,
where a complete shutter-down was observed. Farmers also joined the ongoing protest, as they also organized rallies in various towns and cities to
denounce government over its poor economic management. The Lesco chief
executive officer said they had temporarily stopped taking fuel adjustment
charges from consumers on the directive of the Water and Power Ministry.
The Sunni Ittehad Council also announced countrywide protest
against power outage on Friday. It is learnt that traders and the PML-N
MPAs also held a meeting to devise a plan for the long march against the
outages. Interestingly, after the announcement made by Chief Minister
Shahbaz Sharif to lead the long march against outages, provincial law
minister Rana Sanaullah Khan and two MPAs, also led the rallies. Traders,
farmers, lawyers and people belonging to different walks of life also
observed a shutter-down and took out rallies in Hafizabad and Mailsi.
On 29th March, Nawaz Sharif said the central government was acting
with mala fide intensions and victimizing Punjab with planned loadshedding to destroy the business, especially the industrial sector, in province
out of sheer vengeance. In Khanewal, Nawaz said the country could not
expect development in current deteriorating electricity and gas supply,
inflation, unemployment and poor law and order. Nawaz said Pakistan
should buy electricity from India to overcome a crippling energy shortage if
provided at an inexpensive rate.
Prime Minister Gilani directed the Finance Ministry to immediately
release Rs6 billion for payment to the generation companies for enhanced
power generation. He further asked the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural
Resources to take immediate steps for provision of natural gas to the power
plants so that load shedding hours could be minimized after addition of more
electricity in the system.
He said resolution of the energy issue was the top priority of the
government and in this regard every step would be taken. Gilani said energy
shortage was the main obstacle in way of foreign investment in the country.
Water and Power Minister Syed Naveed Qamar briefed the meeting about
current energy shortfall and the steps taken so far to rationalize load
shedding.
851

Next day, Javed Hashmi, addressing party activists in front of Wapda

House, after leading a protest rally against load shedding in Lahore said that
it seemed difficult that the corrupt rulers would allow a party which believed
in bringing a real change in Pakistan to make the next budget. While
asserting that the next budget would be another anti-masses budget, Hashmi
maintained that the rulers whether in Islamabad or Punjab were bent upon
eliminating the working classes.
He said that the PML-N could not defend itself by taking out mere
protest rallies against load shedding and constituting energy board, as
managing energy had also become a responsibility of the provinces after
passage of the 18th amendment. Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said that the
current ruling coalition had never made any sincere efforts to provide relief
to the common man; instead, it kept busy in looting and plundering the
public funds through various unwise plans, which include the rental power
projects.
On 31st March, PML-N rally against the federal government for
unequal electricity load shedding in the province and hike in power tariff got
mix response which was evident from low turnout of participants. The rally
was led by MNA Hamza Shahbaz Sharif. The protest rally started from
Muslim Masjid and concluded at the Bhaati Gate. The rally was a gesture of
what the PML-N called a long drive against the failed government policies
which crippled the country in the form prolonged load shedding affecting the
industrial and domestic sectors of the province, wherein the PML-N rules.
The turnout of the people in the City, where the PML-N commands 11
National Assembly seats of the total 13, was low giving it a disordered look.
The gathering was scattered and in a conservative estimate did not meet
double digits in thousands. Although exuberance and zeal of the people was
high, it did not match the usual spirit of the party worker in this core point of
the City, which is considered invincible citadel of the PML-N.
Hamza in his tirade against President Zardari asserted that the
presidents days in power were numbered. While cautioning the government
of the dire consequences, Hamza said that only Punjab was being made the
victim of prolonged power cuts. He amid loud slogans of the crowd blamed
the federal government for plundering and looting national wealth and
paying no heed to the problems confronted by the masses.
Baloch militancy: On 24th March, five people, including a woman,
were killed in separate incidents of firing in the provincial Quetta. Two
devotees were killed and nine others, including women and children,
852

sustained injuries when their vehicle was attacked by a group of armed men
in Kohlu district.
Next day, two people were shot dead in different cities of Balochistan
on Sunday. In one incident, unidentified armed men opened indiscriminate
fire on a truck carrying marbles in Suraab area of Kalat district, some 160
KM southeast of Quetta. As a result, truck driver Abdul Shakoor received
multiple bullets wounds and succumbed to his injuries.
On 27th March, Balochistan Cabinet decided that no stone would be
left unturned to make the province abode of peace and in order to achieve
this goal effective coordination between elected representatives and lawenforcement agencies is needed to be enhanced. The Chief Minister stated
that all possible steps would be taken for the security of people and their
property, rule of law and elimination of anti-social elements.
It was decided in the meeting that special focus would be paid on
police to boost its morale and it would be given free hand to take action
against anti-social elements. The Cabinet strongly dispelled the impression
that government is not making efforts for the restoration of law and order in
the province and decided that the performance of government institutions
would be improved so that this impression could be removed.
The Cabinet described incidents of kidnapping for ransom as a big
challenge for the government and vowed to cope with it effectively.
Required resources will be provided to police and Levies Force so that their
performance could be improved, it stated. The meeting was informed that
approval has been issued for purchasing of latest equipment for police and
stern action would be taken against criminals without any discrimination.
Home Minister Mir Zafarullah Zehri once again said that three
ministers were involved in kidnapping for ransom in the province. The home
minister said he had also informed the provincial cabinet during the todays
meeting and also disclosed the names of ministers. However, he said a
coalition was running the Balochistan government, which had some
compulsions; therefore, the ministers involved in kidnapping for ransom
cases were not being revealed. Meanwhile, a bullet-riddled body was found
in Dasht area of Mastung district.
On 29th March, eight people, including a woman and two local UN
employees, were killed in separate firing incidents in Quetta and Mastung.
In the first incident, the gunmen on motorbikes opened indiscriminate fire on
a van carrying Shias from Hazard community in Quetta, killing five people.

853

The assailants swiftly fled the scene. Preliminary investigation reports

suggested that it was a sectarian attack.
The killings of Hazara community members sparked violent protests
and protestors torched a Wasa tanker, a vehicle, a motorbike and an underconstruction girls college. Hazara Democratic Party announced a black day
and a shutter down strike in Quetta on Friday while Tahafuz-e-Azadaran
Council announced three-day mourning. No group has claimed
responsibility for the attack.
In another incident, unidentified armed men also shot dead two
workers of UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Mastung, while the
third person received bullet injuries. It was not immediately clear why they
were targeted and so far no one has claimed responsibility.
Next day, a complete shutter-down strike was observed in Quetta
against killing of members of Hazara community. Dozens of people staged
demonstration at Hazara graveyard condemning the killings and demanding
for immediate arrest of the culprits. Protestors said that the members of
Balochistan Assembly had adopted a criminal silence over the killings of
Hazara people and added that there was a conspiracy against Hazara people.
A main pipeline, supplying gas to purification plant exploded in Dera
Bugti district. However, no group has claimed responsibility for blowing up
the pipeline so far. In another incident, an official of Civil Defence was
wounded when explosives planted with a power pylon in Sibi exploded.
On 31st March, Balochistan government canceled the licences of 27
private security companies and sealed their offices. The provincial home
department also directed 18 companies to improve their performance and
resources. The department scrutinized 10 private security firms out of which
27 companies did not submit any record; 65 firms got extension after
submitting their documents.
IGFC Balochistan said the son of Khan Kalat Prince Muhammad
Ahmedzai, while expressing his concern over the situation prevailing in
Balochistan, had assured him to bring his father back into the national
mainstream politics. He said FC along with police carried out search
operation on March 20 in Quetta and arrested 104 accused persons involved
in incidents of targeted killings, kidnapping for ransom, car snatching and
other incidents. Referring to law and order, the IG FC said 107 people,
including FC and police personnel, were killed in 313 acts of terrorism and
most of the casualties were reported in Quetta, Dera Bugti and Sibi; 39 gas
pipelines and four power pylons were blown up in different incidents.
854

He informed reporters that five FC personnel were killed in Dera

Bugti because one of its member had contacts with terrorists, adding that 14
others were martyred in the Marwar area besides abduction of three, whose
dead bodies were recovered later. He said in another incident, over 40
terrorists, who had come from Waziristan, attacked a FC check post in Zhob
district that resulted in death of three personnel while four others were
snatched away.
Khattak said during the past three months, 66 people had been
kidnapped from different parts of Balochistan for ransom. He told journalists
that a survey on new gas reserves in Sui, Kharan and Barkhan had been
completed and work would soon be started on these projects, extracting gas
in a large quantity. He said survey was also conducted in these areas in the
past too, but efforts failed twice due to poor law and order, adding that work
on coal project was smoothly underway.
Turf war in Karachi: On 23rd March, Federal Interior Minister
announced that a grand operation will be initiated soon against extortionists
in Karachi. Malik said that five to six people had been placed on the ECL
after a list was provided by the IGP Sindh. He said that criminals who have
been placed in the ECL have no association with any religious outfit.
Meanwhile, three people were killed in separate incidents in the
metropolis. The protests of the supporters of banned Peoples Amn
Committee entered fourth consecutive day against police operation, arrests
and registration of cases against the PAC activists. The violent protest
caused suspension of commercial activities in Lyari and its surrounding
areas when unidentified men from the protestors attacked the law enforcers
with over two dozen petrol bombs.
Next day, a policeman was killed while another sustained bullet
wounds when one of the vehicles of MQM-H chief Afaq Ahmeds convoy
came under armed attack in the Landhi area that also left a party activist
injured. The SHO said the vehicle was used by the MQM-H chief and the
victims were heading towards a fuel station before leaving for Hyderabad
with the party chief. Afaq Ahmed cancelled his all engagements and visited
the JPMC to meet the injured.
A former president of Malir Bar Association (MBA) and his young
son were gunned down in a yet another incident of targeted killing on
Saturday within the precincts of Malir City Police Station. Authorities
suspect that the killings are sectarian in nature and investigation is underway

855

to capture the assassins. Pakistan Bar Council Karachi strongly condemned

the murder of Salahuddin Haider and his son Ali Raza Haider, Advocate.
On 26th March, eight men were arrested in connection with the attack
on a Mushaira organized by the MQM in Clifton area on 25 th March.
Earlier, several ANP workers were booked in the attack case, after one of the
attackers killed in the shootout was found to be affiliated with the ANP.
Meanwhile, residents of Shirin Jinnah Colony, Neelum Colony and Shah
Rasool Colony staged protests against the killing of Kamran and arrest of the
ANP men.
Next day, gunmen and arsonists went on the rampage in Karachi,
killing at least 11 people and setting 45 vehicles alight. More than 15
persons were also injured in the violence. The killing spree started when
gunmen along their alleged gang leader Ahmed Ali Magsi barged into the
house of MQM sector member Mansoor Mukhtar in the PIB Colony and
resorted indiscriminate fire, resulting in his on the spot death. His brother
Maqsood Mukhtar was also killed in the attack, whose wife Uzma sustained
bullet injuries.
Law enforcement agencies vanished from the area when the gunmen
killed Mukhtar. Police high-ups suspended the SHO PIB Colony and
registered a case against Ahmed Ali and his accomplices. Law enforcers also
claimed to have captured over dozen miscreants from different areas and
started surgical operation for more arrests.
Incidents of violence were also reported from Sindhs other cities
including Hyderabad, Sukkur and Nawabshah as MQM observed mourning
over the killing of its sector commander and his brother. Sindh Home
Minister Manzoor Wasan took the notice of killings and constituted threemember committee to probe into the incidents.
Rehman Malik said his ministry had placed the name of Ahmed Ali,
member of banned Lyari Aman Committee, on the Exit Control List (ECL)
along with four others after the MQM had accused him of murdering their
workers. Malik said action would be taken against criminal elements in
Karachi, saying that a joint team comprising ISI, IB, FIA and Special Branch
would investigate the killing of Mansoor Mukhtar and would submit the
initial report within 48 hours.
On 28th March, the target-killing of ANP worker spurred a new wave
of violence in Karachi, claiming lives of six more people and torching
another 12 vehicles. ANP ward incharge Zainullah Khan and Sajid Hassan
Zai were on their way to Patail Para after meeting with Muhammad Khan
856

Afridi at New Karachi when gunmen sprayed them with bullets. Zain
succumbed to injuries before reaching hospital while Sajid was in critical
condition. Following the killing of Zain, unrest spilled over to various areas
of the city,
The debate on recommendations on reviewing terms of engagement
with the US was once again hijacked by worsening law and order situation
in Karachi. Taking floor on point of order, Senator Mushahid Ullah Khan
said that the PML-N activist was shot dead when a strike was being
observed over the killing of MQMs worker in the port city of Karachi.
People present there at the time of the incident blame that an MQM member
shot him dead when he refused to observe shutter down strike, he said,
adding that the murderer should be arrested immediately.
Saad Rafique said that there was dire need of unity among the
coalition partners of the government in Karachi. We can observe walkout on
this issue, but I appeal to authorities concerned that whosoever violate the
law should be punished. On this Haider Abbas Rizvi said that anybody
involved in violence should be punished. I strongly condemn it and appeal
to (Interior Minister) Rehman Malik for across-the-board action against
criminals.
Speaking on the same issue, ANPs Ilyas Bilour said they had been
hearing tall claims of Rehman Malik but there was no visible
implementation. We will not tolerate any more as we have tolerated too
much. Senator Afrasiab Khattak said there was need for practical political
and other steps as only verbal order would not suffice. There is need to
tolerate each other, he added.
Responding to point of order raised by members of treasury and
opposition on Karachi issue, Interior Minister said that a conspiracy was
being hatched to destabilize Pakistan. De-weaponization is much needed a
thing in the country. Speaker Fehmida Mirza interrupted Malik during his
speech and asked him to inform about the progress of committee formed to
oversee the situation in Karachi.
Next day, Nawaz Sharif said the militant wings of some political
parties were responsible for the worsening law and order situation in
Karachi. Talking to newsmen in Khanewal, he said the no-go areas,
kidnapping for ransom and extortion were the gifts of the incumbent
government for the people of Sindh.
On 30th March, six people including a policeman and two political
workers were gunned down in separate incidents of violence in Karachi.
857

Most of the victims of targeted shootings during the day were Pakhtuns
which meant the killings were part of revenge. MQM leaders kept accusing
ANP and gave a call for a protest strike.
Next day, Chief Justice of SHC Justice Mushir Alam took notice of
the violence in the metropolis, which devoured many precious lives in the
past several days. According to Registrar SHC, the CJ has sought a report in
this connection from Inspector General of Police and Director General Sindh
Rangers.
President Zardari dashed to Karachi and ordered a crackdown against
the terrorists in the city, as at least eight more people were gunned down in
the current wave of killings in different parts of the metropolis, bringing the
death toll to 32 since March 27. All major business and trading centres
remained closed in response to the mourning call given by the MQM. Altaf
Hussain thanked people for strike and mourning.
On 1st April, ordering action against criminal elements in Karachi,
Interior Minister Malik visited tense areas of the city and vowed
indiscriminate action against those involved in the violence. Meanwhile,
police and Rangers conducted raids in Banaras, Qasba Colony, Bukhari
Colony and Orangi Town areas of the city, arresting at least two dozen
suspects. Talking to media later, Malik said whether political parties or
anyone else is involved in triggering hatred among people will be punished.

VIEWS
Next general elections: Although their timing will be decided by the
government keeping in sight the political situation, the next general elections
will be held in a much different environment than the ones held in 2008
because of the emergence of some new factors and arrangements that were
not there in the past.
The interim government that will supervise the electoral process will
be chosen both by the ruling party and the opposition, just like the Chief
Election Commissioner. Arrangements being made to obviate the possibility
of the use of bogus votes will make the polls fairer and more transparent,
after which nobody will be able to challenge them.
Then, parties which had boycotted the previous elections will be
taking part in the ensuing polls - better prepared and with greater public
support. The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf, the Jamaat-i-Islami, the Sunni Ittehad

858

Council will be putting up their candidates from their own platforms or in

alliance with other parties.
The presence of these parties in the arena will mean division of the
rightist vote, a situation that can be averted only if all rightist forces join
hands. If the PML-N takes these parties along, it will be serving its own
cause. Otherwise, these parties will be sharing the same vote bank, a
situation that will benefit the PPP Another new factor to be seen in the
next elections is the PPPs decision to take all its coalition partners along.
This means that the PML-Q, the MQM, the ANP and the PML-Functional
will be cooperating with one another, a situation that will go against the
PML-N.
The PPP has been working with the MQM and the ANP in the past,
but this will be the first time that it will be cooperating with the PML-Q, a
party which was held responsible for the assassination of PPP chairperson
Benazir Bhutto and which Asif Ali Zardari had branded as Qatil League.
Leaders of both the parties claim that their electoral cooperation will help
them trounce the PML-N contestants.
This claim is being made despite the fact that the performance of the
ruling coalition has been simply disappointing The PTI, which has been a
non-entity ever since it was launched in 1996 and which had stayed away
from the 2008 elections, has improved its position after its October 30 rally
in Lahore. Many important political figures, previously working for other
parties, have joined hands Imran Khan PTIs position in south Punjab is
improving because of new entries Imran Khan is gaining popularity in the
region.
The Punjab would, as usual, be the province where the battle for
Islamabad would be fought. A party having greater number of seats from
here will stand better chance of ruling the entire country In the coming
elections, the PTI will play an important role in this region (South Punjab)
because people like Owais Leghari, Jamal Leghari from DG Khan and some
others from Multan and Rahimyar Khan have joined hands with Imran
Khan. This development will affect the PML-N, the PML-Q and the PPP
equally, although all three are trying to maintain their hold in their respective
constituencies. (Ashraf Mumtaz and Mubashir Hassan, TheNation 30th
March)
Waiting for democracy: So when does a democracy stop being a
democracy? Or can an elected government continue to disregard its
constitutional obligations to the people, add to their hardship in fact, and yet
859

claim itself to be a democracy? Even when it becomes clear that it is not a

case of the failings of a sincere government that would like to do something
good for the public but is unable to do it because of circumstances beyond
its control? Even when it is obvious that the government is acutely aware of
the anti-people consequences of its policies and actions, and goes ahead with
them for considerations that have nothing to do with the people, their
interests or democracy? Even when the entire democratic structure becomes
an anti-people monster, geared towards grinding petty personal axes and
making millions and billions on the side?
Should we, the people who witness this loot and plunder, be patient
and wait for democracy to start working for us some day? Should we
overlook the huge chinks in our democracy's armour because the worst form
of democracy is better than a dictatorship? Are these the only two choices
we have? Can we hope to move towards democratic governance without
seeing the present dispensation for what it is? In the democratically darkened
reign of Zardari's PPP, the Supreme Court is a ray of hope for those who
dream that one day there will be rule of law in our country, a system that is
truly representative and a government that serves the citizens. (Jalees Hazir,
TheNation 1st April)
Politics, public policy and judiciary: In Pakistan, power is now
seen as a shortcut to instant riches and state office is conceived as a conduit
for personal gains. Power holders have used authority to perpetuate their
rule, fill their offshore accounts by draining state coffers, abuse laws,
mismanage institutions and trample civil liberties. The ethical standards of
our rulers can be discerned from the fact that scandal after scandal has struck
current government, but instead of accountability, infringers have been
protected or worst elevated. In this situation, it is imperative for the judiciary
to expand its role and act as guardians and trustees of society.
Apart from Pakistan, Italy, Mexico, Argentina and Israel are some
countries where the judiciary has used its powers to improve governance
In Pakistan, many politicians are blurting that every state organ should
function within its jurisdiction, knowingly ignoring the fact that courts have
resorted to activism because our political process has failed to deliver and
provide a fair deal to the people. If executive and legislative branches of
government uphold the rule of law and do what they are elected to do,
perhaps, then we may expect all the state institutions to work in concord and
harmony. (Adnan Falak, TheNation 25th March)

860

Bench and the bar: Whilst it is true that the responsibility to manage
lawyers is that of the bar councils and not of judges, it was disappointing to
note the near absolute silence of the senior judiciary in the face of the
widening gulf and increasing mistrust between the bench and the bar.
Although the senior judiciary repeatedly maintained that the bench
and the bar were two wheels of the chariot of justice, it refrained from
openly admonishing the lawyers behaviour, providing safeguards to the
lower judiciary or even trying to understand the root causes of the situation.
Perhaps the senior judiciary felt beholden to lawyers for helping
restore their positions, perhaps it felt that the situation called for a gentler
more nurturing approach or perhaps still, it wished to rein in the executive
and to resolve other pressing national issues before it embarked on a crusade
for the reform of the profession.
The government took advantage of this hesitation on the part of the
bar councils and the judiciary. Increasingly beleaguered as it was by the
growing assertiveness of the judiciary and still haunted by the memory of
the collective street power of lawyers, it decided to provide support to
lawyers and thereby to win them over to its side.
In June 2010, the then law minister Babar Awan, chartered a
government plane to hurriedly distribute funds amongst lawyers ahead of the
Supreme Court Bar Association Elections. The results of this effort must
have been satisfactory to the government: lawyers, disillusioned, abandoned
and still poor despite their efforts, became easily divided and perhaps those
who benefited from the largesse of the government redoubled their efforts to
keep the judiciary under pressure.
The long-term solution to this multi-layered conundrum is merit,
clearly defined and rigorously enforced not for lawyers alone, but also for
judges. A well-educated and trained lawyer who enters the profession only
after the most careful scrutiny is unlikely to unnecessarily complicate his
cases or to resort to corruption especially if he faces a judge who is
impartial, skilled and honest in his dealings.
In the short-term, however, the only hope lies in the bench and the bar
recognizing that they need each other, if not for the high ideals of justice
then for their very own survival and in realizing this, taking a firm and
united stand against any misconduct within their ranks. If the bench and the
bar decide to safeguard their collective integrity, no government, no matter
how deep its coffers would be able to divide them. It only remains to be seen
who will take the first step to resolution. (Amber Darr, Dawn 27th March)
861

Ethics in intelligence work: Pakistan has many problems, including

terrorism, religious extremism, sectarianism, separatist movements and
ethnic and linguistic differences. In this scenario, who would keep the
government posted about these issues and check the excesses against the
state and the government? Obviously, the intelligence agencies, who being
the eyes and ears of the state need to have deep access in order to forewarn
the government.
Parliament must introduce the Intelligence Services Act and proper
guidelines for our intelligence agencies so that people can have full faith in
them. But it is a fact that, at times, laws are not enough to guide or limit the
activities of an intelligence officer. This is where intelligence ethics comes
in. These ethics provide a set of behavioural guidelines, based on beliefs and
views about the role of intelligence in society and interactions between
citizen and intelligence officer. Ethics begin where written laws and
regulations end, and provide a set of dos and donts to guide the activities
of intelligence officers. To begin with, it is imperative for the intelligence
agencies to take stock of their actual parameters and acquired powers in
order to see why and how they have been overstepping their mandate. In the
light of it they should develop a code of conduct for themselves. Albeit clear
rules, procedures and oversight are important first step and sine qua non in
the important endeavour to create intelligence ethics for a well functioning
and reliable intelligence community, new laws and reform in itself do not
automatically mean compliance and implementation. Ethics ought to be
inculcated in the intelligence officers in a manner that they may feel guilty
of moral slips whenever the code is breached. In addition to adhering to
legal parameters, however, the community requires to impose on itself a
feasible and precise code of ethics for creating a just intelligence
environment! (N Elahi, TheNation 30th March)
Power outages: The rage of the citizens, which has found expression
in protests, at the current load shedding, at the onset of spring, makes it seem
that the summer, when load shedding is at its worst, will see the citizenry
truly enraged. As the heat inevitably increases, fans, air conditioners and
other electricity-powered cooling devices will be turned on, thus causing the
demand to go up, and increasing the need for outages. This will cause
protests, if the current ones are anything to go by, and with Lahore,
Gujranwala and Sialkot already up in arms, the urban areas of Punjab are
already adversely affected.
The threat in Sialkot is indicative. Exporters, manufacturers and
traders bodies have threatened civil disobedience. It must not be forgotten
862

that the power outages mean that civic life as well as industry come to a
standstill. Not only does it mean that Pakistani consumers are deprived of
goods, but the country also loses export earnings which it uses to pay for the
fuel used to generate what little electricity it produces. Since industrial
workers are concentrated in cities, their unemployment automatically creates
a reserve which can be mobilized against the government. The government
itself should hope that the resentment is limited to the ballot box, not
expended in violent protests.
The government has only itself to blame for this predicament. If it has
been less focused on its own survival as an end in itself, and spent a little
time and energy on solving peoples problems, it would have done
something about ending or reducing the shortage, not worsening it, as it has
done by not countering the propaganda against Kalabagh Dam, whose
3600MW will not only be missed this summer, but also immediately. Power
projects are of long gestation, and thus have to be started well in advance to
yield results. The government has not started any other power projects which
might provide some hope of relief. It must remedy this before the elections,
and the best place to start would be to begin the Kalabagh Dam project.
(Editorial, TheNation 26th March)
Everyone knows we are confronted with an even tougher summer
than the one last year: less power, more to pay to Wapda. For the PPP
government the more worrying aspect should be that it cannot carry on with
an innocent face, blaming the lack of an adequate system, or even a future
plan, to deal with the electricity shortages on the Musharraf regime.
The PPPs shortcomings are all the more pronounced in the energy
sector given the high promises it had begun its latest stint with. There has
been news of some motley units added to the national grid but these do not
show in the supply. There is chaos in the power sector where the fate of the
distribution agency, Pepco, hangs in balance and no one knows who is
running the affairs and from where. The system is in a worse condition than
it was when this government came in.
Just as the PPP failure in the power sector is huge, the oppositions
failure to earnestly lead the protest against the shortage of electricity has
been questioned by the people at large. At long last Mian Nawaz Sharif has
decided to side with the people over load shedding and other real issues. It
is time for the mob to develop into a procession that is governed, bound and
nurtured by the rules of political protest. Trade organizations in Lahore and
elsewhere have announced shutdown strikes against load shedding and

863

electricity tariffs. A small improvement is not going to pacify the people.

(Ashaar Rehman, Dawn 27th March)
What policies has the administration put in place to deal with day-today supply management or to improve the state of the power sector? It
claims to have added over 3,000MW of capacity. But while there has been
some work on longer-term projects such as the Tarbela Dam extension and
Diamer-Bhasha, this governments tenure will be remembered as a time of
failed experiments with RPPs and rising prices coupled with crippling
shortages. Meanwhile, various ministers have over the last four years
claimed load shedding would be eliminated within months. The prime
minister said on Monday that unscheduled outages should be eliminated in
24 hours. These hollow claims only aggravate the publics anger by
minimizing the problem and inevitably resulting in unmet expectations.
Transparency about the nature of the problem, and honesty about what can
be done, would be a smarter political strategy.
Meanwhile, the opposition is grabbing an opportunity to criticize the
government, which it is well within its rights to do. But its responsibility
goes beyond making political capital out of the moment. A constructive
opposition would formulate its own proposed power policy instead of simply
calling for marches and having policemen stand by as Punjabs protesters
turn violent. Complaints without suggestions may weaken the government,
but they will not improve ordinary lives. (Editorial, Dawn 28th Match)
Though the governments penchant for going out of the way to
befriend India is no longer in question, the acceptance of the Indian offer to
supply 5,000MW of electricity does raise ones eyebrows. Reportedly, the
offer was made by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a brief
encounter with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at Seoul and was
accepted right away. That would certainly bridge the gap between the supply
and demand that hardly ever crosses the 5,000MW mark and, notably, the
commitment is immediate delivery
India could easily make Pakistans industry and life in general hostage
by withholding the supply of electricity. Rather, we should instead go ahead
with the Iranian gas pipeline project on a war footing, besides taking up
quick-fix power generation schemes and focusing on the exploitation of
nuclear, hydel and coal resources to have enough energy to meet the
countrys domestic, industrial and agricultural needs. The present crisis of
power should also wake us up to the reality that Kalabagh is a natural site

864

for a large reservoir that can go on feeding the national electricity grid and
agricultural needs of water for ages. (Editorial, TheNation 30th March)
Pakistan should explore all possible avenues of increasing electricity
generation and immediately go ahead with the Iranian gas project. At the
same time, the offer of supplying 5,000MW of power, no doubt tempting,
from India must be turned down because of its record of violating
commitments. The Energy Conference that according to the latest
information takes place in Lahore on April 9 to deliberate upon measures to
combat the crisis should prepare short-term as well as long-term plans to
forestall the possibility of its recurrence. It should benefit from Chief
Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharifs claim that, given the charge, he could
overcome the shortage in three years. The conference that would have
representation from all regions of the country must rise above parochial
sentiments and impartially consider how beneficial for the nation as a whole
would Kalabagh Dam be. We are passing through, as the Chinese saying
goes, interesting times. Only national spirit can help us deal with them
successfully. (Editorial, TheNation 1st April)
Verdict on RPPs: The Supreme Court has declared all Rental Power
Projects (RPPs) in the country illegal when announcing its 90-page verdict
on Friday about the cases of corruption practiced in their execution for
which a petition had been filed by Federal Minister for Housing Faisal Saleh
Hayat. PML-N leader Khwaja Asif later became a party to it. These
agreements, concluded by the federal government with the owners of RPPs,
were, the court maintained, non-transparent, illegal and ultra vires of the
Constitution
It is also worth recalling the Auditor-Generals observations made
earlier pointing to a minimum of Rs60 billion of bungling in the RPP affair.
He had brought out certain specific instances of undue favours made to the
owners or sponsors of the RPPs for which the ordinary consumer of
electricity had to bear the burden of excessive billing. For example, the limit
of four years set by the Economic Co-ordination Committee of the Cabinet
for these plants was exceeded by one year, which was estimated to have
caused a loss of Rs40 billion to the national exchequer. Besides, three plants
were accepted that had already run far in excess of the number of hours
fixed by the ECC. There was poor follow-up in a case resulting in the failure
to recover Rs7 billion from an RPP that had failed to deliver on generation
and the agreement had to be cancelled. There were other cases, no less
financially disastrous though, that had come to light. The ultimate paymaster
the poor consumer was left to wallow in suffering.
865

But resigning to the fate of excessive charges did not end the long
periods of load shedding; for the RPPs could not fulfill the promised
sufficient production of power to ensure its continuous supply. Though the
greed to line ones pocket has been evident in many government-run
institutions and would certainly have contributed to the high inflationary
spiral that refuses to come down, nothing has provoked as much public
outrage as the swindling done in the RPP deal. Yet nothing apparently has
worked with the authorities. Hopefully, the Friday verdict of the Supreme
Court would do the trick! (Editorial, TheNation 31st March)
Clash in the making: As the government is reported to have
prevented the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from taking action
against any government functionary, in compliance with the Supreme Court
verdict on the Rental Power Projects (RPPs), another clash between the
Executive and the Judiciary appears to be inevitably in the making. Already,
the government stands accused of defying the court in its disregard of its
judgments on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), the Haj scandal
and several other issues. The latest attempt at stalling implementation of the
court's ruling about the RPPs under the pretext that the government and the
RPPs intend appealing against it is contrary to the principle that necessitates
immediate compliance with judicial verdicts. The court can, however, issue
orders holding its earlier decision in abeyance, but only if it feels, after
hearing the appeal, that the action appears to be serving the cause of justice.
According to some sources, NAB has maintained that it has not yet received
any written order from the apex court, which is necessary before any action
is taken.
From the judicial end, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry
has categorically reaffirmed that the court would not permit any subversion
of the rule of law. No one would be allowed to rise above the law, he
asserted. Justice Chaudhry was not reacting, though, to the report that NAB
has been directed not to take action on the RPPs judgment. He was
addressing an event held by the Peshawar High Court Bar Association. But,
the contradictory stands of the two vital institutions of the state underline, on
the one hand, the governments persistent defiance of judicial verdicts and,
on the other, the Supreme Courts unflagging efforts to uphold the rule of
law. To add weight to his argument, if at all that was necessary, Justice
Chaudhry laid emphasis on the creation of a social order in which no one
could remain above the law.
Though the government never misses an opportunity to claim that it
would not let a clash of institutions to take place, it openly defies the
866

judiciary, which is in violation of specific constitutional provisions enjoining

its obedience. The defiance has already resulted in contempt proceedings
against the Prime Minister. Unfortunately, the ruling leadership is not
mindful of the serious ramifications of its refusal to obey the law for the
society as a whole that is already under great stress over the governments
failure to protect life and property. Unless the government reverses its
position about the role of the judiciary in governance, the law and order
situation would worsen. (Editorial, TheNation 2nd April)
Another brazen act: It is shocking to see the ideological trajectory
the provincial ANP government intends to adopt. After removing an essay
Quaid-i-Azam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it has expunged two more literary
pieces extolling freedom movement and Pakistans ideology from 9th class
textbooks. The first one is Hakim Saeeds essay on the events and sacrifices
leading to the creation of Pakistan and the second one is Hafeez Jalandharis
poem Dara-e-Khyber. It is now becoming clear that the intention is to
make the next generation ignorant of the very basis of our demand for an
independent state, Pakistan: Two-Nation Theory and the sacrifices rendered
by the founding fathers of the country. It has also been reported that these
anti-Pakistan steps are being taken under an official of the Textbook Board
who happens to be an active member of the Bacha Khan Trust.
Concurrently in Punjab, the reports that Quranic Surahs and Sayings
of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) might be taken out from the Islamiat textbooks
are quite disturbing. It is unclear what might be the motive. There is
definitely a need for soul searching. While our education system needs
reform, removing all traces of Pakistan's history and identity from it is
farcical. The KP government must immediately reconsider this course of
action. (Editorial, TheNation 31st March)
Balochistan killings: Two separate incidents in Balochistan on
Friday, both involving assailants firing on vehicles, and both involving
multiple killings, illustrate the types of violence afflicting the province, quite
apart from the disappearances said to have been engineered by the agencies.
These are the deaths of five people in Quetta, members of the Hazara
community, and of another three, employees of a UN agency, in Mastung
The Quetta incident, in which seven were wounded, apart from those who
died, has been ascribed to the sectarian violence that has afflicted the city,
with the distinctive Hazara community also belonging to the minority sect,
prompting Balochistan Shia Conference President Ashraf Zaidi to address a
press conference. A different motive seemed to be at work for the Mastung

867

killings, where FAO employees were targeted. This would not be the first
targeting of UN employees.
However, it should be clear to all that the two incidents reflect badly
on the police, and thus on the government, whose ability to ensure a
peaceable life for the citizenry has long been rendered doubtful. The federal
government cannot escape blame If the incidents are investigated
seriously, not only must the Indian factor be investigated thoroughly, but the
federal government should enlist the USA, Indias close friend and
benefactor, that it must act to rein in India. The PPP governments in both
Islamabad and Quetta should realize that they have to improve their
performance. Irrespective of any political needs, the culprits must be
punished. So far, they have escaped identification, leave alone apprehension,
with punishment a far cry. The government should also realize that the sense
of deprivation the Baloch has, and which is exploited by foreign powers to
create mayhem like Wednesdays, is not a facile matter needing just
apologies or Aghaz-e-Huqooq-e-Balochistan packages to sort out. It has to
produce results and remove that sense of deprivation. (Editorial, TheNation
31st March)
Lyari operation: Resentment in Lyari over the ongoing Rangers
operation provoked clashes between locals and officials of the law
enforcement agencies resulting in the death of a labourer and causing serious
wounds to many others. The streets of Lyari literally presented a picture of a
battleground The situation in the city does call for an operation, but
restricting it to one area of extortion would not help. It must be carried out
without discrimination in all troubled spots. The countrys overall stability is
inextricably linked with this, our commercial hub, which necessitates extra
effort to make the PPP government weed out criminal elements. (Editorial,
TheNation 25th March)
Karachis tragedy: Tuesdays events prove that peace in Karachi is
only an illusion; it is not a permanent feature but a temporary arrangement
between the various forces wrangling for control of the city and its
resources. Organized violence has become part of the citys culture. Before
the latest incident, many people, unconvinced by the largely peaceful
conditions that had prevailed for some months, had been debating when the
next round of violence would break out. This kind of violence subsides as
suddenly as it begins, while murders or other incidents of a criminal nature
only serve as triggers; no one knows about the real causes of violence,
perhaps apart from the citys political players who cut deals behind the
scenes and the federal governments mystery man Interior Minister Rehman
868

Malik. Is this cyclical, bloody nightmare the permanent fate of Karachi and
its hapless inhabitants? An incompetent state and those who claim to
represent Karachi are best placed to answer this. (Editorial, Dawn 28 th
Match)
The latest outbursts have only served to convince people that Sindh is
badly governed by the present coalition, and since it replicates itself in the
Centre, the conclusion that the whole country is badly governed is only
logical. Not only must the culprits of murders be arrested and punished
according to law, but the government must also honour its pledges to the
paramedical staff, not just because it needs them to run its hospitals, but
because its promises must be kept. There is barely enough time before the
next election for the government to show that it cares about the people.
(Editorial, TheNation 29th March)

REVIEW
Better late than never; these are the only good words that can be said
at this moment about the Supreme Court verdict on Rental Power Projects.
The rest can wait till the golden words of the honourable judges will be
honoured by the Executive, possibility of which is negated by the experience
of last three years.
Zardari regime inherited the idea of rental power from its
predecessor, which had been perceived, rightly or wrongly, as an instant
solution to the problem created by deliberate neglect of constructing
Kalabagh Dam. The Scoundrels team was clever enough to see the
opportunities presented by the projects for instant plunder of public money
and they availed to the hilt.
The men of law sitting on the bench of the apex court were unable to
appreciate what would be known as an enviable feat in the world of
scoundrels. They could do no more than declaring it illegal and against
national interest. This act of the judges will be reciprocated by the
Scoundrel by not appreciating their words of law.
Keeping the defiant attitude of the Scoundrel and the Saint it can be
said that this verdict too will not be implemented in letter and spirit. The
court has asked NAB to initiate criminal proceedings against a long list of
suspects, forgetting that this organization is headed by a Sailor chosen by
the Saint to act as thanidar.

869

The Saints defence counsel in contempt of court case, Aitzaz Ahsan

had to have food poisoning to earn adjournment of the proceedings which
were to de held on daily basis. Perhaps, this was what he had in his mind
when he used to sing riasat ho gi maan kay jaisi (State will be motherlike) across Pakistan during Lawyers Movement. The State where the
rulers will have stomach upsets due to over-eating and the ruled will quietly
starve. What a motherly discrimination?
The Lawyers Movement for restoration of Chief Justice, some
observers sarcastically but correctly say, met only partial success: the chief
was reinstated but justice went missing. Aitzaz was, perhaps, mindful of
this fact and that was he kept harping about Article 10A like the proverbial
phrase morgh ke aik tang and hoped for acquittal of his client.
During the period, Karachi and Quetta experienced targeted killings
resulting from political and sectarian enmities and hatred. Meanwhile, the
Red-cappers silently kept encroaching upon Pakistans ideology by
removing from school books the chapters related to Pakistan Movement.
2nd April, 2012

WAR WITHIN-III
There was a congregation of jiyalas turned majawars at Garhi Khuda
Bakhsh on 4th April. This is a ritual performed regularly every year. This
time it was performed with a difference; a newly baptized majawar by the
name of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stole the show.
Right under the watchful eyes of the Scoundrel, he matched his father
in ridiculing the judiciary word for word and then excelled by asking the
Supreme Court to apologize for sentencing his grandfather on charges of

870

murder. He also explicitly ordered the Multani Majawar not to obey the
orders of the Supreme Court irrespective of the consequences.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan headed a bench that assembled in Quetta
and heard the case of law and order situation in Balochistan. The bench was
able to recover a few persons as the further hearing will be held in
Islamabad. Protests against gas and oil price hike were held across country,
but the British Deputy High Commission rushed to Karachi to express his
concern over disturbances in the only port city of Pakistan.

NEWS
Power politics: On 4th April, President Zardari addressed a meeting of
PPP Punjab parliamentarians at the Governors House Lahore and said, PPP
respected the mandate of other parties and would go to next elections on the
basis of its performance. The party believed in tolerance and will continue
with its policy of reconciliation as it did not have faith in victimization.
The President said the government was aware of people problems,
but domestic and international situation compelled it to take some tough
decisions. He said PPP had always worked in difficult circumstances and
would continue to accomplish Bhuttos mission. He assured the members
that the federal government would resolve the issue.
Next day, Zardari vowed that the next government in Punjab would be
formed by the PPP. He took a jibe at Sharifs, saying that he had given the
Sharif brothers their shine and power, and that he could take it back
anytime he wanted. Addressing members of the PPP Punjab Executive
Council at the Governors House, he said Sharifs owed him a lot in politics
because it was because of him that they were enjoying power in Punjab.
Zardari further said Lahore belonged to the PPP, whereas Sharif
brothers were living here as mohajirs (migrants). They could not even
gather enough people to attend their fathers funeral and had to take the
dead body to the Data Darbar to find more people to perform the religious
rites, he remarked. Zardari said the PPP would form het next government in
Punjab by making political alliances with allies and on the basis of its
performance.
The president also announced to give relief to people in the upcoming
budget. In an apparent move to counter Punjab governments yellow cab
scheme, the PPP co-chairman announced to give 1,000 rickshaws to the PPP
workers. He also claimed that he had the plan to end load shedding within
871

three months and the government was already working on it. The president
said he was ready to take tough decisions in national interest even at the cost
of possible decline in partys popularity graph. This motherland is dearer to
me than my party, Zardari said.
He was confident that performance of his party would ensure its
victory in the coming elections. Zardari urged party office holders to
establish direct contact with people and resolve their issues. Meanwhile,
showing concern over the defeat of Aslam Gill in Senate elections, President
Zardari reportedly grilled Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly Raja
Riaz for his failure to keep the party intact in the assembly.
On 6th April, Zardari once again came down hard on Sharif brothers
when he told PPPs old guards that he knew fully well how to deal with stiffnecked Sharifs. He said he had previously given concessions to Sharif
brothers so that he could oust former president Gen Musharraf, which was
my first target. He also said that he was aware of the true political worth of
PML-N leaders and that he knew how to deal with it. The president said he
had provided an opportunity to PML- N to form government in Punjab, but
they took it as [PPPs] weakness, and instead of being thankful to the PPP,
they showed arrogance.
The president also gave away Rs10,000 cash to every old PPP activist
attending the meeting. He also announced giving 1,000 rickshaws to party
workers. The PPP Co-Chairman said PPP derived its strength from the
common man on the street and would continue serving its real constituency,
the poor. He said the party would continue its forward march towards
strengthening of democracy by following reconciliation policy.
In a reaction to the assault made by Zardari, Nawaz Sharif said
thousands of people had attended the funeral prayers of his father in
Makkah. Nawaz said he paid a visit to the ailing Hakim Ali Zardari, the
father of the president, in London and he still prayed for the departed soul.
He recalled that he was not allowed to participate in the burial of his father.
Nawaz said Pakistan was facing multiple crises and only those with a clear
history could get the country out of the turmoil.
Next day, Shahbaz advised the president not to make threatening
statements. Shahbaz reminded Zardari that when the people of Punjab were
experiencing the challenge of devastating floods, he chose to fly to Paris for
enjoyment. You say that you will snatch the shine, but just go to the public
and they will show you your real face, Shahbaz remarked and announced
that he would never welcome Zardari and rather opt to resign. The chief
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minister noted that corruption had paralyzed the country, as he cited the
examples of various scams including the RPPs, Steel Mills, NICL and Haj.
He said, adding Zardari cannot see a developed Punjab.
It is not a mere coincidence that President Asif Ali Zardari and his
former blue-eyed boy Babar Awan would be in Ajmer at the same time today
(Sunday). After having been deprived of the party office and official
positions, the former law minister would beg forgiveness from his boss and
also request for restoration of his previous status in the party. Will he be
pardoned is anybodys guess.
On 8th April, addressing a large public gathering in Abbottabad,
Imran Khan said that people of the country have never faced such
difficulties as they are facing today and on the other hand the rulers
are enjoying themselves. He said that the current leadership is
incapable of liberating Pakistan as it emerged as a result of NRO
given by foreign powers.
Criticizing the leaderships of PML-N and PPP he emphasized
that these were family run parties and competent and capable
leadership cannot emerge due to their dynastic hierarchies. Speaking
on the issue of new administrative units, he cited examples of Turkey
and Japan and said that both these countries are considerably less
populated than Pakistan but have exponentially more administrative
units. He said that PTI supported creation of new provinces including
the Hazara.
Sunni Ittehad Council Chairman Sahibzada Fazal Karim said
that the Difa-e-Pakistan Council was in fact a council for the
destruction of Pakistan but the people of the country would not let its
agenda be materialized. He added that DPC was a council of people
who had opposed the Pakistan Resolution.
Rule of law: On 3rd April, the LHC admitted an appeal petition
seeking cancellation of acquittal of Shahbaz Sharif in Sabzazaar shootout
case. Kurshid Khanum, mother of the two brothers killed in a fake police
encounter, had filed the appeal through her counsel. She submitted that she
had never pardoned Shahbaz Sharif but the Anti-terrorism court acquitted
him of the charges.
Defiance of judiciary: On 2nd April, proceedings to frame charges
against Babar Awan were adjourned for another week. The court was
informed by Deputy AG that the AGP was not available as he was in Quetta
where Chief Justice was hearing the matter of law and situation. Justice
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Jamali said the absence of attorney general did not matter as the charges
could be framed. However, the counsel for Babar Awan, while referring to
the Rule 7 of the Supreme Court Rules argued the presence of the attorney
general was must at the time of framing charges. The bench on that
adjourned the hearing till April 10.
Next day, at the PPP CECs meeting held with Zardari in the chair at
Naudero, there was a unanimous feeling of dismay at a great leader like
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto not having received justice even after 33 years of his
death, despite the fact that President Zardari had sent his case to the
Supreme Court a year ago. The CEC also through a joint resolution
demanded arresting the killers of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, while promising
to further the reconciliation policy under the vision of Shaheed Bhutto.
Speaking on the occasion, Bilawal said that the Supreme Court should
apologize for the judicial murder of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The Supreme
Court of Pakistan sentenced Shaheed Bhutto to death by hanging for a crime
he did not commit. This judicial murder was neither the first nor the last
flawed decision our courts have made.
The PPP chairman also called for hearing the Mukhtaran Mai case
again and said all the terrorists should be get punishment after a proper trial.
The rapists of our sister Mukhtaran Mai have been freed by the courts,
presumably for the same reasons. How can there be enough evidence to hang
SZAB but not enough evidence to keep terrorists and rapists in prison.
Without referring to the SC orders on writing a letter to the Swiss
authorities, Bilawal said the elected Prime Minister of Pakistan would not
violate the Constitution of Pakistan and the Vienna Convention. No one will
be allowed to have a trial of the corpses of the martyrs, he remarked.
President Zardari reiterated his tirade against the Supreme Court,
saying that the murder of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is a blot on the performance
of the apex court. Now the history is saying that a great injustice was done
to Bhutto. No one knows the names of judges who passed verdict against
Bhutto but the former PM lives on. He added PM Gilani has been loyal to
the Constitution (by not writing to Swiss authorities) and not backing him
(President). Gilani talks of the Constitution. His only sin is that he wants to
liberate the Seraikis from the yolks of Lahore Throne.
On 5th April, it was reported that Sindh government was not
complying with the Supreme Courts directives to retract promotions of
police officials on political grounds. All the promoted inspectors were still

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enjoying the privileges of DSP rank. On the other hand, 30 confirmed DSPs
are yet to be given charge.
Taming the military: DG ISPR strongly denied on 3rd April the
existence of any political cell in the ISI; saying it was closed down years
ago. He said the talk and propaganda of political cell in the ISI must come to
an end now. However, political leaders have repeatedly been leveling
allegations of interference by the intelligence agencies in political matters
and supporting some of them.
Next day, the Supreme Court reproached the SP CIA wing captain (r)
Malik Liaquat over a defective investigation in a murder case registered by
Barki Police in 2011 and expressed displeasure over the performance of
police. The bench remarked that the SP perhaps didnt forget the style of
army and working in police with the same intentions. Go back in the Army
if you cant perform your responsibilities according to the requirements of a
police job, the bench asked the SP. The bench ordered the SP to investigate
the case himself and submit the report in registrar office within two weeks.
Recessing economy: On 2nd April, feeling the heat of protests and
strong, the government decided to review its decision pertaining to increase
in prices of POL products and is likely to announce a nominal reduction in
sky-high prices. Petrol price is likely to be reduced by Rs 2 per litre while
the price of high speed diesel (HSD) oil is likely to be trimmed down by
Rs4/litre for the current month of April. However, politicians, coalition
partners, transporters, traders, CNG association and the common man were
irked by the decision and announced to protest against the jacked up prices.
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has presented a formula to end ongoing
electricity load shedding in the country, if the provinces spare Rs 50 billion,
they are due to receive under NFC Award, to the Federation for payment to
power plants. Shujaat said under the NFC Award, provinces were due to get
another Rs 50 billion during the remaining three months of the current
financial year. He proposed if the Federation deducts this amount for the
remaining three months and allocates the same to power plants then load
shedding in cities would end and its duration would reduce considerably in
rural areas.
NAB requested the interior ministry to place the names of some 14
persons, on Exit Control List in connection with Rental Power Plants scam.
It took NAB four days to request the interior ministry for placing the people
involved in the RPPs scam on ECL, since the handing down of the verdict
on March 30. The three former federal ministers who were requested to be
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placed on the ECL included Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Liaquat Jatoi and Shaukat
Tarin. During this period some five federal secretaries served the ministry of
water and power and all five were also placed on ECL. At the same time
some six senior officials of Pepco were also placed on ECL.
Next day, the government finally bowed down slightly to the
demands of overburdened masses by officially approving Rs 2.32 per litre
reduction in petrol price, while kerosene oil and high-speed diesel prices
have been also slashed somewhat. It is likely that this meagre cut in prices
will hardly satisfy anyone. The All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA)
had also earlier warned the government of a countrywide protest if it did not
withdraw the surge in the CNG prices.
Different political parties, transporters and trade unions called for a
protest against increase in prices of petroleum products, wherein traders
would stage a complete shutter down strike while transporters would hold a
wheel jam strike in Peshawar on April 6. They also agreed to set up a protest
camp at Chowk Yadgar on April 5 against the sudden increase in petroleum
products.
The LHC sought reply from the federal government and OGRA on an
application challenging the recent increase in petroleum prices. Chief Justice
Sheikh Azmat Saeed ordered the respondents to file the reply till April 24.
Muhammad and Ahmad, a public interest litigation firm contending that the
increase in petroleum prices without any justification was a clear violation
of fundamental rights as provided in the Constitution.
On 6th April, the ECC of the cabinet approved fortnightly revision of
the fuel prices and endorsed purchase of 7.7 million tonnes of wheat from
farmers at the rate of Rs1,050 per 40kg. The meeting also approved another
summary of the petroleum ministry to give exemption of taxes and duties on
gas input pipelines and LNG projects.
Provincial disharmony: On 3rd April, members of the Mohajir Sooba
Tehreek (MST) staged a demonstration for the acceptance of their demand
for a separate province (for the Mohajir community). A large number of
MST activists assembled in Liaquatabad area and contended that a separate
province was the only solution to the problems of the Mohajirs. They alleged
that the Sindhi-speaking chief minister did not have the capability to
redress the problems of the business hub of the country.
On 8th April, for the first time in its history, Ghanta Ghar or
Clock Tower, the centre of eight bazaars of the city, was draped in
black from top to toe to observe the black day as a protest against
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discriminatory gas and electricity load shedding. The whole city was
flooded with black flags, black banners marking the black day.
Businessmen, traders, transporters, rickshaw, van owners and
drivers, carrying black flags on their vehicles and hands, took out
rallies and passed through eight bazaars and surrounding areas to
register their protest against unbearable high cost of living, frequent
and irregular electricity outages, gas shortage and discriminatory
treatment with Punjab.
Addressing the procession, Chairman Rana Arif Tauseef of the
Pakistan Textile Exporters Association said that unprecedented load
shedding had devastated the industrial and business sectors. He was
also critical of some clauses of 18th Amendment which what he called
has restricted across the board distribution of natural resources. This
discrepancy could have been removed in 20th Amendment but the
legislators showed little interest in this issue of prime importance, he
said.
Baloch militancy: On 3rd April, Justice Iftikhar said that Balochistan
is burning while the issue of missing persons and recovery of dead bodies is
generating hatred, which is not good, both for the country and the province.
The chief justice passed these remarks while hearing a case on the
deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan.
The Balochistan chief secretary, IGP, home secretary and other
officials appeared before the court. It is ironic you know that 204 dead
bodies were found dumped in different parts of Balochistan but you have
failed to find out causes and people responsible for killings, he remarked
when Home Secretary Naseebullah Bazai presented details including
recovered bodies, targeted killings and sectarian violence. The government
told the court that no FIR was registered regarding the recovery of bodies.
The Balochistan advocate general submitted a report on the steps
taken to improve law and order situation and measures taken to protect
people in the province. However, the chief justice expressed dissatisfaction
as the report says the law and order situation is improving. Chief Justice and
Justice Tariq Pervez asked the home secretary to take bold steps for restoring
public order.
He asked the police chief: It is beyond my understanding that how
could you sleep in the given situation It is on the record that the home
minister told media the provincial ministers are involved in kidnappings,

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then why action was not taken against such ministers or why they have not
been arrested yet, the chief justice questioned the IGP and home secretary.
The home secretary said the government managed to recover 47
missing persons from different areas of Balochistan while 17 were found
shot dead. He further said 41 families could not provide the basic
information about their missing relatives after which their cases were
withdrawn. But the home secretary could not reply when asked who picked
up the recovered 47 people.
The chief justice said he would give a thorough judgment on the law
and order situation but the government must name a responsible person to
ensure the implementation of the court verdict. The person must be on such
a position that has the power to implement our verdict, he said. The chief
justice said there was complete absence of governance in the province.
On 5th April, the Chief Justice of Pakistan ordered authorities to
register FIRs against the three Balochistan ministers accused of involvement
in kidnapping for ransom. A written statement by Balochistan Home
Minister Mir Zafarullah Zehri naming three ministers was presented before
the t bench hearing the case of deteriorated law and order situation in the
province with special reference to missing persons, recovery of dead
bodies and kidnapping for ransom incidents.
Chief Justice ordered police to get the names of the accused cabinet
members ascertained from Mr Zehri and collect evidence against them after
registering the cases. The court warned that if the seven people abducted
from Sariab Road Quetta were not produced tomorrow, all relevant police
officers including Balochistan IGP Rao Amin Hashim would be suspended.
The bench also ordered that an investigation should be conducted into
incidents of all dead bodies recovered from Balochistan and the challan be
submitted in the court within stipulated period. When asked by the chief
justice as to how many relatives of the victims have been compensated,
Home Secretary told the court that there was no policy of paying
compensation to heirs of those whose dead bodies are recovered. He
informed the court that 349 dead bodies had been recovered from different
parts of Balochistan so far.
The court directed Balochistan Chief Secretary to contact the families
of the victims and provide them with some kind of monetary compensation.
People belonging to a specific group have been brutally targeted. Being a
Pakistani it really pains us, Justice Kilji Arif Hussain remarked. The chief

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justice said: It has also been alleged that some people of law enforcement
agencies are also involved in these incidents.
When he learnt that attorney general had gone to Islamabad to attend
memo commission proceedings, the CJ expressed strong resentment and
remarked, Was the memo commission above the Supreme Court that he
(AG) went to Islamabad? He ordered for appearing of attorney general
before the bench tomorrow, adding since the FC was accused in this regard
so FC IG must also submit his explanation.
The list of those people who were murdered in the incidents of
sectarian targeted killing was also produced before the court upon which the
court expressed its displeasure over the arrests made by police in this
connection. As far as sectarian killings are concerned these incidents are
increasing day by day, chief justice said.
During the hearing the relatives of missing persons also recorded their
statements. At this, Voice For Balochistan Missing Persons President
Nasrullah Baloch told the court that the relatives of missing persons did not
want any compensation but their loved ones. The court said that if missing
persons were involved in any crime then cases should be registered against
them and they should be dealt in accordance with the law.
Some women told the court that personnel of Frontier Corps and
intelligence agencies raided Sariab area on March 1st and whisked away ten
male members of their family. They said that later on three people were
released and seven were still missing. When the court asked the police
officials about the incident and custody of seven persons the police
disassociated it from the incident that irked the court.
Upon this the chief justice ordered that if said seven people were not
produced on Friday before the bench all concerned police officers, including
Inspector General of Balochistan Police would be suspended. Linking the
deteriorated security situation to lack of effective local government, the
bench also sought report from Balochistan as well as all the other provincial
governments regarding holding of local bodies elections in the country. The
court adjourned the hearing till today.
Meanwhile, six people, including three Frontier Constabulary troops,
were killed and another four wounded in bomb blast and shootings in
different towns of Balochistan. An FC convoy was on its way when a
roadside bomb exploded in Balnagor area of Mand, killing three troops and
injuring four others. In another incident, unidentified people opened
indiscriminate fire at a restaurant owner in Quetta, killing him and another
879

man. Separately, unidentified armed men attacked a person near the

Manjipur police picket, injuring him critically. Later, he succumbed to
wounds.
Next day, on orders of Supreme Court Chief Justice, the Quetta police
produced four out of seven missing people of Marri tribe before the Court. A
total of ten men were picked up during a raid in the Sariab Mill area of
Quetta on March 1. Three of them were later released, while seven others
had been listed as missing.
The police had earlier told the court that they did not know about
these missing persons. Chief Justice suspended New Sariab SHO over his
false statement about the missing persons and directed the police chief to
arrest him. He reiterated that he would suspend the Balochistan IGP and
other officials concerned if the remaining three persons are not produced
before the court by April 9.
The Chief Justice passed strict remarks over the recovery of two more
mutilated bodies from Mastung and said there was no difference between
humans and animals in Balochistan. He expressed his strong resentment
over the absence of AGP and directed him to appear on next date of hearing.
The bench observed that the AGP was more focussed on other issues in
Islamabad rather than Balochistan.
IG FC also appeared before the court and categorically rejected the
charges against the FC. PPP MPA Sadiq Umrani during the Balochistan
Assembly proceedings accused the FC of kidnapping and killing two
persons near Kalat and Mastungthey cannot lie on the floor of the house,
the chief justice told the IG FC. The IG FC said his institution had issued a
statement very next day and categorically stated that no such incident took
place. The contradictions are not enough and every next day we read news
against the FC for its involvement in kidnappings and dumping bodies
Such acts will create serious problem for you, Justice Iftikhar told the FC
chief. The court directed the IG FC to appear with complete report on the
next hearing.
A woman appeared before the bench and informed the chief justice
that her brother Dr Naseer and his two friends had been missing after they
were picked up allegedly by the government functionaries from Killi Ismail
in Quetta on April 3. The bench directed the Jinnah Town SP to ensure the
safe recovery of these missing persons by April 10. The court will register
an FIR under Section 302 of PPC against the SO concerned if one of the

880

three missing persons is found dead, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain told the
police.
The home secretary informed the court that as many as 1,056 people,
including 227 FC personnel and 196 policemen, had been killed in
Balochistan since 2009, while 250 people lost their lives in targeted attacks
in sectarian violence. The chief justice expressed his anger, saying the
figures reflected the failure of government and its functionaries. The chief
justice adjourned the hearing till April 12 that will take place in Islamabad,
while the bench is scheduled to return to Quetta on April 30.
Meanwhile, unidentified gunmen killed a religious leader in the
provincial capital. Maulana Muhammad Qasim, Khateeb of Jamia Masjid
Noorani, was on his way to lead Friday prayers when armed men attacked
him, wounding him critically. He was shifted to Civil Hospital where he
died. Following the incident, his supporters took to the streets and staged a
demonstration against the killing.
Hafiz Saeed said that the US had its eyes on Gwadar Port and wanted
to get access to the Central Asian States through it; it was the reason why it
encouraged a handful of miscreants to separate Balochistan from Pakistan.
He said tabling of a resolution in the US Congress seeking separate status
for Balochistan was ample proof of its involvement in the province.
I have visited the province many a time and have also talked to
Baloch political organizations and the general public. They want to live
within the constitutional framework of Pakistan, he observed. Foreign
elements (US and India) were, however, using a few miscreants there who
are fanning separatist movement under the influence of the two countries, he
added. He said the government should talk to all Baloch political
organizations, including tribal chieftains, to set the things right in that
province.
He said the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC) was organizing a
conference on Balochistan on April 26 to find solution to the problem faced
by Balochs. Hafiz said he was not part of any armed movement, but in case
the country came under any threat he and his organization would adopt any
means to defend their motherland. He said he believed in using public
pressure as a weapon to create awareness among the people about nefarious
designs of the USA, India and Israel.
On 7th April, four people were killed in shooting incidents. Armed
men attacked an FC post in Barkhan, killing a security man and wounding

881

another. Unidentified gunmen killed an ASI in Kalat. In Quetta, two people

were shot dead in two separate incidents of firing.
Police produced another missing person, Zaman Marri, before the
Supreme Court Quetta Registry. Zamans brother had blamed SHO New
Sariab Police Station yesterday for not registering an FIR about his brothers
abduction. Chief Justice had expressed displeasure and ordered the IG police
to produce missing persons including Zaman Marri. Meanwhile, after two
years, the Crime Branch of Quetta Police completed probe into the Akbar
Bugti murder case and dispatched challan to the Kohlu sessions judge.
On 8th April, a partial shutter down strike was observed in Quetta and
some other towns of Balochistan against the killing of Maulana Muhammad
Qasim Sasoli, who was shot dead on Sariab Road on Friday. Protesters
demanded immediate arrest of murders of Maulana Muhammad Qasim.
Turf war in Karachi: On 2nd April, at least six people were killed and
over 28 wounded in a pitched gun battle between police and gangsters
affiliated with the outlawed People Amman Committee (PAC) in Lyari and
surrounding areas. A local PPP leader Hassan Soomro was among the dead.
The criminal elements in Lyari back-lashed after a week-long pause against
the law enforcement agencies, as they used rockets, hand grenades and
automatic weapons. Police were unable to enter into the congested areas
owing to resistance and gunfire.
President Zardari chaired a high-level meeting at the Bilawal House
where he ordered the provincial bosses to observe zero tolerance to street
crimes and extortion. He ordered fencing the Karachi-Balochistan border to
stop the movement of miscreants and arms. He also called for taking a
number of other stringent measures, including geo-fencing of localities
infested with criminal elements. The president said a scientific study should
be carried out about the nature of each crime committed whether it was
related to sectarianism, extremism, land grabbing, street crimes, targeted
killing, political rivalries and migration from other areas of the country.
Earlier, a meeting of the Sindh PPP core committee was held at the
Bilawal House. The committee discussed overall political situation in the
province and coalition matters. The meeting expressed satisfaction over the
policy of reconciliation being pursued and said the policy would be pursued
in the large interest of the province and the country.
Next day, at least four more people, including an MQM supporter,
were gunned down in different neighbourhoods in Karachi while a dozen
political activists were rounded up in separate raids. According to Police, the
882

four men, who belonged to a Pakhtoon-based political party, had killed four
shopkeepers over their refusal to pay extortion money. They were also
charged with killing two policemen in a shootout in Jackson area. The ANP
refuted the charges of extortion and killing.
On 4th April, British Deputy High Commissioner held a meeting with
MQM leaders and later headed into talks with the ANP. Campbell said that
peace in Karachi was not only in the interest of residents but also the
international community. He expressed profound grief over the killings of
ANP workers and supporters, saying the sacrifices the ANP made were
unforgettable.
The meetings of the British diplomat with the two political parties are
being seen as the international communitys efforts for durable peace in the
cosmopolitan. The British envoy along with other high commission
members met MQM Coordination Committee deputy convenors Dr Farooq
Sattar and Nasreen Jalil, its members Mustafa Kamal, Kunwar Khalid
Younis, Faisal Sabzwari and Faroogh Naseem.
MQM leaders said they discussed the political and economical
situation of the country, especially Karachi. Shahi Syed informed the
diplomat about the security situation in the city and the killings of his party
workers and office-bearers. He requested the deputy high commissioner to
support the ANPs struggle against terrorism and extremism and
deweaponization of Karachi.
A delegation of US journalists visited Nine-Zero. The delegation was
briefed in detail about the demographic characteristics of the city and the
problems being faced by the people in the absence of a local government
system. During the meeting, the history and underlying reasons of violence
in Karachi came under discussion. Meanwhile, four more people, including
an ANP leader, were gunned down in the city. Rangers official, who got
wounded on April 1 near the Met Office succumbed to his injuries.
Next day, a suicide bomber targeted the motorcade of SSP Malir,
killing four people and wounding 16 others near Malir Halt, while three
policemen were killed in a drive-by shooting in PIB Colony. SSP held TTP
responsible for the attack. In another incident, unknown armed men riding
motorbikes and two cars opened fire at a police vehicle in the PIB Colony,
killing three policemen.
After killing the cops, the gunmen opened fire at the house of a local
MQM man located in the same area where the police mobile was stationed.
MQM deplored the incident and claimed that the PAC had now been
883

exposed in front of the people. The MQM committee demanded President

Zardari, PM Gilani, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, the Sindh governor and
CM to immediately arrest the killers of the police officials.
The Special Investigation Unit claimed to have arrested three target
killers and recovered weapons from them in raids on SITE area and Orangi
Town. They were also involved in several cases of street crimes. A
Kalashnikov, two rifles and three TT pistols were seized from the killers.
Meawhile, SHC Chief Justice said chaos in the city was due to lack of
political will.
On 6th April, three PPP workers and a Peoples Student Federation
activist were targeted killed, while sectarian killing claimed life of a
seminary teacher. The triple murder of PPP activist caused tension in several
areas of Orangi Town. Unidentified armed men opened aerial firing forcing
closure of all shops and markets. Police blocked the road with the help of
containers, when protestors tried to force their entry into the red zone.
The Model Town Police registered a case against former SHO Sohrab
Goth Azam Mehsud, his brother Sher Zaman Mehsud and militants of TTP
on the complaint of SSP Malir Rao Anwar under sections 302/34, 324/34,
120, 427, Explosive Act and 7-ATA. SSP Malir Rao Anwar had nominated f
Azam Mehsud and his brother after Malir suicide attack on his convey.
Next day, four more people including a police officer and an activist
of PPP were gunned down in separate acts of target killing in different parts
of the metropolis. The Police in their drive against criminals arrested 26
accused from various areas of the city during the past 24 hours.
Militancy elsewhere: On 3rd April, the authorities issued shoot-onsight orders to the law enforcement agencies to maintain law and order
situation after 17 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in sectarian
violence in Gilgit-Baltistan. The casualties occurred in two separate
incidents in the northern towns of Gilgit and Chilas.
In Gilgit, gunmen opened fire during a strike called by Ahl-e-Sunnat
Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) over the arrest of one of their leaders, Attaullah Saqib,
for his alleged involvement in a sectarian attack in February that left 18
dead. When police refused to release Attaullah Saqib, angry protesters
opened fire and pelted the anti-riot police with stones, leaving several
officers injured. Curfew was imposed in the city after the incident to bring
the situation under control. Soldiers were given orders to shoot at anyone
who defied the curfew order.

884

In Bonar Das area of Chilas, a Sunni-dominated town about 100

kilometres south of Gilgit, a mob blocked the main Karakoram Highway and
killed ten Shias, local police said. Hundreds of people took to the streets
protesting the killings in Gilgit, he said, adding that the rioters set four buses
on fire. The deteriorating situation in Chilas had prompted the local
authorities to impose a curfew.

VIEWS
Power politics
What we need to shed: During this regimes incumbency Pakistans
crises have multiplied and deepened manifold and on many fronts. Can the
rule of law prevail when the chief executive of the state defies it at will, and
is contemptuous about his defiance? While the army has been sacrificing
their young men in Swat, Fata and countless other places, the civilian
casualties in Balochistan, Gilgit, Karachi, etc., are frequently in the news for
all the wrong reasons.
As fuel prices keep increasing and electricity gets scarcer (or nonexistent), the summer will become longer and hotter, in all senses of the
word. If the Supreme Court fails to act, the effort to rid the country of its
problems will move to the streets of Pakistan. This will force the army to
act, with the Supreme Courts request under Article 190, or without it.
What this country really needs is leader-shedding, not load shedding.
(Ikram Sehgal, The News 5th April)
BBs son needs protection: Speaking of children, it is a much better
idea for Bilawal to be positioned as a youth leader, who does some concrete
work for underprivileged children and the teeming youth without education
and jobs. This will endear him to people and help polish his insights as well
as language skills. Instead, we are being made to listen to speeches with
phrases that are too much of a mouthful and sound so unreal coming from
him. It is so abundantly clear that politics is not Bilawals natural calling and
that he is a likeable young man, who should be doing internships to discover
what his strengths are. Just like the anxiety-ridden children of the poor
should be protected, BBs son, too, ought to be protected from having
greatness thrust on him so much ahead of time. The bulk of the PPP looks
kind of silly when they refer to him deferentially as the Chairman. All this
almost monarchy business in what is professed as a democracy just does not
gel. This holds equally true for all the sons, daughters and sons-in-law in the
885

pipeline in all other parties too waiting to take over from where their parents
left off! Whenever the complete history of the world is written in the future
the case of the son-in-law in South Asias Pakistan will surely be a case
study! But that is just a thought in passing. (Tallat Azim, TheNation 7th
April)

Rule of law
Our secular saints: Modern governments seek legitimacy not from
the sacred, but through laws and via institutions representing the populace.
Unlike personal nature of traditional political arrangements, modern
institutions are impersonal. Institutions established on rational basis enabled
a large part of mankind to rid itself of oppression stemming from the whims
of rulers.
The best way for our own rulers to modernize Pakistan is to seek
legitimacy through rule of law, not through personal appeal or sacred
justifications. Involvement of the sacred in the domain of the secular not
only affects functioning of modern institutions but also corrupts the sacred
and creates disillusionment with religion.
If Gilani prefers being pir and gaddi-nasheen, he should have avoided
politics. Now he is trying to steer the ship in the increasingly dirty waters of
Pakistani politics, and on behalf of a party headed by Asif Ali Zardari, so it
is natural that he will be splashed. By asking the court to treat Gilani as
someone above the law, Aitzaz Ahsan is trying to perform the impossible
task of defending a political pir willingly engaged in dirty politics. (Aziz Ali
Dad, The News 5th April)

Defiance of judiciary
Unbecoming words (for judiciary): Speaking on the occasion of
Zulfikar Ali Bhuttos 33rd death anniversary at Garhi Khuda Bux on Tuesday,
President Asif Ali Zardari accused the Supreme Court of not having the
grace to stomach the installation of a 40MW power plant at Naudero. Mr
Zardari was making an obvious reference to the court order declaring that
since there had been a strong element of corruption in all the deals of Rental
Power Projects (RPPs), they were illegal and should be rolled back. These
projects had been deemed far too expensive and failed to stall the electricity
shortage crisis, as intended. Besides, the agreements between the owners or
sponsors of the RPPs and the government were, the apex court believed, not
concluded in a transparent manner. Mr Zardaris reference to the RPP at
Naudero should be taken in that context. The Supreme Court felt hurt that a

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power plant had been installed at Naudero, were his exact words. He also
tried to draw comparison between the judgment affecting this project with
the courts disregard of history i.e. not proceeding with reversing the
judgment against Mr Bhutto and declaring him as innocent. Not lagging
behind Mr Zardari was his son Bilawal Zardari Bhutto, the Chairperson of
the PPP. He sought an apology from the apex court for the injustice done to
Mr Bhutto and, indeed, to history. The Supreme Court of Pakistan
sentenced Shaheed Bhutto to death by hanging for a crime he did not
commit, he argued.
From the other end, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry
warned, The time should not come that we ask some other people to
implement our orders about Karachi. He was holding a hearing at Quetta
about the target killings and disappearances and the discovery of dead bodies
in Balochistan and in the context of a reference to the abysmal situation in
Karachi where the government was finding it hard to check the murderous
riots taking place, he expressed his exasperation in these words. It was a
different situation, no doubt; yet Justice Chaudhrys words were significant
in the face of the conditions prevailing in the country.
The entire nation is, in fact, at its wits ends for not being able to
visualize how the ruling political setup could justify its blatant defiance of
the highest court in the country while, at the same time, claiming that the
country was being run on democratic principles and according to the
Constitution. On the one hand, the PPP leaders keep the mantra of
reconciliation constantly on their lips, on the other they commit acts that
constitute an open clash with the judiciary. Things have gone so far that the
Supreme Court that had been exercising remarkable patience felt compelled
to indict Prime Minister Gilani with contempt of court. Can one hope that
the PPP leadership would at last realize that its policies with regard to law
and Constitution are an invitation to the anti-democratic forces to step in and
the harrowing scenario had best be forestalled? (Editorial, TheNation 5 th
April)
A besieged country: Today, Pakistan is a besieged country in the
hands of its leadership and their crude machinations solely crafted and
unleashed for their vile advancement. Can this mess ever be untangled?
Only a while ago, one thought so. That was the time when the dream
of an independent judiciary was realized and we had a set of justices in
whom the country could rest its case and the people their fate. One also
knew that the challenges ahead would be immense and the path would be

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strewn with potholes both natural, but mostly man-made because, after all,
it was the illegal and hollow ascendency of a bunch of corrupt leaders that
an independent judiciary would pose a threat to. The picture looked even
more promising because this independent judiciary had come in the wake of
a truly memorable struggle and it also needed to urgently nullify a reputation
of having been an institution that had repeatedly affixed its approval on the
intrusions of dictators and despots.
Agreed, it did not have any guns to fire with, or instruments to force
subservience to its edicts. But, it had a surfeit of moral authority and the
active public support to back it if the need for that ever arose. Dealing with
an eternally-errant government taking pride in its open and willful defiance
of the judiciary, there was no dearth of adjudications emanating from its
various benches. From benefits accrued from an inherently flawed and
deceitful NRO to countless instances of willful and abject abdication of
governance, plundering of state resources, denuding of its institutions and a
host of other criminal failings, there were countless opportunities for the
judiciary to assert its authority through a combination of issuing expeditious
judgments and following up on their implementation through the use of
constitutional powers vested in it. It is on both these fronts that the judiciary
has been found wanting.
The delay in issuance of decisions and the inordinate time-frame
allowed to various state institutions and functionaries to implement them
defies logic. Take the case of the NRO. After declaring the ordinance void ab
initio, and facing a defiant government, the apex court took over two years
to constitute an implementation mechanism which, inevitably, led to the
prime minister being hauled up for contempt of court. Even now the time
being given and the manner in which it is being given to the errant party in
its bid to dodge the punishment show an enormous bit of dithering.
Does this reflect an unseen weakness on the part of the judiciary itself,
or the lack of support extended by other institutions which should come by
way of fulfilling the relevant provisions of the constitution? Whatever it may
be, it has made the judiciary look weak. Consequently, the dream of the
judiciary becoming an instrument of change is fast waning.
As a consequence of this failing, the proponents of the corrupt status
quo have become more daunting in their misdemeanours, thus adding to the
woes of a beleaguered people most of whom are incessantly fighting for a
few miserly morsels every day. Electricity is extinct Education, health and
other basic needs of every family come at a heavy price

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The killers and looters are wearing the masks of aggrieved people.
They demand the arrest of individuals whom they paint as perpetrators of a
crime while they shield their own brigades of murderers and extortionists
who are let loose on a distraught people to further perpetuate the fear
syndrome in which they thrive. A brutal and systematic radicalization of the
society, deepening obscurantism among its rank and file, increasing
intolerance and excessive violence are just some of the gory symptoms of a
potion that is being prescribed as a cure to our ills. It is an ideal recipe to
self-destruct!
State institutions are being abused to serve the interests of the ruling
mafias. Grave financial corruption aside, the so-called political
heavyweights suffer from an incurable intellectual corruption as they
change allegiances as a matter of whim and opinions as a convenient means
to greener pastures without suffering any regret or compunction. They flaunt
their shift as a principled move, thus plunging their new-found love into a
nosedive. They are corrupt mavericks on the loose with no sense of shame.
They are the ultimate winners in this game of lust and deceit.
It is as if we are caught up in a vortex of currents that can be seen and
felt, but that is beyond remedy because its reins are being controlled by an
illicit alliance forged between the powerful and the mighty among the ruling
echelons who continue to indulge nonchalantly in indiscriminate loot and
plunder in spite of the constitution, in spite of the parliament, in spite of an
independent judiciary and in spite of an increasingly harassed but combative
people. Anarchy seems on the anvil. We call this democracy and wait for the
next elections! (Raoof Hasan, The News 6th April)

Recessing economy
Gas and POL prices: The record surge in the prices of petroleum
products and CNG has evoked an involuntary cry of pain and protest from
all classes of people living in the country. They felt shocked and bewildered
and were sunk further into the deep depression caused by the heavy burden
of making both ends meet in this corruption-ridden and un-secure society.
The across-the-board anger should serve as a warning to the government of
the reaction in store unless it decides to take back the hike.
Soon, it became obvious, as experience had shown, that the increase
would not remain confined to the petroleum sector alone and would cast its
dark shadows over goods and services in general. The transporters, while
demanding the withdrawal of the increase, decided to raise intercity fares by
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five to 10 percent, but in practice, minibuses plying in the city are also
charging higher fares. There are threats of civil disobedience by the traders
backed by an ultimatum to the government to take back the price increase
within 72 hours; such is the rage of traders who see their businesses go
down, as lesser number of people could now afford to buy their products.
The spectre of cheaper Indian goods flooding the market and driving them
out of the competition is becoming real, thanks to the authorities myopic
decision to give New Delhi the MFN status.
In a scenario like this one could expect how the political parties,
particularly the opposition, would react Even the PPPs coalition partner
MQM has called for withdrawing the increase, practicing austerity and
cutting down non-development expenditure. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf
and Jamaat-i-Islami, both denounced the decision terming it an example of
anti-people policies of the government.
The people have been passing through a long and trying period of
high prices in every conceivable field, forcing them to be content with a
progressively lower standard of living Yet, the pity is that there is no letup in the wasteful official expenditure, fuelling anger and resentment that
could, aided by other scourges of misgovernance, load shedding and water
scarcity afflicting the country, easily boil over and threaten stability.
(Editorial, TheNation 3rd April)

Provincial disharmony
Zardaris half-hidden agenda: This is not the first time that he has
chosen to couch his political diatribes in ethnically-charged terminology. In
fact, his incoherent and paradoxical political narrative often resorts to ethniclabeling, stirring emotions of victimization among Sindhis on several
occasions and pointing fingers at privileged Punjabis on several others.
When he talks about a new province for Southern Punjab, he makes it a
point to give it an ethnic colour. Even the PPP's war on the independent
judiciary has been painted in ethnic shades, accusing the courts of prejudice
against Sindhi leaders and being soft on leaders from Punjab. The heir to the
PPP throne, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, parroted his father's devious logic
recently when he asked the present Supreme Court to apologize for the
mistrial of his grandfather more than 30 years ago.
This divisive framework has been adopted by the serf-like party men
populating Bhutto dynasty's PPP, party men who otherwise loudly and
incessantly claim that their party is the chain that links all provinces. The
party no longer speaks of the problems of the downtrodden, the workers and
890

peasants, something that cuts across ethnic divisions. As a party with

representatives from all provinces of Pakistan, it refuses to fulfill its
responsibility of creating a vision that would unite the people. Instead, under
Zardari, the party seems to have taken upon itself the task of exacerbating
divisions within the society. As PPP Co-Chairman, Zardari has every right to
set whatever direction he chooses for his party, no matter how politically
unsound or devious it is. As the President of Pakistan, the symbol of our
federation, such behaviour is inexcusable.
President Musharraf was severely criticized by the PPP for being
partisan and chairing meetings of his PML-Q at the presidency. Where does
it stand today on the issue? Is it alright for the President to be partisan and to
chair meetings of his party at the presidency if he belongs to PPP? In fact,
Zardari has blemished the office of the President even further by speaking of
the nation he heads in divisive ethnic terms. He is praised by his partymen
for transferring presidential powers to Parliament through the 18th
Amendment. It does not seem to matter that he continues to call the shots
from the presidency and has the remote of the government in his control. It
does not seem to matter that he is actively involved in the affairs of the
government, whether it is about writing to the Swiss authorities, gas
pipelines or foreign affairs.
Zardari's political chicanery is obvious to everyone other than his
darbar of serf-like PPP wallahs. He has consistently worked to reverse the
gains made by the nation through the rule of law movement. After he failed
to stop the restoration of judiciary despite his untiring efforts and deceptive
tactics, he has been on a crusade to make it ineffective and controversial.
Against the momentum of public opinion seeking a new political culture
where no one is above the law and those in positions of power are
accountable, he has reinforced the traditional circus of patronage and special
privilege under the garb of his much touted policy of reconciliation. Against
the overwhelming public support for ending our cooperation with the US in
its war against the Afghan people, he has consistently tried to please his
imperialist masters.
The first thing the PPP Co-Chairman did after his party won the last
elections was to pay homage to the American Embassy in Islamabad. He had
much to thank his American friends for. After all, the NRO was facilitated by
them. Though he was not the President of Pakistan then, it was a bad omen
for the nation. Once he occupied the presidency through deceit and
corruption, we have seen the hell break loose, bit by bit. Every challenge
faced by the nation has become more grave, every problem bigger. There is
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tension in places that were peaceful and places that were tense have become
unmanageable. The divisions are deeper and the poor have been further
impoverished. A democratic government would have healed the wounds and
made things better. Zardari's reign has delivered what his masters ordered.
(Jalees Hazir, TheNation 8th April)

Baloch militancy
In judicial focus: Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry surely knows a lot
about Balochistan because he has a domicile from the province and has deep
attachment to it. It was in Quetta that he received his early education,
practiced law and presided over the Balochistan High Court as its chief
justice. However, his good intentions need to be supplemented by all parties
to the conflict to make an impact.
One such party to the conflict is the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),
which not surprisingly requested an opportunity to make a presentation to
the Supreme Court on the Balochistan situation. The ISI has been blamed for
many things in Balochistan and it would be right for the Chief Justice and
his fellow judges to hear its side of the story. In fact, all the blame for the
disappearances of Baloch nationalists and the recovery of their tortured
bodies is placed at the door of the intelligence agencies, particularly the ISI.
Cold statistics from different sources tell the sad story of abductions,
torture and revenge killings. The Voice of Missing Baloch, which under
Nasrullah Balochs leadership has campaigned steadfastly for the recovery
of Baloch who have disappeared allegedly into the hands of intelligence
agencies, is claiming that 6,000 of them have gone missing since 2003. The
government in 2011 conceded that 1,000 Baloch were missing, but it
recently brought the figure down to 48, without providing any convincing
reason for such a big gap in numbers.
Human Rights Watch estimated that since January 2011 around 300
people were abducted or killed in Balochistan and their bodies abandoned. It
said Pakistans security forces operating in Balochistan may be responsible
for these incidents. The security forces, mainly the 50,000 paramilitary
Frontier Corps soldiers deployed there, deny the accusations.
However, there is another aspect to the killings. The Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan has reported that since 2006 around 800 settlers,
mostly Punjabis and including teachers and labourers, were murdered. It is
not difficult to figure out who would have done this. Baloch separatists
sometimes dont hesitate to admit it and on occasions their spokesmen have

892

justified the killings as revenge for the abductions and deaths of Baloch
nationalists at the hands of the intelligence agencies.
The separatists have also murdered fellow Baloch after accusing them
of treason for serving or spying for the Pakistani government and the
military. Occasionally, Pakhtuns from Balochistan and the rest of Pakistan
have been killed. Such tactics have caused fear and forced many long-time
settlers to leave Balochistan. This has also deprived the Baloch nationalists
of sympathy and support for their cause in Pakistan. Winning recognition for
the Baloch cause abroad is important but losing sympathy at home is of
equal importance. (Rahimullah Yusufzai, The News, 4th April)

Turf war in Karachi

War zone Lyari: Over the past few years, Lyari has emerged as one
of the main theatres of conflict and has figured prominently each time there
is unrest in Karachi. It has come to be known for its various gangs
patronized and nurtured by various political parties. It has paid a heavy
price. One of the oldest areas of the city, it was once known as a place that
produced thinkers, poets and sportsmen. That culture is dead, having been
replaced by a reign of guns and bullets. Right now restoring order appears a
huge challenge. Many wonder if it can be achieved with the situation
growing more volatile by the day in an area that has long been considered a
stronghold of the PPP; the Baloch community there still remains largely
loyal to the PPP. So the key to peace in Lyari is held by the PPP and its
leaders. Deep divisions and differences within the PPP over the PAC and
other matters have made the task harder. Yet the ruling party, which also
leads the Sindh government, must play its role in ending the unrest and the
tensions which have turned the area into a blighted war zone. We hear that
Interior Minister Rehman Malik has been meeting different political parties
to discuss the situation. Will this mean anything other than continuation of
conflict by other (political or coalitional?) means? (Editorial, The News,
4th April)
The ongoing gang war, no-go areas, killings and intra-city
displacement of the people of Lyari are just news items for most of us, not
affecting our lives. The people of Karachi maybe forgiven for their
indifference and ignorance regarding this area, but the past and present
administrations, especially this government, cannot treat Lyari like a
political blind spot.
PPP apathy towards Lyari and its problems is unforgivable since many
of its leaders have reached their exalted positions by winning the vital seat
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of Lyari. It will not augur well for them or any other political party to polish
politics using Lyari. (Editorial, The News, 4th April)

Militancy elsewhere
Where are the sane voices?: For centuries, Muslims have not been
able to find satisfactory answers to the theological differences amongst
themselves, but that alone is not a matter of concern, because these
differences are the basis of diversity in matters of practice of Islam, which is
the intended purpose of the Law and which is supported by sound practices
of the Noble Messenger, upon him blessings and peace.
The Book in which they believe and the practice of the Noble
Messenger, which they uphold, absolutely denies Muslims the liberty of
taking another life. Anyone who kills another human being without a
justification enshrined in the Book is simply creating his or her own place in
the eternal fire; this is the Divine threat and promise and this must be
repeated over and over until everyone understands it. This is one of the
greatest needs of the Muslim world today: to understand the limits of
personal responsibility in the face of rising sectarian strife.
That serenity and peace of Gilgit-Baltistan now seems a thing of the
past, as is the case for Baghdad, Kufa, Karbala, and Najaf, all centres of
constant strife and bloodshed. The villains who unleashed sectarian hatred in
Iraq may be smiling; they rightly found the nerve centre for the internal
collapse and destruction of the Muslim world, but is the Muslim religious
leadership so blind that it cannot see this plot? Is it willingly playing the
devils tunes or has it lost the light of the Book to such an extent that it is
now blinded by ignorance of the pre-Islamic era? Where are the sane
voices?(Muzaffar Iqbal, The News 6th April)

REVIEW
The father scoundrel and the baby scoundrel indulged in ridiculing the
Supreme Court on the anniversary of ZABs hanging on murder charges
more than three decades ago. Both made passing reference to the petition
regarding ZABs judicial murder, which in fact was not filed for redress of
any kind of grievances.
The aim of the Scoundrel was to provide a pretext to splash muck at
the superior judiciary with a view to pre-empting it from pressing for
implementation of NRO verdict. It was to save the Scoundrel from any legal

894

proceedings against him for committing crime of corruption and moneylaundering the cases of which were pending in Swiss courts.
The manner in which the Scoundrel and his budding son ridiculed
the judiciary in their speeches at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh left no boubt in
anyones mind as to what respect they grant to the Judges of the Apex Court
and their verdicts. But, one should not be surprised if the judges sitting on
the bench hearing contempt of court case continue exercising the judicial
restraint; if that be so, one should remove ones hat and bow before them.
Both of them inflicted injuries to judiciary and Army and then rubbed
handful of salt into their wounds by demanding that the Judiciary must
apologize for hanging a murderer who happened to be founder father of the
PPP. The two committed this crime in the presence of Aitzaz Ahsan, who
listened to all the nonsense with his mouth half opened like a school boy
listening to a horror story.
It appeared that he was thinking that he never imagined that the
mother-like state that he had been promising during Lawyers Movement
will have a husband like Zardari and bear a son like Bilawal, who claims to
be a Bhutto as well as a Zardari at the same time, but appears to be a true son
of his father. He in his speech addressed everyone by the name of the city he
belongs to as if there is no one in the country who merited to be called a
Pakistani.
After molesting judiciary and Army at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, the
Scoundrel flew to Lahore to take on his third adversary. The confidence
touching arrogance with which he spoke to his party leaders and assured
them victory in next elections indicated that the global badmash is standing
at his back and wants his rule to continue for another term.
Meanwhile, admonishing a police officer during hearing of a case
Justice Hani passed unwarranted remarks about Army. The case had nothing
to do with Army, except that the SSP was lateral entry into Police from
Army. Justice Hani must have known better than anyone else as to how
many investigations are deliberately spoiled by direct-entry Police officials
who rise in the institution vertically. It appeared that in ridiculing Army the
judges and politicians are on the same page.
British Deputy High Commissioners dash to Karachi indicated the
concern of the Crusaders when the game was approaching the end. They
want peace in the port city ahead of resumption of NATO supplies through
land routes from Karachi to Afghanistan and the Brit met leaders of the both

895

parties that are eager to be in the good books of the West and can deliver
peace in Karachi.
Shahi Syed had no shame in begging the British Deputy High
Commission for de-weaponization of Karachi. He forgot that founder-father
of his party wanted de-weaponization of entire Pakistan and the Crusaders
were in and around this country to achieve this noble goal.
9th April, 2012

WAR WITHIN-IV
During the week President Zardari, the symbol of the federation, went
to Multan to play yet another card, the game of power politics. While staying
in the town of his faithful he announced his plan to carve Seraiki Province
by the end of current tenure which is ending next year. As a first step he
planned to establish Seraiki Bank for the oppressed people of South Punjab.
During his stay in the city of saints, he also defended the younger son
of the Saint against accusations of his involvement in drug business. The
Saint himself has been rejecting all the allegations in this context, in the
wake of Apex Courts orders to ensure impartial probe. His government
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discovered quite a few impersonators who have been ringing up various

ministries as Ali Musa.
Aitzaz continued telling cock and bull stories and judges hearing
contempt case kept tolerating all the nonsense in the name of noble sounding
judicial restraint. Meanwhile, Karachi experienced sporadic escalation of
turf war and sectarian killings continued with alarming surge in Quetta.

NEWS
Power politics: On 11th April, Firdous Ashiq Awan rejected the
demand of PML-N chief for snap polls and asked the Punjab government to
test its muscles by holding local body elections. PML-N chief had reiterated
his demand for early elections, saying as long as the incumbent government
would rule the country, problems would go on increasing. She said those
pointing finger had been charge-sheeted by Musharraf for corruption,
mismanagement with no match in the history.
Next day, the Supreme Court directed the chief secretaries of all the
four provinces to submit schedule on April 30 for holding local government
elections. The court observed that there should be no excuse in this regard as
not holding local body elections in the country was the violation of Articles
32 and 140-A.
On 13th April, eleven new ministers five federal ministers and six
ministers of state were inducted in the federal cabinet. Ten out of the
eleven new ministers belong to the PPP while Abbas Afridi is a senator from
FATA. ANP and MQM expressed their reservations on this development
saying they were not taken on board. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is included in new
ministers.
Imran Khan said that all the ruling political parties will get united for
their vested interest, adding that the PML-N leaders and JUI-F chief Fazlur
Rehman were afraid of his partys tsunami. Addressing a PTI Women
Convention in Sahiwal, he said that his party would bring all the corrupt
elements who have been plundering and looting national kitty since the
creation of Pakistan to book.
Next day, President Zardari declared that South Punjab would be
made a separate province before general elections. Addressing the
parliamentarians of PPP from Multan region, he said that the decision to
make South Punjab a separate province would be made during prevailing

897

regime. He added the residents of South Punjab were highly annoyed with
Takht-e-Lahore and they should be given their right. He said the PPP always
strived to give identity and rights to the masses and he would visit every
nook and corner of the South Punjab in a bid to carve out Seraiki province.
On 15h April, President Zardari unveiled another card to further step
up his drive for creation of Seraiki province, as he declared his party-led
government would set up a Seraiki bank to cater to the needs of local
businessmen and entrepreneurs. Addressing the delegations of businessmen,
journalists and Peoples Labour Bureau at Multan, the president asked the
businessmen to submit a proposal for the bank within one week. The
president pointed out that South Punjab had a great potential for the export
of fruits and the government was adopting measures like establishing Mango
Pack House and Cold Storages in Multan to facilitate the growers and
exporters of fruits especially mango.

Rule of law: On 9th April, the Supreme Court said that Pervez
Musharraf should surrender himself before court in accordance with the law
in Benazir Bhutto murder case. A three-member bench headed by Chief was
informed by FIAs prosecutor that despite having received the summons,
Musharraf did not furnish any reply. He said FIA had approached Interpol
for arrest of Pervez Musharraf. Raja Aamir Abbasi, counsel for Rehman
Malik sought time for submitting reply which the court allowed and directed
him to file it until April 16.
On June 23, 2011, Rawalpindi Bench of the LHC had dismissed a plea
of Chaudhry Aslam requesting the court to order placement of Babar Awan
and Rehman Malik on ECL. One of the judges had written an additional note
that Chaudhry Aslam was neither an aggrieved party, nor a legal heir of
Benazir Bhutto, thus he had no right to seek registration of FIR in the
murder case of Benazir Bhutto. He submitted that the high court had failed
to give due consideration to the United Nations report on Benazir Bhutto's
assassination on which $60 million were spent.
Next day, the Supreme Court issued notices to the prime ministers
younger son Ali Musa Gilani and Principal Secretary Khushnood Lashari in
a case involving illegal sale of an imported chemical, ephedrine. It also
ordered cancellation of recently made transfers and postings in the AntiNarcotics Force (ANF) ordering the federal government to restore all ANF
officials to their position of March 6, 2012. Earlier, ANF had also requested
the interior ministry to add Musa Gilani and Lasharis names to the Exit
Control List, but later during the day Musa left for South Africa.
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A three-member bench heard a petition of ANF Regional Director

Brig Faheem Ahmed regarding the transfer of officials in the counter-narco
agency, allegedly to save prime ministers son and his secretary who have
been named in the scandal of import of ephedrine a proscribed chemical
used in medicines. ANF officials informed the chief justice that narcotics
secretary was trying to protect Musa Gilani. The chief justice said this was a
sensitive issue, where they needed to tread carefully. The bench directed the
government not to transfer any officer without the court permission and ANF
Brigadier Faheem was ordered to assume the charge of his office and
proceed in the investigation without any influence.
The court also issued notices to Ministry of Narcotics Control acting
Secretary Zafar Abbas, the health secretary, AGP, ANF ex-DG Major
General Shakeel Hussain, Brig Faheem and the directors of two
pharmaceutical companies. The court said that if anyone wants to record
statement on behalf of Ali Musa Gilan or Khushnood Lashari then fair trial
be accorded. Brigadier Faheem himself and his counsel Akram Sheikh
appeared before the court. Brig Faheem told the court that Mr Lashari
approved the import quota of prohibited chemicals when he was the health
secretary and now Musa Gilani was protecting his secretary Tauqeer and
hindering fair investigation. The chief justice said that there should be no
mala fide in the investigation of the case.
Akram Sheikh told the court that in order to give additional charge of
ANF DG to the Narcotic Ministry acting secretary an SRO was issued in
back date. According to that amendment was made in ANF Act 1997. The
chief justice said it was very serious matter. The court inquired from Brig
Faheem about the investigation by Mohsin S Haqqani and Dr Obaidullah on
the order of Federal Health Minister Makhdoom Shahabud Din when Sohail
Ahmed was the ANF secretary, who was also transferred. Brig Faheem
informed the court that they issued three summons to Musa Gilani but
neither he presented himself for investigation nor responded to any summon.
When we approached the court regarding the matter, we were transferred.
We also issued summon to Tauqeer Ali Khan, private secretary of Musa
Gilani, but he also did not respond.
Akram Sheikh said all the state machinery wanted to protect the big
personality, adding the incumbent secretary law has given his opinion in this
case against the law. Brig Faheem said that Mr Zafar Abbas has taken all the
record of the case in his possession. He said as long as he would hold the
post he would not allow anyone to proceed in the investigation. He further
said that whole state machinery is against the investigation team.
899

Brig Faheem submitted a written affidavit about his meeting with

PMs secretary Khushnood Lashari. According to the affidavit after the
registration of an FIR, notice was issued to Lashari for recording his
statement. Brig Faheem stated that for the compliance of the notice he went
with IO (investigation officer) Abid Zulfiqar to Lasharis office at PM
Secretariat on March 24.
Where on the desire of Mr Khushnood Akhtar Lashari and his
assurance to bring the real facts to light, I had a separate meeting with him in
his office, where he discussed/conveyed the following to me in a maligning
and threatening manner, because he being one of the prime
(abettor/associate/facilitator) in the case wanted to make full use of his
present appointment/office to suppress/distort/misdirect investigation against
himself and Ali Musa Gilani.
Mr Khushnood Akhtar Lashari said father of Ali Musa Gilani is very
upset and worried due to the summons issued to him. He said that if ANF
focuses on two pharmaceutical companies only and spare others, ANF will
be fully supported; both companies will be ruined and state machinery will
be with you... He said you know civil military relations have recently
improved... He (Lashari) said that all depends on you (Brig Faheem); only
you can save us from chaos and upheavals... He further said in a sarcastic
manner and meaningful expression that ANF is being commanded and
controlled by army officers He asked to spare Ali Musa Gilani He said
this is a matter of national Interest.
In the affidavit Brig Fahmeen further stated that after that several
attempts were made to change the direction of the case investigation. During
the proceeding, Brig Faheem informed the court that he and his investigation
officer Abid Zulfiqar was transferred on April 9, 2012, while earlier ANF
DG Major-Gen Shakeel Hussain was transferred and the charge was given to
Anti-Narcotics Ministry acting Secretary Zafar Abbas.
The court was informed that in January, 2011 a question in this regard
was raised in National Assembly and Federal Health Minister Makhdoom
Shahabuddin made a statement for conducting investigation and accordingly
a committee was constituted, which had submitted its report, but this report
has not so far been brought on the assembly record. ANF Secretary Sohail
Ahmed was transferred.
The court observed that matter is under probe and some of the accused
persons have approached Islamabad High Court for grant of bail, and their
cases are also pending, which are required to be decided in accordance with
900

law. But after having taken into consideration the above facts and
circumstances of the case, prima facie we are of the opinion that
transfer/posting of ANF DG Maj-Gen Shakeel Hussain, Regional Director
Brigadier Faheem Ahmed and Deputy Director Abid Zulfiqar, in colorable
exercise of powers, is not free from extraneous consideration. The hearing
was adjourned till April 20.
Babar Awan submitted an unconditional apology before the Supreme
Court in a contempt of court case against him. However, the court said it
would consider apology in his presence before the bench on April 18. The
applicant reiterated that he has not only the highest regard and respect for the
apex court of the country but also for all the judges of the superior judiciary.
Babar said whatever he stated in the press conference regarding the
judiciary was unintentional, based on inadvertence and he was offering
unconditional apology for his utterances that had been found prima facie to
be disrespectful by the bench. He particularly apologized to Justice Asif
Saeed Khosa, saying there was no doubt about his acumen, integrity,
impartiality and dedication to work.
Awan requested the court that his apology may be accepted as bona
fide and contempt proceedings against him may accordingly be discharged.
Justice Ejaz Afzal remarked that it depended on the circumstances to decide
the matter, as no law bound the court to accept the apology of contemnor. He
also said though Babar submitted unconditional apology but he did not
personally appear before the bench. The court observed that they had fixed
the hearing of the case on April 10 according to his desire.
Attorney General told the court that Babar had already submitted an
application, seeking exemption from appearing in person on April 10
hearing, as he had gone to India on the invitation of different bar
associations and he would return on April 17. His attitude was seen by all of
us in the past hearings of the contempt case, therefore he should remain
present before the bench, Justice Athar Saeed further said. The hearing was
adjourned till April 18 to examine unconditional apology in his presence.
On 11th April, information minister told about issuance of notice to
prime ministers younger son, Ali Musa Gilani, in a case involving illegal
sale of an imported chemical, she said the premier had taken the cabinet
members into confidence sharing the reality behind it. All the cabinet
members ensured that nobody was above the law but it was not fair to target
someone and this issue be probed on merit, she informed, adding that there
should not be politics of allegation. She said cabinet voiced its grave
901

concern over the character assassination of the PMs family members and
expressed resolve to defend them. Reportedly, Gilani spent about one hour
explaining the cases against his sons.
Chairman NAB said that under the Constitution and international law
President Zardari has immunity against the criminal proceedings against him
until the Supreme Court of Pakistan would come up with some other order
in this regard. Addressing a Press conference he made it clear that he and his
team were dealing with the cases on merit and without taking into
consideration the background or political affiliations of the accused.
He had no answer to a question that why the Ministry of Interior has
not placed the names of accused in Rental Power Plants case on ECL and
when pressed he simply said that he was given assurance a day earlier that
all the names forwarded by NAB would be placed on ECL. To another
question about the RPPs case, he said that they had barred the directors of
various companies from transferring money from their accounts and
similarly placed a bar on transfer of their properties.
Replying to a question regarding RPPs, he informed that serious and
effective investigations are being carried out in this connection and action
would be taken against the persons found guilty. To another question, he said
that the question of plea-bargain did not arise at this stage and if the accused
would pay back the looted money, the case would be dropped against him
and he would even not be declared guilty.
To a question about the political cases, Fasih Bokhari said that he was
in complete knowledge that how the cases were instituted against the
political leadership in the successive governments of PPP and PML-N. But
he quickly stated that they were dealing all these cases on merit and without
being prejudice, he said. To a question about the acquittal of the co-accused
of President Zardari in SGS, Cotecna and other cases, he did not agree to the
point that the prosecution has shown laxity in the trial but he could not come
up with specific answer that whether the NAB would go for appeal against
the decision of trial courts.
He also denounced the reported impression that the government was
allotting him plot in the capital to keep him mum against its corruption. To
have plot under the prevalent policy of the government was his right as he
was a retired government servant and never did get one before. Aided by
Deputy Chairman of NAB, Fasih Bukhari strongly rejected reported
impression that the government was bribing him by allotting him a plot in
the capital.
902

On 14th April, Zardari defended prime minister against increasing

pressure due to the alleged involvement of his son in ephedrine case, saying
Ali Musa Gilani was falsely implicated in the drug case. Talking to party
office-bearers, the president said he had come to Multan to express solidarity
with Gilani. Zardari said he had also been implicated in a drug case in the
past.
Next day, DD ANF Abid Zulfiqar, probing the Rs7 billion drug scam
involving PM Gilanis son has summoned Narcotics Control Ministry acting
Secretary Zafar Abbas, Principal Secretary to PM Khushnood Lashari and
others on April 19. The investigation team is keen to question Khushnood
Lashari for writing and sending a strong-worded letter to ANF Rawalpindi
region chief Brig Faheem Ahmed, accusing him of concealing crucial facts
and misdirecting the Supreme Court.
According ANF officials, the investigation of this alleged scam was
dropped after it hit Tauqir Ahmed Khan who, presenting himself as Musas
personal secretary got the quota approved. According to rules, every
pharmaceutical company was entitled to get a quantity of 500kgs of
ephedrine, but the ministry ignored 20 companies and granted 9,000kgs
quota to only two companies.

Defiance of judiciary: On 11th April, it was reported that in what

seems to be an indication of Supreme Courts mood to initiate action against
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto and President Asif Ali Zardari, the apex court
has reportedly sought transcripts of the speeches delivered by the two
leaders at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on the occasion of 33 rd death anniversary of
PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on April 4. Reportedly, the Registrar
Supreme Court has already got the relevant record to see if the two had
committed contempt of court by using offensive language against it.
Next day, the Supreme Court again disregarded Aitzaz Ahsans
contention that judges who issued contempt of court notices and framed
charges against Prime Minister should recluse from the bench. Dismissing
Aitzaz argument, the bench said the chief justice has constituted this bench
and entrusted them to hear the case, adding: it was not on our own bidding.
Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa said it is not the matter of any judge but the
prestige of the court. A judicial order has been passed by a 17-member bench
in NRO case and they wanted its implementation.
Aitzaz said the judgment would be implemented but for the time
being it was not possible. Justice Nasirul Mulk said in the decision on
review petition it was again directed to immediately implement the NRO
903

verdict in letter and spirit. Justice Khosa said, Your main defence is not
consistent with the 17-member bench verdict. Aitzaz said the matter at hand
was not of (the person of) Mr Asif Ali Zardari but the office of the President
and when his tenure would be over then the letter could be written.
He said: Should we offer our president to a foreign magistrate. And if
tomorrow someone will summon our judges then would we do that? He
said US saved his citizen Raymond Davis, who took innocent persons lives
in Pakistan, whereas we were hell bent to surrender our president before a
Swiss magistrate. Justice Khosa said: There is contradiction in your
statement on one hand you are saying the cases against President Zardari
and others have been closed, but on the other hand, you are saying it was a
matter of prestige of the Presidents office.
Aitzaz kept harping about article 10A inserted in the constitution
under 18th amendment that is meant to ensure fair trial and due process
status of the fundamental rights. The bench noted that the court elevated the
status of fair trial and due process, given in article 4, through various
judgments. Justice Khosa said if this is personal matter of a judge then he
could not sit but here is the matter of court prestige and national interest. He
asked the learned counsel that if he finds anything offensive in the Contempt
of Court Ordinance 2003 in light of article 10A then he should challenge it.
Aitzaz contended that laws governing fundamental rights are given in
article 9 to 28. Justice Khosa remarked that though some rights are regulated
by laws but are tested by the courts. The counsel said he has objection on the
procedure adopted in the case given in Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003.
Justice Khosa asked him now are you trying to use article 10A to strike
down a legislation, which is not there? It should have been there (for it to be
annulled). The court observed it has been the practice, usage, custom and
the tradition that a judge who had issued the notice used to hear it. Aitzaz
said you have been doing this not in accordance with the law.
Justice Khosa appreciating Aitzaz Ahsan for his arguments and
explaining many points said that if your mind is free from the extraneous
factor then you could better help the court. Justice Nasirul Mulk adjourning
the case for Friday asked the learned counsel to conclude his argument by
Wednesday (April 18). Aitzaz, however, said that he cannot promise if he
would be able to complete his evidence by the date given.
Speaking to the media on the court premises after the hearing, Aitzaz
rattled out his line of defence depending mainly upon the article 10A; the
judge(s) who takes notice of any incident becomes a complainant in the case
904

and hence becomes ineligible to hear the case. He reiterated President

Zardari enjoys immunity during his presidential tenure.
The regime made major changes in the ministry of law and justice by
changing the entire legal team ostensibly to put up a strong defence in its
various pending and new cases in the Supreme Court. Farooq H Naik was
appointed as new law minister. Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq has
been made advisor to the president for legal affairs while Secretary Law
Irfan Qadir has been appointed as new attorney general. Ms Yasin Abbasi
has replaced Irfan Qadir as new secretary law.
On 13th April, the Supreme Court allowed the newly inducted attorney
general to act as prosecutor in Gilanis contempt of court case. The court
inquired from former AGP Anwarul Haq whether he would still be able to
act as the prosecutor in PM contempt case, but he replied I will be grateful
to the court to excuse me as he is no more the AGP.
Justice Nasir then inquired from Irfan Qadir whether he would act as
prosecutor against the PM. Irfan Qadir replied: I will follow what law and
the constitution and would do nothing which is against the law. Justice
Nasirul Mulk remarked it means you will then be supporting the defence
counsel. Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said its not your duty to see what is right
or wrong but the court will decide it.
The new AG said there were a number of contempt cases pending
before the august court and he didnt understand why the court was showing
hurry in this case. He, however, prayed for one week for the preparation of
case. Irfan Qadir said it seems the court has become party in the case, adding
this court had struck down his appointment first as judge, for being a PCO
judge, and then as prosecutor general of NAB and now want to strike down
his appointment as prosecutor in this case. Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany
stated: We have understood what you wanted to convey to us.
Justice Khosa said you have been visiting Switzerland to prosecute the
president, so there is an apparent conflict of interest here. Justice Nasir told
him they would consider his appointment as prosecutor and took a 15
minutes break to decide about it. And when the bench reassembled they
allowed Irfan Qadir to act as the prosecutor in contempt matter against the
PM. The court directed Aitzaz to conclude his arguments until 18 th April and
adjourned the hearing for Monday.
Earlier, Aitzaz Ahsan argued that there was a serious flaw in the
proceeding where the prosecutor is not present in the court and new attorney
general has not been allowed to act as prosecutor. He complained about a
905

news item published in an English language daily against him. Showing a

copy of the newspaper he said due to the story he was very depressed as
efforts are being made to malign him. He prayed the court to take notice of
it. Justice Ejaz Afzal said the court would not be influenced by the media
reports and talk shows.
During the course of the hearing the court asked Aitzaz: Are you
trying to say there is no case against anyone except Asif Ali Zardari in the
Swiss court. Aitzaz said he would prove it with the help of documents that
the case pending in Swiss is only against President Zardari and no one else.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Maulvi Anwar was changed for
contradicting statements of Gilani and Aitzaz
On 15h April, Aitzaz replaced Babar Awan to represent the Federation
in the presidential reference to reopen Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case filed with the
apex court. This would be the second high-profile case for Aitzaz Ahsan who
is already representing Prime Minister Gilani in the contempt of court case
in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Office-bearers of Peoples Lawyer Forum
welcomed the decision by President.

Taming the military: On 10th April, Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz

Sharif through their lawyer served legal notices on former Mehran Bank
president Younus Habib to claim damages worth Rs10 billion each for their
character assassination. It has been stated in the notices that Younus Habib
leveled fabricated and unsubstantiated allegations for damaging the political
and social standing of Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif. Younus Habib had
alleged before the media that he doled out a total sum of Rs55 lakh to
Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif on two occasions for the purpose of their
help in the formation of anti-PPP IJI alliance.
On 12th April, Secretary Law and Order FATA submitted in the court a
report about the grievances of Adiala Jail prisoners kept in Internment
Centre Landikotal and arranging the visit of the prisoners counsel with the
detenues. The court rejected the report and asked the secretary: You
yourself are accepting that the detenues are kept in miserable condition. The
court directed Advocate General KPK to immediately shift Dr Niaz to
hospital. Chief Justice asked the counsel for ISI and MI if they could not
keep them for indefinite period in inhuman condition.
Justice Khilji Arif Hussain asked Irshad to tell the court under what
law they Adiala Jail prisoners have been kept in Internment Centres, adding
even if they are enemy of the country then show the evidence of crime they
had committed. The secretary proposed that due to short period of time,
906

most of the notified Internment Centers do not have the facilities as per the
criteria given in the Rules framed for the Actions (in Aid of Civil Power)
Regulation, 201. Resources may be allocated so that these internment
centers may be provided with the additional facilities.

Recessing economy: On 15h April, Pakistans total public debt

including both the external and domestic, continued to swell by 29.2pc to
Rs6 trillion during the current financial year ending June2012. According to
Asian Development Banks latest Asian Economic Outlook Pakistans
overall public debt has soared to an alarming level of 33.3pc of the GDP
(Gross Domestic Product). The economy continues to be affected by
structural problems, including a domestic energy crisis, a precipitous decline
in investment, persistently high inflation, and security issues, it said.

Provincial disharmony: On 9th April, nothing new has emerged

form the national energy moot as the federal government has come up with
the same old measures it adopted during last couple of years in the name of
energy conservation. After the Second National Energy Conference held at
Chief Ministers Secretariat in Lahore, Prime Minister Gilani announced
five-day a week work in public departments, closure of all commercial sites
by 8pm and some other measures to conserve power throughout the
country. The only mentionable exception was his announcement of doling
out power outages equally among the provinces. Punjab chief minister
welcomed the PMs announcement of uniform load-shedding in all
provinces saying it was a strong demand of the province.
On 11th April, Firdous Ashiq Awan said about load shedding issue, she
said that incumbent government would use different resources to end
outages. A special instruction has been given to ministries including finance,
petroleum and water & power to come up with concrete strategy to deal with
this challenge and ensure equal load shedding in all provinces.

Baloch militancy: On 9th April, six people belonging to Hazara

community were shot dead and three others were left with serious injuries
when armed men attacked a shop in Quetta. The assailants escaped from the
scene after committing the crime. Police and other law-enforcement
agencies were trying to arrest the culprits. People belonging to Hazara
community rushed to the Civil Hospital and blocked the Jinnah Road. Some,
infuriated protesters ransacked hospital, pelted vehicles with stones and
carried out aerial firing. Owing to tensed situation the injured were shifted to
Combined Military Hospital.

907

Next day, on Supreme Courts strict orders, the police recovered three
remaining persons, out of seven, who had gone missing on March 1. The
relatives of missing persons were informed by police that three missing
persons of Marri tribe had been recovered and they were asked to reach Civil
Lines Police Station, Quetta. Meanwhile, one person was killed and seven
others wounded, including a woman in a firing incident in Kuchlak and Hub
towns.
On 11th April, four militants were killed and six others arrested by
Frontier Corps after an exchange of fire with them in Dera Bugti district. An
FC convoy was on its way in Sangsila area when it came under attack. Next
day, four people, including three Hazara men, were shot dead and three
others wounded in three separate incidents of firing in Quetta.
In continuation of earlier orders of the Supreme Court, Balochistan
Advocate General along with DIG Operations Qazi Abdul Wahid produced
three missing persons before the court. According to the recovered people,
they were forcibly taken away during night hours from their houses and kept
in the custody of unknown persons for about 40 days. They could not
ascertain where they had been shifted and detained during the period, as they
were blindfolded at the time of their arrest. They added that thereafter they
were left in the Khuchlak area from where they were taken into custody by
the police.
On a query, the advocate general stated that they had been detained
under the MPO; however, he failed to produce any proof to substantiate his
claim. He further explained that after their recovery, all the police stations in
the province had been asked to check whether they were involved in any
case or not. We failed to understand the excuses being offered by the
learned advocate general, the judges observed in the order.
The court said: Prima facie we are of the opinion that these persons
have been recovered from some particular place, but the names of the
agencies/authorities, who kept them in custody, are not being disclosed. Also
it cannot be ruled out that perhaps they were detained by the police, which
kept them without any legal justification and after the directives issued by
this court, they had been released on the pretext that they were missing;
otherwise, in such a situation they should disclose the particulars of the
agencies/persons
The Supreme Court directed IGP to appear before the court on 13 th
April and explain as to why he failed to fulfill his commitment. At the same
time, the area SP and the SHO will also appear and submit their reports to
908

explain why proceedings against them as they failed to protect the life and
liberty to the citizens.
And in the suo moto hearing in the murder case of Mir Bakhtiar
Domkis wife and daughter, the court directed the Sindh IGP to call back
Additional IG Shabbir Sheikh, who was earlier conducting the investigation
but currently is in the United States for a departmental course. The IGP
promised to ensure his return but said that Shabbir was not indispensable as
his team was working in this case. Meanwhile, Bilal Bugti, a nephew of
Nawab Akbar Bugti appeared before the bench and said the Sindh police
was harassing the late political leaders relatives. The court directed the
Sindh Police not to stop the practice and asked Bilal Bugti to cooperate the
investigating officers in the case.
On 13th April, the Supreme Court resumed the hearing on worsening
law and order situation in Balochistan and directed the chief secretary to
ensure the installation of CCTV cameras in Quetta city. During the hearing,
the IGP told the bench that one missing person had been recovered and
assured steps were being taken to recover other three disappeared persons.
The chief justice said police had completely failed to maintain law and order
in Balochistan as sectarian violence was on the rise.
Next day, demanding governors rule in Balochistan, different Shia
organizations formed a 10-member committee to convene a grand jirga after
consultation with Baloch and Pashtun leaders to stop targeted killing of
Hazara people. The leaders said through a conspiracy, different communities
living in Quetta were being pushed towards civil war and such elements
were patronized by the government.
On 15h April, a shutter-down and wheel-jam strike was observed in
Quetta against the targeted killing of eight people belonging to Hazara
community. Unidentified armed men shot dead eight people in two separate
incidents of sectarian killing on Brewery and Sabzaal Roads morning.
Banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi had claimed responsibility for the killings.
Tahaffuz Azadari Council had announced seven-day mourning whereas the
Balochistan Shia Conference for 40 days.
Police backed by other law-enforcement agencies carried out raids in
different parts of Quetta arresting over 200 suspects who were being
interrogated. Meanwhile, two dead bodies were recovered from Khuzdar and
Quetta. The identity of the deceased could not be ascertained.

909

Turf war in Karachi: On 9th April, Political killing claimed two

more lives of PPPs workers. An activist of PPP was shot dead while other
injured at Abul Hassan Isphahani. Another PPP activist was shot dead in his
school in Baldia Town within the limits of Saeedabad police station. Three
PPP activists were killed three days ago.
Next day, SHO Chakiwara told that the SHC court had directed the
police to register the FIR on the complaint of the deceased mans aunt
Bilqies against MNA Nabeel Gabool and SP CID Aslam Khan, but the court
orders are yet to be carried out over the killing of Lyari gangster Saqib alias
Shaif Baloch. The SHO said the complaint was not willing to register the
case without the nomination of the federal interior minister.
On 11th April, ANP Sindh condemned the target killing of its workers
and common people in Karachi and demanded immediate action against the
terrorists involved. Its leaders questioned that why the law enforcement
agencies are reluctant of holding operation against the terrorists. They
claimed that the presence of No-go areas in Karachi speaks volume about
the performance and negligence of the security agencies.
Faryal Talpur strongly condemned the incidents in which body parts
of a woman were found in some parts of Karachi. She directed Inspector
General of Police Sindh to probe the matter and arrest the culprit
immediately. Talpur also directed IG Sindh to conduct DNA test of the body
parts to identify the dead. Next day, a man was killed in Sahibdad Goth and
another was shot dead in New Karachi Police station area.
On 13th April, Lyari, once again echoed with gunshots as three people
were killed and over one dozen injured during cross firing between police
and gangsters. Firing between police and gangsters began in the wee hours
following the arrest of three alleged PAC gangsters. The violence continued
till late night. Residents of Lyari came onto the roads and started protesting
against the police. They also set tyres on fire and pelted them with stones.
Moreover, at least three people were killed in different incidents of violence
in other parts of Karachi.
Next day, Karachi once again witnessed deteriorating law and order
situation as the series of targeted killings continued and seven people lost
their lives whereas many others were injured. Police conducted raids in
different parts of the city and arrested three accused of Lyari gang war, nine
members of abduction for ransom gang and four car lifters.

910

Militancy elsewhere: On 10th April, As a result of successful

negotiations between the government officials and the kidnappers, thirtythree people who were snatched during riots in Hunza Valley were recovered
safely. Apart from Gilgit, Skardu, Chilas and some other cities were also in
grip of tension which has paralyzed the life and business activities in most
areas of the province. During curfew relaxation hours citizens rushed to
markets to get commodities but had to return disappointed as the stocks were
exhausted.
On 13th April, protests rallies were held in Gilgit, Quetta and Karachi
over recent sectarian killings. On 15h April, curfew in the violence-hit Gilgit
city was relaxed for six hours on 13th day of its imposition, however ban
remained imposed on wearing jackets and shawls and assembly of two or
more persons. The meeting of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly was postponed
owing to curfew, while the cell phone service also remained suspended.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister could not make it to Gilgit on the second
consecutive day due to rough weather.
Scores of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Muhaz (JSQM) activists held protest and
staged sit-in at Indus Highway, demanding the government to engage the
United Nations for investigation into alleged murder of late party Chief
Bashir Qureshi. They accused that officials of health department were using
delay tactics to hide the facts behind the incident. They appealed to the UN
to take notice of matter.

VIEWS
Power politics
Seeking a sliver of hope: Imran Khan is an enigma, but if certain
things happen fortuitously we might just avoid a meltdown. One of those
things is that he proves to be genuine about Jinnahs Pakistan like Benazir
Bhutto was, which is likely. The second is that he manages to win a good
majority (which assumes that the common man will bet on him
notwithstanding Zardaris boast that the next elections will be bought and
not fought). The third is that he will take his responsibilities seriously and
doesnt go after his mainstream rivals but concentrates on trying to solve
problems without compromising on corruption and governance.
The fourth is that the military will rally behind him in their
institutional interest and desist from playing Kautilyan politics of ancient
India (in which Ziaul Haq excelled even his Indian counterparts). The fifth is
that he will seek to pacify and not appease Afghanistan, India and the US,
911

after a reset. The sixth is that unlike ZA Bhutto he will not act dictatorially
within his own party or vengefully with his mainstream opponents. The
seventh is that he will raise the level of discussion about our problems
especially those that afflict the common man. And, while doing so, again
unlike Bhutto, he must know that he cannot help the poor by willy-nilly
destroying segments of the rich. The eight is that he will ... and so on.
Admittedly thats a very tall order. But what if he fails to do well in
the coming election and we are back to coalition politics? And what if he
doesnt have enough votes to even lead a coalition set up? Then all bets are
off.
So we will need a lot of luck in the months ahead. Otherwise our
goose is cooked and we shouldnt be surprised if foreigners begin to draw
their own conclusions if they have not started to do so already.
(Zafar Hilaly, The News 10th April)
The mystic apes: Democracies morph into tyrannies if they do not
abide religiously to constitutional parameters. The function of the Supreme
Court is to interpret and apply the law. What could be a greater recipe for
anarchy than the rulers dodging and their offspring bullying the apex court at
will? Be it the killing fields of Gilgit, Balochistan or Karachi or the rampant
culture of impunity; the ultimate institutional safeguard of the Constitution,
has been diminished to a weightless body. This is the same Supreme Court
which had become a beacon of hope for the down-trodden.
An insatiable lust for wealth and power compounded by the stark
absence of empathy shall be the demise of our plutocracy. Like Elliots
Hollow Men, it is doomed to end not with a bang but a whimper.
Democrats lament that military dictatorships have been our bane. Our
democracies have fared even worse. Democracy thrives on wisdom and
virtue. It can only survive as such, if it embodies the values it stands for
the welfare of the common man.
Ancient wisdom tells us that in the kingdom of the blind, a one-eyed
man can be king. Clarence Darrow once said: When I was a boy I was told
that anybody could become president, I am beginning to believe it. Today,
we believe that too. Our president rules a country where anything but the
good reigns supreme. Burn Hall School Abbottabad had the Latin motto
Quo non ascendam to what heights can I not rise. Today, Allama Iqbals
would be shaheens cannot find the depths to which they can stoop. This
paradigm remains as cold, inexorable and devoid of empathy as it ever was.

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The ancient Greeks were famous for their tragedies Author and
essayist Christopher Hitchens once said, the only correct answer to the
question Is nothing sacred; is no. President Zardari is off to shrines in
India, perhaps to enhance his mystic aura. Maybe these telling words of
Sheikh Saadi seep into covered ears: He who, when he hath the power, does
no good, when he loses the means will suffer distress. There is not a more
unfortunate wretch than the oppressor; for in the day of adversity nobody is
his friend. (Mir Adnan Aziz, The News 10th April)
The biter bit: How are the mighty fallen. The star of Babar Awan
rose high and seemed a fixture in the firmament, but he turned out to be a
flash of astral light that fizzled out to nothing. There are unconfirmed reports
that President Zardari refused to meet him in Delhi on his recent visit
Babar Awan was there for medical treatment which if true suggest a
substantial fall from grace. The former law minister has now tendered an
apology to the Supreme Court which is hearing a contempt case against him
for ridiculing the judiciary. He wishes that his apology be accepted in good
faith and the proceedings against him be discharged. He is now directed to
appear before the court on April 18 when the bench will examine his
apology and make its ruling. It is the matter of court appearances that were
the seeds of his downfall or rather his lack of appearances. Whilst Prime
Minister Gilani walked the walk and attended court when summoned
making his appearance a piece of political theatre as he did; Babar Awan
chose to ignore the summons of the court and presumably aroused the ire of
his master.
As little as a year ago, Babar Awan was a force to be reckoned with.
He supped at the top table, held a position of high responsibility but began to
unravel when his law degree was exposed as a fake a fact he now
acknowledges. He has now eaten a large slice of humble pie, as his apology
speaks of the court as a parent and of himself as an errant child. He
wishes to forthwith apologize to the court for his contemptuous actions
(helpfully caught on camera which fired a broadside through any defence he
might like to mount) and in so doing restore the courts dignity. He pleaded
inadvertence as in he never meant to utter the contempt that he clearly
did and apologized to Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa whose reputation he
had impugned. Babar Awan remains vice-president of the PPP but for how
long nobody knows. Few apart from his sycophants will miss him if he falls
further, and his arrogance will make a poor lifeboat. (Editorial, The News
12th April)

913

The holy families: Scions of the Bhutto and Sharif families have
already been launched into politics and their elders are busy promoting the
political careers of their budding sons. Prime Minister Gilani has outdone
them all in a short span of time. He has entrenched his entire family into
politics. Happily, his sons are doing very well.
Mr Gilani leads the cause of a Saraiki province, which is merely to
provide his offspring and the extended family a fiefdom of their own, a
playground to do their politicking since the Sharifs control upper Punjab.
Politics is the only business in town.
What does the future hold for the nation? Is there a hope for a change
in the status quo, will the nation remain in the clutches of avaricious clans?
Or will the seat adjustments between archrivals, and the predatory shape the
future political scene in the country. Isnt it time to give Imran Khan a
chance to see how he makes good on his promises?
We have tried them all, including all hues of Muslim Leagues, former
PPP members, and the khakis. Imran is the only one left to try. It is sad that
he gets unnecessary criticism without having been in power. And he need not
woo electables because the people are sick of seeing the old faces. (Iftekhar
A Khan, The News 14th April)
A fissiparous move: Oddly enough, in actual practice there is no
evidence that he has handed over the powers of Chief Executive to Mr
Gilani to which he is entitled under the Constitution. Besides, though being a
titular non-partisan head representing the federation, Mr Zardari has failed to
put a stop to his involvement in political matters. In fact, his participation in
the campaign for a Seraiki province and attack on a mainstream political
party in power in Punjab proves his partisan behaviour. Mr Zardari should
know that all this is constitutionally questionable. He has taken up the
cudgels on behalf of the Seraiki province, which have grave implications for
the future of Pakistan.
A country already suffering from narrow religious and regional
thinking pointing to sharp divisions in society, looks up to the ruling
leadership to create conditions that should spread the message of unity.
Another province would give a wrong signal, particular at this time; other
disgruntled elements elsewhere in the country, and there is no dearth of
them, would come up with their own demands for separate units. Apart from
setting off a fissiparous trend, the move would put still more burden on the
economy.

914

The Multan visit, according to the Presidents own reported statement,

was intended to lend support to the Prime Minister who, it is no secret, was
under increasing pressure not only for his own indictment in contempt of
court case, but also for accusations against his sons, Abdul Qadir Gilani and
Ali Musa Gilani. Going by the unalterable laws and traditions of a
democratic system of governance, the President has not only no business to
give public support to those whose cases are being heard by a court of law,
but also no right to take part in any political activity. A democratic head of
state is universally known to be a symbol of unity and an example of
obedience to law and constitution. Mr Zardari needs to have a close look at
his activities to see whether he is living up to these norms. (Editorial,
TheNation 16th April)

Rule of law
On the run: It is of course purely coincidental that the prime
ministers son Ali Musa Gilani has left the country for South Africa and
thence onwards probably to the UK. Pure coincidence. Totally unconnected
to the possibility of his name going on the Exit Control List (ECL) as a
result of ongoing investigations into the granting of a quota for medical
ingredients to two pharmaceutical companies. His foreign travel plans have
not the remotest connection with him possibly being at some future date and
in connection with this complex investigation; being asked by a court to
state precisely what influence he may have deployed in the granting of
illegal quotas. Nobody should read anything into his implausible assertion
that this peregrination is anything other than a conveniently-timed late
honeymoon, all perfectly above board and straight as a ruler. All of which
sounds like a cracked bell. The Supreme Court has the whiff of corruption in
its nostrils again, and bloodhound that it is, is following the scent which in
the case of the granting of illegal quotas by the then Federal Health Ministry
may lead back to Ali Musa Gilani, a man of influence.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday was told that the principal secretary to
the prime minister was determined to derail the investigation. It would
appear that pressure has been brought to bear on the regional director of the
anti-narcotics force (ANF) and his deputy to relinquish charge of the
investigation. Once again the Supreme Court was having none of this
behind-the-arras attempts to obstruct its work and ordered that they continue
their work. The pressure they have come under appears substantial, and
delivered by former health secretary Lashari. It was alleged that the PM was
distinctly peeved that his son was the subject of investigation and asked

915

(through Lashari) that the ANF cease and desist and spare Ali Musa Gilani
in the national interest. Subsequently the ANF has seen key figures in the
investigation either removed from their posts or returned to their regiments
in the last fortnight. Ali Musa Gilani has repeatedly refused to appear before
the ANF to answer their questions about the Rs7 billion quota scam and now
he is absent from the country. The SC has adjourned the case to April 20 and
there is a sense that there is much that is yet to come to light, despite the best
efforts of the PM and others to ensure that darkness prevails. The road to
accountability is paved with the bones of those who sought to avoid it. We
await the return of Ali Musa Gilani with interest. (Editorial, The News 12 th
April)
Capital suggestion: Why is Musa on the run is explained in Dr
Farrukh Saleems column. Cocaine sells for Rs10,000 per gram and kills
rich Pakistani addicts. Ephedrine, poor mans cocaine, sells for Rs1,000
per gram and kills poor Pakistani addicts.
According to Asim Khans Addicted to cocaine, Nasal insufflations
force cocaine to shoot up into the sinus cavity at 100 MPH, causing the
mucus membrane to tear. Upon absorbing the cocaine the membrane passes
it on to the small capillaries which constrict, depriving the tissue of blood
and oxygen. Cocaine reaches the heart when the capillaries enter bigger
veins and arteries. Cocaine is then distributed throughout the body and the
brain via the heart. A euphoric effect is then produced by the brain by
activating the nerve cells that release dopamine.
Pakistan has ratified the Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs 1961,
the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971, the UN Convention
against Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
1988 and the SAARC Convention on Narcotics and the Protocol of Drug
Matters with ECO countries. The International Narcotics Control Board
(INCB) is the entity that implements UN drug conventions and Article 12 of
the Single Convention gives the INCB the responsibility of allocating
quotas... According to the INCB, Pakistans annual legitimate requirement
for Ephedrine based on population and historical trends stands at 22,000
kg (http://www.incb.org).
Here are the facts: Pakistan ended up importing 31,000 kg which
simply could not have been done without the complicity of the entire civil
bureaucratic chain. Secondly, a group of Pakistanis has made a few billion
rupees. Thirdly, parliament remains in deep hibernation-and totally
indifferent to what is going on.

916

Fourthly, the judiciary seems to be proactive but as the investigative

agencies are under the command of the executive, the judiciarys pro-activity
is not bearing much fruit. Fingers are being pointed at the uppermost crust of
the ruling government and topmost bureaucrats but those are all allegations
so far.
Here are some other facts: One out of every 20 Pakistanis is already
abusing drugs thats more than 9 million drug users. As per reliable
estimates, 600,000 additional Pakistanis join the drug club every year.
The statistics for college/university students are even worse. One out
of every 10 college or university student is a drug addict. There is one
university in Karachi where 20 out of 30 students were using charas. Then
there is the prison population where four out of 10 prisoners use drugs.
Cocaine kills. So does Ephedrine. The World Health Organization
reported a total of 250,000 deaths worldwide due to illicit drug use. Cocaine
releases neurotransmitters and makes the nerves work faster and harder.
Most people who die from using cocaine die from heart attacks. When
cocaine speeds up the nerves, it also speeds up the heart rate. Cocaine can
cause the blood pressure to go so high blood vessels burst. This results in a
heart attack or a stroke.
Pakistans Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) has done a reasonable job not
only in interdicting narcotics but also initiating demand reduction
programmes. In addition to making major seizures, ANFs Drug-Free City
Lahore Project has been quite successful.
ANF also has programmes in Mass Awareness Against Drug Abuse,
Community Participation in Drug Demand Reduction and Model Addiction
Treatment and Rehabilitation Centres.
Jerry Brown, the 34th and the 39th governor of California, once said,
at least when I was governor cocaine was expensive. Our current
governors cannot say that about Ephedrine. (Dr Farrukh Saleem, The News
12th April)
A welcome judgment: The record presented before the court showed
that enhanced concessions were given to RPP transactions instead of
subjecting these to enhanced scrutiny. Such self-inflicted wounds are
another reason why this Supreme Court is welcome as it sends clear signal
to all that Pakistan would apply enhanced scrutiny standards over all
agents political and administrative functionaries when they carry out

917

business related transactions on behalf of the people of Pakistan. (Syed

Mohibullah Shah, The News 12th April)
Cover-up trails: The ephedrine case is a case study for both money
and influence being used for cover-ups. Health ministry officials Dr Rashid
Jooma, Asad Hafeez and Abdus Sattar Mehrani gave statements under oath
to the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) mentioning Yusuf Raza Gilanis son,
Musa Gilani, for badgering them on telephone to remove the ban on the
import of this illegal banned substance in favour of his two favourite
companies that ostensibly sold the drug on to drug smugglers.
On the ANFs refusal to drop the case, all powers of investigation by
the ANF were withdrawn on Mar 21, 2012, by the federal government.
Guarantees of protection given by the Supreme Court mandating the ANF to
continue prosecution of the case notwithstanding, on April 6, the director
general of the ANF, Maj Gen Shakeel Hussain, was arbitrarily transferred
back to the army and the ANF was put under the direct control of the
secretary of Narcotics Control, Zafar Abbas Luk. If this is not a cover-up of
the highest order, what is?
The cover-up trail in this case reaches the highest in government.
With honest officers persecuted/sidelined by the use of high constitutional
office, precedents are being set for public officials not only to condone but
expedite crime. If criminals function in the name of justice, justice becomes
crime.
Not a failed state, we are well on our way to becoming a criminal one.
Aesop (620 BC-520 BC), a Greek slave of possibly Ethiopian origin to
whom many fables through the centuries are credited, observed almost 2,500
years ago, in 550 BC: We hang petty thieves and appoint the great ones to
public office. Ecstasy is the end product of ephedrine. Will justice be the
by-product of the attempted cover-up? The Supreme Court is trying, quite
unsuccessfully until now, to use reason and the Constitution instead of the
force necessity to establish the writ of the rule of law
Kayani has an inherent responsibility as COAS to stand behind his
command. Scrupulously honest and upright officers like ANFs Shakeel
Hussain and his colleagues were only doing their assigned duty.
Notwithstanding an outstanding job uplifting the morale of the men in
uniform, Kayani must seriously undertake self-assessment of what stops him
from living up to his sacred trust whenever push comes to shove?
Protecting his men from avalanche in Siachen was impossible. But
what about the constant barrage of the moral avalanche of perfidy they are
918

being buried under in the name of a perverted form of so called democracy

and/or the Constitution? Repeated compromises afflicting Kayani and his
conscience on issues of national security can ultimately only lead to an
artificially created greater disaster.
Given that the detractors of Pakistan now seem to have solid support
at the ground zero of the inner circles of our hierarchy, Memogate is
probably only the tip of the iceberg! (Ikram Sehgal, The News 13th April)

Defiance of judiciary
Cabinet for sons: It is unusual for the cabinet to comment on or take
up criminal cases; it is even more unusual for the highest decision-making
body in the land to rise to defend an accused. But then we are getting
accustomed to more and more unusual events in our country. The placing of
the case of illegal ephedrine quotas allegedly involving Ali Musa Gilani
before the cabinet by his father, the prime minister, amounts to nepotism
and a gross misuse of power. It is globally virtually unprecedented for the
cabinet of any country to take up a criminal matter pending before the courts
and claim that the accused is the victim of a media campaign which has
caused a scandal. Musa, from South Africa at the moment, is claiming much
the same.
The task of any cabinet is to make decisions on crucial issues. It
should be focusing its energy on working for the welfare of the people of the
country and determining matters which are of key significance to them. It
should not take on the role of a jury determining the guilt or innocence of an
individual, regardless of who he or she is. This is what the criminal justice
system is for. It is also pointless to accuse the media of gunning for the PMs
son. There is no reason why it should indulge in this. Such stories usually
have elements of truth in them, which is why they stick. The Anti Narcotics
Force has already claimed it is in possession of a substantial body of
evidence in this case. Let this avoidance be analyzed in a court of law. The
issue of whether Ali Musa Gilani is guilty or not must be determined by the
courts, and the courts alone. Bringing the cabinet into the affair is
completely unjustified. It makes a mockery of the norms according to which
a country should be run. It may also be a sign of desperation on the part of
the PM and his family. The cabinets involvement can only complicate
matters and make it even more difficult for ordinary citizens to believe that
everyone is equal before the law. If the matter of the younger Gilani can be
taken up by the cabinet we must ask why every person accused is not given
the same importance and defended in a similar fashion by our ministers and
919

other top officials of the land. Such cronyism is unacceptable. (Editorial,

The News 14th April)

Taming the military

Missing humanity: The issue of the missing persons in the country,
and the role of the intelligence agencies in their detention, continues to
simmer on, acquiring graver and graver proportions. The Peshawar High
Court, in a dire warning, has stated that the existing situation, the continued
disappearance of persons and the failure of the government to act, could
lead to the public being pitched against the army. This is obviously
something we must avoid at all costs. The PHC has noted that virtually
every petition filed on the missing persons mentions the agencies role one
way or the other.
The two-member bench has summoned the ministers for law and
justice and human rights as well as the interior and defence secretaries to
answer questions pertaining to the matter. The court has also raised an issue
not brought up before. It has asked why the police are unwilling to play a
role in helping the families of the missing persons, by truthfully narrating
what they know, while also declining to assist agencies in picking up
people. The IG of police, Peshawar, has also been called to testify in the case
involving fundamental rights and the police offered protection if the reasons
for their silence lay in the possibility of evoking agency wrath. As we all
know, this is the most likely factor for the polices reluctance to say where
missing persons are.
As for those who have turned up, their plight has been harrowing to
see. The Supreme Court in Islamabad, resuming its hearing in the case of the
11 men who had vanished from Adiala Jail over a year ago, has asked why
the seven, who had survived detention in terrible conditions, were still being
kept in inhumane circumstances. The lawyer for the prisoners stated that
despite the SC orders that the prisoners be moved to a hospital to be treated
for their poor physical health, nothing was done and five of the men had
been shifted to a centre run by the ISI in Landi Kotal, and were being kept in
the worse possible conditions. This state of affairs simply cannot be allowed
to go on. People cannot just be taken away as is happening now. There
must be willingness on the part of all institutions to abide by court orders
and an acceptance that every human being has the right to be treated as a
person with dignity no matter what crime he is suspected of having
committed. (Editorial, The News 13th April)

920

REVIEW
Ali Musa Gilani son of the Saint Prime Minister, who claims to be a
descendent of Ghaus-ul-Azam, has been suspected of involvement in
illegal drug business. Dr Farrukh Saleem briefly described the ugly nature of
this business in his column which left the readers wondering as to how low
one can stoop when lust for wealth overtakes him. It does not matter
whether; he or she is an offspring of a scoundrel or a saint.
The hearing of contempt of court case against Gilani kept lingering
on. Gilanis defence counsel, Aitzaz Ahsan not only defended his client, the
Saint, but also the Scoundrel, who matters the most being boss of his party.
The reason is quite obvious; the former could afford paying only hundred
rupees as fee, but the latter made him a Senator.
Aitzaz as a practicing lawyer also understood well that there was no
reasonable line of defence that could help in defending his client who has
been blatantly defying a clear verdict of the court in NRO case. He,
therefore, resorted to tactics of filibustering practiced by law-makers in
legislative assemblies. he found no harm in doing the same as lawpractitioner, especially when judges were so accommodating.
Nevertheless he kept challenging the validity of the verdict which
demanded writing of a letter to Swiss authorities. For more that two years he
has been on record saying that the letter must be written as directed by the
court, but once the Scoundrel granted him audience he took a U-turn. He
persistently harped that Zardari enjoys immunity under the Constitution. He
begged the court to protect Zardari with the same zeal with which Raymond
Davis was protected by the US.
The Attorney General, who also happened to be a maulvi, was
appointed as prosecutor in the case. He has not been heard saying anything
at all since submitting the initial evidence, yet he earned displeasure of the
regime and was removed from the post. He has been moved to Presidency as
advisor, but there he could be taught few tricks by Zardari about defying, not
complying, the law.
The judges on the bench, however, knocked down the argument of az
khud, put forward with parrot like repetition, in which Aitzaz tried to dub the
judges as complainants. Whatever the judges did was on orders of the 17member full court that had assigned the responsibility of monitoring the

921

implementation of NRO verdict. All that they did, including the contempt
case, did not fall under the purview of Aitzazs az khud.
The Saint chaired National Energy Conference at Lahore and two
days later the federal cabinet met in Islamabad and decided to implement the
decision regarding equal load shedding in four provinces. This was a public
confession that it has not been so in the past. Punjab was deliberately
targeted both in the case of electricity and gas load shedding. And, it was
shame on Shahbaz Sharif more than anyone else that he took four years to
see what was written on the wall.
Punjab as it stands today is part of Scoundrels democratic revenge.
He exacted enough revenge in last four years, yet he considers Punjab in its
present state a threat to fulfillment of his ambitions of power politics. Hence,
the Saint and the Scoundrel have planned to cut Punjab to size, by carving
Seraiki Province out of it.
It was noted in one of the recent reviews that politicians and judges
are in agreement on the issue of taming military. Some sections of the media
men and of course women also back the cause of these politicians and
judges; Hamid Mir of Geo TV is one of them.
While conducting a discussion on avalanche tragedy in Siachen Sector
he in his concluding remarks said that if the Generals impose no martial law
in the country, the sympathies of whole nation are with the rank and file of
the Army during such tragedies. He could not have chosen more mean words
for 135 soldiers who were buried under more than 60 feet deep snow, stones
and slush that had been dumped over their camp.
Did he mean that had there been martial law in the country, the
tragedy was acceptable? Hamid being a Mir should have shown some grace
in acknowledging that this tragedy was directly linked to Kashmir as India
had opened this front to distract attention away from that. The young sons of
Pakistan have been laying their lives, not for any military dictator or
democratic angel like Zardari but for their country, their countrymen as well
as Kashmiri brothers.
16th April, 2012

WAR WITHIN-V
The hearing of contempt of court case against Gilani at last ended on
24 April, courtesy Attorney general of Pakistan who had nothing to say
th

922

other than strongly sup[porting the contention of the defence counsel, Aitzaz
Ahsan. The court announced that the judgment would be passed two days
later.
Zardari regime made some moves on political front keeping in mind
that 2012 could be the year of general election. Several PPP parliamentarians
from Punjab were inducted as ministers in federal cabinet to regain the lost
ground in the province. Zardari also issued instructions to ensure five days a
week gas supply to industry in the province and IRSA also released full
share of water to Punjab.
Zardari also spent few busy days in Karachi to convince MQM and
ANP, PPPs coalition partners, that because of the next general elections
there is need to suspend criminal activities in the mega city. The three
musketeers agreed and the Scoundrel told home minister of Sindh to proceed
on leave and instructed police to restore peace in Karachi.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan paid special attention to the law and
order situation in Balochistan and pressure so exerted resulted in recovery of
some missing persons. Meanwhile, Imran Khans PTI held a public rally in
Quetta which was termed as a positive development by the observers, who
also noted that status quo forces were bribing some sections of media to
boycott political activities of Imran Khan and his party.

NEWS
Power politics: On 17th April, the Supreme Court observed, during
hearing the petition filed by the Workers Party on the expenditure in the
general elections that the ECP had become a dull body, as it did not
conduct any investigation or scrutinize the accounts of the political parties.
Chief Justice said after 20th Amendment, the ECP was empowered to even
set up caretaker government in the country but it was not exercising its
powers to conduct fair, free and transparent elections.
The court asked Syed Sher Afgan, ECP DG Elections, Have you ever
taken any notice of illegal activities to deter others. The ECP officials reply
was in negative. If the ECP is not taking any action then the post office is
enough for the purpose of nomination papers submission, the chief justice
said. The court asked the commission to approach Accountant General of
Pakistan for audit of political parties accounts.

923

The Lahore High Court was requested through a writ petition for a
judicial inquiry into the alleged massive corruption in the laptop scheme
launched by Punjab Chief Minister. Petitioner, Mian Shahid Abbas,
President Peoples Lawyers Forum, stated that as per a report of
Transparency International, the laptop scheme would cause a loss of Rs1.70
billion to the national kitty.
On 20th April, boasting his dissemination of power to the parliament
and provinces, Zardari criticized Punjab Chief Minister for accumulating
17 ministries to himself. This is the difference between PPP and other
parties How can one person handle 17 ministries? I had power, I could
dissolve the parliament, but I diluted it (presidential power) in every form
and distributed it.
The president said that he granted autonomy to the provinces to make
unity. He said he understand the problems of Punjab and added, I have
given huge funds to Punjab but they could not be seen anywhere. Slamming
Sharif brothers initiatives, Zardari said PPP will get back Punjab in next
elections.
Next day, Prime Minister Gilani described the Seraiki province as a
need of people while addressing a public gathering in Chachran Sharif. He
criticized the opponents, saying they were unduly targeting the PPP
government by accusing it of forcing the issue unnecessarily. He said south
Punjab was a deprived area and the only solution for addressing the
deprivation was to establish a Seraiki province. Meanwhile, around 5,000
chairs were placed at the venue to make the gathering a success; however, a
police officer said 40 per cent of them remained empty.
On 23rd April, Kishor Kumar, a lawmaker from JUI-F was sentenced
after being found guilty in a fake degree case. He was elected in 2008 on a
minority seat. The lawmaker intends challenging the decision in the
Peshawar High Court. Next day, Sindh High Court set aside the ECP
decision of disqualifying PPP candidate, Waheeda Shah, who had won byelection from PS-53 Tando Muhammad Khan. During the hearing, Waheeda
Shahs counsel gave arguments against decision of ECP. On this the court
issued notice to ECP and other persons concerned to appear before the court
on May 15 and also ordered the cancellation of by-poll in the constituency.

Rule of law: On 16th April, security staff of Sharmila Farooqui,

advisor to Sindh Chief Minister, subjected a youth to torture as he was

924

allegedly overtaking the squad. The youth sustained several injuries while
the squad let the youth going after media men arrived at the scene.
Next day, Prime Minister Gilani came down hard on the ANF for its
daring act of seeking details of visitors to the PM House and warned the
person who dared ask for such an information to confine himself to his
limits. Gilani said ANF was a civilian department of the federal government
with its minister, secretary and director-general and none of its officers had
the authority to dictate the prime minister, who was elected by 180 million
people of the country. The ANF officer should consider his jurisdiction, he
added. Gilani, however, refrained from answering questions relating to his
son Ali Musa Gilanis name popping up in different cases.
On 18th April, taking notice over the failure of NAB to submit
fortnightly report regarding implementation of the verdict on Rental Power
Plants (RPPs), the Supreme Court decided to get information about the
progress made in an open court. It also issued notice to NAB Chairman for
his personal appearance before a three-member bench headed by Chief
Justice on 19th April for explaining the reasons behind the delay.
In its judgment, the court had directed to initiate criminal proceedings
against the responsible officials, including federal ministers and secretaries
of the relevant ministries. The name of Raja Pervez Ashraf is also among
them, but the government has made him a federal minister after the verdict.
Prime Minister Gilani asked his son Ali Musa, who has been linked to
alleged irregularities in the import of a large amount of the chemical
Ephedrine, to cut short his honeymoon and return to Pakistan to face a
probe. The Anti-Narcotics Force is probing the ephedrine scandal in which
Musa Gilani has been accused of unlawful quota allotment of the chemical.
Next day, ANF named Ali Musa Gilani and seven others as additional
suspects in Rs7 billion scam of ephedrine chemical substance. Through a 23page investigation report, Brig Fahim Ahmed Khan informed the Supreme
Court that the new suspects also include PM Gilanis Principal Secretary
Khushnood Akhtar Lashari and Ministry of Narcotics Control acting
Secretary Zafar Abbas Luk.
Brig Fahim stated that M/S Berlax and DANAS Pharma
administration claimed to have manufactured 21crore 80lac and 8crore 50lac
tablets respectively but there is no genuine record at their offices supporting
their claims. The manufacture of the Berlux tablets and consumption of the
ephedrine as shown by them has been found fake and bogus when verified
on ground by investigation team of ANF.
925

Brig Fahim said there were other 20 companies waiting for allocation
of their quota of ephedrine but due to influence of Ali Musa Gilani, the
Prime Minister Secretariat, PM House Lahore and Multan, and Mian Abdul
Sattar, allocation to these two companies was processed very fast and out of
the turn.
Fahim stated that Zafar Abbas Luk took over the charge as acting
secretary of the narcotics control ministry with an ulterior motive to
sabotage and mislead the investigation and distort the evidence to rescue Ali
Musa Gilani, Tauqeer Ali Khan, Mian Abdul Sattar and Khushnood Lashari,
and he had acted ferociously for this cause.
Brig Fahim told the court that Narcotics Control acting Secretary
Zafar Abbas had replied to accused Rizwan Ahmed in response to his
application and on the direction of Islamabad High Court no direct evidence
about misuse of quota by DANAS Pharma has been established/found as per
his inference, basing on fake inquiry report.
He alleged that acting secretary was willfully committing conspiracy
and had associated himself with the accused in this case. He also stated that
the narcotics control ministry as well as government machinery was
harassing the witness from health ministry and other lower staff to force
them to backtrack on their statements/version made before the investigating
officer in this case.
He said that ministry of narcotics had given incomplete details of the
case to law ministry on the basis of which the law ministry on March 30
replied to the narcotics ministry that the present case is outside the purview
of CNS Act, 1999, therefore the narcotics secretary on April 30 asked the
ANF to forward the case to Drug Regularity Agency of Pakistan for further
action under the Drug Act 1976.
Fahim also revealed that disregarding the courts April 10 order, Zafar
Abbas in his capacity as ANF director general has transferred ANF HQ
Director Brig Akhtar Mahmood to assets branch and director assets Syed
Marwat Ali has been posted as ANF director. He stated that ANF had filed
an application in the apex court against the posting/transfers because it was
the clear violation of courts April 10 order.
Fahim mentioned that a letter on April 16 was received by fax in ANF
headquarter through which a ban has been imposed on ANF barring it to
release the amount allocated for cash awards without prior approval of
narcotics secretary. He contended that the allocation of ephedrine quota was
the violation of the United Nations Convention.
926

Perturbed over the harsh criticism against him and his family
(especially his son), Prime Minister Gilani advised Brigadier Fahim Ahmad
Khan not to exceed his limits while investigating the Ephedrine quota case.
Avoid crossing your limits and work in accordance with the rules and
regulations of the civilian government. You should keep in your mind that
we (civilian government) have borrowed your services (from army);
therefore, work accordingly, Gilani remarked.
NAB issued arrest warrants of 33 including a minister, ex-ministers
and secretaries in RPPs case. Prominent amongst those whose arrest
warrants were issued, are: Raja Pervez Ashraf, Shaukat Tareen, Liaquat Ali
Khan Jatoi, Tariq Hameed, Salman Siddique and several others.
Earlier the Supreme Court refused to approve the NAB Chairmans
proposal for reutilization of existing RPPs through a transparent bidding
process to address the prevailing energy crisis in the country. The proposal
was made in its maiden fortnightly progress report pertaining to
implementation of court verdict. After going through the report, the bench
decided to hear the case in open court, while Fasih Bokhari was also
summoned.
Admonishing the NAB authorities the chief justice said, Not a single
step has been taken by the NAB to implement the court verdict so far, while
the person involved in the scam was given portfolio of minister. We are
giving you seven days to implement the judgment in the RPPs case. You
should arrest the persons involve in the case and submit their challans in the
court of law, the CJP ordered.
The court has almost done investigation of the case and now its
primary responsibility of the NAB to implement the court verdict so that
looted wealth of the national kitty could be recovered, the court said, while
noting that it was not possible in given scenario as not a single arrest was
made so far in the case. Justice Khilji maintained, Public money has been
misappropriated in the RPP contracts; therefore, the NAB is supposed to just
implement the verdict of the apex court.
On 20th April, the Supreme Court, while hearing the Rs7 billion
Ephedrine scam, observed that Narcotics Control Acting Secretary Zafar
Abbas Lak had attempted to create an atmosphere so that the ANF
authorities could not investigate the case impartially. Chief Justice remarked:
We are unable to understand as to why instead of allowing transparent and
fair investigation in the case, such an anxiety is being shown by the (acting)
secretary. This indicates clear intervention in the investigation, as an attempt
927

has been made to create the atmosphere so that the ANF authorities could
not probe the case fearlessly.
The court suspended the April 3, 18 and 19 orders of Zafar Abbas Lak
regarding closing down of the proceeding of the case as well as stopping the
funds, which are being paid to the special prosecutors. It also said: We are
conscious of the fact that as far as the cases pertaining to the narcotics and
drug trafficking are concerned, they are required to be controlled,
investigated and prosecuted mainly by the ANF; therefore, issuance of
directives by the secretary not to release the funds to the prosecutors would
tantamount to interference in the courts functions.
About the transfer of Director ANF Brigadier Akhtar, the court
directed the acting secretary to reverse the orders. During the course of
proceedings, the court grilled Zafar Abbas, when he alleged that the ANF
officers were mutinous and they did not follow rules and orders. He also
alleged that the ANF commanders trapped the people by hiding heroin in
their luggage or vehicle. Tomorrow they can do the same with the prime
minister, he added.
The court also declared that the acting secretary could not assume the
charge of the DG ANF. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain questioned it means that
thousands of other cases registered by ANF were also fake. Salman Raja said
he had gone through all the record of the case but was amazed that why his
clients were declared as accused. Later, the court adjourned the hearing for
three weeks.
Ali Musa Gilani, son of Prime Minister, postponed his return to
Pakistan as he could not get a pre-arrest bail. Sources said Ali Musa had
been asked to stay in Dubai, as the ANF had decided to arrest him on his
return to Pakistan and he was named in the Ephedrine case for that purpose.
Fawad Chaudhry, the counsel for Ali Musa, told a private TV channel
that an application for the pre-arrest bail of his client would be filed in the
apex court. Musa Gilani will return only after he is granted a pre-arrest bail
by the court. The Supreme Court had earlier issued a notice to Musa and
directed him to appear before it, as part of the on-going investigation
regarding the import of controlled substance ephedrine.
On 24th April, in a major development in ephedrine quota scam, the
Anti-Narcotics Force, widening its circle of investigations, summoned
owners of 11 more pharmaceutical companies for their alleged involvement
in this particular case. The scam involves the violation of rules while

928

awarding contract to import 9,000kgs of ephedrine to two companies

allegedly under the influence of Prime Ministers son Ali Musa Gilani.
Next day, the government filed a review petition in the Rental Power
Projects (RPPs) case, telling the court that adoption of RPPs as a short-term
measure was a proper exercise and the courts verdict was
unconstitutional. It said the courts direction for taking criminal action was
not in accordance with the principles of natural justice. The federation
prayed that in the national interest and to avoid multiple litigation in
Pakistan and abroad the court may consider as a way forward, a process of
contract reformation which may include re-determination of tariff by Nepra
in the interest of the consumers.
Hearing a petition regarding the crash of an Air Blue plane in Margla
Hills on July 28, 2010, Peshawar High Court chief justice suspended Civil
Aviation Authority director general for not complying with the court order
and directed Air Blue administration to ensure payment to families of
Islamabad crash victims within 20 days. He also issued contempt of court
notices to the DG and defence secretary while a show-cause was issued to
managing director of the airline.
The chief justice also inquired about the owner of Bojah Airline a
plane of which crashed on Friday in Rawalpindi, killing all 127 onboard. He
was informed that the owner belonged to Karachi and remained on several
high posts in PIA. The justice remarked there was a time when GTS
managers would reserve seats in their buses for high government officials
and now those managers are the owners of hundred of air-conditioned
coaches. Similar is the case of PIA which has been engulfed by the corrupt
officers and now they are operating their own airlines.
The chief justice observed how would the corrupt defend the
incumbent democratic system and wondered as when these people would be
fearful of God Almighty to whom they are all responsible. He also served
show-cause to those who had issued license to Bojah Airline and suggested
canceling its national and international operation. The court adjourned the
hearing until May 30.
Anti Narcotics Force summoned Prime Minster Gilanis son Ali Musa
Gilani for questioning regarding the import of prohibited chemical. The ANF
also summoned federal secretary Zafar Abbas Lak, while Principal Secretary
to the Prime Minister Khushnud Lashari was summoned on Friday (April
27).

929

Defiance of judiciary: On 16th April, as the proceedings started on

the implementation of NRO judgment, it was being expected that another
contempt of court notice would be issued to Prime Minister Gilani over his
persistent non-compliance of the court order, but the court deferred this
matter until May 3, giving another chance to the PM. The court on March 8
had ordered the prime minister to write letter to Swiss authorities for
reopening graft cases against President Zardari, which has so far not been
complied.
At the conclusion of the proceeding when Justice Nasirul Mulk was
dictating the order the newly inducted attorney general Irfan Qadir stood up
on his seat and started saying that the court should take notice of tickers
(news briefs) being run against the prime minister and NAB on private TV
channels. Actually required to act as prosecutor, he instead became defender
of the PMs defence counsel, saying: A private TV channel has become
active against Aitzaz Ahsan and sought court ruling to ban tickers against
PM and NAB.
During the proceeding, NAB chairmans counsel Shaiq Usmani
submitted inquiry reports about Adnan Khawaja and on Ahmed Riaz Sheikh.
Adnan was first appointed chairman of NAVTEC (National Vocational and
Technical Education Commission) and then chairman of OGDL (Oil and
Gas Development Company Limited) while Sheikh was appointed additional
DG in FIA. However, the court had intervened and struck down their
appointments. The bench termed the reports unsatisfactory.
Taking exception to NAB attempt to shield influential persons like
Adnan Khawaja and Ahmed Riaz Sheikh, the Supreme Court warned the
bureau chairman it could direct for criminal proceedings against him. Justice
Khosa warned that the court has not yet closed the option of taking action
against the NAB chairman. During the proceeding on January 10 the court
had observed that NAB chairman has attempted to screen, shield and protect
the relevant persons from criminal charges, and observed this illegal act may
attract consequences in some criminal and other laws and the court could
issue corrective directions in these circumstances.
Not an individual, whatever his name or office he holds, but only the
law shall rule the country, observed a seven-member bench headed by
Justice Nasirul Mulk while hearing the implementation of NRO judgment.
The bench directed NAB to make positive efforts for the repatriation of
former attorney general Malik Qayyum but deferred the matter of

930

implementation of NRO judgment, thereby giving Prime Minister Gilani

more time for implementation of court orders.
Earlier, Aitzaz Ahsan dwelled upon Article 10A. He quoted judgments
of Indian and Bangladesh courts regarding the fair trial. His main thrust was
that a man cant be judge for his own cause. The court made it clear to the
PMs counsel that no judge in the bench is sitting for his own personal
cause, but their main concern is the national interest and they seek retrieval
of looted national wealth from the foreign banks.
Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany said: We have interest in the outcome
of the case only. He asked the counsel to substantiate as to what was the
interest of seven judges, hearing the contempt matter against the PM. Aitzaz
persisted that the judges, who issued notice and then framed charges against
the Prime Minister, cannot hear the contempt matter. Justice Khosa asked
Aitzaz if they would acquit the PM in this case, would he still call it a wrong
judgment and appeal against it. The hearing was adjourned till today
(Tuesday).
Hearing a plea regarding the registration of second FIR in Benazir
Bhutto murder case, the Supreme Court observed that Interior Minister
Rehman Malik should dissociate himself from the official post till the
completion of investigation, as he was among the accused mentioned by the
applicant. The court also questioned the deputy attorney general why the
federal government had not published the United Nations (UN) investigation
report, despite spending millions of dollars on it. It noted though the party
(PPP) of Benazir Bhutto was in power but they were opposing the
registration of fresh FIR for further investigation. The nation wants an
answer about the murderers of its great leader, the court added.
The petitioner Aslam has sought the registration of FIR against 12
respondents, including former president Gen Musharraf, former Punjab chief
minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, former
law minister Babar Awan, the then acting interior minister Lt-Gen (r) Hamid
Nawaz), former director general of Intelligence Bureau Ijaz Hussain Shah,
former interior secretary Syed Kamal Shah, former spokesman of interior
ministry Brig (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema, former Rawalpindi DCO Irfan Elahi
and the then SP.
Earlier, the court was informed that two respondents Rehman Malik
and Pervaiz Elahi had opposed the registration of second FIR. In his parawise comments, Rehman said there was no need to lodge a new FIR, as all
the accused had already been arrested. The CJP also observed it was very
931

sad that the government was making all efforts to block registration of a
fresh FIR against Kamal Shah, Javed Cheema and others.
Anwar Mansoor Khan, the counsel for Rehman Malik, sought
adjournment of hearing for a week on the ground that he wanted to file a
reply. He contended the applicant had moved application to hush up the BB
murder case, adding that he wanted to submit some important documents,
which had not been filed by Aslam.
Anwar further stated the applicant was not aggrieved person in the
case; therefore fresh case could not be register on his application, but Justice
Khilji Arif Hussain rejected his argument, saying the applicant was a worker
of the PPP and an eyewitness of the December 27, 2007 incident.
Meanwhile, Rasheed A Rizvi stated that the government had not
conducted investigations in view of UN report. He said that though the
government is seeking court opinion on 40 years old matter (Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto murder case) but is not interested to reopen the BB murder case,
which is fresh one.
Advocate on Record Mahmood A Sheikh told the bench Babar Awan
was in India and he would engage his counsel after his return. The court
observed although the interior minister had filed the para-wise comments,
but his counsel insisted submitting a fresh statement, adding that it would
examine whether it would be permissible to accept Mansoor's request on the
next date of hearing. In view of the plea filed by Ahmad Awais, the counsel
for Irfan Elahi, the court adjourned the hearing till April 24.
On 18th April, the Supreme Court again urged the government to write
to the Swiss authorities, saying they do not have any personal grudge or bias
against anyone but want return of public money stashed away in Swiss
banks. Justice Khosa told Aitzaz Ahsan, We never asked for prosecuting the
president but ordered to revive Pakistani claim on the laundered money
lying in Swiss banks. He said the court was neither against President
Zardari nor Prime Minister Gilani but wanted the implementation of 17member benchs judgment on NRO.
Aitzaz reiterated his stance that as long as Zardari is president the
letter cant be written to Swiss authorities. He said he expected the court to
refrain from pressing the prime minister on the letter issue. The parliament,
he said, was the only authority that can make constitutional amendments and
it can nullify any court order. Aitzaz completed his argument on article 10A
of the constitution and started arguing the immunity under international law.
He briefed the court about Vienna Convention.
932

Justice Athar Saeed questioned whether Zardari was president when

former attorney general Malik Qayyum wrote letter for withdrawing legal
mutual assistance. Justice Khosa said: Writing letter will not cause harm to
the worthy president. Justice Osmany questioned whether the head of state
is accountable before the court. Aitzaz replied the president was answerable
to the courts in Pakistan, but in accordance with the constitution and he was
not accountable to the foreign courts. Giving his formulation on the point of
international immunity to head of state he said: The head of state enjoys
absolute immunity under international law from the jurisdiction of all the
courts all over the world in all civil and criminal matters.
Justice Nasir asked how the question of presidential immunity was
relevant in the case at hand as they have ordered the PM to write letter to
Swiss authorities for reopening graft cases against NRO beneficiaries. The
court asked Aitzaz that if you say the president has immunity then claim it
before the Swiss courts, as this was the matter between the accused and the
Swiss authority.
Justice Nasir asked the counsel to read the letter of Malik Qayyum,
which he wrote to the Swiss on 6-11-1997 to withdraw right of becoming
civil party and seeking legal mutual assistance regarding laundered money in
the Swiss banks, and then remarked, but you are saying that the letter could
not be written against President Zardari. Justice Khosa said: We are asking
you to write letter against other accused.
Earlier, on many occasions during the case proceedings Aitzaz had
stated that there was no other accused except President Zardari whose cases
were pending in Switzerland. However, during Wednesdays hearing he
admitted that late Benazir Bhutto and Nusrat Bhutto were also accused in the
case along with President Zardari. Justice Khosa said all over the world it
was settled law that no trial could be held against the dead persons, then why
the PPP leaders were making it an issue that writing letter to the Swiss
authorize was tantamount to the trial of Benazir Bhuttos grave.
Justice Khosa asked Aitzaz not to equate the cases in Swiss with those
in Pakistani courts. The matter in Switzerland is of money laundering, but
here (in Pakistan) it is related to kickbacks. Addressing Aitzaz, he
remarked, You say that cases in the Switzerland were closed on merit. But
according to the documents the Swiss appellate court remanded the case to
lower court as it awarded less (than appropriate) sentence.
Aitzaz requested that the case be referred to larger bench, asking the
three-member bench not to use coercive measures for the implementation
933

of its order. Justice Khosa remarked that it seems strange that the applicant
(PM) was saying that he did not follow the court order because someone else
has the immunity. He said the immunity has to be invoked, saying that
suppose if the prosecutor appear before the Swiss court then he would tell
the court that President Zardari enjoys immunity. The bench asked the
counsel to conclude his arguments tomorrow and adjourned the hearing.
The Supreme Court refused to accept the apology letter of Babar
Awan in the contempt of court case, baffling not only the counsel of former
law minister but also the senior lawyers present in the courtroom. The court
issued a contempt of court notice to Babar Awan for addressing a press
conference on its December 1 order in memo scam.
Ali Zafar, representing Babar Awan, expressed surprise and asked
whether the court wanted to frame the charges against his client or accept his
apology. The objective of it was to uphold the dignity of the court, but if the
court wanted to prosecute him then it would be strange. According to the
Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003, a person who is convicted of contempt
can seek apology at any stage. Justice Ejaz Afzal remarked they wanted to
see whether the apology is bona fide or not? He said it was not mandatory,
but is the discretion of court to accept the apology or not?
Next day, the Supreme Court said it will stop contempt proceeding
against Prime Minister Gilani right away if he gives commitment to write to
Swiss authorities even now. Aitzaz argued that the PM last year was directly
ordered to implement the court judgment in NRO case, while earlier the
court had issued directions to the federal government means the minister
and particularly the secretaries. Justice Osmany said the prime minister was
in knowledge of the court order on implementing December 16, 2009
judgment, adding the criminal trial before the bench is the offshoot of noncompliance of the apex court order.
Justice Khosa said the court never wanted to go to this extent;
therefore, it first ordered the government to submit the summaries and then
issued warnings. Besides that, when nothing happened they gave six options,
which were still open. Aitzaz said those were coercive measures. Justice
Khosa said if other options are coercive then contempt option could be
adopted. Aitzaz objecting to that said the court cant do that. Justice
Osmany stated, you leave that up to the court.
Justice Khosa said the PM represents 180 million people of Pakistan
and there were lot of responsibilities on his shoulders, while the judges were
answerable to God. Aitzaz said the burden on judges shoulders was of
934

constitution and they have to act in accordance with the law. Justice Sarmad
said obeying to law was the responsibility of everyone and not the judges
alone.
Arguing immunity to head of state under international law, Aitzaz
said: From the day one I never discussed presidential immunity under
article 248 of the constitution but it was wrongly attributed to me. Justice
Khosa in a light vein said for the last one year the whole country was
discussing article 248, but you say you dont like to debate it in the court.
The court asked Aitzaz to conclude his argument on 20th April.
At the outset of the hearing, Aitzaz presented United Nations report
titled Preliminary report on immunity of State officials from foreign
criminal jurisdiction to support his argument on presidential immunity.
Aitzaz insisted that the president has immunity in both civil and criminal
cases. On this Justice Osmany said there is no bar on writing the letter.
Ahsan said that not only the president, but the foreign minister also
enjoyed immunity. Justice Khosa observed that once an international
magistrate had summoned the Sudanese president and issued arrest warrants
for him. In his defence, Ahsan said that this was an exception and in cases of
war crimes, presidents can be summoned by International Court of Justice.
Aitzaz also cited Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961,
and Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963, besides State Immunity
Ordinance (vi) of 1981. He said a head of state enjoyed absolute immunity
under the international laws under jurisdiction from all domestic courts all
over the world in all civil and criminal matters.
The Supreme Court reserved its verdict on Babar Awan contempt case
and postponed the hearing 24th April. Babars counsel Ali Zafar told the
court that his client had submitted unconditional apology and there was no
reason to frame charges against him. However, Justice Athar Saeed said the
bench had made up its mind as the written apology landed very late.
On 20th April, Aitzaz contended that the conduct of the Prime Minister
is not contemptuous as he has no intention of flouting the judgment of the
Supreme Court and seeks that the implementation of the judgment to the
extent of writing letter to Swiss authorities for reopening graft cases be
postponed till the time Zardari holds the office of the President.
Aitzaz while concluding his arguments stated that his client holds the
court and the judiciary in highest respect but he is caught between
implementing the Supreme Court order and due respect of the office of the

935

President, irrespective of who is presently occupying it. He said that the

President is the symbol of Federation and the most important component of
Parliament and Supreme Commander of Armed Forces, therefore, even to
suggest that he should in any manner be exposed to foreign magistrate
would damage the office and sovereignty of the State.
He stated that the judgments and order of the Supreme Court need to
be implemented and even the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)
judgment to the extent to write letter must and will be implemented upon the
relinquishment of the office of President by the incumbent President
Zardari. During the proceedings, he contended that under the national as
well as international law, neither a letter could be written against the
President, nor it should be written.
Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany confronting Aitzaz said when your
stance is that immunity to Head of State remains even if it not invoked then
the Swiss authorities would also be aware of it. He said that how legally and
technically possible that upon writing letter the Swiss court will start
prosecution, adding, the apex court wanted that letter to Swiss authorities
should be written to revive the claim of becoming third party on money
lying in Swiss banks.
Justice Ijaz Afzal noted that the Prime Minister was firm on not
obeying the court orders. Can any one say that he will implement the court
order by his own will, he inquired. Aitzaz contended that writing the letter
was tantamount to withdrawing the immunity of the President.
Justice Khosa noted that it seemed as if the Prime Minister would not
write letter during his (PM) tenure. If it happens, everyone would do so on
different pretexts, Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed observed. The court
adjourned hearing for April 24, directing Attorney General Irfan Qadir, who
is acting as prosecutor in the contempt case, to start his arguments on next
hearing.
On 23rd April, Prime Minister Gilani has a detailed discussion with
Attorney General Irfan Qadir on various legal aspects and the expected
outcome of the contempt of court case pending against him in the Supreme
Court of Pakistan. Irfan will start his arguments in the case as prosecutor on
April 25 and would take couple of days to complete his arguments.
Next day, AGP Irfan Qadir defended the prime minister in the
contempt case, but acknowledged the fact that the government had lied
about fully implementing the apex courts verdict on NRO. After hearing the

936

AGP and Aitzaz Ahsan, the court decided to announce the judgment on April
26 and directed the PM to appear in persons on that day.
Irfan Qadir ruled out the culpability of the PM in the case, saying, the
prime minister did not commit contempt of court and the charges were
absolutely groundless. The premier was never a party to the main case, as
prior to the framing of charges there was no direct order issued to him
(prime minister) to write letter to the Swiss authorities. He said it was
unclear on what date the PM committed contempt, as he prayed the court to
refer the important matter to a larger bench.
He stated that contempt of court was not the right way to implement
court order. When the court asked him about the harm in writing the letter,
Irfan replied: I hope the court would not pass any order which end up in
futility. He said the situation had arisen due to the lack of proper assistance
to the court. Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa asked the attorney general if he
had any solution to assist the court in resolving the matter. Irfan in his reply
stated: I will try to suggest the ways, and simply added: I have explained
everything to you.
Regarding the NRO verdict the AGP said the judgment was unique in
the judicial history. He asked why over 8,000 persons affected by NRO
judgment were condemned unheard? And why the court was insisting on
implementing para 178 while the judgment comprising 300 pages? The court
noted that these points were raised in the review petition and now the matter
was closed. Irfan said as an attorney general, it was his duty to see where the
wrong was done.
He urged the court to apply judicial restraint, saying; I am for
national reconciliation. He stated that due to the NRO judgment many
honest persons ex-AGP Anwar Mansoor, ex-chairman NAB Naveed Ahsan
and former prosecutor general NAB Dr Danishwar Malik lost their jobs.
The AGP further said he would do whatever was the best in national interest.
Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany questioned was it not in the national
interest that money lying in Swiss banks should come back with that so
many schools and hospitals could be established. He asked the attorney
general why the government was showing resistance in writing letter to the
Swiss authorities. The attorney general, while supporting Aitzaz Ahsans
stance, maintained that letter could not be written and in anger stated, If
tomorrow the court passed an order to conquer the world then should we
start war with America?

937

The attorney general said when he was in NAB they had inquired the
matter whether the law ministry gave any authority to Malik Qayyum,
former attorney general, to write letter. Presenting a summary of law
ministry dated 23rd April 2012, he said the AGP did not require permission of
any authority to write letter, therefore the letter written by Malik Qayyum
was lawful. The attorney general argued that the base of para 178 was Malik
Qayyums letter was not implementable. Justice Khosa remarked the cases
were closed in Switzerland on the statement of Malik Qayyum as he wrote
to Swiss authorities that there was no conclusive evidence against the
accused.
Earlier, Irfan Qadir contended that no law addressing the contempt of
court existed in the country. No sentence can be announced under the
existing Contempt Ordinance 2003 as it was not adopted by the Parliament.
He said contempt of court ordinance was promulgated in July 2003 and
expired in December 2003. Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, however,
reminded Irfan Qadir that under the same ordinance, the court had given
several judgments. Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany asked the prosecutor as to
whether those judgments, given under the contempt ordinance, were wrong.
After hearing the AG, the bench inquired from Aitzaz Ahsan whether
he would like to rebut the arguments of prosecutor. The learned counsel
instead of rebutting said the confusion has ruled the trial on criminal side,
adding that the same bench was sitting on the criminal trial and also on the
implementation of NRO judgment, thus prejudicing the trial.
Beneath the ostensible calm in the face of the judgment in the
contempt of court case against Prime Minister Gilani reserved by Supreme
Court, the PPP leadership was engaged in hectic activities to cope with the
situation on political horizon in case the court would pronounce PM guilty.
Gilani had several times said that in case of conviction he would neither
claim clemency from the President nor would stay in the office of Prime
Minister, though the moment he would be convicted by the court he would
not even remain a member of Parliament.
But there was strong possibility that Gilani would not bow out calmly
and would drag the apex court in the legal complexities and the Prime
Minister would stay in office even after his conviction by the court till the
time the procedure of his de-seating as member of the Parliament would be
completed, as hinted at by his counsel Aitzaz Ahsan while talking to media
after the court proceedings.

938

The party leadership was prepared not to let it be an easy affair and
would fight back tooth and nail but the doves in the Prime Ministers camp
were of the opinion that instead of locking horns with apex court the Prime
Minister should step down immediately in case court would pronounce him
guilty of contempt of court with the aim to swing the public opinion in
favour of the PPP and by portraying him as another political martyr.
As the hawks and doves in the party were sticking to their point of
view the final decision in this connection would be taken by the partys top
leadership and most likely Zardari would draw future course of action. PPP
had prepared alternate plans and in case of conviction of the Prime Minister
the party would bring another party loyalist to fill the vacancy of the slot for
which a number of names were already under review, including Makhdoom
Shahbuddin, Faryal Talpur and Ghaus Ali Shah.
In the meantime the PPP leadership continued their tirade against the
apex court and to browbeat the superior judiciary by openly commenting on
the court proceedings and even the defence counsel in the case Aitzaz Ahsan
after apex court reserved judgment in the case said that even in case of
conviction the Prime Minister would stay in office till the time the process of
his de-seating would not be completed. Legal and political observers saw all
these utterances by the PPP leaders as pressure tactics to intimidate the
superior judiciary and tantamount to influencing the court verdict as this
practice continued throughout the trial and could rightly be dubbed as the
case mainly contested in media instead of the court.
On 25th April, Prime Minister decided in a meeting to appear in the
Supreme Court accompanied by his courtiers and allies to hear the decision
in contempt of court case on 26th April. He said: We are satisfied with the
input given by our lawyers and we are also satisfied with the input by the
Attorney General.
Kaira said the prime minister has also convened a special cabinet
meeting in Islamabad after the court proceedings. The chief ministers of
Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Balitistan (GB) and
governors of all the four provinces as well as GB have also been invited to
discuss future course of action of the federal government in the light of
Supreme Court decision. Punjab Chief Minister has not been invited to the
special meeting.
According to what the PPP leadership has in its mind, it may take well
over six months or so to get the PM House vacated from Prime Minister
Gilani even if he is sentenced to imprisonment by the court. The PPPs top
939

leadership intends to exhaust all legal options available in the Constitution to

fight the case of its prime minister in the Supreme Court.
Railways Minister Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour stated that Prime
Minister Gilani, whether convicted or freed by the Supreme Court, will be
the hero in both situations. ANP leader stated this while talking to the media
after inspecting the site of the blast at Lahore Railways station.

Taming the military: On 23rd April, Chief Justice expressed grave

concern over the missing reports of Mehran and Habib banks commissions
and asked the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) to register cases against
the responsible officials, if the documents were not found. He said the court
could not pass judgment on the basis of the affidavits filed by various
persons; therefore, it was necessary to submit reports before the bench to
establish the facts.
The bench heard the Asghar Khan petition regarding the alleged
disbursement of funds among politicians by the ISI. The petition was based
on an affidavit filed by former ISI chief Asad Durrani. Attorney General
Ifran Qadir informed the court that the reports were not available with the
ministries of interior and law and justice.
The chief justice asked him to give statement in writing and directed
to hold meeting with the secretaries interior and law and justice about the
missing reports of the commissions formed on Mehran and Habib banks.
The attorney general said Justice Saqib Nisar was the law secretary when the
inquiries were held, adding that he would definitely have a lot of
information about the reports. He said Justice Saqib should be asked to
provide the information about reports. The chief justice said Justice Saqib
Nisar could not be questioned, as he was an honourable judge of the court.
The AGP also mentioned the name of MA Farooqi, saying he was the
secretary of judicial commission, to which the chief justice asked him to
contact him, if he wanted to do so. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain said it was a
right of the nation to know the truth and what was happening with them.
The court directed secretary law to submit the report of the banking courts
where the cases of Younus Habib were heard.
Meanwhile, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) also submitted a report on
the use of Rs270 million. The court observed that the report did not provide
details of the spending and asked the attorney general to obtain the same.
The court said it would keep the report classified. During the last hearing,
the bench had ordered IB Director General Aftab Sultan to submit a report

940

about the distribution of Rs270 million, allegedly used by IB to dislodge

PML-N government in Punjab in 2009.
Akram Sheikh said Younus Habib owned a plaza worth Rs50 billion
and 2000 acres of land in Karachi. The chief justice stated that they had
nothing to do with it as they were hearing the matter of disbursement of
funds among politicians to topple late Benazir Bhutto government. The
court said in light of some media reports regarding a commission, criminal
proceedings were initiated against Younus Habib, but NAB entered into plea
bargains with former bankers for the return of money. Therefore, the NAB
was directed to inform the court about the plea bargains in the next date of
hearing. Hearing was adjourned till April 25.
On 25th April, the court directed Akram Sheikh to furnish details of
account, as mentioned by the former army chief General Beg, before the
next hearing. The court also ordered NAB Additional Prosecutor General to
collect the record in which Younus Habib had entered into plea bargain.
During the proceeding, the chief justice said: Instead of constituting a
commission for the return of money, the court could see what had been the
role of army chief in the past.
The counsel for Asghar Khan, Salman Akram Raja, said a senior
journalist Hamid Mir had informed him that he was in possession of the said
reports, adding that he could request him place the same on record. Chief
Justice directed him to take the reports from the noted media person and
present it before the court.
Salman argued the court should decide whether the subordinates were
bound to obey the unlawful order of a higher official, while this court again
and again stated that a subordinate should follow only the lawful orders of
his or her superiors. Justice Khilji said the discipline in army demanded that
superiors orders must be followed and there would be problems if the
soldiers started questioning whether an order given to them was lawful or
illegal. We, therefore, have to be careful and not to defame anyone.
Akram Sheikh said his client had nothing to do with the disbursement
of funds, as he only supervised the distribution of money as the army chief.
The chief justice questioned was it the job of an army chief, to which Sheikh
pleaded that the court had to see the statement of Beg separately with other
facts, as an army chief appearing before the court for the first time in the
countrys history said that the political cell in ISI should be closed.
Akram Sheikh argued that besides a volatile situation, Aslam Beg did
not promulgate martial law in the country and arranged for transferring
941

power in accordance with the law. The court said but he should have been
mindful in case of distributing money to topple the political government. He
should have said no to involve army in the dirty game, the chief justice
added.
Attorney General Irfan Qadir said the reports of Mehran Bank and
Habib Bank scandals had not been found in the Interior Ministry, except the
report based on memory of the then director FIA Rehman Malik, the
incumbent federal minister. But the court said such document was not
acceptable under the law. The AG assured the bench of making all-out
efforts to trace out the said reports.
In compliance of courts earlier order Naveeda Noor, Assistant
Director (Legal) Intelligence Bureau (IB), submitted a sealed envelope
containing the accounts of IB for the year 2008-09. The move is a result of a
news item published in an English daily that an amount of Rs.270 million
was used by the IB for toppling the Punjab government. On the request of
the attorney general, the hearing was adjourned till May 10.

Recessing economy: On 17th April, the NEPRA issued

notification of increase in power tariff by Rs1.67 per unit. New tariff will go
into effect next month. The increase has been announced as per monthly fuel
adjustment for September 2011. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Water and
Power announced that power outages will continue for the next six months.
On 19th April, reports from rural areas falling in the jurisdiction of
IESCO said that in most of the days the power supply was cut off for six
hours in a go creating difficulties for the people who are unable to get even
drinking water supplied through water supply schemes. Different areas of
Punjab have to witness 14 to 20 hours load shedding during a day due to
difference in supply and demand of electricity as shortfall has reached 6500
MW.
On 23rd April, it was reported that instead of forcing local and multinational pharmaceutical companies to ensure availability of cost effective
and reliable lifesaving drugs in the market, the government allowed
considerable increase in the prices of hundreds of medicines including the
so-called substitutes of what are called orphan drugs by the medical
community. Increase in the prices of so-called substitutes has put orphan
drugs under more stress and as such nearly ruling out the possibility of their
availability in the market.

942

With the government support, all powerful local and multi-national

pharmaceutical companies are increasing the prices of alternatives of tested
lifesaving drugs to unrealistic level, decreasing production of original and
reliable medicines having little or even no profit margin, and as such further
widening the gap between the prices of original and alternatives. As such
government is allowing pharmaceutical companies to earn huge profit by
increasing prices of drugs while distributors and retailers are earning easy
money by creating shortage of low cost lifesaving drugs at the cost of health
and even lives of the patients.

Provincial disharmony: On 23rd April, President Asif Ali Zardari

advised government to work out a plan to ensure uninterrupted gas supply to
industry in Punjab for five days a week commencing from first week of
May. President said that textile industry was playing an important role in the
countrys exports and there was a need to select out of the box solutions to
address issues being faced by the industry and to enhance value added
exports of textiles.
Next day, Punjab Chief Minister conveyed his grievances to Prime
Minister over schedule of load shedding in the province. During a telephonic
conversation with the PM, he expressed his serious concerns over nonimplementation of the decisions taken in Energy Conference held in Lahore.
He said Punjab province was unscrupulously being exploited as its
agricultural and industrial sectors had been destroyed while hundreds of
thousands workers were facing unemployment.
On 25th April, Nepra notified Rs2.38 per unit fuel adjustment cost to
be recovered from the consumers against the units they consumed in
February and March. The decision, corresponding to a period of time when
entire country was facing worst-kind of load shedding, would however not
be applicable to Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) and life-line
consumers.

Baloch militancy: On 17th April, the Supreme Court said

provincial and federal governments were responsible to maintain law and
order in Balochistan and provide security to the life and property of the
citizens as per the Constitution. Chief Justice observed that the situation
prevailing in the province needed special interest and attention of both the
governments.
Advocate General Balochistan, along with acting SP operations of
Quetta City, appearing before the court and informed that complying with
the courts directions, all the three persons Dr Naseer Ahmed, Akhtar
943

Langoo and Abdul Hafeez Rodiani had been recovered. The court was
informed that these persons had reached their homes, adding, they also got
recorded their statements under Section 161 CrPC before the police. He
submitted the copies of their statements.
The chief justice noted that the statements were stereotype in nature.
The Advocate General Balochistan was directed to produce these persons in
court on the next date of hearing at Quetta. The apex court on the request of
Advocate General Balochistan adjourned the case till 30th April.
Next day, Nawab Lashkari Raisani resigned from the PPP as well as
from the Senate over the governments failure to rescue the crisis-ridden
Balochistan. His resignation is a strong indictment of PPPs lack of concern
for the Baloch. He also blamed the provincial government for inaction.
On 20th April, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief said that incumbent
rulers were not capable of solving the Balochistan issue. If PTI is voted into
power, it will provide all political rights to the people and deliver justice,
Imran said addressing a public gathering in Quetta. A large number of party
workers belonging to other districts of Balochistan also attended the
meeting.
He held Nawaz Sharif responsible for the prevailing crises, saying
PML-N chief had asked APDM to boycott elections that resulted in severe
damage to Balochistan. Criticizing rulers of Balochistan, Imran said Rs110
billion had been given to the incumbent government under NFC-Award but
the condition of roads and people was miserable.
He said PTI was standing with relatives of the missing persons and
would play its role for their recovery. PTI would solve the issue of missing
persons in accordance with justice. Imran asked angry Baloch leaders to
come and talk with him and assured them he would not backtrack from his
promises at any cost. He said the PTI would introduce best police system in
Balochistan which could compete with the police of other countries and
would be impartial.
Unidentified gunmen kidnapped Jamhoori Watan Party leader
Shahzain Bugtis lawyer. Meanwhile, the Balochistan Bar Association
condemned the kidnapping and announced boycott of the courts against the
abduction. President BBA, Dawood Ahmed rapped the authorities for their
failure in maintaining law and order and called for immediate recovery of
Mukesh Kohli.

944

Next day, two Hazara people were killed in Quetta by an unidentified

gunman. FC claimed to have arrested two people for killing Hazara people.
In Bostan area of Pishin district two bullet-riddled bodies were founded.
Levies Force men recovered a body dumped in gunny bag near local hotel in
Chaman area of Killa Saifullah district.
On 23rd April, five people, including a youngster were wounded in a
hand grenade incident in Khuzdar district. Two terrorists were killed and a
policeman wounded in a shootout in Quetta. Next day, a gas pipeline and a
power pylon were blown up in Dera Bugti and Barkhan districts while two
people were kidnapped in Naseerabad.

Turf war in Karachi: On 16th April, five persons were killed and
dozens injured in various incidents of violence in Karachi. Next day, armed
motorcyclists attacked a roadside teashop, killing two young brothers and
injuring five others that included the father. Meanwhile, Police claimed to
have arrested three extortionists and recovered weapons from their
possession in two different areas of the city.
On 18th April, 13 people were killed and several injured in separate
incidents of violence in Karachi. Police in their drive against criminals,
arrested 21 accused from various areas of the city during the past 24 hours.
Those arrested included absconders and proclaimed offenders.
Next day, Sindh High Court Chief Justice took notice of violence in
Karachi that took lives of 16 people over the last 24 hours. He sought an
immediate report from IG Police and DG Sindh Rangers into the targeted
killings and suspects arrested by the law enforcement agencies.
On 20th April, the scourge of ethnic and political bloodletting
continued in the port city, killing at least 18 people and wounding several
others. The reason behind this fresh wave of violence was cited as killing of
an MQM worker, Naeemuddin, in Gulfamabad area of Orangi Town. Next
day, at least five more people were killed in separate incidents of violence in
different areas of Karachi.
On 22nd April, four people including two members of pro-government
Aman force were killed in separate incidents of landmine explosions across
Balochistan. Next day, President Zardari said that lawlessness in Karachi can
be effectively tackled if the three main players PPP, MQM and ANP join
hands to confront and defeat the menace. Chairing a meeting of the allied
parties at Bilawal House, he also directed for setting up a committee
comprising the representatives of these three parties to have constant liaison

945

with Sindh home minister and the chief minister to remove any misgivings
about the operation against the law breakers, extortionists and the target
killers in the metropolis.
President Zardari emphasized the need to identify the criminals and
carrying out an indiscriminate action against them. And, though all the three
parties had a large and heavy presence in the meeting clearly showing their
interest in solving this most troublesome riddle, but the media talk of their
bigwigs following the moot revealed that they remained as much divided as
before, especially on the local bodies polls. On the other hand, Federal
Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed that activists of PPP, MQM, ANP
and others parties were involved in the act of extortion. Talking to media
persons, he vowed to take indiscriminate action against the terrorists in
complete disregard to their political affiliations.
On 24th April, President Zardari emphasized that law and order in
Lyari will be maintained at all costs without fear or favour with the help of
law-enforcement agencies and asked the party workers not to be provoked
by taking the law into their own hands. Chairing a special meeting on the
law and order situation in Lyari which was held at Bilawal House, he said
that the situation in Lyari has to be tackled both by use of force against
criminal elements and by pressing into service political means by way of
addressing the genuine problems of development of the area.

VIEWS
Power politics
March to a real change: The repeatedly tried and tested
stereotypical leadership, with all its inherent pitfalls, weaknesses and
incompetence is the core reason for Pakistans continuous decadence. What
we see in the post-general election scenario is a replica of the same;
however, with a slight change in the numbers; with loss of few seats to some
parties and a gain for some others. But a near replica is certainly a perfect
recipe for a complete disaster; as the country has already touched rock
bottom and cannot sustain a similar experiment.
The people, hence, are desperately looking for a new brand of
leadership that can introduce a system of governance, which will lift the
country from a deep abyss of destitute and insolvency by bringing about a
real change that can give them direction and provide security.

946

The factors for a real change are becoming rife. The only missing
link is that who is going to lead the people to this change; since the journey
is going to be tough and the road is treacherous. Nevertheless, a march to a
real change has to begin sooner than later! (Editorial, TheNation 21st April)
Dead-end democracy: The present government has clearly lost the
confidence of the people. So many cases of misgovernance and corruption
have surfaced and been proven against it that any half-democratic
government would have resigned and called for fresh elections a long time
ago. The fact that Zardari's PPP has clung on to power shamelessly, and is
recklessly attempting to destroy any institution that could check its rampant
abuse, indicates how important it is for him and his party of serfs to cling to
power, and to employ it in every possible way to perpetuate their criminal
stint in office. The PPP wallah's conduct in office also shows that democratic
ideals and principles figure nowhere in their politics and they use the jargon
of democracy to buy legitimacy for their dark tyrannical anti-people regime.
So are we doomed to suffer under the tyranny of PPP's democracy forever
and ever just because it calls itself a democracy?
The problem with discussions on worst democracies vs. best
dictatorships is that they tend to be very superficial. Surely, any regime in
our country is a mix of both. Take our present dispensation, for instance. In
name it is a democracy but in many ways it could easily qualify as a
dictatorship, most glaringly in the way a parliamentary system is being
controlled by one man sitting in the presidency. On the other hand, military
dictators often have to create a democratic consensus within the top brass of
their institutions. By assigning black-and-white labels to the governments
formed as a result of either elections or military takeovers, we overlook the
complexity of the way power is exercised by governments. This simplistic
framework makes it impossible to work towards democratic governance,
reducing the discourse on democracy to rhetorical arguments that seldom go
beyond the form to talk about the content.
And this is what my other friend was trying to tell my senior friend.
According to him, when governments don't represent the will of the people
though they call themselves democratic, when they start trampling upon the
poor to make their next illegal millions and billions, even if they were
elected, the only democratic thing to do is for the people to assert their will
through collective action and replace them through a popular movement. He
feels that we will never be able to get rid of the charlatan clowns in charge
of our destiny through an election held under them, and the only hope for

947

democracy is to throw them out by a popular movement. I think he has a

point there. (Jalees Hazir, TheNation 22nd April)
Major overhaul of the system needed: If ever there was a need for
change, it is now and the time is right. Imran Khan must capitalize on the
present state of affairs to spell out his plans for a better Pakistan of
tomorrow. A mere induction of new or clean faces will not be enough. What
we need is a major overhaul of systems and practices in different areas and
at different levels of service but there is no doubt that honesty in leadership
will filter down to the bottom.
I am reminded of the tribute paid by Sarojini Naidu to Quaid-i-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah much before partition wherein she described him as
a person of faultless perception and flawless refinement, a character
animated by a brave conception of duty and an austere and lovely code of
private honour and public integrity. Imran Khan should keep this
description before him at all times and follow in the footsteps of the great
Quaid. Like Barack Obama, Imran Khan promised to bring about a change
in Pakistan not only of the status quo but a deeper substantial change. It is
anybodys guess whether the PTI with the support of the younger generation
will come to victory or only make inroads into parliament. Even if it is the
latter, it would be an achievement because the PTI will undoubtedly
constitute a strong and vocal opposition which is a pre-requisite for any
credible democratic dispensation. In this way, the PTI can nominate shadow
ministers from among their parliamentarians to oversee and comment on
foreign policy, economic policy, interior policy and issues pertaining to
national security.
The time has come for leadership in Pakistan to first look inward and
govern Pakistan. Our policies should all be based on national interest while
acknowledging and realizing the geo-strategic importance of Pakistan in the
context of having China, India, Iran and Afghanistan as neighbours as well
as three significant ports at Karachi, Port Qasim and Gwadar but
notwithstanding our geo-strategic location, Pakistan should avoid getting
sucked into international power games which big powers engage in.
For us it is Pakistan first and last. This is the need of the hour and all
Pakistanis look up to not only the political leadership but every leadership at
every level to do what is right without any fear or favour and irrespective of
the consequences. Jinnahs Pakistan Zindabad. (Liaquat H Merchant from
Karachi, TheNation 23rd April)

948

Will Imran Khan win by a landslide? Let me make this vital point:
Imran, as a sportsman and politician, is a modern man who understands what
it takes to go forward as well as just how painstaking the journey to
legendary achievements is. His success story is not out of a fairy tale. His
personal sojourn and life narrative is one of ultimate determination,
relentless efforts, unflinching faith, absolute self-confidence, extreme hard
work and uncompromising self-integrity, credibility and dignity. And Imran
has endured pain and agony resulting in formidable accomplishments: after
all, who else has gifted his or her departed loved one with an everlasting gift
such as the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital that emerged out of
a personal emotional loss and intense suffering. Indeed, I will argue that
such comprehensive all-inclusive behaviour is an indication of moral and
ethical development that is consistent and necessary in the making of a
national leadership.
In Pakistan, political humour, jokes on the streets and the symbolic
names given to different political parties and personalities are a reflection of
peoples political sentiments. Lately, the PML-N is being called the Nura
League. One important politician is named Surrender Sahib. In public
gatherings, people chant Maulvi Diesel for another politician, and for the
President and the Prime Minister the language used in public discourse is
simply insulting and unparliamentarily. Obviously, the public is
disenchanted with the present political system and the people and the parties
that are running it. But who is to be blamed for such public outrage? Think
about it!
Imran is known to deliver what he promises. His current personal
cause is to transform Pakistans political culture. But will Ghalibs heartbroken, sorrow-stricken Pakistani people elect PTI? Will Imran Khan win by
a landslide in the coming general election?
Khan claims his PTI will mobilize the people for a political change
never before witnessed in Pakistans history. Only time will tell but the
odds are in his favour! Imran Khan represents: Hum bi munh may zuban
rakthe hain; Kash pucho ke majara (mudda) kya hai. (Dr, Haider Mehdi,
TheNation 24th April)

Rule of law

949

Ephedrine scam: The PM must understand that he is not above the

law and ANF investigators have a right and an obligation to carry out
investigations, even if that involves summoning record of PM House
visitors. Organizations such as ANF are funded by the taxpayers, so that
narcotics manufacture and distribution is strictly regulated in accordance
with laws and international monitoring agencies. No individual, including
the elected constitutional officeholders have any right to play with lives of
our future generations. We have had enough of this damage inflicted on our
nation by the abuse of self assumed powers of our public officeholders, who
lack ethics or respect for rule of law. After all if the PM is innocent, as he
claims, why does he want to evade investigations and obstruct judicial
procedure.
The Ephedrine and Hajj Scam depicts the pits to which our political
elite, obsessed with their greed for ill-gotten wealth can sink to. These
stinking episodes are a slur on our democracy and the image of Pakistan. It
is an insult to our Founding Fathers, who dreamed of creating a modern
welfare state delivering justice to its citizens, instead of becoming a fiefdom
of corrupt political elite, or its equally selfish paid civil and uniformed
bureaucracy. Nobody including the President enjoys immunity from
investigation. It is the process of prosecution from any criminal charges,
from which the President enjoys immunity if any, and that is also subject to
interpretation of Supreme Court and not the perceived immunity understood
by office of President, the PM or Law ministry. Those who hold high public
offices, such as that of President, PM, Governor, CM or Ministers must be
subject to public or media scrutiny and investigations to ascertain that they
are not involved, or have ever been convicted of financial misappropriation,
or any other crime involving moral turpitude. Pakistan has suffered enough
because of misconceived powers assumed unto themselves by its rulers, both
elected and dictatorial, who destroyed moral and constitutional fiber of this
country and its economy either by their incompetence, or their indulgence in
rampant corruption and insatiable greed. (Malik Tariq Ali from Lahore,
TheNation 22nd April)
Culprits going scot-free: Now the PMs younger sons name has hit
the headlines. Conclusive proof in the matter is yet to emerge but as they say
where there is smoke there is likelihood of fire. We are told that the PM is
visibly perturbed over the involvement of his son in the drug case, which he
thinks is a conspiracy to malign the good name of his family. Our saintly
prime minister is already contesting a court battle, ably assisted by Aitzaz
Ahsan, for not writing to the Swiss authorities to reopen the presidents
950

money laundering cases. Now he faces the alleged scandal of import of a

banned drug by his son. I am however confident that Aitzaz Ahsan will bail
the prime minister and sons out of trouble, given his propensity for
prolonging the arguments like the legendary Alf Laila stories. By the time,
Aitzaz completes his arguments the present judges would have tired and
retired. (Major (r) Syed Zahid Salam from Rawalpindi, TheNation 22 nd
April)

Baloch militancy
What if they get Stingers?: Analysts believe that keeping in view
the 1,500 mile-long porous border with Afghanistan, the possibility of
Stingers coming once again to Pakistan cannot be ruled out, especially in a
situation when Balochistan is becoming a den of foreign forces sponsoring
terrorism and promoting so-called nationalist leaders working against the
framework of Pakistan. So far, these foreign forces have been providing
funds and weapons to the militants. The danger is that if these forces are not
checked and their presence not eliminated the likely future events may lead
to a formerly East Pakistan-like situation. It is feared that if the security
forces fail, Balochistan could quite easily become a focal point in Pakistans
destabilization.
Balochistan is in flames at the moment with military and political top
brass having no clue to resolve the issue and from where to begin. Today the
unfortunate province is placed at a point where kidnappings for ransom,
target killings and other crimes are all-time high There is a strong
realization that as long as Pakistan army remains deployed in Balochistan, it
would be difficult for the militants to achieve their objective of destabilizing
the region. This is perhaps why they (separatists) have been opposed to army
deployment in the province, said a defence analyst seeking anonymity.
The involvement of foreign powers in Balochistan insurgency is no
secret any more. There have also been reports of the United States, India,
Israel and Afghanistan collaborating to create unrest in the province. They
are reportedly offering patronage to the militants engaged in acts of
terrorism and sabotage. The news of a map purportedly drawn by Americans
has been making rounds in the world which showed Pakistan truncated to a
smaller territory with some of its parts indicated as independent states or
parts of neighbouring Afghanistan and India.
Balochistan has, no doubt, become an attractive place for foreign
powers due to its huge deposits of minerals like gold, copper, coal and gas
It is also an open secret that CIA and Pentagon have been funding and
951

arming anti-Iran terrorist outfit Jundullah which has concentration in Kharan

region, and has been accused of carrying out terrorist activities in Iran. The
American disliking for construction of Gwadar Port and its opposition to
establishment of a naval base there is also a known fact. (Mubashar Hassan,
TheNation 23rd April)

REVIEW
Right from the start Aitzaz had nothing sensible to say in defence of
his client in contempt of court case, yet he succeeded in buying time by
rattling out flimsy arguments with irksome repetition. He was well aware of
the weakness of his clients case; therefore he decided to muddle the facts as
much as he could.
The point on which he dwelled the most was Article 10A of the
Constitution which has been inserted through amendments carried out by the
Zardari regime. He began with asserting that this Article demands fair and
impartial dispensation of justice through due process. He finally ended up
arguing that the law regarding contempt of court has been rendered invalid
by Article 10A.
While defending Gilani, the Saint, he did not ignore pleading the case
of his party boss, the Scoundrel, who had thrown to him the marrow-filled
bone of Senate seat. He argued that President Zardari should not be thrown
before a magistrate of a foreign country. First he talked of constitutional
immunity enjoyed by the President and then suggested to the judges on the
bench that he should be defended with the same zeal with which Raymond
Davis was defended by the US.
Banking on daily news he found yet another incident to quote in
defence of his boss, which was not the issue being heard by the court. He
drew the attention of the bench towards detention of Shah Rukh Khan in the
US and the manner in which Indian government had reacted. He felt Zardari
being a President needs to be defended more vehemently, instead of handing
him over to another country.
This argument was entirely irrelevant, because he should have told
this incident to the Scoundrel and the Saint and demanded from them to
show spine against those who killed 26 Pakistani soldiers at Salala. He did
not do so, which proved how greed incapacitates the intellect and conscience
of a person.

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Aitzaz also tried to challenge impartiality of the judges. He argued

that judges on the bench are the complainants, who cannot be judges of their
own cause. He then alleged that judges were hearing the case in revengeful
mood and advised that judgments should not be passed under fits of anger
and revenge.
The court tolerated him for too long till its restraint neared
exhaustion and he was told to wind up his arguments. Meanwhile, the
Scoundrel and the Saint had made their move by appointing Irfan Qadir as
the new Attorney General of Pakistan. The court asked him to close the
prosecution.
On the eve of doing that he had detailed discussion with the accused,
Prime Minister Gilani. Reportedly, the accused and the prosecutor
discussed all aspects of the possible outcome of the case. In fact, Irfan
Qadir sought the approval of all that he had to say in the court.
What he said in the court strongly supported the defence counsel and
he pleaded dismissal of the case as no charge could be framed against
Gilani. This left nothing for Aitzaz to say in closing address in defence of his
client and the court reserved its judgment and adjourned after summoning
Gilani to appear before it on 26th April, the day judgment will be passed.
The people of Pakistan at last saw end to the agony of uncertainty to
which they had been subjected for too long. As regards their expectations
regarding dispensation of justice they were not very sure, because no manmade system could ensure perfect dispensation of justice and for that reason
there will be the Day of Judgment.
26th April, 2012

WAR WITHIN-VI
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Fourth Thursday of April 2012 became historic as chief executive of

Islamic Republic of Pakistan appeared before seven judges of the highest
court of the country as an accused of contempt of court charge. He came to
the court with entire battalion of ministers and political allies from
Charsadda, Gujrat and Nine Zero. All of them accompanied him with
solitary aim of showing solidarity with the accused, not as mark of respect
for the court.
A few minutes later he left the courtroom condemned and punished as
a convict. There were no signs of remorse or regret on his face or on the
faces of other members of his entourage. Detention of thirty-two seconds
could not have made any difference in the composure of a hardened
criminal. Outside the highest court in Islamabad the convict was accorded
heros welcome by cheering supporters, who showered rose petals over him.
He remained hectically busy over next thirty-six hours. He chaired the
special cabinet meeting where he was received by ovation of elected
junta. He received felicitations markedly exceeding in count than those
which he received when he was elected Prime Minister four years ago.
Next day he met the visiting US ambassador for Afghanistan and
Pakistan, Marc Grossman, who assured full US support for his government,
irrespective of what the verdicts passed by the judges of the Supreme Court.
Then, just before the Juma prayers he sneaked into the National Assembly to
complete the victory lap. Amid thumping of desks by the members he
challenged Judiciary and his political opponents to catch him if they can.
The same Thursday, the son of this proud descendent of Ghausul
Azam, Ali Musa Gilani appeared before a team of ANF investigating
ephedrine quota scam. Of course, the son like father denied the charges.
Loud-mouth Babar Awan, former law minister of Gilani, also appeared
before a bench in contempt case and earned yet another postponement. But,
PPP scored a moral victory by winning by-election of provincial assembly
in Multan.

NEWS
Power politics: On 26th April, PPPs Usman Bhatti pulled off an
upset victory over PML-N candidate Moen Riaz Qureshi in the PP-194 bypoll, as he defeated him with a difference of 375 votes. Although Qureshi,
who recently switched over to the PML-N from the Q League, was being
considered a strong candidate, Bhatti defeated him with a narrow margin.
954

Next day, the government appointed Senator Jehangir Badr as Leader

of House in Senate and directed him to immediately take charge of his new
assignment. President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani and other senior party
leaders greeted Jehangir Badr on becoming Leader of House in Senate.

Rule of law: On 26th April, Ali Musa Gilani, son of Prime Minister
informed the ANF investigation team that he is innocent and has no
connection with ephedrine drug scam. He followed his fathers directives
and appeared before an investigation team of ANF along with his counsel
Fawad Chaudhry and recorded a statement with regards to the ephedrine
quota scam.
Next day, Murtaza Javed Abbasi chaired a meeting of the Standing
Committee on Narcotics Control which received briefings from Brig Akhtar
and other officials of ANF on the unlawful import of a huge quantity of
Ephedrine chemical, valued at Rs7 billion, allegedly involving Ali Musa
Gilani. The officials briefed the committee on their findings and future
plans. The committee asked Brig Akhtar Mahmood to immediately take
charge as ANF acting DG and carry out investigation in the light of
directions of Supreme Court.
Do not take pressure from any side and carry on investigations on
merit. We are expecting free and fair investigation, committee chairman
Murtza Abbasi said. The committee wondered while it was difficult to get
the import quota of just 10 kilograms of Ephedrine, how were just two
pharmaceutical companies permitted to import such a large quantity of
chemical? The chairman directed Brig Akhtar to especially supervise the
investigation and keep the committee informed about findings. The
committee expressed its annoyance over absence of Ministry of Narcotics
Control Secretary Zaffar Abbas Luk.

Defiance of judiciary: On 26th April, a dark chapter was written in

the political history of Pakistan when a seven-member bench of the Supreme
Court convicted Prime Minister Gilani for his willful intent of not
complying with its order regarding writing a letter to the Swiss and other
authorities for the reopening of illegal wealth cases against President
Zardari. Gilani became the first prime minister in a democratic dispensation
convicted on the charge of deliberately disobeying the country's highest
court.
Reading an already prepared verdict, Justice Nasirul Mulk said, for
the reasons to be recorded later, the accused Yusuf Raza Gilani, the prime
minister of Pakistan and chief executive of the federation, is found guilty of
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and convicted for contempt of court under Article 204(2) of the Constitution
of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 read with Section 3 of the
Contempt of Court Ordinance (Ordinance V of 2003) for the willful flouting,
disregard and disobedience of this courts direction contained in paragraph
number 178 of the judgment delivered in the case of Dr Mubashar Hasan vs
the federation of Pakistan after our satisfaction that the contempt committed
by PM Gilani is substantially detrimental to the administration of justice and
tends to bring this court and the judiciary of the country into ridicule.
Justice Mulk went on to read, As regards the sentence to be passed
against the convict, we note that the findings and conviction for contempt of
court recorded are likely to entail some serious consequences in term of
Article 63 (1) (g) of the 1973 Constitution which may be read as mitigating
factors towards the sentence we passed against him, adding the premier was
therefore punished under Section 5 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance
2003 with imprisonment till the rising of the court.
The conviction of the prime minister has now launched a new phase
of complex legal and parliamentary moves aimed at deciding the thorny
question of his ultimate disqualification as the holder of public office. While
the exact contours of things to come shall become clearer with the coming in
of the detailed order of the seven-member bench, the conviction has already
added to the growing political uncertainty in the country.
That the government plans to respond with full vengeance was
betrayed by the extremely harsh tone adopted by Attorney General Irfan
Qadir who while talking to the media immediately after the verdict said that
the judges had given an "illegal and unconstitutional decision" and made no
effort to mask his extreme displeasure with the bench.
Presiding over an extraordinary meeting of the cabinet, Gilani said the
verdict was inappropriate and that he was still the premier even after being
convicted. He said the PPP had always stood by the Constitution and would
continue to do so. Gilani thanked cabinet members for supporting him. The
cabinet reposed full confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Gilani
and the government announced its decision to appeal against the verdict.
Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the cabinet and coalition partners have
expressed solidarity with Prime Minister and have viewed the SC decision
as a 'political sentence'. Briefing the media after the special cabinet meeting,
Kaira said the PM had always respected the judiciary, tried to strengthen the
institutions and had appeared before the court three times.

956

He then asked Aitzaz to comment on the Supreme Court's order and

Aitzaz said that he was not given the short order yet while it was a normal
practice that in criminal cases the court never gave a short order but issued a
detailed judgment. But in this case, an elected prime minister was sentenced
in a short order. He further stated that the prime minister was sentenced for
ridiculing the superior courts while he was charged with disobeying the
court orders. He read Article 63 (1) (g), which he said was beyond the
charge-sheet against the PM.
He regretted that the PM was sentenced for the crime he never
committed nor was he tried for that crime. He said that in such cases, the
accused had a statutory right for the first appeal and during the pendency of
that appeal; the court normally suspended the operation of the sentence.
Responding to a query regarding the resignation of the PM on moral
ground, Kaira said that PM had not committed any crime but had upheld the
Constitution, so why he should resign. To another query, Aitzaz Ahsan said
that the PM was not sentenced in accordance with the charge-sheet and his
resignation was totally a political decision, which was his discretion but,
legally speaking, his disqualification could not be moved with this order.
In National assembly, Law Minister, Farooq H Naek said the
conviction was not in line with the charges framed against Gilani. He made
it clear that the prime minister never ridiculed the judiciary as mentioned in
the short order on the contempt case. Court has not disqualified Yousaf
Raza Gilani as the prime minister or MNA, he said, adding that an appeal
would be filed in the court, which was a part of the trial.
On the Swiss cases, Farooq Naek said that cases against Benazir
Bhutto and President Zardari had been closed in Geneva. He said the
attorney-general of Geneva decided to close the cases in 2008 on merit. He
said the attorney-generals decision was not challenged. Naek also pointed
out that Zardari remained in jail for 10 years without any conviction. He said
one of the cases against Benazir Bhutto was about the purchase of a precious
necklace, but the London jeweler confirmed that Benazir had not purchased
the necklace. He also said that there was no investigation in the Swiss cases
till 2008.
On the criticism from the PML-N on the PPP leadership, the law
minister said they did not turn personal in politics and paid respect to Nawaz
Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif as they gave respect to their leadership. Give
respect and earn respect. At the same time, he also warned that one should

957

remain in limits; it would be better; otherwise, others could also cross the
limits.
Referring to the policy statement of the law minister on the Supreme
Courts judgment, the opposition leader observed that court decisions should
not be debated in parliament. He said the issue must not be complicated
because in simple words according to the Supreme Court decision, the prime
minister was convicted. He said the prime minister should also defend his
position in the court and not in parliament.
Speaking on a point of order, Leader of Opposition in the National
Assembly said Prime Minister Gilani should first prove himself innocent, as
he had been convicted. Now it is a matter of dignity of the prime ministers
office and respect of the Parliament. The prime minister should file appeal in
the court, prove him innocent and then come in the house, he said. PML-N
demanded Prime Minister to tender resignation and come with a clean chit in
the house, whereas the treasury benches firmly made it clear that Gilani
would continue holding his office.
Prime Minister Gilani stands disqualified from holding any public
office after his conviction from the Supreme Court in the contempt of court
case, said Kanwar Dilshad, former secretary of the ECP. Whether the apex
court bench has convicted Prime Minister Gilani even for 30 seconds or for
30 years, under Article-63 (1) (g) of the Constitution, he stands disqualified
automatically the moment the judgment was announced, he maintained
when asked to comment.
Kanwar Dilshad pointed out the NA speaker needed not to deliberate
after she received the order in writing. He added on having got the order, the
ECP would issue a schedule for the by-election in the related NA
constituency. What we have been doing in the past after the conviction of a
sitting legislator is to hold bye-election and this should be the modus
operandi in this case as well, as all are equal before the law, he observed.
Senior leadership of PML-Q (Like-Minded) welcomed apex court
decision against Prime Minister and urged not only for implementation of
this decision but also of all other decisions previously given by the Supreme
Court. The members of the party highlighted that in civilized country if any
ruler is convicted of crime, he morally resigns from his position and the
Gilani should resign from his position.
Imran Khan also demanded of Prime Minister to immediately step
down after he has lost all the moral and legal grounds to hold his office
anymore. Addressing a hurriedly called news conference at partys central
958

Secretariat Imran said if the Prime Minister would not respect the judiciary,
how the people could be expected to do the same. Imran continued to refer
Prime Minister as Gilani instead of Prime Minister for reason he later stated
that Mr Gilani is no more Prime Minister after SC verdict.
Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Syed Munawwar Hasan said if Gilani had any
moral courage, he would have stepped down long ago but now that he had
been sentenced, he must do it immediately to set an example for the nation.
Prof Sajid Mir said the SC awarded a much smaller sentence to the PM
against a much bigger crime which showed that the court exercised great
restraint.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said the decision of the
Supreme Court in the contempt case should be implemented in accordance
with all its constitutional and legal demands for the supremacy of law and
survival of democracy. He demanded the prime minister immediately resign
from his post.
The legal fraternity in Lahore hailed the apex courts verdict regarding
the conviction of Prime Minister in the contempt of court case and termed it
a milestone in the judicial history of Pakistan. In Multan, the lawyers danced
to the Bhangra beat and distributed sweets to express their jubilation over
the SCs verdict against the PM.
The nationalist leaders of Sindh appreciated the judgment of the
Supreme Court. Chairman Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party, Dr Qadir Magsi fully
supported the judgment, while saying that it proved the independence of
judiciary. The decision would be a part of the history of the country. Prime
Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani should now resign from his post without delay as
he had been convicted by the court, he opined.
Another nationalist leader and chief of the Sindh United Party (SUP),
Syed Jalal Mahmood Shah said the judgment of the court came late but was
correct. He said: The Patharidar had been convicted, while the real thief
was still at large. He was neither arrested nor had the money he looted been
recovered. The PPP was politicizing and manipulating the decision so as to
hide corruption and the contempt of court.
Activists of PPP took to the streets and staged demonstrations across
Sindh province burning tyres and blocking highways to record protest
against conviction handed down to Prime Minister Gilani by the apex court
while a PPP leader was also shot dead in Karachi by miscreants during a
protest demonstration. Nabeel Gabool said, We know the assailants

959

involved in Niazis murder. He said, Government must enforce curfew in

Lyari to carry out a thorough operation against criminals.
The PPP top leadership and heads of its coalition parties vowed to
stand behind the convicted Prime Minister Gilani and decided not to change
Leader of the House in the National Assembly. There is no question of
changing the Leader of the House. Yousuf Raza Gilani is our prime minister
and he will continue as PM, sources privy to deliberations of two important
meetings held at Aiwan-e-Sadr stated.
Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar said the
coalition partners congratulated the prime minister over his stance in
defending the constitution and expressed solidarity with him. He said that
the president thanked the coalition leaders for their support. Farhatullah said
that the meeting expressed dismay at courts sentencing an elected prime
minister who has been upholding the constitution and supremacy of the
parliament.
They expressed concern over attempts to dismiss an elected
government and an elected prime minister and vowed to stand by him. After
careful deliberations the meeting decided to give a robust, considered and
appropriate response to the new challenges. The meeting appreciated Aitzaz
and his team for the spirited and competent defence of the prime minister
and called upon them to study the full order of the court as and when it
becomes available and give their opinion on whether and when to file an
appeal against the verdict.
State Department spokesperson refused to speculate on impact of the
conviction on foreign policy issues. I am not going to speculate on the
impact of an internal matter on a foreign policy matter, other than to say that
we did have productive talks today and we think it is important that we get
back to our re-engagement. By the way, Ambassador Grossman will meet
Prime Minister Gilani, she stated. The PPP is regarded as pro-American,
while the military, which has the decisive say in foreign relations, as well as
the main Opposition parties, much more critical of the US policy in the
region.
The Washington Post said, The continuation of Gilani and his party
in power, at least for now, provides a measure of stability that experts say
should help speed the resumption of a cooperative, if uneasy, relationship
between the two counterterrorism allies... Gilani could have been sentenced
to up to six months in prison, but this ruling PPP was hardly pleased with the
outcome.
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The New York Times said that the token sentence deflated some of the
political pressure around the case, but which could result in Gilanis ouster.
The courtroom drama brought an immediate sense of relief that a feared
institutional clash had at least temporarily abated. But it also signaled that
the drama was moving from the judicial into the political arena, it said.
The Wall Street Journal said: By deciding not to send him to jail, the
Supreme Court is likely to ensure the current governments survival through
a full five-year term, the first full tenure in the nations long history of
military coups. A senior member of the ruling PPP said the government
was considering calling early elections, as permitted in Pakistans
Parliamentary system, possibly sometime between October and December,
it stated.
Next day, amid desk thumping by the treasury, Gilani attended the
National Assembly session and challenged the opposition to bring a noconfidence motion against him. I am an elected PM, representing 180
million people. How can anybody order an elected PM to go home, Gilani
asked the lawmakers a day after the Supreme Court convicted him for
contempt? Only the speaker has the authority to decide about my position,
he said in an aggressive tone in response to Opposition Leaders warning
against entering the NA. PML-N legislators left the house as Gilani entered
the hall.
Gilani said: Madam Speaker, You are not merely a post office... You
also have to apply your mind about my disqualification. I will step down
only if you de-notify me. I will accept if the parliament disqualifies me.
My crime is that I protected the constitution, Gilani said adding the PPP
would not work at anyones whim. We have majority in the house, and it
should be respected. If they didnt recognize me as the PM, I am at least a
member of this house.
Gilani came down on the Sharif brothers, saying, One brother doesnt
accept the president and the other rejects the PM, while the entire party
doesnt recognize the PTI. Gilani said he gave due respect to the judiciary.
The parliament is supreme and all institutions derive strength from it, he
said. All the presidents enjoyed immunity under the Vienna Convention.
This is an international law which is applicable throughout the world.
Declaring an open war against the PPP-led central government,
Nawaz Sharif said his party will use all options, including long march, to
throw Gilani out of premiership as he has lost constitutional legitimacy after
conviction by the Supreme Court. The government can face an unexpected
961

situation if Gilani dragged his feet and did not quit, he warned while asking
the nation to get ready as time for change has approached.
Since Gilanis conviction in contempt of court case, no government
exists at the centre, and whatever acts have been performed by him and his
cabinet carry no constitutional, legal and moral authenticity, Nawaz told an
emergency press conference. He and his party cannot allow perpetuation of
these unconstitutional acts therefore it has decided to spare no efforts and to
resort to every option from protest on the road, inside and outside the
parliament to long march to check the governments way, he warned.
The court decision, he said, was without any ambiguity and Gilani
stands disqualified for five years to hold assembly membership. When he is
not a member, how could he be a prime minister, he quizzed? But PPP rulers
were bent upon defying the judicial verdict no matter even if the court had
clearly asked Gilani to go to Multan instead of the parliament, he added.
Nawaz repeated his call to Gilani for immediate resignation so another prime
minister could write to the Swiss authorities and hold fresh elections.
He said their Central Working Committee will meet on Monday in
Islamabad to finalize strategy and the nitty-gritty of protest and the long
march. Nawaz said they will contact and take on board other opposition
parties in the protest movement. Responding to queries, Nawaz said the
already rocking ship of the country was being put to ever more trouble by
defying the SC order. He said actually President Zardari was responsible for
the current situation as he has used the PM in to protect his money stashed in
foreign banks.
Altaf Hussain telephoned Gilani and congratulated him on an
impressive and logical speech in the National Assembly. The MQM chief
said together they will continue to work for strengthening the democracy.
The Prime Minister thanked the MQM chief for expressing solidarity and
appreciated his leadership in strengthening the coalition government, both at
federal and provincial level.
In giving Prime Minister Gilani a token sentence, senior judges made
a tactical retreat amid confrontation with the government, according to The
New York Times, which went on to say that he could still be ousted and PPP
has made plans to replace him just in case. The lenient sentence (on
contempt charges) was a victory of sorts for Gilani and the governing PPP,
which have been pitted against the Supreme Court since January, and
brought a sense of relief that a feared institutional clash had at least
temporarily abated, the newspaper said in a dispatch from Islamabad.
962

But it also signaled the start of more tumult that might yet see Gilani
ousted, and which could also pave the way for early elections, Times
correspondent wrote. The newspaper further said the court could still have
the final say in Gilanis case. If the Prime Ministers appeal against
conviction fails, he is likely to face a move to have him fired under a
Constitutional provision that prohibits felons from holding public office, the
dispatch said.
Gilani, meanwhile, is positioning himself as a martyr to a hawkish
court a strategy that may already be paying dividends, given that his party
defeated a candidate from Nawaz Sharifs party in a by-election on
Thursday. Still, the case further polarizes Pakistans political scene at a
time of stiff economic, security and diplomatic challenges. Outside the
courthouse, government supporters said Gilani had been victimized by the
court, while critics, including many lawyers, insisted that it was time for him
to go, the paper added.
Victoria Nuland said, we continue to work with him (Gilani) and
Ambassador (Marc) Grossman did meet with him in Pakistan. Grossman
also met with President Zardari and Foreign Minister during his visit, aimed
at repairing the strained ties between two countries in light of Pakistani
Parliamentary guidelines.

Ideological subversion: On 27th April, the University of Peshawar

decided to include two books of Salman Rushdie in MPhil and PhD courses,
which will certainly hurt feelings of the people. According to the photocopy
of the proposals, having minutes of the meeting of Academic Council held
on March 16, 2012, the faculty of Department of English and Applied
Linguistics, University of Peshawar, had approved two books Midnights
Children and Shame, for MPhil and PhD courses.

Baloch militancy: On 26th April, Police claimed to have foiled a

suicide attack bid in Kirani area of Brewery Road, Quetta by shooting down
an alleged suicide bomber. During physical search of the deceased, police
claimed to have recovered a suicide jacket containing 4 to 5 kg explosive
material.
Next day, a man was shot dead in Quetta while a constable wounded
in a hand grenade attack in Dera Murad Jamali. At least two people,
including one security personnel, were killed and five others wounded when
unidentified armed men targeted a wagon near Rakhni area of Barkhan
district.

963

A court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Shahzain Bugti and his
27 security guards, who were arrested on December 22 when the FC
recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from their possession. The
accused had not appeared before the court as ordered, therefore the warrants
were issued.

Turf war in Karachi: On 27th April, FIA official and a policeman

were among eight killed in violence in the Lyari area of Karachi, as
gangsters and law enforcers fought pitched battle. Gangsters were targeting
both police and general public, as they retaliated to the police operation. The
criminal elements were using grenade launchers and other sophisticated
weapons against police and FC personnel, who tried to gain access to the
congested parts of Lyari.
Gangsters also targeted Gabol near Mira Naka, as they lobbed hand
grenades to eliminate the MNA, but he narrowly escaped the attack.
Reportedly, gangsters were hell-bent to stay in the area because police had
planned to resettle Arshad Papu and Ghaffar Zikri gang in Lyari against
Baba Ladla group. Police claim that they arrested around two dozen
gangsters while managed to destroy the dens of Mulla Nisar and Taj
Muhammad alias Taju.

VIEWS
Defiance of judiciary
PMs conviction: Over two months after the Supreme Court slapped
contempt of court charges on Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani The fact
of the matter is, the court has ruled what it had to and the PM walked out of
the courtroom, half-free, half-chastised, but what we are left with is a
Pakistan where there will be ever more and continued political acrimony and
uncertainty, which will only cripple an administration that has already shown
precious little will to tackle the economic and security challenges facing the
country.
As domestic political crisis escalates, the things that matter the
economy, for instance will only fall by the wayside. Reports in the media
this week say Pakistan might have to ask the IMF for a new borrowing
programme because of its high debt and balance of payments deficit. In its
latest quarterly report, the State Bank of Pakistan had warned of increased
risks to macroeconomic stability and increasing inflation because of
incessant government borrowing from the central bank in essence
964

depicting an economy on the path of self-destruction. And yet, while the real
troubles loom large, this government is more, in fact only, interested in
playing the political victim-martyr card that it has always held close to its
heart and that it feels will carry it to victory come election time. So as
Thursday ends, one thing is clear: there is only more political turmoil ahead
because this government has no interest in following the law or obeying
court orders. You may have walked out of the court a free man, Mr Prime
Minister, but you left behind an uglier, much much sadder Pakistan.
Congratulations. Or should we hang our heads in shame? (Editorial, The
News 27th April)
Conviction and defiance: Mr Gilani was handed down a nominal
sentence punishment till the rising of the court i.e. for 32 seconds but
the citing of Article 63-I (g) of the Constitution in its order purports to
disqualify him, accordingly to most jurists' opinions, from remaining an MP,
thus removing him as Prime Minister or for that matter barring him from
holding any official assignment. The verdict pronounced that the Prime
Minister had willfully defied the court order on the NRO.
It was not unexpected that the PPP and its allied parties would defy
and totally disregard the verdict. The hollow expression of respect for the
judiciary by the Prime Minister and others in the party hierarchy had been
well known. The PPP has the singular distinction of having a consistent
record of ignoring judgments that implicated its members in wrongdoings.
The announcement on Wednesday that Mr Gilani will chair a cabinet
meeting soon after the court had pronounced was a clear signal that
whatever the ruling, the coalition wanted him to stay in the job and, in all
likelihood, it would protest and demonstrate against the court in public.
Karachi, Larkana, Dadu and Multan witnessed PPP stalwarts leading
demonstrations. But by and large, the people, including a vast number of
PPP supporters, would pooh-pooh the very idea of disobeying the judicial
verdicts.
For the learned judges, it was hard to let him off. Most analysts
anticipating the reception of the judicial verdict in the civilized world and,
indeed, democracies are honoured without a murmur were confident that in
the face of the court's frustration at the Prime Ministers open ridiculing its
judgments, it would not be possible for him to go scot-free. Many from the
public interviewed by the media and opposition parties, notably the PML-N
and PTI, felt that Mr Gilani was morally and legally bound to tender his
resignation, whereas the PPP felt there was no such impetus. There are
numerous precedents in the world when heads of state and government after
965

being convicted quietly quit their jobs. However, Pakistan Attorney General
Irfan Qadir says, If she (the National Assembly Speaker) thinks that the
judgment is valid, she will forward it to the Election Commission, and she
will act otherwise, if she thinks the judgment is invalid. One would have
wished that our leadership that has become a laughing stock of the world for
its tactics to hold on to power despite widespread allegations of corruption
and, now, court defiance, had spared the nation this humiliation. (Editorial,
TheNation 27th April)
Gilani creates history, falls to new depths of ignominy: The
newly-added feather in PM (or ex-PM) Gilani's hat has made him
conspicuous amongst his contemporaries in the comity of nations as the
Supreme Court judgment has reduced him from His Excellency Hon'ble
Prime Minister to His Excellency the convicted and condemned Prime
Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
From an accused Prime Minister, Gilani has now attained the stature
of the only convicted prime minister in the world. Legally, he could now be
referred to as the convicted prime minister and that makes him different
from all other heads of the government in the world.
Gilani is also unique to have decided to continue as the prime minister
of Pakistan despite having been convicted and sentenced (till the rising of
the court) by the apex court of the country. While his uniqueness is also
unmatched in terms of corruption and bad governance, others in the outside
world leave their public offices on mere allegations.
There is no parallel in the recent history that a prime minister
continued to stay in office despite being convicted by a court of law. Thanks
to the Supreme Court's judicious decision that it did not send Gilani behind
the bars even for an hour. However, the ruling PPP was dying to see the
convicted prime minister making more history by becoming the only prime
minister in the history of humanity to have ruled the country from jail.
Aitzaz Ahsan, his counsel, had repeatedly said during the recent
weeks and months that if jailed, Gilani would continue governing from
behind the bars. While many raise the question of morality and expect from
the prime minister to resign, convictions and jails are nothing new for Gilani
and many of his party leaders. He was jailed and convicted in corruption and
misuse of power offences for his doings and misdoings as the speaker of the
National Assembly. However, a higher court granted a stay order against his
conviction that led to his emergence as the prime minister of Pakistan.

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It was during his tenure and because of the friendly prosecution of the
NAB and blessings of the Dogar Court that his conviction was set aside to
give him a smartly manoeuvred clean chit. Later, as a reward, the Dogar
judge, who declared him innocent, was made a judge in the AJK government
despite having being sacked by the independent judiciary. (Ansar Abbasi,
The News 27th April)
Full marks for a brilliant order, says legal expert: By passing a
smart and tactful order based on the Constitution and law against Prime
Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on the contempt charge, the Justice Nasirul
Mulk-led seven-member bench poured cold water on the Pakistan People's
Party's plans to depict him as a martyr with the objective of taking political
capital.
But the short order spanning just 18 lines was hard-hitting as it
imposed conviction, an indelible stigma for life, on Gilani till the rising of
the court and raised a highly serious question about his disqualification
through the laid down constitutional process. It is indeed a good, intelligent
order, based on the Constitution and law; the bench treaded very carefully,
without overstretching its power; and the order will stand the test of time,
noted constitutional expert Babar Sattar told
Full marks to the honourable justices for penning down a brilliant
order confining themselves to the constitutional and legal bounds. The PPP
was dreaming since the initiation of contempt proceedings against Gilani
that the prime minister would be sent behind the bars and it would have
another martyr to cash in, in order to present itself as a victim of the superior
judiciary. The order rendered the top PPP leaders speechless, who failed to
comprehend it for quite some time.
The short order left it to two vital constitutional organs the speaker
and ECP to show door to Gilani for having become ineligible on account
of his conviction by the court. Had it directly ordered his disqualification or
directed the ECP to issue the notification for his unseating, it would have
earned disapproval from certain quarters.
The speaker has no power to judge the court judgment to conclude
that no question (of Gilani's disqualification) has arisen otherwise she will
be accused of going against the judicial verdict. There will be no question
to be determined by her but the real issue would be the implementation of
the ruling.
In one sense, Gilani was held a violator of the Constitution as he
defied clause 2 of Article 204, which was referred to in the short order. This
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clause and the Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003 were invoked The
activation of the constitutional disqualification process in the instant case
will land the ball in the courts of Speaker Fehmida Mirza and the ECP to
unseat Gilani owing to his conviction.
Under Article 63(2), if any question arises whether a federal lawmaker
has become disqualified from being an MP, the speaker, in the case of a
member of the National Assembly, and the Chairman, in the case of a
Senator, shall, unless he decides that no such question has arisen, refer the
question to the ECP within 30 days and if he fails to do so within this period
it shall be deemed to have been referred to the ECP.
As per clause 3 of this article, the ECP, not the Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC), shall decide the question within 90 days from its
receipt or deemed to have been received and if it is of the opinion that the
member has become disqualified, he shall cease to be MP and his seat shall
become vacant Meanwhile, even after Gilani's conviction and likely
entailing of serious consequences including disqualification as MP, the nonimplementation of paragraph 178 of the 2009 judgment against the National
Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that ordered writing letters to Switzerland
to reopen graft cases, remains alive as before.
Babar Sattar said the apex court bench which was seized with the
NRO implementation case and would resume hearing on May 2 would deal
with the issue of writing letters to Swiss authorities. He believed that it may
appoint a commission under Article 90 to do so when the government
adamantly refuses to implement paragraph 178. (Tariq Butt, The News 27 th
April)
Articles 62 and 63: Apparently, the court has not invoked Article
63(1) g directly and convicted the prime minister under section 5 of the
contempt of court ordinance, but it does mention the said article in its verdict
and says that the finding and the conviction are likely to entail some serious
consequences in terms of this article which may be treated as a mitigating
factor to the sentence they pass. Meaning thereby, since the convict may face
disqualification from his office and his seat in parliament, they have
restricted themselves to a softer sentence.
let us now look at 63(1) g, the complete article it is a part of, and,
the preceding Article 62 of the Constitution. These articles were a part of the
1973 Constitution, subsequently amended in 1974 and made harsher in
1985. Article 62 deals with the qualifications for becoming a member of

968

parliament and Article 63 deals with causes for disqualification from the
membership.
While there are obvious reasons to have qualification and
disqualification criteria for members in any constitution, the articles our
Constitution contains have serious lacunae which can always be used to
politically victimize any elected member. The terms like good character,
good moral reputation, moral turpitude, practicing obligatory duties
prescribed by Islam, abstaining from major sins, Islamic injunctions,
Ideology of Pakistan, bringing into ridicule the judiciary or the armed forces,
etc are vague, immeasurable and hard to establish in a just way.
For instance, in legal terms, public life is affected by crime and not
sin. Morality is a relative concept and good reputation is highly subjective.
There was a two-nation theory when Pakistan was created. The Ideology of
Pakistan became a usable term only after Gen Sher Ali Pataudi promoted it
in 1969, soon to be desecrated in the eastern wing of the country. Besides,
what does ridiculing mean?
If some of the judges used the law of necessity in the past, legitimized
dictatorships or ruled under duress, can no parliamentarian of Pakistan raise
her concerns? If some generals abrogate the Constitution, manipulate
political events and violate the limits put by the Constitution, can no
parliamentarian raise his voice?
I share my view of Articles 62 and 63 with also Imran Khan, whose
politics I otherwise find without substance. He said in June 2007, when the
MQM presented a resolution against him, that these articles can only be
applied to angels and not human beings. (Harris Khalique, The News 27 th
April)
Why Aitzaz & Co are trying to make media a scapegoat: After
losing the case of their chief executive in the apex court of the country and
bringing to him the dishonour of becoming the first convicted PM of the
country, top notch lawyer Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and chief spokesman
Qamar Zaman Kaira, have turned their guns on a section of the media,
blaming it for all their failures in a blatant attempt to pitch the judiciary
against the media. Specifically they targeted the Jang Group.
The top PPP leadership, in a shameless display of public diplomacy,
wanted to find scapegoats as all their attempts to twist facts, give a vicious
perverted spin to events, mislead the judges and the people, insult the
superior courts in public, make fun of them in front of TV cameras and then

969

innocently claim inside the courts that the bench should not look at whatever
is happening outside their courtroom, had failed.
In their full house news conference, Aitzaz Ahsan and Kaira targeted
The News and Daily Jang. The leading lawyer had been trying for days and
weeks inside the Court Room No 4, before the Justice Nasirul Mulk bench,
to get a restraining order against the media. He would bicker, cry and shout
at the Jang Group, he would read from the stories and opinions expressed in
these newspapers and would repeatedly claim that he was under pressure.
The judges did not listen to him, as rightly so it did not matter to the case
before them.
The judges repeatedly denied Aitzazs plea to gag the media and
finally when he was frustrated, the Attorney General of Pakistan, who was
supposed to be the chief prosecutor, joined hands with him and started
arguing that everything wrong in the case was because of this small section
of the media. What a pathetic plight of the two top most judicial officers of
the country who could not argue their case before the judges but had to
bicker about some media reports, as if these columns were determining what
would be the fate of their prime minister and those powerful people in the
PPP, whose corruption they wanted to protect.
After the judgment on Thursday these two PPP leaders spoke at length
and again targeted the Jang Group. Earlier the information minister had a
shouting match with a top anchor of Geo, Kamran Khan, who practically
gave him some shut up calls. Is then the media the real villain and has the
prime minister been convicted because the media ran a few stories on what
Aitzaz Ahsan had done inside the courtroom or had failed to do or say the
right things before the judges?
Both Aitzaz and Kaira complained that a specific media campaign was
launched to create a certain environment, this section of media initiated this
campaign, they targeted the prime minister, they ridiculed Barrister Aitzaz
Ahsan, to dishearten and defame him.
Aitzaz grumbled that those who had sharpened their knives and tools
were shocked, as they were thinking that the prime minister would be sent to
jail. They wanted on January 19, 2012 that the prime minister should be
handcuffed. But, they were disappointed. Kaira Sb would have remembered
that these are the same people who were saying in 2008-09 that president has
to go and the only thing that was to be decided was whether he will leave the
Presidency on his feet or will go out in an ambulance, he went on cribbing.

970

This section of media, he said, was misrepresenting my arguments.

They were telling lies in their stories and columns. They wrote Aitzaz had
become speechless and tongue-tied. They wrote Aitzaz was seeing left and
right, up and down. They created an environment against me.
Then he asked the same media the following question: Those who
were attacking me by sharpening their knives and tools should answer today
how a judgment has been penned down out of the ambit of the charge-sheet.
If this certain section of the media is fair it should question and criticize the
judiciary for penning down a judgment and delivering a verdict on charges
which were not even reflected in the charge sheet.
All this harangue against the media just shows how weak and feeble
the political and legal case he has to defend a PM who is doing nothing but
protect corruption of powerful people in the party, no matter if he tramples
upon all the constitutional, legal, moral and ethical standards of politics and
decency.
Aitzaz Ahsan has been simply playing tricks with words and
misleading everyone when blaming the media and the Jang Group. He had
taken a U-Turn on his own words on the Swiss letter issue but when the
media pointed this out, he could not digest it.
He still thinks he is the darling of everyone because he drove the
Chief Justice of Pakistans car to his restoration and that the media should
forever remain grateful to him, no matter if he has joined the club of the
corrupt, defending them and their looted wealth on petty legal or technical
grounds.
In the process, after remaining in the bad books of his leadership for
months and years, for which he duly earned respect, he has now sold himself
for a Senate seat and some other goodies to come. He has seen but preferred
not to understand the plight of what has been done to persons like Babar
Awan and many others.
As for the Jang Group, we have reported everything, as it should have
been done, without fear or favour. The judges of the Supreme Court have
repeatedly acclaimed the role of the media, numerous stories have been
picked up in suo moto cases and these issues have become major cases of
national importance for the national politics and economy. The judges at
times have even asked the Jang Group to provide evidence, which the
government officials and ministries conveniently lost because they could
have been incriminating. One such report was submitted to the SC by Hamid
Mir in his talk show only on Wednesday.
971

The News and the Jang Group are being targeted because they raised
issues of critical importance well in time so that the Supreme Court benches
do not forget these issues and this is what hurt Aitzaz Ahsan and Company
the most. It was the honour of the Jang Group to pinpoint the hidden but
crucial issues which the government lawyers were trying to overlook or
brush under the carpet.
What we did not do was to support Aitzaz Ahsan or his prime
minister, just like many other media outlets have decided to do. But for this
Aitzaz has been twisting facts and scolding us for what we never did. For
instance we never said that the prime minister will be, or should be,
handcuffed. But he accused us of saying this. What we never did was to say
that the president would go out of the Presidency in an ambulance. Yes, we
did report what the president himself had told his friends and that was
correctly quoted. The president had been telling people himself that he
would leave the Presidency in an ambulance, or go to jail, or stay where he
is. So far he is right but Aitzaz is wrong in misquoting us.
What has become even more blatant and intolerable is that the
government has crossed all limits of breaking the rules, traditions and legal
and ethical practices in pursuing its agenda of corruption and saving the
looters and plunderers. All institutions have been turned into handmaidens of
the rulers, without for a moment wondering what will happen when this
house of cards falls to its feet.
Institutions like NAB, FIA, Election Commission and even Attorney
General have been forced into toeing the government line. The climax was
seen in the PMs case when the chief prosecutor joined hands with the
defence counsel to protect, instead of prosecuting, the accused. Both the AG
and the Defence Counsel though lost. So now they have to blame somebody,
find some scapegoat and try to clutch at some straws to save their leaders.
What they forget is that powerful dictators and civilian autocrats in the past
failed to coerce the media in general and the Jang Group in particular and
they will also fail. They cannot pitch the media against the judiciary, and
vice versa. (Shaheen Sehbai, The News 27th April)
One happy convict: Thank you lord, but not my lords, for bringing
the contempt case to a close. Well, almost. The prime minister apparently got
what he deserved for willfully trashing the verdict of not one judge or two
but the full bench of the highest court of the land. But was it enough? Did
the court go the required nine yards? Not really.

972

Yes the prime minister was convicted but within seconds he was home
free as well. His premiership tucked safely under his belt and with no serious
threat to be taken away during the remaining months of his term in office,
the prime minister could not have secretly asked for a better verdict. That he
would be held guilty was a given but given his office back for keeps was
not.
The wording of the short order clearly indicates that the matter of
prime ministers ultimate disqualification has been thrown in the
parliamentary procedural labyrinth. The country and the people will now be
subjected to many more torturous months of legal bickering over how and
when to, if ever so, to disqualify the premier. Did this conviction bring us
any closer to the implementation of the original NRO order of the full
bench? Apparently not. The environment of uncertainty spawned by this
display of judicial restraint will only contribute to the further deterioration
of governance and the woes of the already sputtering economy.
Did the countrys highest court just blink? Yes. An unambiguous
categorical defining of status was warranted by circumstances. Instead of
creating a new state of legal limbo, perhaps the court would have done
everyone a bigger favour by swallowing its pride and simply looking the
other way and exonerating the prime minister altogether. At least things
would have settled down once and for all and some semblance of normalcy
would have returned to the system creaking under the weight of legal
maneuvers. But what we witnessed instead was the court making a big issue
out of the countrys chief executive having caused irreparable damage to the
process of law and the courts dignity and then, after convicting the
gentleman, just letting him walk away into the legal haze with merely a slap
on the wrist.
The court has itself justified mitigating the sentence till the rising of
the court on the grounds of the possible ramifications of Article 63(1)(g)
subsequently coming into play. What logic or consideration stopped it from
taking the matters to a logical conclusion by giving a circumspect order on
the PMs eligibility to continue in office, well never know. What we do
know however is that after months of the grand standoff between the
executive and the judiciary and a conviction pit stop, the nation has been
forced on yet another roller-coaster ride promising to last for quite a few
months.
The prime minister is a convict but remains the prime minister. The
letter he was supposed to write remains unwritten. It is only a matter of time

973

now before another serious standoff takes place between the judiciary and
the executive on the issue of the writing of the letter to the foreign
authorities. The prime minister flatly refused to do so in the first round and
continues to hold office despite a conviction. Why will his stance change in
the coming months? When will he again be asked by the SC court to write
the letter? And what happens when he refuses again? Does he get hauled in
fresh on the same stale charge of defying the Supreme Court? We dont
know whats going to happen on this front in the coming weeks while the
drama of his disqualification runs parallel.
If as is being suggested, the full bench may be constrained to form a
sort of commission with the authority, rather a directive, to write the letter to
the foreign governments, then again the prime minister will unquestionably
take the court head-on and the nation will be caught in the midst of another
drawn out battle. Only this time, buoyed by the cowering of the court in the
past, we will definitely see an even more aggressive executive. In fact, in
such a scenario the possibility of the entanglement taking on the complexion
of one between parliament and the apex judiciary, and not just the executive
cannot be ruled out. The weak-kneed action by the seven-member bench
may just have sired a future political crisis of unmanageable proportions.
The restraining prudence shown by the bench is nothing but another
form of doctrine of necessity with the judges ostensibly trying to save the
system from a sudden shock. And we thought the days of such doctrines
were over. It has repeatedly been argued in these columns that rule of law
will not become the rule in this country till the lands top judges confined
themselves to passing judgments based on points of law and not on the
consequences of their decisions outside the confines of their courtrooms.
Justice will not be served for as long as legal verdicts are tampered by
considerations other than pure legal arguments.
The nation definitely did not take to the streets and brave Gen
Musharrafs henchmen and brutalities to restore judges who too would
ultimately succumb to the convenience of comforting pragmatic decisions
rather than pure legal verdicts that may cause system shocks and bring
governments down but ultimately uphold the rule of law. If an exception is
made for the present judges for showing restraint in the larger national
interest, then no moral justification remains for criticizing the justices
Munirs and Dogars of this world, for they too acted as per their own
definition of judicial restraint and modified behaviors in what they must
have perceived as being the larger national interest.

974

With the legal hassle about his continuity in office brushed under the
carpet by the judicial brush, Prime Minister Gilanis conviction has brought
to the fore the moral and ethical aspect of his staying in office. Is it legal for
the prime minister to stay on? Yes. Will he manage to hang on for the next
few critical months right up to the next general elections? Yes. But, if it is
morally appropriate for him to continue in office after his conviction for
disobeying the countrys top court is the question.
The case of the prime ministers conviction must not be viewed as that
of the conviction of a politician placing party loyalties above his obligation
to the Constitution. In essence, it is that of the nations chief lawmaker
becoming the chief lawbreaker as well. Parliament is the source of all
legislation and the leader of the house is its custodian. It is parliament that
must make the law of the land and it is for its leader, the prime minister, to
ensure its implementation as the head of the executive. How then can that
custodian stay on morally and ethically when he stands convicted of
deliberately abandoning his prime constitutional obligation? Pakistans
ruling political elite however has never been too concerned about the moral
and ethical aspects of public life and it would be nave to expect a change of
heart just because of one watered down conviction.
At a cursory glance, the prime minister appears to have been dealt a
severe blow because of his conviction. But in real terms, he must be one
heck of a happy convict for he has lost little. Our version of democracy is
built around power politics and not necessarily peoples politics and as long
the power base remains secure, little else matters. The prime minister
continues to remain secure in his office and has enough time at his disposal
to orchestrate his future political moves. Round one to the court-defying
executive. (Mohammad Malick, the News 27th April)
The day after: Heres what happened in Courtroom No 4 this
Thursday One day later, now that the dust has settled somewhat, it would
be fair to say that not wanting to be dragged into further controversy and
ruling in favour of the continuity of the democratic process rather than of
parochial institutional interests, the seven-member bench has passed on the
question of the PMs disqualification to parliament and opted for
constitutional disqualification. Clearly, then, the judiciary has chosen the
least confrontational and most lawful route.
And how has our dear prime minister responded? He came on the
floor of the National Assembly Friday and refused to step down after his
contempt of court conviction, saying only the countrys parliament could

975

remove him from office. There is no law to remove an elected prime

minister; parliament is the supreme authority and only this parliament has
the authority to remove me, he said in a tone of utter insubordination.
Challenging the PML-N to bring a vote of no confidence against him, the
PM said he represented the 180 million people of Pakistan: How can
anybody order an elected prime minister to go home? Only the speaker of
the house, who is the custodian of this house, has the authority to decide. I
am ready to quit if this parliament disqualifies me.
Indeed, the PM wasnt the only one who took on a defiant tone.
Minutes after the judgment, newly appointed Attorney General Irfan Qadir
declared the order void ab initio, illegal and unconstitutional, saying it
should be ignored. Accusing the court of deciding the contempt issue on a
political rather than legal basis he said he could not be party to a decision
that had violated the Constitution. The PMs counsel Aitzaz Ahsan, as
expected, also said the apex court had gone beyond the scope of an
indictment. Why has the government side decided to opt for such a
confrontational stance in the face of a court that clearly just wants the
parliamentary and constitutional process to unfold and lead to the most fair
and non-controversial outcome? The government has already done
everything to convince us it has nothing but contempt for the idea and the
practice of the rule of law. The PMs performance this Friday only
strengthened this impression and sent home the message that he is willing to
sink his weak government ever deeper into crisis to be on the right side of
his boss, even if it means always being on the wrong side of the law.
(Editorial, The News 28th April)
Another contempt? Prime Minster Gilani has questioned the
implication of his disqualification following his sentence by the Supreme
Court in a contempt of court case on Thursday. First, soon after the courts
pronouncement, he chaired a cabinet meeting that extended him full support
and upheld this view. Secondly, he addressed the National Assembly on
Friday, asserting that no one except Parliament and the NA Speaker had the
authority to disqualify and unseat him. One wonders whether Mr Gilanis
stand disregarding the court judgment constitutes another contempt; it
certainly is the continuation of confrontational policy of the government.
Parliamentary supremacy that would brook no intrusion from any outside
agency is now a well known principle with the PPP and its allies
During his address on the floor of the House, he severely criticized the
Sharif brothers and indirectly threatened that the Punjab government could
be brought down only with intelligence; funds were not needed. The PPP
976

believed in the policy of taking everyone along though it had the opportunity
to form government in the province in 2008. In a somewhat ridiculing
manner, he said that one brother would not recognize the President and the
other the Prime Minister, adding that if anyone did not have confidence in
him he could bring before the House a no-confidence motion.
Several eminent jurists have in the meantime observed that Mr Gilani
stands convicted, he is disqualified under Article 63 (1) g to remain an MP,
hold the office of Prime Minister or any other office under the government.
It is a matter of great pity that Mr Gilani and his party refuse to abide by the
cardinal principle of the Constitution that binds all, without exception, to
bow before the judicial verdicts, let alone of the Supreme Court. There is no
other way to establish the writ of law in the country. The government should
know that the eyes of the entire world, particularly of friendly countries, are
on Pakistan hoping that democracy takes firm roots here and is able to get
out of the effects of harm done to its polity by the several bouts of military
rule which had prevailed here. (Editorial, TheNation 28th April)
Another badge of honour: What was the point of taking note of the
contempt matter and dragging it on for months if all the gumption that the
Supreme Court was capable of was inflicting 30 seconds of shame? This is
the gist of one set of criticisms of the prime ministers contempt case. The
case and its verdict are devoid of legal merit and completely political, being
a continuation of our judiciarys history and proclivity to treat the PPP
unfairly, charge the minions of the Zardari PPP. Why is the court obsessing
over high-profile cases affecting a handful of individuals within the echelons
of power that have no relevance to the lives and miseries of the ordinary
folk, is yet another criticism? Is there a gap between what the court did and
what it ought to have done in the prime ministers contempt case?
The prime minister was charged, under Section 3 of the Contempt of
Court Ordinance, 2003, for willfully disobeying a final order of the Supreme
Court in a manner that tended to bring the authority of the court and the
administration of law into disrespect and disrepute. The instruction included
in the NRO judgment of writing to the Swiss authorities to state that
Pakistan never legally withdrew its status as a civil party in money
laundering proceedings, involving some 60 million dollars stolen from
Pakistan was unambiguous. The prime minister took a position in court that
he was bound by the advice rendered by his law ministry asking him not to
write to the Swiss on the ground that the matter involved Asif Zardari and
such a letter couldnt be written in view of Article 248 of the Constitution
that affords the president immunity against criminal proceedings.
977

The prime minister accepted such advice but didnt require the federal
government to raise the issue of presidential immunity in the review filed
against the NRO ruling, which once dismissed made the NRO order final
and unalterable. On hearing the prime ministers excuse for not complying
with the NRO order, the Supreme Court once again asked the prime minister
to remedy the wrong and write the letter, even if he previously believed that
he was under an obligation not to. To this the prime minister responded with
a two-pronged strategy: in court his lawyer raised technical arguments about
due process under Article 10-A of the Constitution; and in the political arena
the narrative about personal loyalty to the party head taking precedence over
compliance with court orders and the judicial wolf eyeing the poor PPP was
reinvigorated.
Notwithstanding Aitzaz Ahsans clever play with words, it was hard to
fudge the underlying reality: the NRO judgment had attained finality and
required to be implemented, and the prime minister and the PPP had decided
not to do so, come what may.
The Supreme Court repeatedly persuaded the prime minister to
comply with the court order without avail and consequently a guilty verdict
in the contempt matter was the writing on the wall. It is hard to see how any
amount of legal wizardry could have obfuscated the facts or changed settled
law: the principle of separation of power dictates that the judiciary has the
last word on the meaning of the Constitution and its interpretation is binding
on the executive; and the prime minister doesnt have the privilege to
determine that it might not be an opportune time to implement a binding
court order in view of his personal reading of the Constitution.
In this backdrop, the court had no option but to convict the prime
minister and it did. That is the first component of the short order. The second
component deals with sentencing. The prime minister was punished till the
rising of the court. The doctrine of proportionality requires that punishment
should be commensurate with the wrong done. If the prime minister has
indeed flouted a binding court directive deliberately and brought the
judiciary and the administration of law into disrespect, why was he being let
go with a slap on the wrist?
The court hinted that the prime ministers contempt conviction was
likely to trigger Article 63(1)(g) of the Constitution, and disqualification as
member of the National Assembly and consequently prime minister being
serious punishment, the court viewed that as a mitigating factor in
determining the quantum of his punishment under the contempt law.

978

Article 63(2) of the Constitution requires the speaker of the National

Assembly to refer the matter of disqualification of a member within 30 days
of it having arisen, unless she affirmatively declares that no such question
has arisen. Thus, if the Supreme Court ruling states that Article 63(1)(g) has
been triggered, the question of disqualification has arisen without doubt.
The speaker then, devoid of any discretion in opining on the question
of disqualification, is required to act as a conduit and send the matter to the
Election Commission. The Election Commission, under Article 63(3) then
has 90 days to act. The language of Section 3 of the Contempt Ordinance
and Article 63(1)(g) of the Constitution is analogous. Further, section 18 of
the Contempt Ordinance states that a court finding that the contempt is
substantially detrimental to the administration of justice or scandalous is a
prerequisite for a guilty verdict in a contempt case.
In other words, since the promulgation of the Contempt Ordinance,
2003, there cannot possibly be a contempt verdict against a parliamentarian
that doesnt trigger Article 63(1)(g). Now that the prime minister has been
declared guilty of contempt, his disqualification under Article 63(1)(g) is a
natural corollary of such conviction. The only thing that remains to happen
is the completion of the process of disqualification, as mandated by Article
63(2) and (3). And in complying with the process neither the speaker nor the
Election Commission has the authority to sit in judgment over the decision
of the Supreme Court and determine whether Article 63(1)(g) has been
rightly invoked, unless the detailed order of the Supreme Court itself leaves
the question open for adjudication by the Election Commission. Hopefully
the detailed order will clarify all this.
Let us revert to the criticisms we started with. The object of the
Contempt law is not to award rigorous imprisonment to derelicts, but to
censure them with a view to ensure compliance of court orders. The glare
over prime ministers contempt case was not due to the courts beckoning,
but due to medias over-enthusiasm. Those who aspired to see the case
instigating regime change or the prime minister being handcuffed and
Pakistan being turned into a circus had set themselves up for
disappointment.
But more dangerously, the PPP instead of recognizing the judicial
restraint applied here now seems eager to brew a clash between parliament
and the judicature. Its legal wizards have the audacity to assert that the
speaker can sit in appeal over the court ruling and declare that no question
about disqualification has arisen. The trend here is consistent. The contempt

979

case was fundamentally about the ruling regime refusing to acknowledge

that judicial decisions are binding on the executive. Its response to the
contempt decision is that the speaker of the National Assembly can also
disregard clear orders of our highest court.
Such invidious interpretation of the Constitution and the deliberate
provocation of a conflict between two coordinate pillars of the state will hurt
our scheme of separation of powers and the evolution of institutional norms
and practices likely to strengthen democracy and rule of law. And none of
this is irrelevant for the ordinary folk for at the heart of this debate is the
question of whether in our country the law applies to the weak and the
mighty alike and whether loyalty to individuals will continue to trump
allegiance to the Constitution. This is a battle between the ugly status quo
and hope for change. It is time to pick sides. (Babar Sattar, The News 28th
April)
Presenting the (convicted) PM: The whole battalion of ministers
(recently appointed/reshuffled and of the strangest new portfolio fame), went
with the Prime Minister to show strength and support for him when the
judgment in the contempt case was to be announced. They have it all wrong.
All of them have been elected, in essence, to show strength and support for
the people and the Constitution of Pakistan. But looking at the ground
reality, nobody would ever think so! If it was not so serious, it would be
quite funny actually.
It is like games and lollipops for children. The very least one expects
from a mature and responsible politician, thus declared by the highest court
of the land, is resignation. It might also wash away some of the dirt that is
stuck almost like glue to his name and to that of his offspring. It might also
give them a chance of coming back in another election, but as Ayesha
Siddiqa, the eminent scholar, maintains after research, that long-term vision
is something we are genetically incapable of, for some strange reason.
The fact that the Supreme Court did not also disqualify the Prime
Minister in its judgment for contempt has ensured that the country remains
in a disarray for quite some time more We are now the odd country where
the guy who heads the government has to wear the label of 'convicted' like
others do their medals. I suppose it happens when the non-deserving are
appointed Chief Executives in lieu of the loyalty factor alone.
Despite all the arguments possible made by the noisy fraternity of
lawyers on both sides of the divide who, apparently, can argue
inconclusively till kingdom come, the general perception and opinion
980

favours resignation by the Prime Minister. The effusive and loud mubariks
that were given to the Prime Minister by his Cabinet colleagues after the
verdict reminded me of the children's story wherein the king was parading
naked, but his courtiers kept saying: What beautiful clothes your majesty!
We the public are very much like the small boy who was looking on and
whom nobody bothered with, even when he kept saying: The king has no
clothes!
In all this, it is the PML-N, who now have to practice what they keep
talking about. It is a defining moment, more or less, like the PowellMusharraf dialogue, are you with us or against us? It is no longer
acceptable or possible for them to have their cake and eat it too. Their fear of
the faujis taking over must be set aside, if they are to remain relevant in the
world of politics. They have done the friendly opposition bit when that was
their need of the day, followed by the sloganeering opposition bit to show
they were on the side of the public. Now is the time for actual action and
final positioning that can only be postponed, if they can risk their urban vote
bank. Somebody among our politicians should think about longevity and
how history is going to judge them way after all judgments have been
passed. (Tallat Azim, TheNation 28th April)
The verdict and after: The legal side of the case apart, the PPP has
already politicized the matter. Meetings have been held in the presidency
and more street action is possibly on the cards. An urgent meeting of the
Cabinet chaired by Mr Gilani has been held to signal a message that nothing
has changed and as if the court proceedings were merely a gust of wind that
has come and gone.
A section of the media has been critical of the restraint exercised by
the court the editor of a leading newspaper going to the length of saying
that the restraining prudence shown by the bench is nothing, but another
form of the doctrine of necessity.
That the PPP will persist in refusing to honour the court verdict is a
foregone conclusion. It will resort to all kinds of devices, including the use
of the Sindh card if considered necessary. Little, however, does it realize that
a denial of the imperative of abiding by the Supreme Court judgment will
add to confusion and resultant instability in the country at a time when it is
facing formidable internal and external challenges. The US special
representative, Marc Grossman, is already in Islamabad holding talks with
high level civil and military office holders. A crisis-ridden government will
find itself considerably handicapped to put up a robust stand, while

981

negotiating the new terms of engagement in accordance with the guidelines

and directives contained in the parliamentary resolution.
The circumstances, thus, warrant restraint on the part of the central
ruling elite and avoid adding to further turbulence. If, however, they stick to
their aggressive, confrontationist stance, the opposition too will step up their
agitational activities. The economy is already in serious trouble. And so is
governance and the state of law and order. One may only hope that better
sense will prevail and the sagacious senior members of the ruling party will
counsel the top leadership to realize the vital importance of upholding the
rule of law, even if it hurts their personal interests. (Inayatullah, TheNation
28th April)
SC verdict a warning shot at PPP: The Thursday judgment could
be the warning shot if the government understands its true spirit, therefore
instead of diverting the attention of public from detrimental consequences of
it, the Prime Minister respecting the judgment should step down. The
symbolic punishment could be the sigh of relief for the Premier for the time
being but the nightmare is not over yet, as the seven-member Supreme Court
has to pass an appropriate order on the implementation of NRO
With the 30 seconds sentence the PM and his cabinet minister came
happily out of the court but with the stigma of conviction, which could only
be washed away by the court. The objective of the court has been fulfilled
and technically the PM is disqualified though he, his ministers and the PPP
leadership say that the PP is not disqualified. Anwar Mansoor, former
attorney generalsaid the apex court of the country has convicted the PM
therefore there should be no doubt in the Speakers mind to send the
reference to the Election Commission of Pakistan. (Terence J Sigamony,
TheNation 28th April)

Taming the military

The men in khaki: As far back as I can remember, one thing that I
was always known for by anyone who knew me, whether as passing
acquaintances or fast friends, was that three subjects were explicitly taboo as
far as any sort of criticism just or otherwise, subtle or blatant, was concerned
unless, of course, they were ready to have their heads bitten off. They were
Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam and Pakistan Army. Never once was I ashamed to
be emotional about them, nor concerned that such a stance will portray a one
dimensional thought process, generally scoffed at by most, if not all
intellectuals. However, as age calmed the volatility of youth and experience
taught tact, sentiments such as these were more often than not kept to
982

oneself; opinions, however offensive, were tolerated and army bashing was
taken in stride as questions that disturbed even my intellect were ruthlessly
asked and pointedly highlighted to ridicule an unquestioning loyalty to an
institution which to me is synonymous with Pakistan, its army.
It took the sacrifice of more than a 100 soldiers to jar me out of that
intellectual complacency and shame me into admitting that there is nothing,
absolutely nothing wrong with being irrationally sentimental about an
institution which has given us so much for so long. It reminded me that
when I say Pakistan Army, I do not speak of generals or the ever theorized
sinister establishment or any of our historic dictators; I speak of the
common soldier. He epitomizes the army. A man who stands up and says my
country means more to me than my life, I will sacrifice my comfort so that
others may rest easy, I will bear the harshest of conditions to stand guard so
that others may be safe, I will endure separation from loved ones so that
others need not and if need be I will gladly lay down my life so that my
fellow countrymen can be spared. So next time you slur the army, it is this
man that you dishonour.
So much has been said and written about the corrupt elements present
in the army, the budget allocation to defence, martial laws and, of course,
General Zia and General Musharraf, that we somehow miss the most basic
facts in all such debates. Men who go into the army are not reared in
laboratories or sent from above; they are part of the same demographic that
calls itself Pakistani the only difference is that the army, perhaps, is the
only institution in Pakistan that has a system in place, which actually works,
at least for most part; a system that allows accountability and integrity; that
ensures honesty and hard work by drilling its participants with all sorts of
physical and intellectual challenges. There is no denying that mistakes were
made, and some did put personal interest in front of national interest, but
that is inevitable wherever humans are part of the equation. Yet, during times
of crisis our first line of defence has always been our soldiers. Whether we
like it or not, the huge defence budget has been Pakistans necessity, rather
than the armys luxury. Anyone who has gone step by step through our
history knows under what conditions Pakistan was made, what challenges
we faced from day one and how the continued existence of our motherland is
nothing short of a miracle in itself. Starting from scratch at the time of
Independence to being a nuclear power today is a monumental achievement
for Pakistan and the role of the armed forces has been integral in this. The
bitterest of all truths is that where all faux pas and all blunders are so
glaringly apparent to everyone and highlighted to no end by the so-called
983

experts or champions of democracy, all the sweat and blood and all the
sacrifices that are part of a soldiers everyday existence go unnoticed.
I have always been frustrated with the assumption that a soldiers life
is one of luxury, the general perception that exists is that you join the army
and a horde of servants are at your beck and call, you have a fleet of cars at
your disposal, you live in the best neighbourhoods unjustly acquired by the
army for your comfort and in general live like lords ruling over the less
fortunate civilians - and I think to myself, how can I show them the life a
soldier and his family actually lives. The agony of knowing that life and
death hangs in a delicate balance for a loved one posted in Siachen or
fighting against insurgents on the western border. The anguish of receiving
the dead body of your son, who hadnt even seen his 25th birthday or the
grief of widowhood a year into your marriage, such is life for a soldier and
his family. There is neither fortune, nor fame for a common soldier; there is
just honour in life and honour in death.
Today as another 135 families are devastated by the loss of a loved
one, I stand and salute our armed forces and their families. I give them my
utmost respect and gratitude and ask their forgiveness for not realizing just
how much I owe them. (Mariam Habib, TheNation 28th April)

REVIEW
The regime had planned in advance to defy the verdict in contempt of
court case and to that end it had scheduled a special cabinet meeting, which
was chaired by Gilani soon after coming from the apex court. He drove
straight to the conference room where he was applauded for his victorious
outing against the Supreme Court of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
With the holding of this conference the defiance plan of the regime
was unleashed with full ferocity, though it had already begun with Attorney
General Irfan Qadirs foray outside the court soon after the announcement of
the verdict. He had declared the verdict unconstitutional and illegal.
After the special cabinet meeting, Aitzaz and Kaira jointly addressed
a press conference in which they took on all the adversaries of the regime
simultaneously. Aitzaz pointed out basic flaws in the verdict, indirectly
causing aspersions on the competence of the judges. Kaira criticized the
political opponents and both indulged in selective media bashing.
Next day, Gilani addressed the National Assembly in triumphant tone
and challenged PML-N to try and dislodge him by bringing no confidence
984

motion. He also cautioned Speaker of the Assembly not to act like a post
office when she receives the court order. He directed her to refer the matter
to the House for final decision, in other words, Parliament, not the Supreme
Court, is final judicial authority in the country.
It appeared that the seven judges on the bench tried to be smart in
saying in round-about way what they should have said in forthright manner.
They announced, and promulgated the minor sentence right in the court
room but only dropped hints, though very clear, about the real punishment
that Gilani would be ultimately awarded. They seemed to have
unsuccessfully tried to outsmart the cunning squad of the Scoundrel and the
Saint.
They are not afraid of Judiciary, Army and political opponents as long
as they have the support of the American masters. Washington wasted no
time in conveying that despite the conviction of Gilani by the Apex Court in
contempt of court case the United States recognized him as Prime Minister
of Pakistan and would continue contacts with him accordingly.
28th April, 2012

985

WAR WITHIN-VII
The Saint said the world wondered as to what kind of verdict was
passed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 th April. He and his party
leaders believed that the court had punished him for defending the
Constitution; whereas the court itself had violated certain provisions of the
Constitution. Therefore, he refused to step down as he considered himself
legally and morally more correct than those who criticized and condemned
him.
Notwithstanding the basis of the pretext concocted to defy the court
verdict, the Saint was absolutely correct in using the word wondered.
Whether someone outside Pakistan wondered or not, in Pakistan majority
of the people wondered over the sentence that lasted thirty-two seconds,
despite the justification of mitigation mentioned in the short order. Jiyalas
wondered because the punishment fell short of earning the status of martyr.
Everyone had something to wonder, even the Chief Justice wondered as
he did not have the requisite number of judges to constitute a bench to hear
an appeal.
Nawaz Sharif, the leader of major opposition party wondered over
how to act to counter regimes defiance of the Supreme Court endeavouring
to establish rule of law. He was visibly indecisive but media and some
hawks in his party coaxed him to confront the defiant Prime Minister.
Nawaz announced the protest programme of his party and Imran too adopted
similar stance but both remained distant apart from joining hands against
common political adversary.

NEWS
Power politics: On 30th April, Chief Justice admonished authorities
of the four provinces over undue delay in holding of local bodies (LB)
elections. He said that after 18th amendment, the local bodies have
completely come within the domain of provinces but despite lapse of a long
period LB polls have not been conducted. The governments cannot violate
the constitution for even single minute but local bodies elections are not
being held for a long period if you have already decided to violate the
constitution, which is being done by you, the court will not play the role of a
silent spectator, he remarked.
After hearing the stance of advocate generals of the four provinces,
the bench observed that governments of all provinces have principally
986

committed to fulfill their constitutional obligation and they have pledged to

hold local bodies elections as soon as possible. However, they have apprised
the bench of some problems in conducting the polls thus a thorough
consultation would be made before next date of hearing, he added. Issuing
notice to Chief Election Commissioner, the bench said that the court be
apprised about the voters lists on next date of hearing.
Next day, Prime Minister Gilani announced increasing minimum
wages of labours from Rs7,000 to Rs8,000 and promised resolving all the
problems faced by the workers. But Punjab Chief Minister went a step
further and announced an Rs2,000 pay raise. Shahbaz said the federal
government did not provide welfare funds to the province under 18 th
Amendment and had usurped the right of the provinces, but the rulers would
be held accountable for the deed.
Earlier, Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the labour colony. He said the antilabour federal government did not provide electricity to the colony only for
the reason that the PML-N government had launched the project for the
working class. He warned to raise the issue jointly with the labourers against
the Pepco and Lesco, if electricity supply was not ensured within few days.
Closing the chapter of former federal law minister Dr Babar Awan in
PPP, the party leadership stripped him off all posts. After failing to remove,
what he termed, the misunderstanding between him and the party high-ups,
Dr Babar Awan has returned the bulletproof vehicle given to him by the
party Co-Chairman while his brother Farooq Awan whose portfolio as
adviser to Prime Minister on Law and Justice was changed as adviser to PM
on Postal Services was also forced out from this position as well.

Rule of law: On 29th April, the NAB said that the Transparency
International has misquoted its Chairman when it said that NAB would
deduct 25 per cent from the recovery of the RPPs. the chairman has not
given any such statement to any of the news organizations regarding
deduction of 25 % share on recovery of looted money from RPPs. However,
under the rules NAB can claim its share as a reward on recovery of looted
money from plunderers.
Next day, a two-member bench of the Supreme Court heard a petition
of Syed Jahangir, president Trade Union Foundation of the bank, for
recovery of looted money. Hashmat Habib, counsel for the petitioner, argued
that the FIA after the completion of inquiry and prima facie establishment of
allegation of misappropriation of over Rs2 billion is legally bound to register
cases and conduct investigation and effect recovery of looted amount of
987

bank staff. Hashmat contended that the culprits are not only linked with the
top slot of the country but are very influential therefore they got the
registration of cases pending in spite of the permission granted by DG FIA.
Akram Sheikh, who represented the beneficiaries, contended that FIA
has already been investigating the case on the order of the apex court
therefore the bench should wait for its findings. The court after hearing the
arguments of both the parties ordered the FIA to register the cases against
the senior executive members of the bank and submit report within two
weeks. The case was adjourned for two weeks.
The NAB submitted its second progress report to the Supreme Court
in the RPPs case,. Following the SC directives, the NAB has stepped up its
probe in the case. Pepco MD Ch Muhammad Anwar Khalid and Young Gin
Rental Power Company CEO participated in the proceedings. During the last
two working days, around 10 accused participated in the
proceedings. Information and Technology Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf,
Pepco, Genco, Wapda, PPIB officials and others were also investigated.

Defiance of judiciary: On 28th April, Law Minister Farooq H

Naek alleged the letter written by Assistant Registrar Nasir Iqbal to the
National Assembly Speaker, the Secretary Cabinet Division and the Chief
Election Commissioner was misuse of his power and the Supreme Court
must hold an inquiry into it. The Supreme Court officials letter called for
further necessary action, he added.
He said it was the prerogative of the Speaker of National Assembly
and the Senate Chairman to send references to the Election Commission
regarding disqualification of parliamentarians. Addressing a news
conference along with Information Minister the Law Minister said the apex
court had neither disqualified the Prime Minister nor given any directions to
the Speaker or the Election Commission in this regard.
Naek said if the Supreme Court ordered the disqualification of the
prime minister, the government would comply. He said the prime minister
could not be disqualified under Article 63(1)(g). The assistant registrar was
dictating terms for compliance and arrogating powers which he does not
have, Naek said. He asked the Supreme Court to conduct an inquiry against
the assistant registrar for ridiculing Parliament and to take action against
him.
A motion for breach of privilege will be moved in the National
Assembly against this official, he said. Besides, Naek pointed out, the

988

Premier had 30 days to appeal his conviction. What is the rush? The Prime
Minister has not exhausted all the avenues that are available to him. He said
an appeal in the contempt case would be filed once the Supreme Court
released its detailed verdict. The trial ends only when the appeal is
decided, he said.
Naek came down hard on Nawaz Sharif and said his statement against
Prime Minister was tantamount to influencing the court as it has yet to give
detailed judgment in the case. He further charged that Nawaz was also trying
to divert the attention of the public as well as the court from Mehran Bank
scandal and hoped the court would not take any influence from the statement
of Nawaz Sharif.
Gilani met lawyers delegation at the Governors House Lahore. He
criticized Nawaz Sharif and said the success of the PPP government had
made the two-time prime minister frustrated. He claimed the Supreme Court
verdict has pushed up the PPPs popularity graph.
He said Sharif was in political arena only because of an amendment
passed by the PPP-led coalition under which the ban on third term
premiership had been waived of. Had this not been done, Sharif would have
become totally irrelevant in national politics. Talking about the NRO, Gilani
was of the opinion that the first NRO was the one under which Sharif was
exiled to Saudi Arabia.
PML-N decided that the Leader of Opposition in the National
Assembly would not engage himself in any sort of consultation with Prime
Minister Gilani, since the latter was a convicted person and no more a
legitimate chief executive of the country. The party leadership held a
detailed discussion in Lahore wherein it was also decided that the Punjab
Government would no more accord protocol of Chief Executive to Gilani
and would also move all appropriate forums to stop him from functioning as
the Chief Executive of the country.
the party would also consider bringing a reference against Gilani in
the National Assembly in the light of the Supreme Court of Pakistan verdict;
the date and time of submitting the reference to the Speaker National
Assembly would be decided in the meeting of the party at the Punjab House,
Islamabad on April 30.
Nisar Ali Khan took into confidence both Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz
Sharif about his telephonic contacts with heads of various political parties
including JUI-F chief, PPP-S chief, PML-Likeminded chief and some other
nationalist leaders who do not have representation in the Parliament. Nisar
989

will be meeting Maulana Fazlur Rehman ahead of the party meeting as the
PML-N wanted to evolve a consensus on the oppositions strategy in the
National Assembly when it would resume its session Monday evening.
Rehman Malik flung insult at the Sharif brothers as retaliation against
PML-N reaction after the Supreme Court convicted Prime Minister Gilani.
Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif were involved in $32 million money
laundering. They were also defaulters of Rs6 billion, he told reporters at a
press conference at the Interior Ministry.
Brandishing documents, the minister claimed that all corruption cases
against the Sharifs would be made public in the days to come. He also
presented some cheques before the media, which he claimed were given to
different politicians in the Mehran Bank scam. He claimed he had proof of
corruption by the Sharifs and he would make some of them public in the
coming days.
Malik alleged that the money was secretly deposited to a bank account
of a man, Qazi Masood, and later it was transferred abroad while two
currency dealers of Peshawar were also engaged. He said the money was
also sent to Saudi Arabia through the bank accounts of a Saudi national,
Musa Ghani, and then transferred to other foreign accounts. He said the
Sharif brothers had 10 Swiss bank accounts and later the money from these
banks was transferred to UK.
International Council of Jurists bestowed the prestigious and worldrenowned International Jurists Award 2012 upon Chief Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry for his lordships unique and tremendous contribution
in the field of administration of justice. The award ceremony has been
scheduled for 28th May 2012 at London which will be presented by Rt Hon
Lord Phillips, President of Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in the
presence of chief justices, law ministers, members of Parliament, bar
leaders, law teachers and journalists from different countries specially
invited for the prestigious occasion.
Next day, Registrar Supreme Court Dr Faqir Hussain taking note of
Federal Ministers press conference held on Saturday clarified that all Court
orders, without any exception, are forwarded to the concerned
authorities/departments for implementation and compliance. Accordingly,
two orders dated 26.4.2012 passed in the Criminal Original Petition No.
6/2012 in Suo Moto Case No. 4/2010 (Contempt proceedings against Syed
Yousuf Raza Gilani, Prime Minister of Pakistan, regarding nonimplementation of NRO judgment dated 16.12.2009 reported as Dr.
990

Mobashir Hassan v. Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2010 SC 265)) were duly

communicated
to
the
concerned
authorities/departments
for
action/compliance. Therefore, the letters written by Assistant Registrar
(Implementation), Supreme Court addressed to the Speaker National
Assembly and ECP are in line with the Supreme Court Rules, he said.
Gilani said that no Prime Minister from the PPP would write the letter
to Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against President Zardari.
Speaking to lawyers at his Lahore residence, Gilani said that only Parliament
could decide if he would continue to remain the prime minister. Gilani
reiterated that he would not resign due to any political pressure or to fulfill
anyones wishes.
Terming Yousuf Gilani a stranger, PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar
Ali has said his party will make it a point that no stranger could be allowed
to sit in the Parliament. PML-N will use all the options to get the apex court
verdict against Yousuf Raza Gilani implemented, he told a press
conference. He warned Malik by saying that he was crossing his limits by
leveling false allegations against the PML-N leadership.
Nisar said his party would talk to all political forces including the
Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf of Imran Khan which he said supported the PML-N
plan to launch countrywide protest movement against the rulers to get the
apex court orders implemented. Nisar said the coalition partners of the PPP
were equally to be blamed for non-implementation of the court order.
Taking serious view of the reported remarks of Federal Law Minister
Farooq H Naek on the notices issued by Supreme Court to the national
assembly speaker as well ECP; Nisar sought an independent role for the
assembly in this connection. He lamented that both prime minister and
president of the country stand convicted. Sneering at PPP leaderships false
perception of their popularity among public, Nisar said his party was ready
to take their challenge in general elections if they are ready for a real test.
Rehman Malik continued unleashing tirade of criticism against Sharif
brothers and challenged them to file a defamation suit against him if they
had the courage. The minister said he would present the evidence before the
Supreme Court within a week. If the PML-N threatens me, I will respond
with 10 threats. He asked Sharifs to refrain from issuing threats and leveling
allegations, otherwise he would bring such evidence against them which
would disqualify them.
The minister was of the view that PPP was a major and mainstream
party and would not come under pressure by calls of long march or other
991

threats. The PPPs Jiyalas from throughout the country are seeking
permission for a march towards Raiwind, Malik said, adding, if the PML-N
tried to hold a long march, the PPP Jiyalas were not wearing bangles. He
claimed that London High Court had declared Shahbaz Sharif a defaulter.
He said Sharif brothers held meetings with officials of secret agencies
during their exile period. About PPPs relations with Imran Khans Tehrik-eInsaf, Malik said, We have no conflict with PTI. He asked Pervez Rashid to
wait and see the outcome of the reference sent to the NAB. It said the
minister would definitely approach the Supreme Court with new evidence.
Sharif Family released the documents pertaining to the repayment of
the loan of 48 million rupees to Mehran Bank. According to the spokesman
of Sharif family, a sum of 102.1 million rupees including mark up was
repaid to Mehran Bank against the loan taken for Chaudhry Sugar Mills.
On 30th April, Nawaz Sharif warned Prime Minister Gilani to step
down: Bow down before the Supreme Court and accept its verdict; Resign
from the prime ministers office, or get ready to face a massive protest
movement. He said their movement would continue till Gilani was ousted
from his office.
Speaking to media persons after joint meeting of partys Central
Working Committee and the Central Parliamentary Party, Nawaz invited
opposition parties to join his anti-government movement in the interest of
the nation. I will invite PTI of Imran Khan, JUI-F of Fazlur Rehman,
Jamat-e-Islami, national parties in Sindh and Balochistan, and Naheed Khan
and other real successors of Benazir Bhutto to join the movement for
betterment of the country, he said.
Nawaz said if people did not come out at this stage, history will
remember us as traitors. He also requested lawyers, civil society, NGOs and
students to join their movement. Nawaz said the government by its bad
governance and looting of national wealth has become a threat for the future
of the country. Even a peon would be removed from his post if convicted for
any crime but the prime minister was enjoying premiership even after being
convicted by the apex court, he added.
Prime Minister Gilani reiterated his resolve not to accept the Supreme
Court verdict in contempt case saying under no law the court could
disqualify a public representative. Speaking to the media, he wondered why
the Sharif brothers wanted his ouster as the detailed judgment was still
awaited and he had right to appeal which he would definitely exercise and
advised opposition to show some patience. Dispelling the impression of any
992

constitutional crisis in the country Gilani said he had committed no crime by

not writing letter to Swiss authorities.
Gilani said he had been facing double courts the apex court and the
Sharifs court. There is no constitutional problem. Only the Sharifs court
is doing its own interpretations. Nawaz must tell me which court order
should I obey? Imrans point of view turned out to be better than Sharif
brothers in the aftermath of the SC short order, said Gilani. They were
scared that someone else could launch a long march before them. They did
not even wait for the detailed decision. Forget about long march, they
(Sharifs) cannot even hold a short march, said Gilani.
He said he failed to comprehend why the court was in a hurry to
decide his case. He said some people were asking for his resignation on
moral grounds. I ask them, was I convicted for committing any act of moral
turpitude? I was convicted because I upheld the Constitution, the PM
insisted. He said, I ask today, under which court order Sharif undertook the
long journey from Adiala Jail to Jeddah.
Gilani alleged in the Senate that PML-N wants to derail democracy.
Continuing his diatribe against the main opposition party and its leadership
Gilani said the PML-N was in a rush to pack up the PPP-led government so
its leader Nawaz Sharif could soon become Ameerul Momineen. The
opposition party staged a protest walkout raising objections over the Gilanis
presence in the house, saying he was no more a parliament member after his
conviction.
I will not be de-notified, I will remain member of the national
assembly, he said, adding if he is de-notified, he would immediately return
to his hometown Multan. He also clarified he was not an NRO beneficiary.
Then why I am being targeted, he posed a question. The answer he said is
that he has protected the constitution.
The premier said those who call him a convict must remember that
Nawaz Sharif also remained convicted for nine years. Gilani said that the
third time bar for becoming the prime minister was removed through 18 th
amendment just to favour Nawaz as his leader Benazir Bhutto was no more
in this world at that time.
The National Assembly witnessed worst pandemonium from
beginning to end during over 30 minutes proceedings of the House, as the
PML-N with its continuous sloganeering against PPP-led government
compelled the chair to quickly dispose of the agenda items and adjourned

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the House. With the start of over one-hour late session, PML-N members
wearing black ribbons on their arms started raising anti-government slogans.
It was Sohail Zia from PML-N who first rose from his seat, when
Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr. Asim was giving reply on
a supplementary question, and termed him a stranger in the House. Who is
he (Dr Asim)?, Is he any terrorist?, How this stranger entered in the House?,
he raised back-to-back questions, making a momentum for other PML-N
members to perform aggressively in their protest. The member of
government benches who was initially not expecting uproar kept giving the
answer but later the noisy atmosphere made him to sit on his seat.
PML-N members holding placards inscribed with Go Gilani go, Do
respect the judiciary and Stop load shedding, kept raising full throat antigovernment slogans including Gilani Raj Namanzoor, We want freedom,
Shame on government, etc. The messy situation turned further chaotic
when PML-N legislator Abid Sher Ali holding the copy of question-hour
went near the seat of chair shouting they would not allow government to run
the House in such a way.
Taking the floor, a member from ANP also tried to defend the
coalition partner by saying that complete order of Supreme Court has yet to
come but the loud sloganeering made him to sit on his seat. Except this short
speech of ANP member, the coalition partners include MQM, PML-Q were
the silent spectators in all the proceedings of the House. Both Prime Minister
and Leader of the Opposition did not turn up in the House, as mostly they
joined the proceedings of the House after the question-hour.
Chief of Army Staff said Pakistans stability hinges on continuity of
democratic system. Speaking on the occasion of Martyrs Day he said the
roles to be performed by organs of state are clearly mentioned in the
constitution. The militarys top man spoke high about Pakistans ideology
saying, We as nation can only succeed if we have full faith and believe in
Pakistans ideology. Creating suspicions in this belief is tantamount to
weakening Pakistan.
Next day, Chief Justice said three judges had refused to hear the
appeal in the contempt case involving the prime minister due to certain
reasons. He said a nine-member bench would be formed if the prime
minister decided to file an appeal against the Supreme Courts judgment,
adding that an additional judge and two ad-hoc judges would be included in
the bench. Chief Justice said article 181 and 182 of the constitution
contained provisions to meet this situation. He said the solution of all
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problems of country was given in the constitution thus it should be adopted

with true spirit.
The meeting of Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has been
scheduled for May 7 to consider appointment of one acting and two ad hoc
judges in the Supreme Court. In the wake of expected appeal to be filed by
Prime Minister against his conviction in the contempt of court case and
shortage of judges in the Supreme Court to hear the plea, the JCP will
consider three names for the judges appointment.
The judges whose names could be considered in the JCP meeting for
appointment include Justice (r) Ghulam Rabbani, Justice (r) Shahid Akhtar
Siddiqui, who have retired last year, and Justice Umer Atta Bandial, a judge
of the high court. The Articles 181 and 182 of the Constitution talk about the
appointment of acting and ad-hoc judges respectively. Khawaja Haris, a
constitutional expert and former advocate general of Punjab, says after the
18th Amendment the procedure for the appointment of the ad-hoc and acting
judges is also given in the Article 175A.
Prime Minister said no province could launch a long march against
the federal government because it was unconstitutional and unjustified and it
would amount to be treason. He was speaking in a TV programme Prime
Minister Online. Replying to a question regarding the long march
announced by the Punjab government, the prime minister said such an act
could be considered treason as it would be a step of the provincial
government against the federal government.
Turning down Pakistan Muslim League-Nawazs offer to join its
movement against Prime Minister, Imran Khan announced his party will
hold a march on May 6 to express solidarity with the judiciary. Announcing
its movement against Gilani, PML-N had said it would reach all opposition
parties, including PTI.
On 2nd May, the PML-N worked out a plan to hold protest rallies to
press the demand of ousting Gilani from the office of the prime minister.
Nawaz Sharif will address the first of the series of public meetings in Taxila
on May 5. Protest demonstrations will also be held in Gujranwala on May 7,
Bahawalpur and Sargodha on May 8, Multan and Rawalpindi on May 10,
Sialkot on May 11 and in Gujrat on May 12.
In order to intensify resistance against the government and to fuel the
protest movement, the PML-N has formed various committees to mobilize
people at the grass root level. The PML-N has already started making

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informal contacts with the opposition parties, while Nawaz Sharif will soon
convene a meeting to take them into the confidence.
The PML-N on the second consecutive day continued protest in the
National Assembly during the entire proceeding of house; whereas the chair,
amidst heavy sloganeering of Go Gilani Go, succeeded to dispose of heavy
legislative business. Assembling around the seat of Gilani, the PML-N
legislators shouted full throat slogans including Convicted PM not
Acceptable, Corrupt government not acceptable, Gilani Raj Namanzor,
We want freedom and Ali baba 40 Chorr.
Other opposition members (JUI-F) were clearly seen distancing
themselves from the protest as they even fully participate in the legislative
business. In a messy situation that turned further chaotic when once again
repeating the same scene of last day proceeding, PML-N legislator Abid
Sher Ali holding the copy of question-hour went near the rostrum and threw
torn copies of agenda in air.
Their aggressive protest finally forced the speaker Fehmida Mirza to
say what a shame. Respect the sanctity of the parliament...stop this
hooting its against the norms, said speaker trying to control the noisy
situation but it proved fruitless. The members of the main opposition party
stayed near the seat of Prime Minister till the adjourning of the House,
whereas PM did not turn up in the House.
Dispelling the impression of Constitutional crisis in the country,
Gilani said that if the State institutions would function within their defined
ambit then there would be no ambiguity or confusion. To a question about
the agitation plan of PML-N, he said without naming Sharif brothers that
they were in some sort of hurry and the way they had suffered a set back in
Memo case they would face another right now.
The legal community turned their cannons towards Prime Minister to
press him to obey the orders of Supreme Court of Pakistan in a contempt
case. While denouncing Zardari-Gilani duo campaign against the
independent judiciary, the representatives of bars of Islamabad and
Rawalpindi division gave a 15-day deadline to convicted PM Gilani to step
down from his office or be ready to face another lawyers movement for
the rule of law in the country.
Despite being grateful to PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif for his
compliments, and also having similar views on the issue of PM Gilanis
conviction, the estranged PPP leader, Naheed Khan, is not ready to join
hands with the PML-N leader in his effort to oust the convicted premier. If
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Nawaz Sharif invites me to discuss national issues, all friends in my group

will sit together and take some decision about extending cooperation to the
PML-N, she said.

Baloch militancy: On 28th April, a member of peace force was shot

dead in Dera Bugti area. Jamhoori Watan Party leader Shahzain Bugti along
with his 26 guards surrendered to police after the court issued non-bailable
arrest warrant over illegal arms possession. He surrendered after
Balochistan Home Minister Zafarullah Zehri and DIG (Operations) Qazi
Abdul Wahid visited him and showed him the warrant. Talking to the media,
Shahzain said he was not scared of arrest, but he had been implicated in a
fabricated case.
Next day, a main pipeline, supplying gas to Sui purification plant was
blown up in Dera Bugti district while a railway track was damaged in
Nushki on. On 30th April, Supreme Court directed the Deputy Commissioner
and Tehsildar Baghabna to produce nine missing persons by May 2 who
were whisked away from Tutak area of Khuzdar district in February 2011.
Sajid Tareen Advocate lodged an application in the Supreme Court stating
that earlier three people, including the sons of local tribal elder Sardar
Ahmed Ali Qalandarni, were whisked away from Tutak area. A few days
later, he said, over 24 people were taken away from the same area. Nine
people are still missing while others were freed after remaining in captivity,
he added.
On 1st May, five people including a young boy were killed while 15
others five among them personnel of Frontier Corps and a police constable
sustained injuries in a remote-controlled bomb blast which occurred at
Sariab Road of Quetta. FC convoy escorting officers and their families to
Quetta from Sibi was the target of attackers who planted explosives in a car
parked at the roadside.
Baloch Republican Party leader Abdul Wadood Raisani, who went
missing two years ago, was found in Nuhski. His sister confirmed that he
was recovered he would soon be shifted to Quetta. Meanwhile, three people
were killed in the province during separate incidents of firing. Two bodies of
missing people were found dumped in Uthal area of Lasbela district.
On 2nd May, unidentified gunmen killed a person and wounded two
others in Quetta; the victims belonged to the same family. A bullet-riddled
body of a man was recovered in Mastung, who had gone missing few days
ago. A convoy of security forces escaped a bomb attack on National
Highway near Kalat.
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Chief Justice said the issue of missing persons was a major problem in
Balochistan but federal government was not cooperating in this connection
while the provincial government was helpless. The court had resumed
hearing on deteriorating law and order situation in Balochistan in Quetta.
The court took serious notice on the finding of two bullet-riddled
bodies of missing persons whose relatives appeared before the court a day
earlier. The relatives of missing persons informed the court that two families
who recorded their statement before the court received mutilated bodies of
their loved ones the very next day they recorded their statements. The bodies
were found dumped near Uthal. The chief justice said chief minister and
secretary home should appear before the court on May 3 and give surety that
they will protect the life and property of the people as required under article
9 of the constitution.
Earlier, during the proceedings, Deputy Attorney General presented
the report regarding missing persons and said no development had been
made in this connection. Balochistan Chief Secretary apprised the court that
FC, MI and ISI had said that they would cooperate for the recovery of
missing persons, adding that we handed over to them list of missing persons
but they did not give any response.
Justice Chaudhry remarked everyday a new story surfaces. In todays
newspaper, recovery of two bodies in Costal Highway had been published,
he said. Just one missing person has been recovered after directive for
recovery of certain missing persons. Nobody is worried at what is
happening. Justice Tariq Pervez remarked the court was not helpless nor it
would let it to be so. If federal agencies do not obey the federal government
and provincial agencies the provincial government then this system has
failed, he remarked.

Turf war in Karachi: On 28th April, 11 people including SHO

Civil Lines were killed and 21 others injured as violence continued in Lyari
while security forces were given shoot-on-sight orders to maintain peace in
the area. Lyari gangsters showed stiff resistance to security forces using
rifles, rockets launchers and hand grenades. Exchange of fire continued
throughout the day.
SHO and a constable killed when he attempted to get inside the
Afshani Gali area where gangsters attacked the APC with rockets and
grenades. Gangsters later torched the police APC and warned law enforcers
against advance movements to avoid the same fate. Following the incident,
police and personnel of FC intensified the operation and killed Mullah
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Sohail Baloch, brother of notorious gangster Mullah Nisar. Reportedly, rival

gangs headed by Arshad alias Papu and Ghaffar Zikri had been supporting
police in fight against Baba Ladla gang with 650 armed fighters. Police
claimed to have control of the 60 per cent Lyari area.
Next day, four people including a police officer of CID lost their lives
when gangsters attacked a police post at Cheel Chowk in the ongoing Lyari
operation. Police claimed to have regained control of 95 per cent of Lyari,
however, residents of the area rejected the claim and said police were unable
to advance so far due to heavy resistance.
Sources said Mullah Nisar and Tajdar alias Taju were fighting police
while rest of the gangsters including Noor Muhammad alias Baba Ladla,
Jabber alias Jangu, Umar Katchi and others were still on standby to take on
police in their dominated areas. Police officers of different units have also
been called to participate in the fight against gangsters.
Intermittent firing continued in Kalakot area where gangsters fired
five rockets and attacked security forces post with grenades. Eight people
including two cameramen of private TV channels and six police personnel
sustained injuries in exchange of fire between forces and outlaws.
Meanwhile, residents of Lyari rallied against police operation and
demanded of the government to stop operation forthwith and restore water,
electric and food supplies. Protesters also torched PPP flags. Earlier, police
had claimed to kill two gangsters including Mullah Sohail and Naeem
Lahooti but both are still alive.
With the Rangers refusing to take part in the operation, the
helplessness of the police force and Frontier Constabulary has put a question
mark over the governments willingness to ensure its writ in the restive
town. On the condition of anonymity, a Baloch journalist, who is a resident
of Lyari, said the criminals had taken several civilians hostage, but the
government was indifferent towards this problem. He added that the
vulnerability of the forces in the operation was really a point of concern.
Separately, three people, including a JSQM activist, were killed in the
metropolis. A young man was shot dead in Shireen Jinnah Colony within the
remits of the Boat Basin Police Station. All shops were closed down over
security concerns. No case was registered till the filing of this report.
On 30th April, reaction of police crackdown against gangsters in Lyari
was witnessed in different parts of the City where at least six more people
were killed while more than 35 others were wounded in clashes. The death

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toll in the ongoing operation reached 26. Police could not get inside Lyari to
arrest the gangsters because of resistance and they were now planning to
include helicopters in the drive against gangsters.
IG Sindh Mushtaq Shah addressing a Press conference claimed to
have killed 5 to 7 gangsters during the action while huge cache of weapons
including rocket launcher, grenades, Kalashnikovs and other sort of
sophisticated weapons were recovered. IGP, however, declined to give a
time frame of action. Questions were being asked as to how could the known
and identified armed gangsters put up such a resistance to an overwhelming
police force unless they have some support.
Strong protests were witnessed in various areas of the metropolis
against the crack down. According to reports gathered from various quarters,
an organized move is being made to protect the Lyari gangsters. The
different political groups along with Lyari criminals have joined hands
against the dominating political force in the metropolis and preparing for
deadliest bloodshed on ethnic grounds.
These criminal elements were also set to set up City Alliance which
they were on the verge of making public a new alliance which would have
brought forces hostile to the established political parties. But before they
could announce the formation of new alliance PPP suddenly realized that if
such an alliance was created, it could be disastrous not only for itself but for
the peace of the City and this forced the government to counter the move
and take on armed gangsters by initiating police action. However, the police
action could not achieve its target quickly and it seems that it has bogged
down with gangsters still controlling the area where they were safely
entrenched.
Activists of the TTP and the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) are
assisting the Lyari gangsters during the police crackdown, according to
senior police officials. Inspector General alleged the criminals had the
support of members of the Baloch Liberation Army adding that three BLA
men were killed during a police encounter. He said during the operation, 20
wanted gangsters were apprehended and a huge cache of arms, including
LMGs and G-3 rifles, were recovered.
SSP Khan said that in the early days of the crackdown, they had also
arrested some wanted gangsters who disclosed to the police that activists of
the banned TTP were assisting them against the police and they had also
provided them with sophisticated arms. They also revealed that more

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members of the TTP were later called in to stage a heavy attack on the
police.
Next day, a cop and an ex-footballer were killed in the continuing
violence in Karachis Lyari area. The gun-battle between the gangsters and
police entered the fifth consecutive day where gangsters, who are poised to
take position at high-rise buildings, have established a hospital and started
ambulance service for final showdown. At present, the personnel of zone
south, CID and Rapid force were engaged in Lyari operation but more force
can be called in, if necessary.
Sindh Home Ministry announced head money for wanted criminals
including Aziz Jan Baluch and Baba Ladla. The Ministry announced Rs3
million head bounty for Baba Ladla, Rs2 million for Aziz Jan and Rs2.5
million for Zaman Mehsud of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. He said, the
Ministry also announced Rs2 million head bounty for Khair Muhammad
Mehsud, Rs1.5 million for Rashid Rekha and Rs1 million head money for
Ibrahim Kachhi.
The CID team headed by SP Chaudhry Aslam claimed to have seized
dens, which was owned by Taj Muhammad Taju. They said the team during
search had recovered BLAs anti-State literatures from the den. The sources
said SP Aslam during high-level meeting at CPO office disclosed the said
information. Moreover, they said that SP Aslam has strongly urged the
authorities to initiate strict monitoring at Hub-Sakran border to get control of
the gangsters.
On 2nd May, at least seven more people were killed and 40 others
wounded in gun-battles which continued between the Lyari gangsters and
police, which has so far claimed over 36 lives in last six days. There are
covert hands supporting the gangsters by various means while providing
them logistic support and equipment and taking out people from different
areas to politicize the matter.
Police made a new strategy and tried to get inside Lyari from Shah
Baig Lane dominated area of gangsters commander Jabbar alias Jangu
where police vehicles were stuck in barriers erected by the gangsters at all
entry points. Gangsters showered bullets on police mobiles and APCs as a
result many police personnel were wounded.
Gangsters in Lyari also attacked police stations and house of PPP
MPA Rafiq Engineer located at Shidi Lane and also torched a police mobile
in Pak Colony area. There were numerous incidents of rocket and grenade
attacks in Lyari as gangsters used rockets and threw grenades in different
1001

areas including Lee Market, Kharadar, Chakiwara, Nawa Lane, Behtai Lane
and other areas of Lyari.
In this miserable and scary scenario the Governor, the Chief Minister
and Home Minister all are on the foreign visit as Karachi continued to bleed
and national economy suffering immeasurable losses. As the boss is away
the ministers in the Sindh cabinet are running in different directions and
holding press conferences wherever they like. Hardly had the nation and the
province of Sindh absorbed the shock of Lyari operation, they came to know
about acts of sabotage in interior of Sindh.
A security guard was killed and at least six people including a
policeman were injured in series of blasts across Sindh targeting rail track
and banks. As many as 16 blasts rattled the province right from Karachi to
Ghotki, destroyed railway tracks, and disrupted the rail traffic. The bombs
had also targeted branches of National Bank in Hyderabad, Nawabshah,
Sukkur, Dadu, Larkana, Kotri, and Badin. Sindhu Desh Liberation Army
(SDLA) has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Police also found
pamphlets belonging to the organization near the banks targeted in
Hyderabad.

VIEWS
Power politics
From lows to highs, Imran Khan: Indeed, the sudden rise of Difaae-Pakistan Council, which is alleged to be army-backed, suggests that either
Imran Khan has lost some friends or the establishment for some reason
wants to neutralize his growing strength. The sudden rise from deep lows to
highs gave birth to insatiable curiosity in his opponents. Imran Khans
cordial relations with the military establishment have begun to do rounds.
He is being accused of either the representative of Taliban the extremist
force, or the Jews, since he was married to a Jewish woman. Although he has
always been heard discarding US agendas and policies through print and
electronic media and no evidence to the contrary reached to our notice as
yet, he is chastised many times by his haters. If we sneak into the
infrastructure of Mr Khans political party, the most disappointing are the
names associated with the PTI, generally giving a concept contrary to its
claim of bringing in new people to overthrow corrupt leaders from the
mainstream. How could the leaders already part of the corruption league will
not indulge in corruption as a member of PTI? Several confusions,

1002

contradictions and mysteries remain unanswered relating to Mr Khans

claims.
Nevertheless, the heroic nature, position and stance of his own
transparent and honest personality keep winning him raves. Majority of the
crowds amongst the bulk of community decides to stay by his side. Hoping
that the slogan claiming to bring change lives up to the hype and bring
fruitful results for its believers. Fairly speaking, Imran Khan needs to learn a
lot to become a true leader with wit and vision and endless courage to fight
against all odds and bring to fruition the rights of its people. (Hassan Naqvi,
TheNation 2nd May)

Defiance of judiciary
PPP-PML-N tussle: As the post-court-verdict scenario unfolds, the
general public gets ever more confused and perturbed, on the one hand, at
the Prime Minister and PPPs unabashed flouting of the judiciary and, on the
other, at the PML-Ns rhetoric that it will not rest till Mr Gilani is forced out
of office. The PPP has crossed all bounds in defying the Supreme Courts
judgments, a totally new phenomenon in the history of Pakistan and of even
any other democratic nation. This attitude puts into question the sacred tenet
of governance in letter and in spirit of the Constitution and the supremacy of
the rule of law, and throws the public mind into agonizing turmoil, for
failing to see the course the country is set to take from now onwards. The
PML-Ns vociferous opposition to the ruling coteries desperate attempt to
hold on to power would have given a ray of hope to the people who are sick
and tired of the governments performance, had it not been for its repeated
retreats from a similarly defiant attitude to a posture of friendly opposition.
The ruling alliance has, beyond any doubt, lost its constitutional as
well as moral legitimacy to stay in power. But in the Pakistan of today it is
idle to expect that it would pack up and go on its own or be pushed out by
mere critical slogans. The time for sloganeering has gone by. The opposition
parties, whether the PML-N, the PTI, the JI or any other, acting singly, do
not have any chance of unseating the convicted Prime Minster. They have to
act in unison with a firm resolve and not separately with an indecisive
attitude. That calls for their joining heads together to work out a common
strategy about how to pressurize the government to accept their demand,
while staying within democratic means of protesting.
PML-N President Mian Nawaz Sharif seems to be having a change of
mind about his views about the PML-Q, the party he has for long refused to
accept back in the PML-Ns fold. Reportedly, he has expressed the
1003

willingness to accept a Prime Minister belonging to it. It would serve Mian

Sahibs cause better if he were to reconsider his attitude of shunning the
return of the PML-Q to its mother party. In the meantime, in this unseemly
game of politicking, the US has adopted a policy that is clearly at odds with
being the so called leader of the democratic world. Treating the situation
internal to Pakistan, it continues to recognize Mr Gilani as Prime Minister.
One shudders to think that the governments wish to operate outside
law and Constitution might persuade the army, which has so far thankfully
avoided jumping in the fray, to have second thoughts. It is time for the rulers
to listen to saner counsels or else for the opposition to make a decisive
move. (Editorial, TheNation 29th April)
The thorn in PPPs side: The Zardari-led PPP government had made
up its mind from day one to undermine the independent judiciary and the
legal community that led the rule-of-law movement. After all, the survival of
its above-the-law politics and unconstitutional governance depended on it.
Babar Awan was unleashed with suitcases of cash that he blatantly
distributed among the bars. He and several other leaders were encouraged to
attack the judiciary in unacceptable language, holding contemptuous press
conferences and giving a political colour to its judgments. Even the
President and the Prime Minister used political gatherings and public forums
to attack the institution with the aim of making it controversial, chipping
away at its moral authority.
Now the Attorney General has declared the court order convicting the
Prime Minister as absolutely illegal and said that it was to be ignored. Others
have misled the nation with their talk about filing an appeal, as if just talking
about it is enough to suspend Gilani's conviction. The convicted Prime
Minister has announced that the Speaker of National Assembly will judge
whether to move the Election Commission of Pakistan for his
disqualification. This is the culmination of a well orchestrated long
campaign to make the judiciary ineffective. According to the PPP, its jiyalas,
blinded by serf-like loyalty to its dynastic leadership, have the authority to
interpret the Constitution and not the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The law is
what Asif Zardari says it is.
Clearly, this is tyranny disguised as democracy. To perpetuate its rule,
the now illegal executive lorded over by Zardari, is out to subvert the
constitutional order and create chaos. The convicted Prime Minister is
openly challenging the constitutional authority of the Supreme Court. In
defiance of various other Supreme Court orders, his government seems to

1004

have vowed to protect corrupt practices. In fact, as if to pointedly insult the

judiciary, those found guilty by the court are honoured, and those identified
for investigation are made ministers. To put it simply, the government is
basically telling the court that it gives two hoots about its judgments and that
it will do as it pleases, regardless of the legal repercussions of its corrupt
actions. The government is basically thumbing its nose at the apex court.
In a way, Zardari, his party men and his allies have made up their
mind to bring the rule-of-law movement back to square one. These partners
in crime would like to bury the ideals that the mass movement fought for;
equality before law and accountability of those in power. Like Musharraf,
they would like the judiciary to be a bunch of yes-men eager to please those
in power, never daring to curb any wrongdoing on their part. They view the
Constitution as a piece of paper that should never be used to rein in the
abuse of authority by public representatives and their chosen officials,
regardless of how grave its consequences are for those they claim to
represent. They would like to send a depressing message to the public that
the people can change nothing and that they should resign themselves to
being ruled by governments that are a law unto themselves. It is not likely to
work though.
As described by the then respected and now disgraced Aitzaz Ahsan,
who seems to have swallowed his ideals, the rule-of-law movement was the
reflection of a leap in public consciousness. Those who struggled for the
restoration of an independent judiciary, the millions of men and women,
young and old, poor and rich, Pakistanis from every province and every
ethnicity, were not a random crowd. They were not protesting for the
restoration of some dynastic leader. They did not hope to get a job or a
Benazir Income Support stipend in return for their struggle. They had come
out for an ideal, a desire to be ruled by law and not by the whims of whoever
happens to be in power, a military dictator or a democratically-elected
tyrant. The public consciousness that underpinned the rule-of-law movement
was firmly rooted in democratic ideals of constitutional rule. Those who
struggled had refused to be treated as bonded serfs and were acutely aware
of their rights as free and equal citizens.
Those who dreamt of a new Pakistan are not dead and gone. The
Zardari-led PPP is aware of that and it thinks it has done its homework to
counter the public backlash that has been brewing for some time and is now
coming to boil. The big boss thinks that his loyal party of serfs will be able
to subvert the dream through its patronized jiyalas and the lawless spaces
created and facilitated by its Interior Minister. He thinks that his divisive
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rhetoric and crocodile tears about victimized Sindhis and the Seraiki
province are enough to distract the people from real issues. He thinks that
the perpetual state of crisis cultivated by him, the inflation, load shedding
and violence in many parts of the country, will be enough to make the people
forget about any lofty dreams that they had. That is wishful thinking on his
part. No leap in public consciousness could be rolled back. In fact, those
dreaming of a new Pakistan are now more numerous. (Jalees Hazir,
TheNation 29th April)
The real victims: The real victims of the latest crisis du jour? Not
the judiciary, which came out fighting with a verdict that restored its
fledgling dignity not the government, which claims, not wrongly, it is
always selectively prosecuted, and certainly not the defiant Prime Minister,
who faces no real threat of removal if his statements are anything to go by.
His 30 seconds now over: Gilani still stands tall in his symbolic sherwani, an
unrepentant, but certainly not unsung, hero that has reputedly saved the
country from a court with an axe to grind. The judges stand (somewhat)
vindicated, with a judgment as hard as it is soft, having thrown the ball
upright in the air for all parties to play it as they will, even ponder over
whether it is a conviction at all. Whether the opposition play ball with the
sitting government, or scramble to ally with the courts and the establishment
to send the team packing will depend only on where the ball lands, and how
the fielders evaluate their chances of batting next. As for all the alleged
thieves, and the thieving the former for now, continue to stand protected
at least those with might on their side, and as for the actual corruption, how
many millions of siphoned away dollars has the country ever received back?
Only that which is to come back through the stock market.
So where does the nation stand? Unfortunately, still with the President
that remains drenched in the stench of alleged corruption. With his
handpicked Prime Minister, who takes Dolly Partons advice to heart and
continues, come what may, to stand by his man, (and his office). Helplessly
impotent against the rat-a-tat of machine gun fire protestors forcing shutter
down strikes across a province played too many times as only a card. As
silent and scared spectators in a system of selective prosecutions, no
accountability, and little morality, where vested interests influence outcomes.
In a land with zero contempt for the criminal and as much pride in the
maintenance of law, order and dignity.
No longer simply like battered woman, who may have seen too much
and experienced it all, a nod is as good as a wink to what has become a
nation of very blind donkeys. But at least, it hasnt lost its sense of humour,
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or geography. After all: ask any Pakistani where the capital of the country
lies. Swiss Banks, and not Islamabad, would be their bet. (Shimaila Matri
Dawood, TheNation 29th April)
Honour void: In most men where there is honour, in Prime Minister
Yousuf Raza Gilani there is a void. The honourable course for him would
have been to resign after being convicted for contempt of court because he
stands automatically disqualified from continuing in office. But he has no
such intention and it is uncertain with what fateful consequences this may be
fraught. Political chaos with deleterious implications for the faltering
economy and national security seem likely. (S Iftikhar Murshed, The News
29th April 29)
Need for clarification: Law and Justice Minister Farooq H. Naek has
characterized as illegal the letter written by the Assistant Registrar of the
Supreme Court to the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Cabinet
Secretary and the Chief Election Commissioner about implementation of the
court order declaring Prime Minister Gilani guilty of contempt of court. He
termed it contempt of Parliament, an attempt at ridiculing Parliament,
etc., maintaining that the court official had misused his powers and the court
should hold an inquiry into his conduct on that count. There is little doubt
that Mr Naek, for all his legal background and parliamentary experience,
was frustrated by the simple procedure followed by the bureaucracy, or, to
say the least, he was trying to make much of what the Assistant Registrar
was bound to do in the discharge of his duties. His apt response that it was a
routine course should clarify the position. Nevertheless, the government
attitude appears to be yet another attempt at playing up a side issue to further
confuse the political scenario of the country. From this confusion, however,
there emerges at least one clear point i.e. the ruling coalition is ready to
show Mr Gilani the door if the appeal that it intends to file against the
verdict is turned down. The Law Ministers remark that if the Supreme
Court ordered the disqualification of the Prime Minister, the government
would comply, supports this conclusion. (Editorial, TheNation 30th April)
A fake democracy: Perhaps, the premiers aggression and
overconfidence is not without reason. One, he has complete support of the
PPP coalition partners, namely MQM, PML-Q and ANP; and second, he is
backed by foreign governments, especially the US Nevertheless, the legal,
constitutional and political implications of the verdict are grave. The initial
response is clearly reflected in Nawaz and Imrans statements to uphold the
rule of law come what may! Major political parties have decided to work out

1007

a joint strategy to establish law and order in the country, which is rapidly
sliding into anarchy and lawlessness.
Over the past four years, the opposition has been blindly, in fact
foolishly, following the ruling elite to save democratic setup, and contain
any move made by the undemocratic forces to upset the applecart. This has
enabled the PPP to survive since the 2008 elections, despite several
corruption cases against its members. Hence, the internal and external
challenges facing Pakistan, coupled with a serious threat to national security,
has brought Imran Khan in the limelight. He is emerging as the voice of the
masses, since no other leader is willing to listen and understand their
problems
For the first time in the history of Pakistan, the Supreme Court has
come out of the spell of doctrine of necessity. Also, there are many new
things happening in the country: a sitting Prime Minister has been
convicted and jailed for 30 seconds; Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad
Chaudhry is rightly taking suo motu notices of corruption scams involving
ministers; and after the four-year tenure of the PPP-led coalition
government, Nawaz Sharif has finally decided to play the role of a genuine
opposition. The month of May, perhaps, will be crucial for the future of the
so-called democratically-elected government. (Ikram Ullah, TheNation 30th
April)
What has happened to Aitzaz Ahsan ? Mr Aitzaz Ahsan, until
recently filled the minds and hearts of Pakistans public with respect and
love following a successful lawyers movement touching a popularity rate of
over 95 percent. Today, his popularity has plunged to less than 10 percent
while the vast majority of the public talk about him with contempt and
disgust.
Many among his well-wishers ask just one question, what has
happened to him? Others amongst his opponents think that he is being
punished for his alleged Anti-State actions he took when he, as Interior
Minister of Pakistan during the first Benazir government, reportedly
provided secrete information on the then Sikh's Uprising in Indian Punjab to
India. His expressionless face, unassuming walk and non-logical argument
portray him a man who has fallen from grace. (Dr Ghayur Ayub from
London, TheNation 30th April)
Collision course: While Prime Minister Gilanis sentence in the
contempt of court case lasted a grand total of 37 seconds, its aftermath has
seen the PPP and its rivals on a collision course that threatens to go on for
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much longer and drag the government into ever-deeper crisis. The
politicking of the 1990s seems to have been resurrected in the past three
days, with both the PPP and PML-N issuing heated statements accusing each
other of corruption and compromises on principles
The spitefulness, mudslinging and vengeful attacks of the last three
days are not what we want politics to look like, especially in an election
year. Some semblance of maturity, dignity and sanity needs to be retained.
But most importantly, we need a categorical answer from the PPP now: will
it ever follow the letter of the law? We also need a clear and categorical
judgment from the Supreme Court so that the confusion that has ensured
could end. Let not the high drama unfolding on our TV screens distract us
from these basic questions. (Editorial, The News 1st May)
The breakdown: All the pillars of state, with the exception of the
Supreme Court and the media, are dysfunctional. Parliament, the so-called
embodiment of the will of the people, is fake like a Potemkin village.
Pakistan is a case of failed leadership, not failed state. Until we get the right
kind of leadership, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between long periods
of authoritarianism and bouts of corrupt and sham democracy.
The two, Zardari and Gilani, occupying the commanding heights of
power, have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. Both are
irrelevant to the unfolding tragic drama and will soon be forgotten. When the
winds blow and rains descend and the house is about to collapse, such men
vanish in a night. The day is not far-off when the entire fraudulent
superstructure erected by their masters in Washington will be swept away by
mighty forces that are adrift.
This is the bleakest era in the history of Pakistan since 1971. At a time
when leadership is desperately needed to cope with matters of vital
importance and put the country back on the right path, Pakistan is ruled by a
corrupt President who lacks both legitimacy and credibility and seems
oblivious to the realities of his awesome responsibilities and is interested
only in perpetuating himself.
The nation is breaking down. It has become ungovernable and would
remain so as long as Zardari remains in power. Already people are anxiously
scanning the horizon waiting to see if the cavalry will come riding down the
hill to save Pakistan.
Nature abhors vacuum. So does politics. When Weimar Germany was
buffeted by civil unrest and commotion, its tenuous democracy was
discarded in favour of Nazism. But I still have hope. I have this palpable
1009

feeling that the Maoist prescription-things have to get worse before they
could get better-is being tested in Pakistan today. (Roedad Khan, The News
1st May)
A sane voice: Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has
called upon all organs of the state to perform their duties while remaining
within the limits defined by the Constitution and live up to Pakistans
ideology. He was addressing a ceremony held to mark Youm-e-Shuhada (the
Day of Martyrs) at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Monday.
General Kayanis words acquire particular significance, as they were spoken
against the backdrop of a rising tempo of clashes between different
institutions, carrying serious forebodings for the future of democracy in the
country and its stability. They merit reproduction here: The Constitution of
Pakistan has clearly delineated the responsibilities and roles of the national
institutions. It is now our responsibility that we resolve our issues, while
remaining within the constitutional limits, in a manner it increases respect
and dignity of both our country and ourselves. It is hardly possible to take
issue with such a stance. Had it not been for his strong defence of democracy
that followed this observation, the Generals address would have alarmed
political and democracy-loving sections of society and been termed a
warning. He underscored the importance of democracy by adding that
Pakistans stability hinges on the continuity of democratic system, spelling
out its prime objective as the welfare, happiness and dignity of the people
and the provision of equal justice to all, an opinion akin to what he had
expressed a few days earlier.
Thus, General Kayani once again held out the assurance that the army
had no intention of stepping into the political domain of power. It is for the
politicians, in power and out of power, to play by the rules where there is
neither room for questioning the wisdom of the judiciary once it has
pronounced, nor any justification for drawing conclusions before the full
verdict has come out. The defiance of legitimate authority and charges of
misgovernance or corruption without proffering evidence or substance have
rendered the political scenario thoroughly confusing. The rulers have set a
highly reproachable record of disobedience of the highest court of the
country whose compliance is considered sacrosanct in any properly
functioning system of governance. Ignoring the fact that interpreting the
Constitution rests with the Supreme Court, they have at times even
questioned its jurisdiction in trying certain cases. Combined with this
attitude of the government, the oppositions behaviour of not seriously

1010

taking the government to task for its lapses has generated a climate of
uncertainty in the country.
One would like to hope that the sane utterances of General Kayani
would rekindle an all-round enthusiasm to work for the success of
democracy in the country where the principle of the rule of law is deeply
cherished. And, as General Kayani has said, the welfare of people reigns
supreme in the eyes of all and sundry, the government, the opposition and all
the rest of society. (Editorial, TheNation 2nd May)
Politics of animosity: Charge sheets are being distributed by the PPP
and PML-N leaders against one another to the satisfaction of those who do
not want the peoples will to prevail. It will be a pity, if conditions
deteriorate to an extent where the country falls a prey to yet another military
intervention. Some may think that this is a farfetched proposition, but
history reveals that military dictators have intervened on much lesser issues
than those that confront Pakistan today.
One hopes that sanity will prevail and the government and the
opposition, as well as other state organs, will not only strictly follow the
Constitution of Pakistan, but also ensure that they do not encroach upon the
others jurisdiction. At present, it seems that some state organs are not
strictly following the Constitution. And there is an effort by design to
acquire the powers of other institutions that are not within their
constitutional domain.
As far as the political leadership is concerned, it must remember that
the major responsibility for the countrys progress and prosperity rests on its
shoulders. It is advisable for the political leaders to refrain from mudslinging
that will do no good to this country. Instead it will complicate an already
fragile situation, ruin the economy and create conditions where political
parties may become irrelevant in Pakistan. So, it is the duty of the top
leaders of all political parties to stop their members from indulging in
activities that are detrimental to the countrys vital national interests.
To achieve this purpose, it is the governments duty to invite the
opposition parties to sit together and draw a plan where a political code of
conduct is agreed upon and then enforced, which will lead to a peaceful
transition from one democratically-elected government to the other without
much hassle. Otherwise, political parties and their leadership will be the first
ones to bear the brunt in case democracy is booted out of the country once
again! (Azam Khalil, TheNation 3rd May)

1011

Provincial disharmony
A hidden agenda? The move for a separate province for the Seraikipeople of Punjab is a political ploy in preparation for the forthcoming
general elections. The demand for a Seraiki province is continuation of a
process to weaken and break up Punjab province. At the same time, it is part
of the larger agenda of outside powers seeking balkanization of Pakistan.
Unfortunately, some other political parties, including those which are
based in Punjab, are conniving with the PPP in its pursuance of this agenda
for a Seraiki province. They are doing so without understanding the grave
implications of their connivance with the PPP government. The present
governments lack of a meaningful response to demands for construction of
new hydroelectric power projects, and the link canals proposed by India on
the rivers feeding Punjab, will ultimately deny Punjab the required water
resources, seriously affecting its agricultural output. After the creation of a
Seraiki province, especially if it is extended up to Mianwali in the north, the
Indus River will also be de-linked from what remained of Punjab.
If it remains undivided, without its Seraiki areas separated from it,
Punjab could one day provide a revenue-generating land route for trade
between India and Afghanistan via Wagah. But that possibility is being
undermined by the planned opening of the Sulaimanki route, which will
probably be linked with the Indus Highway through areas of the proposed
Seraiki province to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and to Afghanistan.
If that happens, Punjab will become an impotent entity with meagre
sources of income, totally dependent on other provinces to survive. An
undermining of Punjab will also fulfill the agenda of foreign powers which
feel that even after Pakistans balkanization, Punjab, with the nuclear
weapons in it and the strong army, will remain a threat to their interests.
President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani may even be
thinking in terms of unification of Sindh and the proposed Seraiki province.
The people of Punjabs Seraiki-speaking areas are akin to those of rural
Sindh. Both are used to feudalism and to the landlords monopoly on landownership, and both have subservient masses. It will be easier for the PPP to
buy off important families in the Seraiki areas or coerce them into
submission
The numerical differential between the Urdu-speaking population of
urban Sindh and rural Sindh and the Seraiki areas will increase Zardari & Co
are in total control, with the MQM marginalized Zardari can become a

1012

true leader of the over 180 million Pakistanis by acting in accordance with
the aspirations of the people of the country, and giving up dirty politics. He
still has that choice. At the same time, the other mainstream political parties
should end their differences, rise above their self-seeking agendas and get
united. (Tahir Ali, The News 1st May)

Turf war in Karachi

Lyari bleeds: Violence continues unabated in the trouble-torn Lyari
locality of Karachi, as security forces continue their operation against
elements described as gangsters. By Saturday evening violence in Lyari had
claimed more than fifteen lives in two days, including those of a local PPP
leader and the SHO of the Civil Lines police stations Also, PPP leader
Nabeel Gabol escaped injury after a grenade was lobbed at his convoy on
Friday as he was returning from Maliks funeral. As the violence seems to be
spiraling out of control leaving a trail of death and destruction, the security
forces and government officials say the operation is succeeding. However,
the precise truth behind these statements is difficult to assess at the moment
given that Lyari, for now, is a virtually no go zone. The situation may
prove difficult to douse easily, mainly because the gang war situation is
further complicated by the involvement of political factors. Various gangs in
Lyari are backed by different political parties and, indeed, have been
nurtured by them through the years.
PPP MPAs have protested against the killings in Lyari, which is
considered to be the partys stronghold, and demanded that the situation be
resolved quickly and peace restored. The president, who is the cochairperson of the PPP, has announced that the operation will continue at all
costs. At this point it is impossible to say how the situation will turn out and
people are too terrified to step out of the confines of their homes. Board
exams scheduled for Saturday were also postponed. The most alarming part
of all this is the fact that there is no guarantee whether the on-going
operation will lead to peace and not more mayhem. One of the main
obstacles, and probably an important factor complicating the Lyari problem,
is said to be the politicization of the police. Until this problem is tackled, the
situation may get worse. In a situation as volatile as Lyaris, it is obvious that
there is a need for complete impartiality and professionalism. The authorities
must wake up to the gravity of the situation and realize that blood spilling
and chaos that has been allowed to go on for so long must be stopped before
it is too late. (Editorial, The News 29th April 29)

1013

Lyari gang wars: The ongoing Lyari gang wars have claimed 25
lives and caused injuries to more than 60 others, during the previous three
days. On Saturday many troubled spots of the area relapsed into a virtual
battleground where the police officials were caught off guard when the
criminals pounded them with rocket launchers and grenades. An armoured
vehicle was mangled in one such attack in the Afshani Gali area and the
SHO leading the operation could not stand his ground against miscreants
fire power and died on the spot. After a day full of bloodletting, the police
officials in their utter helplessness had to issue shoot-on-sight orders.
That the area is awash with such sophisticated weapons is a sad
commentary on the state of surveillance. Obviously it means that the
notorious weapons mafia is going about its dirty business with complete
immunity. It is a big question mark on polices state of alertness since the
weapons are smuggled into the city through a number of entry points in
literally broad daylight. These weapons are put up for sale to everyone who
can afford them. The violence that has rocked Lyari is only a symptom of the
greater malaise that plagues the unfortunate city of Karachi.
Indeed Lyari is only the tip of the iceberg; there are several other areas
that are, perhaps, as bad where sophisticated weapons and target killers are
found aplenty. This should be viewed in the backdrop of the countrys entire
security situation where a constant supply of explosives and all sorts of
firearms is invariably available for the terrorists. Under such gruesome
circumstances when the law enforcement agencies ought to have geared up
for the challenge, it turns out that they themselves have become sitting ducks
for these miscreants. The shootout in Lyari where the criminals had even the
police commandoes running for their life is a small testament to this reality.
It is high time the officials went about cleaning up the entire city. The
urgent need to beef up the force both in terms of its strength and weapons is
plainly manifest. Also it is necessary that political involvement in the forces
day-to-day affairs and appointment of SHOs which is one of the major
hurdles in the way of peace was brought to an end. The federal government
has girded up its loins too late but still it has time to arrest the rising graph of
violence. The people who are tired of years of violence expect it to act with
courage. The city that is the economic hub of the country cannot be
abandoned to lawlessness. (Editorial, TheNation 30th April)

REVIEW

1014

The convicted Prime Minister kept oozing with confidence during five
days under review, which exceeded far beyond the one he showed before or
during his trial on contempt charges. The reasons behind his confidence
were multiple. He was commended and pampered by his boss and other
party leaders for his defiance against the apex court. He also enjoyed
complete support of the coalition partners.
He fully trusted the ability of his team of lawyers who are capable of
dragging and confusing a simple issue that had been amply demonstrated by
Aitzaz during hearing of the contempt of court case. He hoped that the case
would be stretched further for indefinite period once he filed an appeal
against the verdict.
The ambiguity of the verdict made the task of Gilanis defence
counsel easier. Court verdicts are expected to clear the confusion over the
case in hand and settle the matter once for all, but this verdict has added to
the prevailing confusion. Some legal experts have predicted quashing of the
verdict by appeal court. Moreover, the Chief Justice is short of three judges
to constitute an appeal court comprising nine judges.
The regime has also won over hearts and minds of reasonable
number of private TV channels, which have been launched to counter the
critics. Similarly, the divided Bar pre-empts the possibility of initiation of
any movement like the one that was launched in 2007 in support of
Judiciary. Judiciarys shaky performance for reasons best known to judges
has also dampened the expectations of the people.
Divided political opposition adds to the confidence of the ruling
coalition. The main opposition party stands isolated, primarily due to the
attitude of its chief, Nawaz Sharif. Other political parties are not prepared to
join hands with PML-N. The inter-party differences, especially, between
Nawaz and Imran are likely to render their planned protests ineffective.
Zardari has quite effectively pinned-down Army by extensively
committing it in the war on terror combined with posing indirect threat
through the US in case of any mischief on its part. Washington has
repeatedly warned that it supports the present democratic dispensation in
Pakistan. This unconditional support of the US to the Scoundrel and the
Saint is for their ability to deliver for the American cause even at the cost of
Pakistans vital interests.
While Zardari had pitched his party and his coalition partners in
defiance of the Judiciary, he launched an operation to crush the defiance
within PPP that emerged in its stronghold of Lyari in Karachi. Some of the
1015

Lyari gangsters which had been patronized by PPP had revolted against the
party leadership.
For the last one week, the Police have been operating to dislodge the
rebel gangsters. Under instructions of Zardari the Sindh government was
trying replace these rebel gang leaders with those who are loyal. The new
gangsters to be installed are fighting side by side with the Police. It is for
this reason that Rangers have not been involved in the operation despite the
stiff resistance.
Observers wondered about such a stern action in PPPs vote bank in
Karachi, but this is part of Zardaris power politics. At this critical juncture
he needs the support of his coalition partners and operation in Lyari ensures
that support. This self-inflicted injury has been considered inescapable; if a
loud-mouth like Babar Awan could be sacrificed then slaughtering of these
unknown criminals is no big deal.
3rd May, 2012

1016

WAR WITHIN-VIII
The twin resolutions cleverly moved and hurriedly adopted on
Thursday, the May 3 by the ruling coalition in both houses of the Parliament
caught the agitating PML-N on the wrong foot. Caught unaware, the PMLN, not finding a rational response, was once again forced to act impulsively.
It submitted its own resolution for forming four new provinces of
Bahawalpur, South Punjab, Hazara and FATA.
Next day, PML-N organized first public rally at Taxila as part of its
Go Gilani Go campaign launched in reaction to Prime Ministers defiance
of Judiciary. it was an impressive show but not good enough to make any
impact on the regime simply because Nawaz has always been one move
behind Zardari, in other words the former has been reacting to the moves of
the latter.
Meanwhile, the regimes operation against its own gangsters of Lyari
apparently failed to achieve the stated goals, yet Rehman Malik rushed to
Karachi and announced two-day unilateral ceasefire claiming that it was to
give the last chance to the gangsters to lay down their arms. Nevertheless,
the coalition partner MQM was pleased despite the fact that no notorious
figure of PAC was killed or arrested by Police.

NEWS
Rule of law: On 4th May, ANF once again summoned Musa Gilani
to appear on May 13 for further investigation into ephedrine case. Hanif
Abbasi of PML-N will also appear before investigators on May 8, who has
reportedly acquired quota of more than his usual needs of his factory.

Defiance of judiciary: On 3rd May, amid mounting PML-N

pressure on the convicted prime minister to quit, the ruling coalition got
passed resolutions in his favour from both houses of the parliament, Sindh
Assembly and AJK Legislative Assembly. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly is
also set to adopt a similar resolution tomorrow to repose confidence in
Gilani.
To further deflect attention from the conviction issue, the coalition got
adopted another resolution from the lower house of the federal legislature for
1017

the creation of a Seraiki province, which, if realized, would split the most
populous province of Punjab being ruled by the PML-N since the 2008
elections. Both resolutions were presented back-to-back by Law Minister
Farooq H Naek and passed with a thumping support of PPPs coalition
partners in the house.
The session was marred by sloganeering by the PML-N members. The
PML-N legislators on their third consecutive day of protest against Gilani,
gathered around the PMs seat and rostrum even before the start of the
session. After about 25 minutes to the Question-Hour session, PPP with the
support of allied parties brought the two resolutions in the house that
adopted those in just around 5 minutes.
The second resolution read that lower house of parliament reposes
complete confidence in Gilani as the constitutionally and democratically
elected prime minister. He was commended for upholding majesty of law
by personally appearing thrice in the Supreme Court and showing great
humility and respect to the apex court. In a thinly-veiled reference to
Gilanis refusal to write letter to the Swiss authorities saying that
constitution grants presidential immunity to Zardari, the resolution said:
The house also appreciates the firmness and dignity displayed by Prime
Minister Gilani in upholding the constitution and the parliamentary
democracy in the country.
On the resolution about reposing confidence in Gilani, some members
from both sides of the aisle shouted full throat slogans in favour and against
the PPP government and they were about to indulge in physical fight when
other members with their timely intervention cooled down the situation.
Particularly, PML-N member Abid Sher Ali and treasury member
Akhunzada Chattan engaged in a brawl and started raising slogans in support
and against the government.
The Senate, in its evening session, also passed a resolution reposing
complete confidence in Prime Minister Gilani, in the absence of PML-N that
walked out of the house over the issue of PMs legality. The resolution,
moved by Leader of the House in Senate Jehangir Badar read the same as
the one presented in the national assembly.
The Sindh Assembly also reposed full confidence in the leadership of
Premier Gilani in a joint resolution tabled by Sindh Law Minister
Muhammad Ayaz Soomro and Senior Minister for Education Pir Mazharul
Haq. The Azad Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly, lower house of the

1018

state parliament, too reposed confidence in the leadership of Gilani by

appreciating his efforts for the upholding the Constitution.
The shrewd move of the ruling coalition forced the PML-N to come
up with its own plan of four new provinces: South Punjab, Bahawalpur,
Hazara and FATA. Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly revealed
this while addressing a Press conference. Terming the resolution of Treasury
Benches a political gimmick, he said that PPP wanted to divert the attention
of the masses about the conviction issue of Gilani who is saving the skin of
President by not writing a letter.
President Zardari congratulated Prime Minister Gilani for the
confidence reposed in him by the Lower House of the Parliament. In his
felicitation message, the President said the resolution of the representatives
of the people was a clear manifestation of his leadership qualities.
Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza asked the opposition
parties not to act in haste regarding Prime Minster's disqualification issue
reiterating that interpretation of the Supreme Court's detailed verdict would
be done in the light of the Constitution and not as per wishes of anyone. She
was talking to media persons after inaugurating paintings exhibition at
Speaker's Lounge, National Assembly, held upon successful completion of
the 4th year of the 13th National Assembly.
Next day, protest of PML-N members in both the houses of the
Parliament continued. Partners of ruling coalition urged the PML-N to end
protests and warned that the onus would be on the main opposition party if
democracy was destabilized as the situation could reach point of no return.
In Lahore, jiyalas held a rally in support of convicted Prime Minister.
On 5th May, the PML-N began its protest movement against the PPP
government, holding first rally in Taxila; a large number of PML-N workers
thronged the venue of the rally. Speaking on the occasion, Nawaz Sharif
criticized President Zardari and asked him to tell the nation about 600
million dollar lying in Swiss cases. He said that Zardrai will have to return
600 million and letter must be written to Swiss authorities. Nawaz said that
Zardari and Gilani were hell bent on destroying Pakistan. While lashing out
on PM Gilani, Nawaz Sharif said that, President Zardari has made you a
puppet and pawn for his vested interests.
He said that law and order situation in Lyari and Balochistan has
become so uncertain that people have been left helpless at the mercy of fate.
Innocent people are being targeted while the government is busy in securing
its rule. With the reference of Benazir Bhutto, he said that he had signed an
1019

agreement with her pertaining to restoration of democratic setup but after

tragic end of Benazir, Zardari came on surface and misused the agreement.
Nawaz said that masses should stand by him for the survival of the
country. It is not war of politics; neither is it struggle of personal interests.
He is out along with his party workers to secure the country from cruel
clutches for progress and prosperity of the country, he said. He also appealed
to the nation that it should be ready to participate in long march against the
government.
Qamar Zaman Kaira said that the PPP did not require the
interpretation of the Sharif brothers to understand the Supreme Court verdict
in the prime ministers contempt case, and predicted that the antigovernment long march on the capital was destined to fail. The information
minister maintained that the Sharif brothers simply wanted to occupy
parliament, the PM House and the federal capital, but that they would all fail
in their endeavours, and said that it seemed that they once again wanted to
attack the judiciary after 15 years.
He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was
responsible for the toppling of democratic governments in the past because
of its politics of confrontation. He claimed that it not only got its own
governments dismissed but also dismissed those of the PPP, he held. He
further added that due to their negative attitude, the Sharif brothers had been
forced to face the ultimate consequence and swiftly escaped to Jeddah after
signing the NRO with Pervez Musharraf. Kaira advised the PML-N to hold
local body elections in Punjab to gauge its actual popularity among the
masses.
Bar councils and bar associations of the country threw their weight
behind Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani by recognizing him as the
constitutional chief executive of the country, but also admitted that the PM
had no political or moral grounds to hold his office. The legal fraternity
representatives also opposed the appointment of ad hoc judges for hearing
the PMs appeal against his conviction in the contempt of court case.
To a query about possibilities of joining the long march, announced by
the opposition parties against the PPP-led government, the PBC vicechairman said lawyers would take their own decision on the issue and would
not become a stooge of any political party. The lawyers leaders, through a
unanimous resolution, rejected the proposal of appointment of acting or ad
hoc judges to the Supreme Court particularly in view of the fact that
permanent post of a judge was lying vacant for several months.
1020

The meeting also adopted a unanimous resolution which said a

permanent Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) should be appointed so that
Justice Shakirullah Jan could return to the bench. As per the resolution, the
bar leader expressed apprehension that serving judges should not be
involved in election controversies. They pleaded that political forces should
spare judges from political controversies.
Next say, Gilani said Sharif Brothers were expressing solidarity with
the courts only to save their skin, as several cases against them like
Mehrangate were pending decision. He asked Mian Brothers and their party
men to apologize to the nation for hiding facts about their agreement with
General Musharraf and telling lies about it for ten years. Shazia Murri said
masses wont be misled by Nawaz.

Taming the military: On 4th May, National Assembly passed a bill

for forming a National Commission to watch Human Rights violations. The
commission will not inquire into the act or practice of intelligence agencies,
but where a complaint is made to the commission alleging that an act of such
an agency is inconsistent with or contrary to any human right, the
commission shall refer the complaint to the competent authority concerned.
It is expected that the new law will help reining in agencies.

Baloch militancy: On 3rd May, Chief Justice ordered the officials

concerned to produce all the missing persons before the court in May 4,
warning that all of them could be suspended in case of failure. He issued this
direction while hearing the case regarding law and order in Balochistan and
the missing persons at the Quetta Registry of the apex court. None of the
missing was produced before the court by the authorities who were ordered
to produce them during last two days hearing.
The bench observed that no one has so far dared to reveal who had
been keeping the missing persons. The CJ asked IGP to tell the court where
they were being held: Are the missing persons in custody of police and
Levies? The CJ said if police was not disclosing their whereabouts then they
must be in the safe houses of police. The IGP denied.
The CJ also expressed displeasure over non-recovery of kidnapped
Makesh Kohli advocate. The IGP was also questioned as to whether he told
the governor and chief minister about security situation in the province. At
this, he requested the court to hear them in-camera. SCBA President Yaseen
Azad said that police was not revealing truth for it was frightened while FC
was mostly being blamed for missing persons.

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The CJ stressed that nothing would be helpful until substantial facts

about the missing persons were provided. On this, the home secretary
apprised the bench that the department lacks information about each and
every missing person. FC DIG denied there was any missing person in their
custody. The CJ remarked that every person who appeared here held FC
responsible. FC DIG said this was regrettable. Addressing Brigadier
Shehzad, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain said, People do not respect you. Your
uniform should be esteemed; instead, people are afraid of you.
When the court asked Advocate General about CM Aslam Raisani and
Home Minister who were ordered to appear in court, he said they were in
Islamabad for important meetings. The lawyers assisting the bench said that
CM had not gone there for serving Balochistans interests but to enjoy
pleasant weather. They said even the cabinet meetings were being held in
Islamabad.
The court once again ordered the home minister to appear before the
court to explain his statement wherein he had claimed involvement of some
minister in the kidnapping for ransom. On 6th May, one man of Hazara tribe
was shot dead on Quetta-Sibi Highway; two truck drivers were kidnapped in
Kachhi and a bid to blow up train on Quetta Chaman track was foiled.

Turf war in Karachi: On 3rd May, the gun-battle between the

police and gangsters in Lyari entered seventh day claiming at least 40 lives
while hundreds of others were wounded in the conflict. Meanwhile, elders of
various Baloch tribes were among the negotiating team trying to convince
Uzair Baloch, Zafar Baloch and Baba Ladla to evacuate the area or surrender
before the police, who were ready to surrender but they are seeking
assurances about their areas.
Gangsters believed that authorities will hand over Lyari to the rival
gang of Arshad alias Papu released from jail couple of months ago. Sources
disclosed that police and other authorities have decided to hand over Lyari to
the Papu gang after the evacuation of Amman Committee members. Police
claimed to have killed 4 members of Amman Committee. Residents of the
area confirmed that victims including Manzoor and Shahzad were not
affiliated with criminal groups.
IG Sindh Mushtaq Shah in a Press conference said that police will
resettle the residents of Lyari who left their homes because of gangsters.
Gangsters are responsible for the killing of innocent people, he said.
Mushtaq Shah called Cheel Chowk as headquarters of gangsters and hoped
that Lyari will be cleared within two days.
1022

Four people, including an ex-serviceman, were mowed down in

separate acts of violence elsewhere in the metropolis. According to DSP
Tariq Malik, the ex-serviceman hailed from Peshawar. Separately, a young
man and a girl were killed in the name of honour in Sultanabad area; the
victims families belonged to Waziristan. In another incident, police found
body of a man from a nullah.
The PML-N took out a rally against the Lyari operation, demanding
the government to immediately pull out law enforcers from the area. PML-N
Karachi chief Nehal Hashmi said the people of Lyari always stood up
against the dictatorial regimes and supported democracy, for which the
government was carrying out an operation against them. He further said the
operation should be stopped forthwith.
The Jamaat-e-Islami condemned a police attack on its convoy
carrying humanitarian aid to Lyari, terming it as state terrorism. JI Karachi
chief Mohammad Hussain Mehanti, while addressing a news conference,
announced that his party would call an all-parties conference on May 4 on
the Lyari situation. He asked the government to allow welfare organizations
to start relief work in Lyari and not to create any problems and hurdles for
them.
Next day, the Supreme Court ordered recovery of missing persons in
two weeks. Chief Justice expressed annoyance over absence of bosses of
agencies. The court warned to use constitutional options as it observed that
no one was interested in peace in Balochistan. During the proceedings FIR
naming FC Colonel and Major were presented before the court and SHO
wept over his helplessness. Meanwhile, three more missing persons returned
to their homes.
Two people were shot dead in Naseerabad and shutter-down strike
was observed in Balochistan over Lyari operation. On 4th May, Zardari
ordered no compromise on law and order situation in Karachi as Police
seemed to be stuck in stalemate situation in Lyari.
On 5th May, Lyari was returning to normalcy, but four people were
killed in firing and two offices burnt in the city. Next day, Rehman Malik
refused to talk to gangsters of Amn Committee once claimed by Zulfikar
Mirza as children of PPP. Malik vowed targeted action in Lyari and told the
media that names of some criminals have been placed on ECL. An ASI was
shot dead and a sack-packed body was found in two separate incidents in the
metropolis. Nationalist parties protested against Lyari operation. A PML-Q

1023

leader also demanded end to operation while claiming that diehard workers
were being dubbed as terrorists.

VIEWS
Power politics
An invalid resolution: In utter violation of the Constitution, the
National Assembly on Thursday pushed through a resolution for the creation
of a separate province consisting of southern parts of present Punjab, setting
off another political crisis in a scenario already surcharged with innumerable
crises. PML-N legislatures, who were shouting slogans of Go Gilani Go
against the backdrop of his conviction in contempt of court case, tried their
best to resist the presentation of the resolution. They voiced strong protests,
standing right in front of the Speaker, to register their objection to the
unconstitutional manner in which the issue was being handled. Incidentally,
the resolution was also not on the agenda, presumably to take the opponents
off guard. The correct procedure, whenever it is deemed necessary to carve
out a new federating unit, is clearly laid down in Article 239 of the
Constitution. The provision stipulates that a resolution to that effect has first
to be passed by a two-thirds majority in the assembly of the province out of
which the new unit is intended to be created. It is only after this procedure
has been gone through that the National Assembly could take up the matter
and pass a resolution in support of it, also by a two-thirds majority. Not only
was the National Assembly not supposed to pass any resolution for the
creation of South Punjab without its prior approval by the Punjab Provincial
Assembly, but, another painful aspect of the exercise is, that it also passed it
by a simple majority. As if this was not enough of a disregard of
constitutional provisions, the National Assembly also passed a resolution
reaffirming its confidence in Mr Yousuf Raza Gilani as Prime Minister.
It seems obvious that meeting one reverse after the other in the highest
court of the country, the government is determined to violate law and
Constitution, if that could help it hold on to power, unmindful of the adverse
implications of this attitude. That, indeed, is a pathetic situation considering,
especially, that the ruling coalition claims to be striving to strengthen
democracy in the country. With the renaming of NWFP as Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, there has emerged a fairly popular demand for Hazara
Province. And the day is not far off when voices for Jinnahabad would start
resounding in the areas of Sindh inhabited by supporters of the MQM. The

1024

PML-N declares it is not against the creation of new federating units, if they
were to be carved out for administrative reasons, but opposes the idea if it is
on the basis of language.
The grave economic and security situation that exists in the country
has become graver on account of the geopolitical challenges it confronts.
This is certainly not the time to opt for adding physical divisions of the
country to the political divisions that bedevil us, whether the reasons put
forward are political or linguistic in nature. It is time for unity. Only then can
we be able to get over these interesting times. (Editorial, TheNation 4 th
May)
Collective effort needed: The resort to street power with the
accompanying destruction of the public and private properties by the unruly
mobs, and the ensuing deaths as a consequence of the actions of the law
enforcing agencies, are least desirable in the present circumstances as it
would create justification for the anti-democracy forces to make their move.
Any such eventuality might lead to an unending nightmare for the
people of Pakistan, who have suffered a lot in the past due to the
shenanigans of politicians, some pliable judges and the acts of sedition
committed by khakis. God forbid, it might also scuttle the chances of
Pakistan surviving as a viable state.
This is a moment for all stakeholders to introspect their past conduct,
analyze the disastrous consequences of their actions, learn lessons from
history and try to find a way out of this quagmire through collective efforts.
Pakistans future is inextricably linked to democracy as envisioned by the
Quaid.
Their foremost priority should be to ensure that the country stays on
the democratic path and the change of government is brought through the
verdict of the people, who are the final arbiters and judge of the ruling elites
performance. While treading the democratic path we also need to change the
way we elect our parliamentarians. The prevalent system of elections
nurtured by the feudal culture has promoted the politics of graft and
entitlement and further entrenched the archaic, colonial style of governance.
We might broach the possibility of adopting the system of proportional
representation. These are the issues on which they need to concentrate and
calibrate a strategy for systemic reforms to put the country on its cherished
course.
In view of the foregoing realities, it is absolutely an inescapable
responsibility of leaders of political parties sitting in Parliament to come out
1025

of their hibernation, set their priorities right and deal with these crucial
issues in the light of emerging realities collectively, by making the required
amendments in the Constitution, before the coming elections. (Malik
Muhammad Ashraf, TheNation 5th May)
Democracy in Pakistan: Islamic form of governance means
governance of society based on rules of equity and justice in which the rich
and the poor, the powerful and the weak are all treated and dealt with
equally. Islamic government is free from the ills and evils of modern day
democracy. Although it is somewhat similar to personal or one man rule yet
Islamic Democracy is far better than modern day democracies because
In Islamic Democracy every citizen of the country can question the
top leadership whereas in todays democracy only the elected and that also
an opposition member can raise his or her voice. In Islamic democracy very
ordinary citizen can stop the ruler/s in doing an illegal or anti sharia act,
whereas in modern democracy it is neither possible nor accepted. Once
having cast the vote the nation has to wait for the next elections to counter or
check the ruling government.
Thus in Islamic democracy there is personal rule of the old days. The
modern day democracy claims that the rule is of the people; while factually
once in power the people are totally left at the mercy of the illiterate,
uncouth and selfish rulers who can reject their opinion on the strength of
majority.
In Islamic form of government you are only required to obey the
ruler/s till their actions and orders are in consonance with sharia, but in
modern day democracy the rulers supported by the decision of the elected
majority, can enforce any law even if it is against the rights or welfare of the
people.
Religion of state: There is no government in the world which does not
follow any religion. The American, the British, the Europeans follow
Christianity, the Russians religion is communism, Islamic countries follow
Islam and India despite claiming to be following secularism, Hinduism.
Therefore today, if we follow rules of governance purely based upon
Islamic principles there is no reason why we cannot introduce such
governance which is based on high principles that help the needy and the
weak living in Pakistan. It is incumbent upon us, therefore, to adopt the
golden principles taught to us in the Holy Quran and explained to us by the
Holy Prophet and his companions. (Mohammad Tariq Bucha, TheNation 7th
May)
1026

Rule of law
Rule of law: In a society devoid of any respect for the principles of
equality, human dignity and equal rights for all, where articles of the
constitution are flouted and where there is inherent discrimination on the
basis of class, caste, faith and sect, how could we have rule of law. Where
there is no social justice, there can be no rule of law.
Even if laws do not always favour the rich and the mighty, their
dispensation does. If the tussle is between the wealthy and the poor, the
wealthy will win. If it happens to be between the rich and the rich, the one
who has got the institutions of the Pakistani state establishment, at any level,
on his side will prevail. This can happen in a police station, a debriefing cell,
a lawyers chamber, a court of law, a government office or even on the
streets if powers that be decide to whip up emotions in a segment of society
and fund and facilitate the rallies.
Mind you, the media is making the urban middleclass forget that
courts of law are not limited to the high courts and the Supreme Court. There
are hundreds of courts functioning across Pakistan whose proceedings,
nature of cases, statements of witnesses, arguments of lawyers, remarks by
the judges and, finally, the judgments are neither reported nor followed up.
Exceptions are few and far between. There is little difference observed in
these courts even in this age of rule of law.
Nevertheless, who would support corruption and speak against the
rule of law? But neither could we abolish corruption nor establish the rule of
law unless the chronic structural issues faced by the Pakistani state are not
fixed. These issues are perpetuated by the remnants of a feudal class, big
businesses aided by affluent middleclass professionals largely belonging to
central Punjab and Karachi, post-colonial bureaucracy and omnipresent
military. Only if this precondition of fixing the structural issues is
understood and the link is established in the minds of those who clamour for
abolishing corruption and establishing the rule of law, they can succeed.
The fundamental problems of class discrimination and redistribution
of wealth, identity and ethnicity, womens rights and exclusion of minorities
can only be resolved by an uninterrupted political process, free and fair
elections, supremacy of parliament and progressive legislation in the
federation as well as in provinces. It does require a self-aware and conscious
electorate. But this awareness also evolves with the process.

1027

Undoubtedly, Pakistan still is a plutocracy a democracy of the rich.

But it is changing and can only turn into a peoples democracy through a
democratic process, not by a whiplash, a stroke of the pen or instituting a
technocratic government. This seems a long haul. But there are no shortcuts
in history.
Today, the incumbent government is accused of mammoth corruption
by its adversaries. Interestingly, by those who were themselves responsible
for the cooperatives scam which impoverished the already poor, bank
defaults, the freezing of foreign currency accounts which badly affected
foreign remittances, patronage and kickbacks, etc. The selectivity of higher
courts works in their favour.
If the government is ousted, will the four million civil servants start
functioning honestly? Will the rich start paying taxes? Will the generals and
top bureaucrats relinquish their undeserved privileges? Out of 8041
beneficiaries of the NRO, only a handful are politicians. The overwhelming
majority is of bureaucrats followed by businessmen. I reiterate: Nothing will
change if the structural issues are not addressed. The only way to do that in
the present time and age is continuing with the democratic process. (Harris
Khalique, The News 4th May)

Defiance of judiciary
What the verdict means: The Prime Minister was found guilty of
contempt for not obeying the court. He has not scandalized the court in the
sense of having made any accusations against any judges, but he has not
obeyed its orders that is a common cause of conviction for contempt. The
courts have the power to punish precisely because of this, and parties are not
supposed to scandalize members of any court not because they are above
criticism, as because if they are impugned, their effectiveness as judges
would be affected.
Thus, the Prime Minister not just wishes to go through the appeal
process, but would like the Speaker of the National Assembly to sit on the
reference. The calculation there would, probably, be that the Speaker would
be able to delay the process because though the Constitution specifies that
questions of eligibility are to be referred by the Speaker to the Chief
Election Commissioner, there is no mention of how long the Speaker is
supposed to take. However, Mr Gilani knows that, just as much as no PPP
Prime Minister will send the letter, no PPP Speaker will send on the
reference. The delay by the Speaker needs not be outlandish because there is
less than a year left for the present Assemblies term, and though the issue
1028

will have to be determined if Mr Gilani wants to contest again, if the

Speaker cooperates, there is no reason for him to be unseated. However, if
he is not unseated, and if he files papers in the coming, or any subsequent
election, any of his opponents is likely to challenge his candidature.
The question of one persons candidature is not involved. At stake is a
precedent. The judiciary cannot countenance Mr Gilani putting his own
interpretation of the Constitution ahead of its own, as it believes that the
Constitution itself has made it the ultimate interpreter of the Constitution. It
cannot accept competition without losing its purpose. Therefore, Mr Gilani
and President Zardari should not expect what they seemingly want, state
authorities which give decisions to support the actions of the PPP. This
desire for all state authorities to do what the party wants is the result of the
strand within the PPP of its believing itself a vanguard party in the Leninist
mould, and there is the strand within it of being Bhuttos party, to the extent
that the immunity it confers should extend to his son-in-law. Since the
Supreme Court is not falling in with this, its conviction of the Prime
Minister for contempt does not find favour with it.
The obvious solution, especially since the parliamentary term is so
advanced, is for the Prime Minister to advise dissolution and go to the
country. However, a curious coincidence of dates has meant that PPP CoChairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will not be old enough to contest them,
unless Parliament goes to its full term. As he is the designated heir, and is
due to become Prime Minister, he cannot be made to sit out the next
election, both because it would, probably, mean his staying out of office for
yet another term, and because he is to be the main plank on which the PPP
will contest the next election, having otherwise a patchy record of
governance.
The reason the PPP is protesting so hard is because it wishes to revive
the sentiment that the establishment, a nebulous enough concept made
even more nebulous when made to include the judiciary, is against it. The
fault of the Supreme Court is not that it tried to ensure the rule of law, but
that it did not try to ensure the supremacy of the party. (M A Niazi,
TheNation 4th May)
Long march: General Asif Nawaz Janjua, the tenth chief of army
staff (COAS), had decided to play neutral. On November 10, 1992,
Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, in a rally in Faisalabad, appealed to the masses to
come out and send the government of Nawaz Sharif packing. On

1029

November 10, the PPP-led Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDA) gave a call
for a Long March for November 18.
On November 15, 1992, PM Nawaz Sharif and General Asif Nawaz
met to discuss the long march. Here is what happened on November 18:
Begum Nusrat Bhutto was baton charged at Bhatti Chowk. Farooq Leghari
was also baton charged. Aitzaz Ahsan, Jahangir Badr, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi,
Qaim Ali Shah, Gen (r) Naseerullah Baber, Maulana Kasur Niazi and
Salmaan Taseer were all arrested. Mohtarma Benazir was arrested and
deported to Karachi. End of the long march.
General Abdul Waheed Kakar, the eleventh COAS, decides to
intervene. According to Sabir Shahs A political timeline of long marches in
Pakistan, while Benazir Bhuttos first long march in November 1992 failed
to achieve her desired purpose, her second attempt reaped rewards as both
Nawaz Sharif and the then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan were shown the
door by Army Chief General Waheed Kakar Long march successful.
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (PA-12850) became the fourteenth
COAS when General (r) Pervez Musharraf (PA-6920) was the president of
Pakistan. General Ashfaq Kayani had decided to play neutral in the midst of
the political-cum-constitutional gridlock. On May 17, 2008, the Pakistan Bar
Council (PBC) announced a long march from Lahore to Islamabad. On June
14, 2008, a long march was undertaken. The black coats claimed that this
Long March will prove the last nail in the coffin of Musharraf...
On June 14, Anne Patterson sent out a confidential cable titled Long
march ends with no decision on judiciary. The cable reads: The Long
march of the lawyers movement ended quietly in Islamabad, leaving
supporters disappointed, disgruntled and no closer to a solution on the
judicial restoration issue than when the march began. The black coats
without the khaki vardis failed. End of the long march.
General Ashfaq Kayani, the fourteenth COAS when Asif Ali Zardari
(PA-nil) was the president of Pakistan, decides to intervene. On March 12,
2009, Pakistans civil society supported by political workers had begun
assembling in several cities for the long march to Islamabad. Nawaz Sharif,
Aitzaz Ahsan and several leaders of the Lawyers Movement were put under
house arrest. On March 15, the police guard blocking Nawaz Sharif from
leaving his house somehow evaporated in thin air. General Kayani
intervened and the long march was successful.

1030

Question: Who in Pakistan converts a long march into political

action? Moral of the story: Never confuse a long march with action or one
would be left disappointed and disgruntled.
In the meanwhile, Unesco has ranked Pakistan the second most
dangerous country for journalists. Pakistan now stands at the fourth position
in premature births and Indian bananas are selling for Rs240 a dozen. (Dr
Farrukh Saleem, The News 6th May)
Now a long march: It might seem that the opposition is holding this
series of rallies with the elections in mind, but Mian Nawaz has his attention
focused on the $60 million in the impugned Swiss account, about which the
Prime Minister was so adamant in refusing to write a letter to the Swiss, that
he preferred to be convicted by the Supreme Court. By promising to get this
money back, Mian Nawaz focused on the issue at the heart of this campaign.
If only elections were the motive, the Swiss accounts might not have figured
so prominently. Mian Nawaz related this to the Constitution.
However, there is a need to carry out some self-accountability. The
opposition has also to ask itself if it has done anything to help solve the
common mans problems, which range from price inflation to loadshedding,
the latter becoming a pressing problem now that summer has started. The
problems facing the average citizen also include deteriorating law and order,
as well as a foreign policy that involves constant violations of sovereignty,
shown by how the USA felt free to launch another drone attack in North
Waziristan, both after its previous attack which killed schoolgirls and
destroyed their school, and the supposed reset of relations after the Salalah
massacre as well as the parliamentary joint sitting which was supposed to
review them. Without a solution to these problems, neither government nor
opposition might find it easy to interest people in the debate on democracy
and constitutionalism. The issue has got to be seen by people as relevant to
their concerns before they will come off the fence and join any movement
trying to force the Prime Minister to obey the courts. The people have to see
the government solving their problems or the government-in-waiting as
having those solutions, if they are to move. (Editorial, TheNation 7th May)
Diversionary tactic: With the detailed judgment of the Supreme
Court yet to decide his fate, Prime Minister Gilanis visit to Britain
commencing from May 8 would raise many an eyebrow. His entourage
consisting of six federal ministers would discuss matters of bilateral
importance. Talks between the two sides would include strategic dialogue
initiated during Prime Minister Camerons visit to Pakistan last year.

1031

Under the circumstances, when there is an assumption held by a

sizeable number of the legal fraternity in the country and the mainstream
opposition party that he is no longer the Prime Minister after conviction
from the Supreme Court, he ought to have taken cognizance of the new
reality and deferred the tour till the announcement of the detailed judgment.
It might have earned him some applause if the visit had been rescheduled.
Were the talks so blindingly urgent that they had to be carried out right now?
The impression is that it is another diversionary tactic something that the
PPP government has got it down to a fine art. His statements about his return
to hometown Multan indicated albeit for a moment that he understood the
gravity of the situation and also might step down if the detailed judgment so
required. However, the planned trip to Britain lends credibility to those who
point towards his obduracy to stay in power come what may. Already the
political classes, civil society and the legal fraternity are simmering with
resentment demanding that he step down. The PTI took out a solidarity rally
in Islamabad on Sunday amid plans that the protests would continue till the
PM tenders his resignation. There are other political parties like the PML-N
that are also busy mobilizing the people to gather for the same purpose.
Broadly speaking, given that the office of Prime Minister is the highest
executive position, any slur or allegations for corruption that makes the post
controversial stipulates a resignation. It goes without saying that this is in
line with the democratic traditions the world over. Banking on argument that
the court detained him for 30 seconds, and that was the only punishment do
not have a leg to stand on. Also certain quarters are worried about the legal
status of the agreements that would be signed since the conviction has put a
big question mark on his premiership.
Although the trip had been planned for months, it would have been
more fruitful after the detailed judgment had put minds at ease. (Editorial,
TheNation 7th May)

Provincial disharmony
New provinces: It seems that the PPP has once again misstepped. It
has made the mistake of mixing the defence of Prime Minister Gilani with
the issue of new provinces. It has not only committed the blunder of passing
a resolution in the National Assembly on South province, but has also passed
a constitutionally and procedurally meaningless vote of confidence in Mr
Gilani. The resolution of confidence, also passed by the Senate, was meant
as a reply to the Opposition protests at Mr Gilanis presence in the House, to
which it feels he has become a stranger after his conviction for contempt by

1032

the Supreme Court. The PPP used the absence of the PML-N to push
through these measures. However, that particular response has provoked the
opposition into moving a resolution calling for four new provinces, South
Punjab, Bahawalpur, Hazara and Fata. That means that both major parties
have come out in favour of new provinces, which is strange considering the
need for national unity at this juncture. It should also be noticed that the
PML-N would like to further split the South Punjab province. There is more
disunity ahead. At the moment, no one has raised what might well be the
most controversial and divisive issue of all, the division of Sindh, where the
Muhajirs, in the shape of the MQM, have been accused of wanting a
Jinnahpur province for themselves. The PML-N, while it is absorbing the
blow that the PPP has launched at it, has not responded with this. Perhaps it
realizes that the move, while providing momentary satisfaction, will only
undermine national unity.
Quite apart from the invalidity of the resolution passed by the
National Assembly, or that moved before it, the controversy following Mr
Gilanis conviction has forced the respective parties to take clear-cut
positions, even though insufficient thought seems to have gone into the
entire process. The contours of a South Punjab province have yet to be
determined, and the other provincialist ghosts in the machine have still to be
dealt with. The PPP is under the impression that, in this election year, it can
overcome its own record of not solving the peoples problems, as well as Mr
Gilanis conviction, by raising the provincialist slogan. As the PML-N has
shown, two can play at that game. This is not to ask the obvious question of
how this province is to finance its new army of ministers and bureaucrats.
However, both parties need to consider whether what they have done befits
national parties, and take appropriate corrective measures. (Editorial,
TheNation 5th May)

Baloch militancy
Before it is too late: What the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief
Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is doing in the context of Balochistan is the basic
responsibility of the government. Disappearances, discovery of mutilated
bodies and target killings have been on the rise. Of late, sectarian strife has
reared its head making the law and order situation still worse.
The people of resources-rich Balochistan are suffering a twin-headed
menace of internal and external conspiracy. US Congressman Dana
Rohrabacher tabled a resolution in the House of Representatives seeking
independence of Balochistan. The authorities indifference has created a
1033

volatile situation. The federal and provincial governments have only paid lip
service to the cause of the Baloch without taking concrete step to undo their
sense of deprivation. Under pressure from the Supreme Court, missing
persons are being produced. But that is not enough. There is urgent need for
the ruling leadership to realize that the policy to please only the sardars
and nawabs would get them nowhere. They must deal with the true
representatives of the people and make a serious effort to heel their wounds.
The policy of wait and see must be shunned. (Editorial, TheNation 4th May)

Turf war in Karachi

Lyaris troubles: There appears to be no end in sight to the violence
which is tearing Lyari apart Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that
the government will hold a meeting to review the law and order situation in
Lyari and that all coalition partners should help the government cope with
the problem. Little good is expected to come out of this exercise as the
government has held similar meetings and sessions before with no change
for the better. The situation simmers down only to reignite later. Earlier,
Sindh CM Qaim Ali Shah, who is also holding the post of home minister,
had said the Rangers might be called into help the police. But in the same
breath he had also claimed that Rangers were already involved and assisting
the police. This indicates that the government sees the situation beyond the
control of the police.
The precise nature of events taking place in Lyari is also unclear. On
Tuesday, amidst growing criticism from human rights groups over the
displacement of people from Lyari and following protests by Sindhi and
Baloch communities in various places, Sindh Information Minister Shazia
Marri had said the government was willing to enter into talks with the
gangsters who the CM says also include Taliban men. This is somewhat
unusual. It is no secret that criminal groups in the city enjoy political
protection and unless they are deprived of that shield, we cannot expect
things to get better. Marri also said relief camps were being set up for those
fleeing Lyari. We must hope this does indeed happen as the situation in the
locality has affected the lives of hundreds. There is an urgent need to bring
things under control although, sadly, it appears that it will take time. It will
also take political will and sincerity which the coalition government in Sindh
is not exactly famous for. (Editorial, The News 4th May)
Turf War/P Politics
A trinity of power: The trinity of power that is the alliance of the
PPP, the ANP and the MQM. Together they have wielded power like a
1034

weapon of mass destruction to protect and serve themselves in ever greater

and more breathtaking attempts at corruption and mismanagement. In every
way, from covering for each other to thwarting all attempts at accountability,
they have joined together to achieve and hold high office come what may
but always, Karachi is the anomaly.
Again and again during this trinitys rule Karachi has suffered the
burning of its infrastructure, the maiming and killings of its residents and the
shutdown and destruction of its businesses. The pall of despair that lies over
the city envelops the people who have no stake in the power games played
by their overlords but wish only to live their lives and earn their living in
peace. What lies behind the repeated warfare in Karachi is something that
has been speculated on and reported by many journalists and writers and
news channels.
The quest for a share of Karachis spoils ranging from protection
money to land-grabbing and far beyond is no secret for anyone least of all
the small business owners of this benighted city. There are no opposing
philosophies or principals or morals at stake here, just money and moneygrubbing by political parties that eschew opening their finances to the public
eye and never talk of campaign finance reform or Article 17.3 of the
Constitution if they can help it.
In the meantime Karachi has become numb desensitized to the
violence and the brutality and the sheer numbers of those killed, of cars
burnt, of businesses set on fire, of body bags and guns and sirens. It is a
theatre of war fought between the unholy trinity that governs Pakistan and
the farce lies in the simple fact that it is to this trinity we look for salvation.
The three political parties that together govern the nation have a curious
relationship with each other when it comes to Karachi. Adhering most
zealously to the all for one and one for all mentality where everything else
is concerned, the mention of Karachi seems to galvanize them into the
every man for himself camp.
It is truly a lesson in cognitive dissonance to see these three
functioning like a well oiled machine at the centre but tearing into each other
like rabid dogs at the periphery. It is a turf war they fight over money, power,
influence, criminal rackets, drugs and kidnappings. We elect them and reelect them based mostly on ethnic, language and religious affiliations and
they freely choose to exploit these differences in order to consolidate and
expand their lucrative criminal ventures in Karachi.

1035

The foot soldiers who carry out the murders and shootings and arson
are not the ones that will make or break Karachis peace it is the political
masters they serve whether directly or through politically-allied middlemen
who will decide when enough is enough and stop.
When the violence escalates and the body count reaches horrifying
numbers we hear again the perpetual call from residents, businessmen,
shopkeepers to call in the army to control the violence. But there is an
inherent problem in that neat solution because those who are officially and
constitutionally supposed to do the calling are deaf and dumb and the army
has stronger calls to answer.
The history of the armys involvement in policing Karachi is a litany
of collateral damage and tepid improvement. It says a lot that the residents
of Karachi are willing once again to roll the dice on collateral damage and
the suspension of human rights in order for even a slight improvement in the
situation. But stretched to the limit and having sustained hits on its
installations, its credibility, its effectiveness and most importantly its image,
this army cannot open another front and especially not in Karachi where the
caches of hidden and extremely high-end weaponry are conservatively
estimated to be formidable.
They will not come and their strategic withdrawal from the board will
be comfortably covered by a civilian government for whom the act of calling
for the army would be an open declaration of its own ineffectiveness,
disastrous mismanagement and culpability in the devastation of the city.
Pakistans opposition parties have a great deal to answer for as far as
Karachi is concerned. The quid pro quo nature of their relationship with the
trinity of power is glaringly obvious when we see the reshuffling and
rescheduling of prosecutions in various cases against opposition leaders and
their reciprocal focus on minutiae rather than the burning issues of the day.
Their silence on Karachi is proving to be the impetus that the protagonists in
Karachis violence need to prolong their power plays and as such, they are
morally culpable in the carnage that envelops the city.
The circus has already come and been from Karachi last year when
the violence escalated to a point where even the most adamant Isloo ostrich
was forced to look up and see what was happening in the port city. Suddenly
Karachi was deluged in ministers, MNAs and political party representatives
when the esteemed judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan started their
hearings.

1036

In open court our head of police services decried his ability to do his
job as most of his police force obeyed the call of political and ethnic duties
rather than their duty to maintain law and order. Briefings were given, tapes
were heard, videos were shown and shocked jurists spoke of their horror at
what they saw.
Despite the good intentions of those who chose to examine the
situation and bring it out of the shadows into the clear light of day, the
ineffectiveness of their endeavour was obvious in Karachi just months later.
Clear directions were given, road-maps to establishing the rule of law were
set out, specific orders to specific departments were spelled out, a schedule
of follow-ups was given and still yet there was no compliance. Perhaps it is
time for the jurists to return once more to Karachi, this time wielding the
stick rather than the carrot.
The political-criminal nexus that shows itself so blatantly in Karachi
is a symbiotic partnership that benefits both sides in attaining and
consolidating power and escaping accountability. To break this nexus is a job
for a giant but it has been done in other countries and in other times. The
most telling blow always comes, not so surprisingly, from opening up the
finances of political parties and their member politicians, requiring the
publication of donor names and sources of income and ascribing and
enforcing strong legal consequences to the falsification of party and
politician financial information.
It can be done by passing campaign finance reform laws in parliament
to entrench transparency of funding as was done in the US or by the
establishment of an independent advisory body to scrutinize and monitor the
flow of money to parties and politicians as is the case in the UK. It can be
done but it requires that rarest of things in Pakistans leadership aspirants
one honest man. (Raana Shah, The News 4th May)
Living in the gangstas paradise: Lyaris always been known for
drugs. Male chauvinism takes a backseat, as women remain active drug
suppliers while the men spend their time playing with the latest weapons and
managing the (not so meagre) finances. The Lyari drug mafia was
predominantly controlled by Rehman Dakait since the 90s, with gang lord,
Haji Lalu, joining in to manage operations a decade later. Both guarded their
turf, and it was business as usual, until late 2002. Both Rehman and Lalu
had a serious falling out over money, what else which triggered a gang
war in the area.

1037

With time, Rehman gained strength and support, over Lalu and other
gangs of Lyari so much so that his power was acknowledged in political
circles. Rehman then decided to give his group a makeover; a social,
reformed group emerged who we now know as the Peoples Amn Committee
(PAC). Rehmans aim was to nab a parliament seat but his ambition was
halted in 2009 when he was killed in an alleged police encounter led by
Chaudhry Aslam. Uzair Baloch became Rehmans successor, but under him,
the PAC no longer exists as a united and disciplined force. Regardless of
what the PACs political posturing may be, it is true that the group runs
gambling dens, is involved in smuggling of arms and drugs, extortion,
kidnappings and yes, killings. The fact that they have been allowed to
continue with such a free hand, and for so long is a moot point. But why
crack down now?
Simply because the PAC is costing the PPP way more than it had
bargained for. The MQM-PPP alliance has been uneasy from the word go,
but because its support at this critical juncture in Pakistans politics is crucial
for the governments survival, the PPP has decided to pull the plug on some
of the troublesome elements within the PAC. The MQM which is seeking
to control Lyari as one of its key constituencies is only too happy with the
truth finally making its way out on how the big, bad boys of Lyari have been
militarized to counter them. The Katchi Rabita Committee who are also
supporters of the PPP have asked for the president to intervene, while the
business community has also had enough.
Its the easiest lesson to learn but one that we seem to have sworn to
ourselves we never will. Pakistans powerful establishment has cultivated
militant groups making them strategic assets in the hope of using them to
control the region and outdo its neighbours. Similarly, the Pakistan Peoples
Party armed and supported the Lyari gang lords to maintain an upper hand
over one political party, its own ally at that.
When will we ever learn that militant groups are not reliable partners,
and using them as an alternate force will backfire? By creating militant
groups, Pakistan has only jeopardized its own stability. Meanwhile, groups
such as the PAC, will only hurt PPPs own ability to negotiate to gain its
preferred outcome. The sign of political loyalty seems to have weaned off:
Nabeel Gabol was attacked when he set foot in Lyari while their godfather,
Zulfikar Mirza, dines in cozy little restaurants in Karachi I guess, theres
little else he can do. Rehman Malik too is droning on endlessly about his last
warning to gang lords but its obviously having little effect.

1038

Food, water, gas and power are scarce as the Operation Lyari enters its
48-hour ceasefire. Patience is running thin, but Chaudhry Aslams resolve
and cigarettes show no signs of running out. The Rangers may be entering
soon but will there be a genuine clean-up operation? I doubt it. The
establishment has its own benefits to reap from the PAC. This group, that
predominantly comprises criminals, gives the establishment a free hand at
manoeuvring constituencies. Its stature is nit exactly that of Difa-e-Pakistan
Council they are the fearless defenders of the country but the PAC is
good enough to give some parties a tough time in Karachi. Then theres
always the one odd anti-US rally that needs to be organized in the
metropolitan city, and who better than the good ol Lyari boys.
The ongoing operation in Lyari may succeed in nabbing the rowdy
gangsters Uzair Baloch, Baba Ladla, Rashid Rekha to name a few but
will Lyari then return to peace? Probably not. Individuals may come and go,
but until our security establishment and political parties rid themselves off
militant wings, we may never know peace. (Sana Bucha, The News 6 th
May)

REVIEW
Amid PML-Ns noisy protest in National Assembly on 3 rd May, the
PPP and its coalition partners delivered two counter-punches, once each on
the Judiciary and PML-N. These punches were delivered in the form of two
motions moved and adopted hurriedly. One was upper-cut at PML-N aimed
at carving out Seraiki Province out of Punjab and the other was a straight
one in the face of Judiciary that reposed confidence in the convicted Gilani
as Leader of the House.
Most of the time thereafter, either side worked over time in hurling
accusations at each other. Both sides as usual resorted to easy way out each
time an allegation was leveled against them; they hurled back counter
allegations. The right way in a civilized society is to defend oneself by
proving ones innocence.
But, that is gentlemans way of doing things and then politics in our
part of the world is not the game for gentlemen. Some people despise their
acts terming them mud-slinging. Politicians in Pakistan, however, take it as a
ritual of mud-bath which is considered by many as a remedy for some of the
skin ailments.

1039

These men and women are the chosen ones courtesy electoral
process. Once elected none of their acts can put them to shame; for
everything that goes wrong because of them they would always point finger
at some one else and they would always claim that the truth is what they say.
This is the beauty of democracy; they have the right to have their own
viewpoint.
Judiciary, which is one of the means to exercise check over them, has
been inclined to exercise judicial restraint in their case for the last few
years just to preserve the beauty of democracy. Even in a case of ridicule of
judiciary the judges have preferred to sleep over the detailed judgment as
analysts kept scratching their heads bare in their endeavour to understand the
wisdom, or absence of it, in the short order passed by seven-member bench.
The PML-N has pretended to endeavour for setting things right, but its
unstated aim is quite obvious. It has launched a campaign to get political
mileage out of conviction of Gilani. The solo flight of Nawaz, however, is
likely to take him nowhere because of formidable ruling coalition backed by
the US. In case of PML-Ns failure, Zardari will emerge stronger to defy
Judiciary and to further tame the Army.
Meanwhile, Zardari has been busy in Karachi in killing two birds with
one stone. Police launched operation in Lyari has two contrasting aims, i.e.
taming of the gangsters that were inclined to revolt against PPP leadership
and at the same time winning heart and mind of MQM at this critical
juncture of PPPs rule. Killing of some innocent people and policemen only
in a week-long operation strengthens this inference.
7th May, 2012

1040

WAR WITHIN-IX
The Prime Minister spent best part of the week under review as Royal
guest of the United Kingdom, the mother of parliamentary democracy. His
conviction by the Supreme Court apparently made no material difference for
the guest as well as the hosts and instead David Cameron commended
Gilanis services for the democracy in Pakistan.
He landed on English soil in the company of about hundred-strong
delegation more than one-fourth of which comprised news reporters and
journalists; yet, not much was reported about diplomatic achievements of
Gilani and his team in Pakistani or British media. Notwithstanding the media
blackout Gilani was so satisfied with his tour that he extended it by one
day.
The only thing that was reported regularly was that in spite of his
busy schedule Gilani kept firing salvos at his political opponents and critics
back home. The pride of being in the company of foreign masters in London
seemed to have multiplied his arrogance, which was reflected in his
interview to CNN. The CNN reporter told him that according to a survey
one-third of Pakistani wanted to leave their country. Gilani instantly replied:
Who stops them? Why dont they leave?
At home, PPP and PML-N played jalsa-jalsa (rally-rally), primarily to
have verbal bouts over Supreme Courts verdict in contempt case. The PMLN, meanwhile, also made some moves in the hope to perform better in next
general elections; Mumtaz Bhutto merged his party in PML-N and signed an
electoral agreement with Likeminded.
Moreover, for the first time PML-N delivered a master stroke
knocking out Zardaris Seraiki Sooba stunt by adopting two resolutions in
Punjab Assembly regarding restoration of the status of Bahawalpur and
creation of Janoobi Punjab. Raja Riaz was also lured into support the idea of
constituting a commission for deliberating on creation of more provinces.

1041

NEWS
Power politics: On 7th May, DG FIA Javed Iqbal proceeded on
three months leave finding him unable to be part of the rulers campaign to
fix the Sharifs following the recent upsurge in the political temperature in
the country. Three days back some alleged FIA officials had picked up a 70
years old retired accountant of Mian Nawaz Sharif without any such
authorization or information of the DG FIA, which led to tense relations
between Interior Minister and DG.
Candidates of PML-N and PML-Q won a seat each for provincial
Assembly in by-polls in DG Khan. Both seats had fallen vacant after
election of incumbent MPAs election as Senators and both seats have been
won by the parties that had vacated the seats; status quo remained firmly in
place.
On 9th May, Mumtaz Bhutto announced merger of his party Sindh
National Front with the PML-N. Addressing a rally at Mirpur Bhutto in
Larkana he said Nawaz Sharifs viewpoint was closer to his and he would
continue his struggle from new platform. Nawaz welcomed the merger and
both the leaders criticized Zardari regime.
The government faced severe criticism in Senate more from its
allied political parties than the opposition on the issue of retaining some
vertical programmes with the federal government of the ministries devolved
to provinces. The situation worsened when Chairman Senate Nayyar
Hussain did not entertain a motion moved by Senator Raza Rabbani and was
unanimously backed by government and opposition and that resulted in
staging of a walkout.
Next day, Prime Minister Gilani said Imran Khan has no political
future; he cant win his own seat. On 12 th May, PML-N and PML-LM
contracted an electoral agreement in Lahore according to which Likeminded
would get 11 percent seats in national and provincial assemblies. The
document was signed by Iqbak Zafar Jhagra and Hamayun Akhtar and
ceremony was attended by Nawaz Sharif, Hamid Nasir Jhagra and others.
The Likeminded pledged to take part in anti-government movement.
Maneka resigned from party post in protest of not inviting him to attend the
ceremony. Next day, Atta Maneka withdrew his resignation on persuasion of
Humayun Akhtar. Meanwhile, Imran Khan addressed women convention
otganized by his party on Mothers Day. He said that ruling mafia was
breathing its last.

1042

Rule of law: On 7th May, Major General Zafar Iqbal was appointed
as new DG of ANF. Next day, Rehman Malik and Farahnaz Isphahani did
not bother to represent themselves in the court hearing dual nationality case.
The court adjourned giving fresh date for hearing.
On 11th May, Usman Cheema reported that ephedrined Lashari
copycats Haqqani. Kushnood Lashari a prime suspect in the high-profile
ephedrine import case does not seem to be coming back from Canada,
apparently to avoid inquiry by the ANF. He too had left country for health
reasons.
In an ostensible administrative move, the government swapped
Secretary Narcotic Division Zafar Abbas Luk and FIA Director General
Javed Iqbals positions; it amounted to killing one and saving another
with one stone. Luk was rescued as he was in trouble due to ephedrine scam
and Javed was given marching order for refusing to pressurize Sharif
Brothers. On 12th May, Interpol sought details of the case from Pakistan in
response demand for arrest of Musharraf in Benazir murder case. Musa
Gilani was excused from appearing before ANF team investigating
ephedrine scam.

Defiance of judiciary: On 7th May, addressing a gathering of

editors and senior journalists, Nawaz Sharif said a convict has no right to
remain Prime Minister He blasted the government for landing the country in
hot water. The PML-N chief said that President Zardari was solely
responsible for what was happening to the Supreme Court and other national
institutions.
Ahmad Noorani reported that Prime Minister Gilani appeared to be in
a hurry to issue as many orders after his conviction that could benefit his
favourites and earn him political mileage, no matter if they violate even
more Supreme Court verdicts. In one such order he reinstated 300
employees of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council in violation of the
Supreme Court.
Judicial Commission met in Islamabad and recommended eight names
for appointment as judges of Sindh High Court, but deferred the
appointment of two ad hoc judges in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Babar
Awan raised white flag at Judiciary. He tendered unconditional apology in
contempt of court case. He begged for restoration of his law practicing
licence. As an additional endeavour to mend fences with Judiciary he termed
appointment of ad hoc judges as legal.

1043

Next day, the convicted Prime Minister proceeded for London yatra
along with an entourage of seventy people. on board Pak-002 he talked to
media. Referring to the conviction for contempt, after notice taken by the
Supreme Court, the PM mused, How can the complainant of a case also be
the one who decides its fate in a court system? Also, there can be no
question of a disqualification on a civil charge, with a punishment of less
than two years. Even Mian Nawaz Sharif was fined Rs1500 when he was
caught speeding on the motorway. He was convicted as PM, so why was he
not then disqualified?
The expected route in the next few weeks is that an appeal would
follow the detailed order. Should the appeal be rejected, the speaker would
be required to see if a question of disqualification had arisen. Should she feel
that a question has arisen; the matter would then be referred from her office
to the Chief Election Commissioners. Pointing to the impending
announcement of a new chief election commissioner, the PM said the big
question was: who would disqualify him - meaning, who would be the next
CEC?
The PM scoffed at the possibility of a long march and said he had
never heard of a democracy where a long march in solidarity with the
judiciary was being hosted by a clutch of political parties. He offered kindly
advice to opposition: If they are really serious, they (PML-N) should resign,
get together with Imran Khan. In that case, maybe, maybe they may succeed.
If they do not follow this formula, there is a real danger for them that we
may again be forming the next government. Frankly, I am hurt by their
attitude. Even when they were convicted for 9 years in exile, we did not
taunt them even once. I still speak of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif with
the utmost respect. The PML-N is in government everywhere, in every
province. They want to be in government and agitate against it at the same
time. For one federating unit to agitate against another federating unit is
treason. Imran Khan is threatening to them, because he is definitely not in
government. He is giving them good advice, if they do not resign, they
cannot dislodge us. But the PML-N is not willing to burn its boats. There is
no history to be made without resignations. Stop playing to the gallery and
then backing away. You need our help, even to defeat us. Our coalition
government has a two-thirds majority in the Parliament. Why should I listen
to those fringe voices who are anti-democratic? If you want to get rid of the
Prime Minister, bring a vote of no confidence. Im ready.
With an opposition bent on extending its time in government to the
maximum possible, in order to have a say in the formation of a caretaker
1044

government and to benefit from the extra time in the assemblies to prepare
for general elections in early 2013 - the scene looks set for Mr Gilani to stick
around for some time yet. Whatever their moral grounds, the opposition
has not yet succeeded in finding legal grounds to oust the Prime Minister.
When Gilani was showering these pearls of wisdom, the Supreme
Court announced the 77-page verdict just hours after Gilanis departure to
the United Kingdom on a five-day state visit. Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani,
Prime Minister of Pakistan/Chief Executive of the Federation, is found
guilty of and convicted for contempt of court under Article 204(2) of the
Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 read with Section 3 of
the Contempt of Court Ordinance (Ordinance V of 2003) for willful flouting,
disregard and disobedience of this courts direction contained in paragraph
No 178 of the NRO judgment, the detailed order stated.
The verdict said the contempt committed by the prime minister was
substantially detrimental to the administration of justice and tended to bring
the court and the judiciary of the country into ridicule. The judgment, also
including a six-page additional note of Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, was
authored by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, who headed the seven-member bench
that heard the contempt of court case.
The court notes that the accused is the highest executive functionary
of the state and has willfully, deliberately and persistently defied a clear
direction of the top court of the country. We are, therefore, fully satisfied
that such clear and persistent defiance at such a high level constitutes
contempt which is substantially detrimental to the administration of justice
and tends not only to bring this court but also brings the judiciary of this
country into ridicule.
If orders or directions of the highest court of the country are defied
by the highest executive of the country then others in the country may also
feel tempted to follow the example leading to a collapse or paralysis of
administration of justice besides creating an atmosphere wherein judicial
authority and verdicts are laughed at and ridiculed.
The respondents stand amounts to saying that the order of this court
is non-implementable, as he believes that the same is not in accord with the
Constitution of Pakistan and the International law. This argument, if
accepted, would set a dangerous precedent and anyone would then
successfully flout the orders of the courts by pleading that according to his
interpretation they are not in accord with the law.

1045

The court noted that Aitzaz Ahsan in his written submissions brought
on the record at the end of his oral arguments had specifically adverted to
the provisions of Section 18 of the Contempt of Court Ordinance and, thus,
he was fully aware of the applicability and implications of the said legal
provision vis-a-vis the case against him. But throughout his oral arguments
and submissions Aitzaz had failed to utter even a single word on the subject.
According to the judgment, the executive authority may question a
courts decision through the judicial process provided for in the Constitution
and the law but is not entitled to flout it. The court undoubtedly, and quite
rightly, stated that the rules be followed for the purpose of implementation of
the courts direction but unfortunately the rules were used for its nonimplementation.
It further says as it turned out during the current proceedings, the
prime minister had never intended to comply with the court orders regardless
of any advice. He cannot shift the blame or the responsibility to his advisors
for not giving him proper advice. The respondent has taken a conscious
decision in that and he must accept responsibility for the same.
Attorney-General Irfan Qadir, who replaced Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq,
did not put forth arguments in favour of the prosecution rather pleaded that
there was no evidence, whatsoever, on the basis of which the respondent
could be held guilty of contempt. The judgment says, We were, thus,
rendered one-sided assistance only. He before concluding his arguments
stated that the evidence on record does not establish the charge of contempt
against the respondent.
Aitzaz argument was that being the head of the state, the president
had absolute and inviolable immunity before all foreign courts, so long as he
was in the office, from any civil or criminal matter, for acts, private as well
as official, done before or after taking office. That after leaving the office, he
may become liable to such proceedings.
The court noted that he did not invoke the provisions of Article 248 of
the Constitution for the grant of immunity to the President of Pakistan and
clarified that such immunity could be invoked by the president himself. His
arguments on immunity were based on the Customary International Law.
Justice Asif Khosa in his additional note stated: The respondent is our
elected representative and our prime minister and in his conviction lies our
collective damnation. This surely calls for serious introspection. I believe
that the proposed judgment authored by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk is a step
towards the right direction as it kindles a flame of hope for a future for our
1046

nation which may establish a just and fair order, an order wherein the law
rules and all citizens are equal before the law.
Justice Khosa says the respondent is the chief executive of our
federation who has openly and brazenly defied the constitutional and legal
mandate regarding compliance of and obedience to the court judgments and
orders. Our own recent history reminds us that the Chief Justice of Pakistan
did not possess or control any division when he refused to obey the
unconstitutional dictates of General Pervez Musharraf, who commanded
quite a few divisions, and still emerged victorious with the help of the
people. The lesson to be learnt is that if the cause is constitutional and just
then the strength and support for the same is received from the people at
large who are the ultimate custodians of the Constitution. I am not too sure
as to how many divisions would a population of over 180 million make!
The honourable judge wrote that the ultimate ownership of the
Constitution and of the organs and institutions created thereunder as well as
of their powers rested with the people of the country who had adopted the
Constitution and the institutions. He further stated that it was obvious that a
person defying a judicial verdict in fact defied the will of the people at large,
adding that the punishment meted out to him for such recalcitrant conduct or
behaviour was inflicted upon him not by the courts but by the people of the
country themselves acting through the courts created and established by
them.
It may be well to remember that the constitutional balance vis-a-vis
trichotomy and separation of powers between the Legislature, the Judiciary
and the Executive is very delicately poised and if in a given situation the
Executive is bent upon defying a final judicial verdict and is ready to go to
any limit in such defiance, including taking the risk of bringing down the
constitutional structure itself, then in the final analysis it would be the
responsibility of the people themselves to stand up for defending the
Constitution and the organs and institutions created and established
thereunder and for dealing with the delinquent appropriately. Justice Khosa
quoted an adaptation of the poem of Khalil Gibran:
Pity the nation that achieves nationhood in the name of a religion but pays
little heed to truth, righteousness and accountability which are the essence of
every religion.
Pity the nation that proclaims democracy as its polity but restricts it to
queuing up for casting of ballots only and discourages democratic values.

1047

Pity the nation that measures honour with success and respect with authority,
that despises sublime and cherishes mundane, that treats a criminal as a hero
and considers civility as weakness and that deems a sage a fool and
venerates the wicked.
Pity the nation that adopts a Constitution but allows political interests to
outweigh constitutional diktat.
Pity the nation that demands justice for all but is agitated when justice hurts
its political loyalty.
Pity the nation whose servants treat their solemn oaths as nothing more than
a formality before entering upon an office.
Pity the nation that elects a leader as a redeemer but expects him to bend
every law to favour his benefactors.
Pity the nation whose leaders seek martyrdom through disobeying the law
than giving sacrifices for the glory of law and who see no shame in crime.
Pity the nation that is led by those who laugh at the law little realizing that
the law shall have the last laugh.
Pity the nation that launches a movement for rule of law but cries foul when
the law is applied against its bigwig, that reads judicial verdicts through
political glasses and that permits skills of advocacy to be practiced more
vigorously outside the courtroom than inside.
Pity the nation that punishes its weak and poor but is shy of bringing its high
and mighty to book.
Pity the nation that clamours for equality before law but has selective justice
close to its heart.
Pity the nation that thinks from its heart and not from its head. Indeed, pity
the nation that does not discern villainy from nobility.
Most jurists said that the Supreme Court detailed judgment has set a
clear guideline for the Speaker National Assembly on the fate of Prime
Minister. Some legal experts still feel that there is room for the Speaker to
exercise her discretion. Therefore, it could take months to decide the gate of
the convict Gilani. Meanwhile, Zardari summoned party leaders and legal
wizards for consultation.
Addressing a public rally in Garhi Khairo in Sindh, which was part of
Go Gilani Go campaign, Nawaz Sharif said Zardari the government did
nothing for the people. He accused Zardari of betraying the nation,

1048

especially the PML-N and charged Gilani for violating the Constitution. He
said: You (PM Gilani) chose to stand by President Zardari, now face the
music. Now it is too late for you to do anything to help yourself.
Speaker National Assembly who is politically affiliated with the PPP
has been asked by the partys high command to exercise her discretionary
power under Article 63(2) of the Constitution for nullifying the question
regarding disqualification of Prime Minister taken up in Supreme Courts
detailed judgment in contempt case. The Speaker under the rules has to
decide within 30 days.
Lahore High Court admitted plea for early hearing seeking
disqualification of Prime Minister Gilani under Article 63 of the
Constitution. PML-N walked out of Senate after exchanging allegations with
PPP. Rehman Malik said references against Sharifs have been sent to NAB.
On 9th May, the Supreme Court sent copies of detailed judgment to
President, Speaker National Assembly and Election Commission for
implementation. ECP called a meeting of its members and decided to denotify Gilani after receipt of intimation from Speaker of National Assembly.
Gilani was not surprised by release of detailed judgment at a time
when he was heading for London. He said that he knew it would come when
he would be out of Pakistan, but he claimed it has no negative effects on his
visit, rather he has extended it by one day for being quite useful.
Rehman Malik, also in London, said Nawaz Sharif, in his desire to
become prime minister third time has lost his principles and senses; he has
gone from Mian Nawaz to Baby Nawaz. Someone has whispered in his ear
that if he pushes for early elections, Imran Khan will not be ready quickly
enough and he will win. theyre wrong and he should know it.
PML-N canceled its protest rallies as Britain refused permission for
such rally during the visit of Prime Minister Gilani. The PML-N had planned
protests at five places during the visit of Gilani at different places. Some
suspected that PML-N canceled protests on its own, but its leaders denied
such reports.
MQM submitted a bill in the National Assembly and Senate
secretariats seeking establishment of a mechanism to investigate credible
claims of innocence made by a convict and offer redress in case of any
miscarriage of justice. Some legal experts suspected that the timing of the
bill indicate an endeavour to rescue convicted Gilani.

1049

In 75th meeting of the PEMRA the authority decided to take action

against TV channels involved in airing derogatory and humiliating
programmes purposely meant for character assassination of individuals and
organizations in the guise of parody or satire. The authority also asked
channels to stop excessive advertisements and foreign content being run
beyond the permissible limit.
Next day, Gilani met his British counterpart and David Cameron
commended guests services for democracy in Pakistan; the host also
assured the guest about revival of international cricket. The two leaders also
agreed to promote volume of bilateral trade in next three years. In Lahore,
Gilanis adviser Fawad Chaudhry alleged verdicts of Supreme Court were
losing credibility.
On 11th May, PPP and PML-N organized rallies for and against Gilani.
MNA Hamza Shahbaz termed Gilani a traitor for protecting the Swiss
accounts of a looter of national wealth. He observed that the masses have
decided to send Gilani back home.
LHC adjourned hearing of a plea against Gilani for holding the office
of prime minister as a convict. Meanwhile, a similar petition was filed by a
lawyer in the Supreme Court begging the court to restrain Gilani from
holding the office of prime minister after his conviction in contempt of court
case.
Next day, in London Gilani vowed to protect the Constitution at all
costs and not to be deterred by any threat. He reiterated that he wont stab
the party in the back. He alleged that there were many contempt of court
cases in the apex court but my case was picked up specially. He also
mentioned cases pending against Sharifs and regretted PPP signed CoD with
them.
PPP held a public rally on Sindh-Punjab border at Ghotki; Sindh Chief
Minister addressed the rally. He threatened that 50 million Sindhis would
march on to Lahore if Sharifs did not behave. He said the PPP was not afraid
of intrigues and threats. Zardari lauded holding of the rally.
Nawaz Sharif addressed a mammoth Go Gilani Go rally in Khushab
and demanded resignation from Prime Minister. He served an ultimatum to
the government to end load shedding of electricity and said he would
personally join the protests if it failed to resolve the crisis within next two
days.

1050

Speakers at national conference in Karachi questioned Chief Justice

that what was stopping the apex court from taking notice of the violence that
struck the city five years ago. They held Governor Ishrat responsible for
May 12 carnage and demanded registration of a case against him. Lawyers
observed Black Day across country. Meanwhile, MQM organized Quran
khawani for its martyrs of May 12.
On 13th May, PPP took out a pro-Gilani rally in Lahore; Imtiaz
Warriach addressed the rally and vowed to send Sharif brothers to Jati Umra.
Maulana Zubair of JUP vowed to launch drive against convicted Gilani. He
said PPP and PML-N have resorted to staging mock confrontation.

Taming the military: On 9th May, General Mirza Aslam Beg

submitted his statement before the bench hearing Mehrangate case. He
denied any role on his part played in distribution of money among
politicians. General Beg said the then DG ISI, General Assad Durrani was
not under his influence and he acted on his own in connivance with Younis
Habib.
Next day, the NAB submitted the plea-bargain report of Younus
Habib, while counsel of Air Marshal Asghar Khan presented the Mehran
Bank and Habib Bank inquiry reports to the court hearing Mehrangate case.
The bench granted General Begs request to make his statement part of
record.

Recessing economy: On 12th May, delay in release of funds for

Thar Coal Project due differences between members of the Planning
Commission led to delay in release of required funds. It resulted into reports
regarding abandonment of the project; Dr Samar Mubarakmand regretted the
decision and Planning Commission denied reports.
Next day, Dr Samar Mubarak alleged that Planning Commission
wanted to scuttle the Thar coal project. He said his team was about to enter
electricity generation phase as four well have been flamed. He vowed to
continue the project to provide the cheapest electricity to the country.

Provincial disharmony: On 8th May, MQM pressed PPP on

Hazara Province despite opposition of ANP. Sporadic protests over power
load shedding continued across Punjab. Next day, massive protest rallies
were held in various cities and towns across Punjab over power outages. The
life in Faisalabad came to standstill due to load shedding.
Punjab Assembly unanimously passed two separate resolutions
seeking division of Punjab by carving two more provinces out of it. Janoobi
1051

Punjab and Bahawalpur. The opposition raised slogans Takht-e-Lahore and

Jati Umra Al-Vida. Surprisingly, PPP and PML-Q did not oppose restoration
of provincial status of Bahawalpur in resolutions moved by Rana Sanaullah.
The resolutions called upon federal government to constitute commission
without delay to settle the constitutional, legal and administrative issues.
President Zardari greeted the people of South Punjab over the
unanimous adoption of resolutions by the Punjab Assembly. In his message,
Zardari said that PPP and its allies took the first concrete step by adopting a
resolution in the National Assembly that called for creation a separate
province of Janoobi Punjab (Seraiki Province).
On 10th May, violent protest rallies were held across Punjab for
unprecedented power outages in the province. Protests were also reported in
some parts of KPK and AJK. Kamal Ali Agha of PML-Q warned the
government that it would be difficult for his party to continue as a partner in
the PPP-led ruling coalition if the problem of load shedding was not
properly dealt. In Lahore, Shahbaz Sharif joined protesters and vowed to
march on to Islamabad.
Next day, two-member bench of Supreme Court hearing the petition
moved by an MNA of PML-N inquired from the government to determine
responsibility that who caused delay in finalizing Nandipur and Chicho-kiMallian contracts for power generation that affected national exchequer
adversely.
After violent protests across Punjab over power outages President
Zardari, who has surrendered all his powers to Prime Minister, passed
directive to Finance Minister to release Rs7 billion to IPPs that had stopped
power generation for want of fuel. In addition, disbursement of another Rs4
billion would be made in next few days; resultantly, the load shedding will
decrease to tolerable limits for some time. The Senate, however, was told
that the government has released Rs23 billion.
On 13th May, hundreds of activists of Mohajir Sooba Tehreek rallied
in Korangi Road Karachi to press their demand for separate province for
Urdu-speaking community. The leaders in the speeches asked the
government to immediately pass a resolution for creation of new province.

Baloch militancy: On 8th May, unknown gunmen shot dead SP

CID in Quetta. Two more missing persons reached their homes. One person
was wounded in bomb blast in Panjgur. Next day, four people were killed in

1052

incidents of violence in Quetta, Jaffarabad and Kalat. a missing person

reached home in Bolan.
On 10th May, a policeman was among four people killed in incidents
of violence across the province. ICRC suspended its work in Pakistan after
recovery of dead body of its worker, Khalil Dale from near Quetta. Next day,
two people, including a Police inspector were shot dead in Quetta and
Mastung. A provincial minister said there is no harm in corruption in
Balochistan.
The Supreme Court raged in fury as not only did IGFC flout their
order to appear before them but Police also said they have proof FC picked
the three missing persons the court had ordered to produce. The court
directed Police to produce footage in next hearing, directing both IGs to
produce missing men on May 14 or appear in person to explain the situation.

Turf war in Karachi: On 7th May, Rehman Malik briefed Zardari

on Lyari situation, who directed the interior minister to bring outlaws to the
book. Nabeel Gabol termed Lyari operation a plot against PPP. One of the
most wanted Lyari leaders, Habib Jan Baloch made it to London to stage
protest during Gilanis London visit. Four people were killed in incidents of
violence. Next day, five people were killed in Karachi violence.
On 9th May, six people were killed in incidents of violence in Karachi.
Next day, four more people were killed in the city. On 12th May, two political
activists were among four people killed in violence in the mega city. Several
suspects were held in midnight operation in Mangupir area.
Next day, a religious leader and his driver were shot dead in Karachi
in drive-by shooting; two of his security guards were wounded. The
assailants escaped and Police said it appeared to be sectarian killing. As the
news spread incidents of firing were reported from different places in which
four people were injured. In a separate incident a political activist was killed
and dead bodies of two young men were found.

VIEWS
Defiance of judiciary
The way forward:
The Judicial Commission of Pakistan has
put on hold the appointment of two ad hoc and one acting judge for the
Supreme Court that would be hearing Prime Ministers possible review
petition, after reservations from the legal fraternity. In one of the judgments
1053

of the Supreme Court, it categorically exhorts against the practice of

appointing ad hoc judges. No wonder the lawyers demand for appointing
permanent judges has been heard. One hopes the commission would endorse
their viewpoint all the more so since already there exists a vacant slot for
permanent judge. There are also demands that in order to complete the bench
for the expected review petition the incumbent acting Chief Election
Commissioner could be included.
The lawyers community is right in saying that the tradition of
appointing ad hoc judges sometimes affects quick and impartial dispensation
of justice. Under the circumstances, when the Supreme Court of Pakistan is
working day in day out hearing cases of grave political and constitutional
nature, its energy should not be depleted with the shortage of full time
judges, not ad hoc. (Editorial, TheNation 9th May)
Guilt detailed: The Supreme Court has given its detailed judgment
against Prime Minister Gilani and the guilty verdict stands in fact
reinforced with categorical words that the judiciary has been ridiculed. Some
Khalil Gibran poetry has also been thrown in urging people to think about
their moral standards. The PPP is angry and its spokesperson Fauzia Wahab
is asking the nation to pity the judges. Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan is still not
satisfied and will appeal the judgment. There is still some doubt over what
role the Speaker of the National Assembly has, or does not have, to play in
disqualifying the PM and whether the Election Commission will now act on
its own. The position of the Prime Minister has definitely been grossly
undermined as he sits in a posh London hotel with a large entourage to meet
the British Prime Minister. A movement on the streets may be growing, led
by Mian Nawaz Sharif. And Imran Khan is waiting to pounce.
The state meanwhile is drifting, directionless. The IPPs have invoked
sovereign guarantees worth billions; else they will close all power
production. The fight between the two premier institutions of the state has
almost brought the country to a grinding halt. The president has also been hit
as the SC has sent his immunity issue into the Swiss Courts. The gridlock
has intensified. Simply put, the country cannot sustain such uncertainty and
instability. It is now time for all the stakeholders individuals and
institutions to sit together and find a way out of this deadlock. The PPP
government has already spent its five-year term, almost; and many think
general elections a few months in advance can provide a way out but some
sense has to be injected in the minds of decision-makers. If the PM goes, as
he should for he can no longer be seen fit to govern, a neutral and generally
acceptable caretaker administration can be inducted to take the country to
1054

the next polls. Men of integrity and competence should, in the meantime, try
to control the damage being caused all around. Politics of personal and party
interests should be kept aside for a while. Let the rocking boat stabilize and
find its direction. It would be in no ones interest if this boat was allowed to
sink in murky, polluted waters of corruption, petty politicking and
unnecessary confrontation caused by misplaced egoism. (Editorial, The
News 9th May)
The pity the nation: To the layman, both the short order and the full
verdict are simply a quiz programme as far as the disqualification point is
concerned. While detailing the perils of contempt, the full verdict points out
that his willful and deliberate ridiculing of the Supreme Court might
disqualify him for five years. The matter is left to the Speaker of the
National Assembly for further appropriate action. Thus, the scope for
controversy between his supporters and detractors, giving different
interpretations to Article 63 (i) g in the light of the court ruling and arguing
for his stay in office or quitting, continues to exist.
The court, in its judgment, warned that if the order of this court is
(considered) non-implementable, as he (the Prime Minister) believes that the
same is not in accord with the Constitution of Pakistan and international law
it would set a dangerous precedent. One would be hard put to challenge this
observation. The court believed that Mr Gilani never intended to comply
with its orders, regardless of the advice he received; in any case, he cannot
shift the blame or responsibility on his advisors for not giving him proper
advice. The defiance of the highest court in the land by the highest executive
authority would open the door for others in the country to do the same. The
learned judges rightly believed that such a state of affairs would cause the
collapse or paralysis of the administration of justice and create an
atmosphere in which judicial verdicts are laughed at or even ridiculed.
Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa attached a six-page note to the main
judgment spread over 77 pages. Inspired by the poem, Pity the nation, of
Khalil Gibran, the famous Lebanese-American poet and author, Justice
Khosa has adapted it, making it part of his note, to reflect the sorry state and
image of the Pakistani nation that the shenanigans of its leaders, including
the blatant disobedience of judicial verdicts, are conveying to the world.
Running through the text of his adaptation is the dire warning of the
unenviable fate that would await that nation unless it mends its ways.
We should be in no doubt that Pakistan has become the laughing
stock of the world for the way it is being governed and the disrespect we are
showing to the judicial rulings; we simply cannot disregard, or at least have
1055

to give serious consideration to what such an international opinion has in

store for the future. (Editorial, TheNation 10th May)
The turning point: After the fall of Nixon, one of his advisors David
Gergen wrote, the received wisdom is that Watergate teaches us one basic
rule about politics: Never elect a man of low character to high office.
Unfortunately, our stunted democracy always throws up midgets begrimed
with corruption.
Euripides once famously said, Whom the Gods destroy, they first
make mad. President Zardari, symbol of the unity of the federation and his
sidekick, Prime Minister Gilani, have declared war on the Supreme Court!
Prime Minister Gilani got his come-uppance on April 26 when he was
convicted and sentenced by the highest court of the land, for contempt of
court for willful flouting, disregard and disobedience of the orders and
directives of the court.
Today, Yousuf Raza Gilani, erstwhile prime minister and chief
executive of the federation is a convict. In the opinion of many eminent
jurists, he stands divested of office, authority and stripped of all powers and
no longer the prime minister of Pakistan.
The governments persistent refusal to comply with court directives in
the NRO case, in particular, is an alarm call of the most compelling kind.
Not surprisingly, laws unsupported by force, are following into contempt.
The fear of conspiracy against the SC hangs heavy in the air.
Our history can show no precedent for so foul a plot as that which this
corrupt, dying regime has hatched against the apex court. The Supreme
Court should be the barrier that protects the citizens from evil and tyranny. If
we permit it to be desecrated or demeaned and it crumbles, who will be able
to stand in the winds that follow?
No authoritarian or corrupt ruler can afford an independent judiciary.
The two cannot coexist and are bound to collide. Without an independent
judiciary, the republic cannot be made to endure. But when the government
falls into perfidious hands, as has happened in Pakistan today, it becomes
itself the instrument of counter-revolution.
No wonder, all those who do not believe in the rule of law and all
those who represent the forces of darkness and counter-revolution, have
joined hands once again to reverse the judicial revolution triggered by the
chief justice.

1056

This is a watershed moment history will look back on. The survival of
Pakistan itself is at stake. It is a period of great events and little men. We are
engaged in a great battle for the rule of law and corruption free politics.
With the restoration of the chief justice and other deposed judges, we won
the first round but the fight is not over yet. In fact, it has just begun.
Criminals and mafiosos have found in democracy the perfect Trojan
horse for attaining and preserving power. It has provided a shell under which
gangsters plunder and beggar their people. An independent judiciary does
not suit them. No wonder, they have all ganged up against the Supreme
Court.
We have arrived at the epilogue, at the greatest turning point in our
history. We must be ready to join in actions ensuring that these people are
cast aside; they must not be allowed to enjoy the tainted wealth that they
have acquired. It is our duty to ensure that the judgment of the Supreme
Court is put into full effect in letter and spirit.
Where do we stand today? Pakistan is very feverish and very sick and
is racing towards the edge of the cliff. Politics is fragmented and angry. We
are a breath away from ground zero.
We have a disjointed, dysfunctional, lopsided, hybrid, artificial,
corrupt political system a non-sovereign rubber stamp parliament, a weak,
ineffective and corrupt prime minister, the epitome of self-satisfied
mediocrity, who changes his public statements as often as he changes his
designer suites. Not surprisingly, Pakistan is rudderless and sliding into
darkness.
German statesman Otto von Bismarck once said that political genius
entailed hearing the hoof-beat of history, then rising to catch the galloping
horseman by the coat-tails. Why are our political leaders not responding to
the hoof-beat of history? At this time, all those who see the perils of the
future, whatever their political orientation, must draw together to pull our
country back from the edge of the abyss.
What prevents the opposition parties and their leaders from joining
hands and presenting a united front against corrupt rulers out to destroy all
our core institutions? What prevents them from taking to the street as they
have in other countries and as they have in the past in this country? What
prevents them from putting national interest above petty selfish interest?

1057

Today we are at the crossroads of a historic choice. This is the last

chance, the last battle. If we shall not stand out into the streets, a long polar
night will descend on Pakistan.
Isnt it a great tragedy that at a time when a window of hope has
opened, a coup de grce, or a coup de main, a powerful kick and the entire
corrupt, fraudulent structure will come crashing down, our political leaders
are dithering and cannot forge a united front against the corrupt rulers?
The time has come when the ultimate sovereign the people of
Pakistan must assert itself. At long last we have a chance to throw off the
rubber-stamp parliament and a thoroughly corrupt and discredited
presidency.
We have come to a critical fork in the road. We are tired of business as
usual. We want change and change now. Those who are not with the people
are against them. It is as simple as that. Now or never is the moment when
salvation from dictatorship rule is possible.
At last people have found their life mission: fight for authentic
democracy and their inalienable rights. And I believe they have also found
the tool to achieve this mammoth task: massive, peaceful, street
demonstrations all over the country.
Sterile demonstrations inside the rubber-stamp parliament and
isolated, symbolic marches are ineffectual, frivolous, trifling exercises in
futility and impress nobody.
The urban elite in Pakistan are foreigners in their own country. They
are the first world trapped inside the Third World. They do not vote. They
have never attended any political rally. They speak a different language.
The intellectuals and the civil society have failed. How is it possible
that during a time when democracy is on the ascendancy everywhere, the
best and the brightest among us are so silent, so acquiescent, so
unresponsive? Glory to the few who speak out? Shame to those who keep
silent!(Roedad Khan, The News 19th May)
Men of conviction: Darn this language called English, which has
manifestly confused the noblest of men from the Sufi city of Multan. Prime
Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who feels more honoured to bow his head
before a stumped bunch of judges than before their verdict, was raised on the
belief that the countrys destiny lay in the hands of men with conviction.
Himself a scion of a religious family, which pursued political gains with an
equally religious fervour, Gilani took the conviction mantra to heart and now
1058

proudly claims to have achieved that cherished distinction. Ah, but for one
little caveat. Somebody forgot to tell our honourable PM that all that talk
wasnt really about a legal conviction. But what the heck, the prime
minister can always ask his brilliant Balochistan chief minister to rationalize
the absurdity of it all. Expect Nawab Raisani to blabber, Conviction to
conviction hoti hai, chahay ikhlaqi ho yaa qanooni (A conviction is a
conviction, whether moral or legal).
To be fair to the man, the PMs mother tongue is Seraiki and therefore
he must not be sacrificed at the altar of the language of the British, who
incidentally his ancestors had served with the greatest of servitude. But if the
opposition keeps yelping at his heels, refuses to back off, and continues
pestering him to go moral on a legal issue and resign, then he could always
find comfort in the company of his close aides and similar men of
conviction. For instance, the interior minister, convicted but then pardoned
by the president; IT minister Pervez Ashraf, near indicted by the supreme
court in the multibillion RPP rip-off; former law minister Babar Awan
awaiting conviction for contempt of court; former religious affairs minister
Qazmi, biding time behind bars on unholy corruption charges; innocent
commerce minister Makhdoom Ameen Faheem, who should have been
convicted for spending the Rs40 million he says he doesnt know who
deposited in his account. And the list of men of conviction reads on.
(Mohammad Malick, The News 11th May)
The birdmen: Before the conviction when a foreign correspondent
questioned what he would do if convicted, Prime Minister Gilani, falteringly
uttered he would stand down. Conviction has come and gone but PM Gilani
still stands. Instead, he has produced a new bird, Article 248, out of his
aviary under which he has claimed absolute immunity from laws of the
land.
The Article gives him freedom to perform as prime minister and
shields him against any kind of prosecution, he believes. The president
already enjoyed immunity, including against money laundering; the PM has
now claimed it.
However, the PM isnt the only birdman in politics, therere others in
the opposition as well and some momentarily out of luck, former strongman
Gen Musharraf being one such.
The truth is that the politicians speak on their own behalf and promote
their own interests, while purporting to speak in the public interest. The
public watches the political show patiently.
1059

Whenever it turns restive because of the daily grind of life, corruption,

and government incompetence, the clever birdmen let lose new issues. One
doing the round is the Seraiki province The free media has exposed the
politicians so much that they now appear less of politicians and more of
birdmen out to beguile unsuspecting voters.
Leading Indian jurist Nani Palkhiwala, writing on January 16, 1984 on
his birthday, described them more aptly: My dog sleeps about 20 hours a
day. He has his food prepared for him. He can eat whenever he wants,
24/7/365. His meals are provided at no cost to him. By the way he does not
need to pay for medical insurance. He visits the doctor once a year for his
check-up, and again during the year if any medical needs arise.
For this he pays nothing and nothing is required of him. He lives in a
house that is much larger than he needs, but he is not required to do any
upkeep. If he makes a mess, someone else cleans it up. He has his choice of
luxurious places to sleep. He receives these accommodations free and lives
like a king. All of his costs are picked up by others who go out and earn a
living every day.
I was just thinking about all this, and suddenly it hit me....My dog is
like the Indian politician. And for that matter, even like the politician in
neighbouring Pakistan. Our politicians are superior still; they get away with
heinous misdeeds, and Indians dont. (Iftekhar A Khan, The News 11th May)
The PM in UK: Considering the size of our delegation, and the
various hangers-on that accompany it, the statement that emerged on
Thursday after it met the British PM David Cameron, was remarkably
anodyne. There was little that would justify the presence of such a large
contingent, and the British had wisely limited their hospitality to the six
principals who would be taking part in the review of the partnership
commitment that was made in April 2011. The review meeting has now
taken place, a couple of pictures to confirm this have appeared on the British
Government Facebook page and the rest of the trip appears to be taken up
with mutual backslapping and scratching at the British end of Pakistans
domestic politics. A scheduled meeting in Birmingham with PPP members
had to be cancelled because of factional infighting; and the possibility of this
turning into real violence meant that security for the PM and his party could
not be guaranteed. Despite all this activity signifying nothing, the PM has
extended his visit for another day, a remarkable show of arrogance if not
utter contempt for reason

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The visit may be best remembered in the context of an interview Mr

Gilani gave to CNN. At its end the interviewer said: Prime Minister,
according to last years Gallup poll, 81 percent see their government as rife
with corruption and 1/3 of Pakistanis want to leave the country, this is a
damning indictment. He answered: Why dont they leave then? Who is
stopping them? Rarely has a politician displayed publicly such contempt for
an electorate. That our prime minister was happy to make it a matter of
record that he cared not a jot or little if one-third of the population, the best
and brightest, wanted to flee the country because of perceived deficiencies in
his government, marks him a man unworthy of representing any of us. The
interviewer looked dumbstruck, Mr Gilani smug and sanguine. Did we get
what we voted for? Or more importantly, did we at all vote for such a PM?
(Editorial, The News 12th May)
We the people: Judgments rendered by the Supreme Court will
continue to be attacked on the basis that historically our judicature has been
a henchman for khakis and the ruling elite. The court process produces
winners and losers. And the murky past of our judiciary affords every sore
loser a basis to divert attention from his or her deeds and instead bring into
focus the integrity of the court itself. The wider acceptability of this line of
reasoning as a suitable retort to an indictment suggests that two-wrongs-domake-a-right logic is gaining traction in our society. Add to this join-them-ifyou-cant-beat-them rationale and our transformation into a predatory
society would be complete.
If we assert that only he who hasnt sinned can cast the first stone, is
there anyone in public life qualified to seek correction and accountability?
Where will we find the angels who have never erred? If this argument is
accepted, the conclusion is this: as no one has the moral standing to question
anyone else, lets all continue to make hay while the sun shines. In this game
of plunder, the threat comes not from the greediest but the one who refuses
to play. And for the game to continue, it is in the shared interest of all
players to ensure that everyone is devoid of moral authority.
Amidst this state of despair, the detailed ruling of the Supreme Court
in the prime ministers contempt case is a source of hope. It was not just the
prime minister who was on trial, but also the ability of the court to act as a
neutral arbiter of the law. It was alleged that the court was acting on behest
of the establishment to instigate regime change. It was argued that the judges
were sitting in their own cause to settle scores. And yet despite the
allegations of partisanship and bias, and the political drama and media circus

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surrounding the trial, the detailed judgment has affirmed the courts ability
to disregard extraneous considerations and focus singularly on the law.
The temperate language and meticulous legal reasoning of the
judgment authored by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk laces it with objectivity. The
court rightly doesnt get into a debate about the future of the prime minister,
as many would have liked. It declares that the prime minister is guilty of
contempt of court. It holds that his acts and omissions are grave enough to
satisfy the requirement of substantial detriment under Section 18 of the
Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003. Notwithstanding the flawed assertions
of the ruling party regarding the substantive role of speaker National
Assembly in ruling on the prime ministers disqualification, the court
doesnt attempt to preempt any abuse of authority.
The fate of the prime minister has been sealed by the concluding
sentences of paragraph 70. We are, therefore, fully satisfied that such clear
and persistent defiance at such a high level constitutes contempt which is
substantially detrimental to the administration of justice and tends not only
to bring this court but also brings the judiciary of this country into ridicule.
After all, if orders or directions of the highest court of the country are defied
by the highest executive of the country then others in the country may also
feel tempted to follow the example leading to a collapse or paralysis of
administration of justice besides creating an atmosphere wherein judicial
authority and verdicts are laughed at and ridiculed.
Article 63 lists grounds for disqualification of parliamentarians and its
sub-clause (1)(g) holds that a person stands disqualified if he is convicted by
a competent court for acting in a manner that brings the judiciary into
ridicule. Now that the prime minister has been convicted for contempt and
the court has explicitly ruled that his actions have brought the judiciary into
disrepute, Article 63(1)(g) has been triggered as a consequence. Article 63(2)
states that the question of disqualification shall be sent by speaker National
Assembly to the Election Commission within 30 days, unless she decides
that no question has arisen.
Despite the courts clear ruling, Farooq Naek wily insists that the
speaker has the discretion to rule that no question of disqualification has
arisen It is this readiness to prove day as night in the name of politics,
honour and loyalty that exposes the poverty of ethics and morality in our
society. When the PPPs dominant narrative is that the courts are producing
selective justice, how can it simultaneously argue that it respects the
judiciary and the prime ministers appearance before the Supreme Court is

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evidence of the same? If the prime ministers decision to appear before the
court was a matter of choice, does it mean that he could have decided not to
submit before the law when summoned? Isnt this entrenched sense of
entitlement, that the mighty are larger than the law, itself crippling rule of
law? Wasnt this the root-cause of the contempt case?
In a society committed to higher standards of morality in public life,
wouldnt there be vocal demands requiring the president to waive his
immunity even if he was afforded the same by the Constitution, face charges
and allow due process to run its course? What parochial sense of honour
results in the argument that our presidents submission before a foreign
magistrate is a matter of shame for every citizen? Is it because the magistrate
is too small a man or is it the foreign part that should bother us? If the status
of the official applying the law is relevant, does it mean that a police
constable dare not question anyone powerful or that the summons of a
magistrate third class can be ignored at will?
If opposition to foreign proceedings is contingent on lets-not-washour-dirty-linen-in-public logic, doesnt the same nurture a decadent view of
family honour that results in daily killings around the country? Doesnt the
concept of sovereign immunity belong to pristine monarchial times when
men ruled and not the law? Doesnt every argument in support of forgetting
about Asif Zardaris Swiss case and the alleged $60 million of laundered
money emanate from some conception of honour or loyalty rooted in
chauvinism?
In order to be a virtuous and socially useful concept, shouldnt the
concept of loyalty be larger than unquestioning allegiance to an individual?
Does loyalty to family mean you should stand by and defend each of its
members no matter how foul their acts? Does loyalty to ones job mean
robotic compliance with all commands, whether legal or illegitimate? Must
loyalty be a shade of jingoism and render one amoral?
The separate note appended to the prime ministers conviction ruling
authored by Justice Asif Khosa is invaluable, for it highlights our
contradictions. It reads not as a sermon, but as a cry of anguish. Stating that
law divorced from morality or not backed by the public means little is to
state the obvious. But it is a curse of these times that even such self-evident
truth is lost on us. Justice Khosas note is a call for introspection for all of
us. And as charity begins at home, most relevant for the Supreme Court
itself is the following: Pity the nation that clamours for equality before law,

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but has selective justice close to its heart. (Babar Sattar, The News 12th
May)
Bad precedents: The governments nitpicking of the Supreme Court
and its detailed judgment in the prime ministers contempt case continues. In
a latest outburst, Federal Information Minister Kaira has said the Pakistan
Peoples Party-led government has deep reservations about the detailed
verdict. He criticized Justice Khosas additional note presented with the
verdict. The SC has said in its detailed verdict that Prime Minister Gilani has
willfully, deliberately and persistently defied a clear direction of the highest
court of the country. The judgment traces the entire history of directions
issued by the Supreme Court in its attempt to get the government to
implement the NRO judgment, including how the failure of these attempts
led to a contempt of court charge against the chief executive of the country.
On the question of disqualification, the judgment repeats the verdict issued
on Jan 10 when the court gave six options, of which one was a possible fiveyear disqualification from elected or appointed membership in parliament.
It is also clear that there is now little room to manoeuvre for the
Speaker of the National Assembly on the question of the PMs
disqualification. Any member of parliament, including from the opposition,
can bring the verdict to her notice and she has no choice but to forward a
reference under Article 63(2) to the Election Commission of Pakistan. And
the ECP would not even have to pursue a detailed inquiry and may even
decide the fate of the prime minister after cursory procedures. Of course all
this is speaking in normative terms, and the lot in power at the moment
wants to have nothing to do with norms, ethics and principles. The PPP is
arguing, as Mr Kaira did on Friday, that there are many gaps, areas of
ambiguity and confusion in the judgment and the government will file an
appeal against it. The PM himself has declared that the detailed judgment
has no impact whatsoever and he has nothing to fear as he is not complicit in
any illegal, unconstitutional or immoral activity. The PM and his ministers
need to understand the dangerous precedent they are setting. As pointed out
by the SC in the detailed judgment, if orders or directions of the highest
court of the country are defied by the highest executive of the country then
others in the country may also feel tempted to follow the example, leading to
a collapse or paralysis of administration of justice.
Indeed, it seems that the governments public flouting of SC verdicts
is already having the feared domino effect on other institutions and
officeholders aping the defiance of the PM and his team. In a latest example,
the DG FC hasnt bothered to turn up before the two-member bench hearing
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the missing persons case in Quetta, despite being summoned on more than
one occasion by the chief justice himself. The judiciary is being turned into
fair game by all and sundry in power and none other than the PM House
has set this perilous precedent. The court is thus spot on in pointing out that
the arguments of the PMs team set a dangerous precedent and anyone will
then successfully flout the orders of the courts by pleading that according to
his interpretation they are not in accordance with the law. This would dilute
the finality of court judgments and ultimately adulterate the finality of the
law itself. And the government is leading the country down this rotten path.
(Editorial, The News 13th May)
Say no to it! The Pakistani nation is used to frequent military
interventions that have created a class of opportunists, who are ever ready to
cooperate with the tempers; the foremost among them are the politicians and
the sycophants waiting for such an opportunity. These days, one can hear
loud voices urging General Kayani to intervene. In fact, they are testing his
nerves; whereas, he wants the people of Pakistan to clear the mess
themselves.
Undoubtedly, army generals have committed serious mistakes in the
past. Even crimes have been committed causing great loss to the nation and
disrepute to the armed forces. It is time to establish a civil-military
relationship based on the rule of law and justice. This is a process the nation
is passing through, which must not be disturbed. The credit goes to our
political institutions, the judiciary and the armed forces, who will persevere
and steer the country on a democratic course - Inshallah. (General Mirza
Aslam Beg, TheNation 13th May)

Provincial disharmony
Uniting to divide:
Serious-minded people in the country, who
had already been concerned over the increasing trend sweeping the land to
think in term of narrow parochial interests, were deeply shocked and
dismayed at the PML-N, of all the political parties, itself coming forward
and tabling resolutions, in the Punjab provincial assembly, to divide Punjab
into three provinces. If these resolutions pass through the required
constitutional process successfully, there would emerge Janoobi (South)
Punjab, Bahawalpur and Punjab that would consist of what would be left of
the truncated province after the boundaries of these two had been settled by
the national commission that the resolutions also proposed. The move
would, undoubtedly, provide an impetus to a wave of demands by certain
elements elsewhere in the country to seek the status of province for areas of
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their influence with distinctive ethnic traits or any other reason to be able to
hold the reins of power there. People in states under the British Raj like
Khairpur, Kalat, Swat, Chitral and Dir might turn round and ask for
provincial status for them on the lines of Bahawalpur. Similarly, the
Hazaraites, tribesmen in Fata, Pashtuns in Balochistan and some others
would like to secede from their present provinces. And there would
inevitably lurk the presently dormant demand of Jinnahpur by the MQM,
that would start resounding in the political circles of the country, much to the
chagrin of the PPP, which gleefully broached the issue of new provinces in
an attempt to break the hold of Takht-e-Lahore over the countrys politics.
Apart from strengthening fissiparous trends, the resolutions would, in
the process of their implementation, open a Pandoras box of wrangling in
the context of the demarcation of boundaries of the new federating units, the
division of assets and other dangerous implications that the sundering apart
would entail. The PPP, the main opposition party in Punjab, though in favour
of dividing the province into two, with the new one covering the southern
parts of it as Seraiki province, jumped at the opportunity offered by the
PML-N for two new provinces instead of one and readily supported the
move. Thus, the resolutions were passed unanimously by all the members
present in the House. Looking from another angle one cannot help
concluding that political opponents of President Zardari stand once again
trumped by him.
The PML-Ns ill conceived move holds the seeds of making a
Soobistan of Pakistan. Thinking coolly, the entire exercise initiated by the
PPP has nothing to do with national interests or the good of the people; it is
inimical to both. It is race, plain and simple, or a desperate bid by political
parties for retaining or gaining influence to remain in power on which they
sense they are fast losing hold. This is a highly dangerous bid and constitutes
a clarion call to the well meaning sections of society to come forward and
oppose it so vehemently that no party could dare pursue the issue of new
provinces. (Editorial, TheNation 11th May)
In search of new provinces: The PML-N, in the resolutions it passed
through the Punjab Assembly, also demanded a commission on new
provinces. It has already expressed opposition to creating more new
provinces on linguistic basis. It must be noted that the British did not follow
this basis, and nor did the Mughals. Both went by the principle the PML-N
proposes, that of administrative convenience. This is a sound principle, for
not only is linguistic basis highly political, it is also highly unstable, for one
mans language is another mans dialect. This is particularly so in the
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Subcontinent, where at least the dialect, if not necessarily the language,

changes at every village.
The national commission will be able to examine all the proposals
(and the debate on Sindh, which has Sindhi-speakers, Seraiki-speakers and
Urdu-speakers, has not really started, but which include provincialist
movements if the provinces discussed above come into existence. It will also
examine more practical issues, like where these provinces are supposed to
fund themselves from. It should not be forgotten that if the motive the PPP
has for breaking up Punjab is to create a unit where the PPP could win.
However, local politicians are already dreaming of positions, like
memberships and ministries, they cannot achieve at the Punjab level. In the
end, new provinces will not be created from public or even political
compulsions, but because of politicians cupidity. (M A Niazi, TheNation
11th May)
Politics of provinces: It isnt the individuals alone that are taking the
masses for a ride. Enter the political parties with their daft political moves.
The latest being the spate of Punjab assembly resolutions seeking the
creation of a South Punjab province as well as the revival of the Bahawalpur
Province comprising the geographical boundaries of the erstwhile state of
Bahawalpur. On paper, it all makes sense because Punjab in its existing form
is larger than the remaining three federating units put together and thus
causes a lopsided power equation of the federation. But is the latest proposal
to carve three provinces out of the present day Punjab anything more than a
countermove by the PML-N to the PPPs populist Seraiki province rhetoric?
Not really.
Its a brilliant stroke to stymie the PPP rallying cry for a Seraiki
province in an election year. Not only has the PML-N move actually stopped
forward movement on the Seraiki province issue but has also divided the
Southern Punjab political activists and leadership into two camps: those
favouring revival of Bahawalpur state as a province and the rest of the
Wasaib belt.
Furthermore, the unanimous adoption of the resolutions with the
effective participation of the PPP has actually pushed the PPP in a tight
corner. Instead of harping on its popular Seraiki province demand, the PPP
now stands committed to the furtherance of these resolutions, which owing
to time constraints imposed by the impending elections will not reach any
fruitful conclusion. Even if the concept of new provinces is okayed without
much delay by the National Assembly and the Senate, with a two-thirds

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majority in each (easier said than done), the process is fraught with a million
technical and procedural impediments. There is the extremely complex and
thorny issue of demarcating boundaries; revisiting the water distribution
accord which is another explosive issue in a water deficient country and
reconstituting the NFC are but a few of the many more cumbersome issues.
The PML-N scored another subtle but immensely important tactical
win when it lured the PPPs Punjab parliamentary leader Raja Riaz into
agreeing to its demand of forming a national commission to examine the
creation of new provinces. Going by the fate of the several commissions
tasked with far more narrowly focused and circumspect tasks, it isnt
difficult to guess what, if ever, such a commission would deliver. The
formation of the commission alone is likely to take months if not another
year or two. And as we know, the elections are but a max nine months away.
Recreating a country that is already having a tough time retaining its existing
complexion is nothing less than an impossible endeavor at least for the
current ruling lot, both at the centre and in the provinces. (Mohammad
Malick, The News 11th May)
The curse: The public, sick and tired of the power crisis repeatedly
reaching a boiling point before the government attempts at cooling it down,
wants to have answers to certain simple questions. Why does the circular
debt keep rearing its head again and again and why is it not settled once for
all? Why cant the factors that tend to accumulate it after it has been cleared
be removed for good? Why is the crisis allowed to develop to a stage where
life comes to a standstill, industrial units start closing down and workers are
laid off? Most people have become used to escaping, or lessening the rigours
of heat of the sweltering summers of South Asia with the help of some sort
of electrically-operated cooling gadgets the commonplace fan, coolers and
ACs. Why is no attempt being made to undertake the construction of the
internationally acclaimed hydel-cum-water-storage project like Kalabagh
Dam? All major works for this highly beneficial dam stand completed and if
work to build it were to start on a war footing, it would take no more than
three years for it to start producing electricity and releasing water for any use
desirable. It is time to set our compass right to see what can really help the
nation out of this grueling crisis. (Editorial, TheNation 12th May)
Staring at a scary scenario: I do not want to watch television to
watch Faisal Raza Abidi back in full force or any of the others. I find no
hope or solace as I read newspapers, editorials or op-ed articles. I want to
run away from the awful truths and possible scenarios that stare us in the
face. With the temperatures going up, the country too has erupted in protests
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over the long hours of load shedding. It is sad, indeed, that the plight of the
non-privileged is noticed only when they are able to create enough of a
nuisance that they get media attention which, in turn, is then compelled to
project them on satellite channels for the world to see. Granted, that all our
problems are not the creation of this particular government, but it has failed
the country in the sense that it did not roll up its sleeves to tackle issues of
load shedding, population, health, education and inflation with the
seriousness they deserved. The perceived corruption charges against it also
make matters worse. The only thing, which seems to be on the minds of the
political class as a whole, is making of new provinces (the appeal of more
ministers, more chief ministers, more titles and more opportunities, I guess).
(Tallat Azim, TheNation 12th May)

Baloch militancy
Agencies show evidence:
The Parliamentary Committee on
National Security (PNSC) on Tuesday admitted that they have been apprised
by the intelligence agencies of concrete evidence of the foreign hand
fomenting violence in Balochistan. The province is witnessing the worse
kind of turmoil manifested through daily events of target killings, ethnic and
sectarian murders and bomb blasts. The criminals are using sophisticated
weapons and seem to be well funded and organized. However, now that the
parliamentarians have been shown evidence, if it is convincing, they ought
to take adequate measures to cut the implied foreign hand off as quickly as
possible.
There should be no laidback attitude, as seen in Committee Chairman
Senator Raza Rabbanis view that the next PNSC meeting would chalk out
the required measures. It is high time well-coordinated action by the police
and the intelligence agencies was ordered to crack down on all such foreign
elements. Pakistan must put maximum diplomatic pressure on the countries
involved. (Editorial, TheNation 10th May)

REVIEW
The detailed verdict, despite additional note of Justice Khosa
comprising beautiful piece of poetry of Khalil Jibran, failed to clear
ambiguity over the disqualification issue; thus the debate on this aspect
continued and was likely to continue unabated. The judges once again failed
to understand the simple point that if you give an inch to a habitual criminal
he would to take a yard.

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Tallat Hussain of Dawn TV did not approve of quoting Khalil Jibran

by Justice Saeed Khosa in his additional note attached to the detailed
judgment. He was of the view that there was no need to seek strength from
the poetry, especially in view of the fact that the verdict was a meticulously
worded legal document authored by Justice Nasirul Mulk.
Tallat ignored the possibility that Justice Khosa might have tried to
use stern language in the detailed judgment, but he could not insist showing
regard for the viewpoint of other judges on the bench. The nature of offence
committed by the chief executive of the country certainly deserved severe
punishment spelled in firm, rather stern language. Reading the mindset of
the head of the bench Justice Khosa chose to write additional note and
quoted Khalil Jibran to tell the nation that dispensation of justice is largely
dependent on the attitude of the Executive.
By quoting Khalil Jibran Justice Khosa has tried to convey his own
message for the nation that is looking all the times towards the Judiciary for
justice. The Judiciary can deliver just a fraction in this context, rest all
depends on the Executive, who in democratic dispensation is chosen by the
people themselves through ballot.
The Executive has not been delivering on its all important
responsibility of administration of justice; it has been even undermining the
endeavours of the Judiciary. It hasnt investigated the crimes properly,
hasnt placed tenable evidence before the courts and has resorted to weak
prosecution. Where these evil tactics failed to undermine the justice process,
the Executive found excuses not to implement court decisions.
This is what that has been happening since the return of democracy
and the process of exacting democratic revenge. Under such circumstances
the people have no right to blame Judiciary for not delivering justice; they
must turn their questions towards the Executive and more so towards
themselves as they are the ones who have chosen them.
Khosa wasnt penning down pearls of jurisprudence; as a Pakistani
citizen he was wailing over his helplessness despite being a judge on the roll
of highest court in the country. As a judge he wanted that the justice be done
but couldnt do that because of defiant Executive aided by cunning legal
minds patronized by evil genius of Zardari backed by a superpower called
Great Satan in Iran.
In view of the above it may be said that Tallat Hussain faltered,
though he seldom does in his discreet analyses of issues varied in nature.
Perhaps, the time-related urgency in his profession could be blamed for that.
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The judgment certainly demanded more than few hours for deliberations
before commenting.
Many observers did not agree with Tallat. Inayatullah approved
quoting of Khalil Jibran and concluded his column in TheNation on 12 th
May in these words: Mr Justice Khosa also referred to a judgment delivered
by Justice Louis Brandeis of United States Supreme Court. The last sentence
of the quotation is: If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds
contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself, it
invites anarchy. A lot of food for thought in these wise words!
The day detailed judgment was released the convict Gilani landed in
London, the home of parliamentary democracy and was accorded protocol
due for head of a government and the very next day he visited the Mother of
all Parliaments in Westminster. There was no sign of any remorse on the part
of visitor or his hosts.
This clearly reflected the shamelessness of the visitor and double
standards of the hosts regarding democracy. The democracy they practice at
home is contrastingly different from the one they prescribe for the client
states of Islamic World. This also demonstrated the regards they have for
Zardari regime for all that it has delivered in war on terror and is prepared to
do more.
Being guest of the British masters, despite conviction at home, had
added to the arrogance of Gilani. In an interview to CNN he left the lady
quizzing him utterly bewildered when she told Gilani that according to a
survey one-third of Pakistanis wanted to leave the country; he replied: Why
dont they leave; who stops them?
Back home the hordes of Jiyalas and Jiyalis were not for behind the
team leader in defying and even ridiculing the Judiciary. Fauzia Wahab
taunted at the helplessness of the Judiciary saying that rather than taking
notice of contempt, the apex court should do something about thrashing of
the judges in various courts.
Some of the events of period under review have shown that the fish
that had started rotting from head has started stinking right up to tail-fin.
Some may choose other phrases to describe the situation like saying rulers
are reflection of the people and vice versa, or like fathers (rulers) are the
sons (the ruled).
In Karachi, students thrashed a Principal for not allowing cheating
(copying) during intermediate examinations. In Faisalabad, a judge was

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thrashed by a lawyer and on two consecutive days in Lahore police officials

were beaten by the lawyers. And, in Faisalabad people protesting against
load shedding looted a truck carrying melons; a mobs version of load
shedding of a truck. Hasnt the fish rutted head to tail?
14th May, 2012

WAR WITHIN-X
Gilani returned from the United Kingdom with his arrogance boasted
to new heights. His one-on-one interaction with David Cameron has worked
like tonic. He and his party have understood the statement of Cameron in
right perspective in which he had said that enemy of Pakistan is our enemy.
The message concealed in new-found love expressed by Cameron was
that he and Obama stood with the Scoundrel and the Saint as long as they
were prepared to serve the cause of the Crusaders. And the moment Gilani
headed home he started re-assuring his foreign masters that he and the
government led by him were at their service.
On reaching home he took on his critics who talked of judiciary and
its verdicts. He challenged his political opponents almost daily and urged
them to catch him if they could. The support of coalition partners, in
addition to imported tonic, also played its part in defiant attitude of the
regime.
Meanwhile, the problem of power outages alone had driven the
masses out of their senses. They resorted to violent protests across the
country, especially in Punjab which had been targeted with load shedding by
design. The Scoundrel took notice of the situation and started pretending to
solve the problem.
He and the Saint sat together with their team of experts and
formulated a strategy to overcome the colossal power shortage soon and that
too without constructing a dam, atomic plant or any other project of
electricity generation. The Saint hinted at this magic strategy: we will print
more currency notes to overcome power-shortage.

NEWS
Power politics: On 14th May, the PML-N retracted from its
previous stance and decided to become part of the consultations for the
appointment of Chief Election Commissioner but through a Parliamentary

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panel. Leader of the Opposition wanted that new CEC should be from a
smaller province. But proceedings parliamentary committee were marred by
agitation by PML-N which called the whole exercise illegal. The committee
failed to choose chairman.
Next day, JUI-F once again came to the help of PPP and voted for
Khursheed Shah to be Chairman of Parliamentary Committee that will
decide appointment of Chairman of Election Commission of Pakistan. In a
close contest Shah bagged seven and Tehmina Daultana five votes; PML-N
was reaping what its chief had sown in the form on his non-accommodating
politics.
President Zardari directed Rehman Malik to negotiate for release of
Pakistanis, who were taken hostage when pirates over-powered MV Albedo
and demanded ransom. Malik was quick to announce that he had devised
strategy for their release. Meanwhile, Riaz Malik of Bahria Town Housing
Society agreed to pay entire amount of ransom of the instructions of Zardari.
On 16th May, Nawaz Sharif said that the Sindh card could no longer be
used as it had run out of credit. Speaking to reporters in Shikarpur, the
PML-N chief blamed the countrys rulers of being disconnected from the
people and oblivious to their problems. He said Sindh card has been emptied
by those who were filling their pockets with poor peoples money and they
would now go back home as people would not support them. He said if
people were served selflessly, there would be no need for any card.
He said the party has in its hand Service to Pakistan Card and it
would serve the people of Pakistan. Nawaz said the PML-N was sincere in
moving with the rulers for the service of the country but there was no
sincerity in rulers intentions. He said the PML-N believes in service of the
people and was ready to cooperate with those who feel pain for the poor
masses.
He said if Sindh has reservations over the construction of Kalabagh
dam, it should not be taken up. Replying to questions, the former prime
minister alleged that Rehman Maliks past was rife with graft cases, saying
that the interior minister had previously been convicted by the courts. Who
is he to accuse others? He is not an angel, said Sharif. Nawaz Sharif said
those talking about Punjabs partition have no realization what they are
doing.
On 18th May, Sindh High Court directed Election Commission to hold
Local Bodies elections within 90 days ruling these elections are
constitutional obligation. MQM welcomed the court direction but PPP
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decided to appeal against it in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the Punjab

government increased women employment quota from 5 to 15 percent.

Rule of law: On 14th May, Musa Gilani appeared before

investigators second time in ephedrine case. He submitted written statement
through his counsel Fawwad Chaudhry. He denied the allegations of having
links with Tauqeer Ahmed, holding meeting with former Federal Secretary
Health, having telephonic connections with former Director General Health
to exert pressure on the officials to convert the Ephedrine quota for domestic
use.
Next day, the Supreme Court rejected Ali Musa Gilanis plea to
replace the officer-in-charge of the investigation in the ephedrine case.
While denying allegations of his involvement in the ephedrine scam, Musa
Gilani expressed his lack of trust in ANF DG Brigadier Faheem. In a 12page written statement submitted through his counsel Salman Akram Raja,
Ali Musa had requested the court to replace the officer in-charge of the
investigation in the case.
An employee of Health Ministry, Tanveer Ahmed, told that he was
forced to record his statement after he was taken hostage. On this, the CJ
asked him to give his written statement. He said the court will issue notices
to FIA and the one who recorded the statement.
Brig Faheem, the chief investigator in ephedrine scam, told the court
that two accused have already fled from the country as their names were not
included in the exit control list (ECL) in time. He told the court that the FIA
is pressurizing them to save Khushnood Lashari. On this, Justice Khilji Arif
told Big Faheem to carry on fair investigation into the matter. The court also
directed Brig Faheem not to involve any one unnecessarily and to let the law
take its own course.
Brig Faheems lawyer, Akram Shaikh, presented his arguments in the
court stating that the court orders have not been implemented properly and
the government only followed the orders regarding the cancellation of
transfers. The court went on to direct Brig Faheem to complete the inquiry
and present the report. Brig Faheem further informed the court that a notice
was sent to the concerned authorities to provide attendance records from the
Prime Minister House, but there has been no response and the records have
not been provided.
The chief justice said that if Secretary Narcotics intervened, strict
action would be taken. In the last hearing, the apex court had overruled the

1074

orders of Secretary Narcotics Control Division, while ordering ANF to

continue probe into the case that allegedly involves Prime Ministers son Ali
Musa Gilani.
On 16th May, the Supreme Court announced the verdict in a suo moto
case regarding alleged corruption of Rs26 billion in the Pakistan Steel Mills
(PSM). The court ordered the NAB to investigate and also annulled bails of
all persons involved in corruption and ordered their arrest.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice in its judgment
criticized the FIA performance and ordered the investigation agency to hand
over all record of the investigation to the NAB, which have to complete its
inquiry in three months and will report every fortnight about progress in the
probe. The court also ordered the NAB chief to carry out investigations
under his supervision.
On March 15, a three-member bench had reserved judgment in this
regard. During last hearing, the SC had ordered Industries Secretary Gul
Muhammad Rind to come up with an explanation as to why his ministry
failed in taking timely action on a forensic audit report (2008-09) that
identified cumulative losses of Rs26.5 billion suffered by the PSM in one
year. Rind told the bench that after receiving the FIAs report they would
decide about sending it to the NAB.
The CJP said that the audit report had proved massive corruption in
the PSM, adding that the case would be sent to NAB, which would take
action against those responsible and recover the plundered money. He said,
It was your responsibility to send the cases to NAB. To establish good
governance is the duty of the government.
Belatedly acting upon the orders of the Supreme Court the NAB
arrested the Member Gas Mansoor Muzaffar for his alleged involvement in
corruption running into multi-million rupees in several cases of Ogra. NAB
officials came into action only after the Supreme Court gave 24 hour
deadline.
Babar Awan withdrew intra-court appeal filed against the decision of a
two-member bench of the apex court for not accepting his apology. He did
so apprehending the rejection of his appeal based on weak basis and also
with the hope of expediting settlement of contempt case against him.
The Supreme Court ordered Rehman Malik and MNA Zahid Iqbal to
provide evidence of renouncing their British nationality on May 25, the next
date of hearing. Malik had said that he had surrendered UK citizenship in

1075

March 2008. The court also directed the National Assembly and Senate
secretaries to help AGP in getting record of the parliamentarians holding
dual nationality.
A policeman died while several cops and protesters were wounded
during the clash, which took place after the police wielded to batons on the
protesting employees of the population welfare department as they stormed
into the Punjab Civil Secretariat and tried to ransack the offices.
On 18th May, Police arrested over 50 activists of the Islami Jamait-eTulaba (IJT) who were protesting against the Punjab government for not
arresting the murderer of their comrade and also against operation clean up
in hostels of University of Punjab which had started after students had
misbehaved with teachers.
The Supreme Court bench hearing loan-defaulters case was informed
that Sheikh Afzal, a defaulter, to Services Hospital Lahore for medical
treatment. The court issued directives to Superintendent Services Hospital to
produce medical report of the accused during next date of hearing fixed for
June 4.
Next day, Prime Ministers security was virtually trespassed when
Punjab police personnel scuffled with a member of his security squad at the
Expo Centre and detained him at a police station for over an hour. The
incident took place as the premier left the venue after addressing 3 rd
convocation of the Virtual University, Lahore. While there were no visible
signs of any confrontation between the police and prime ministers security
staff inside the hall, a fight ensued outside when policemen led by Sadr SP
Athar Waheed scuffled with Talat, PMs security man and stopped him from
accompanying the prime minister.
After a 15-minute scuffle, the police bundled Talat into official jeep of
their boss and took him to Nawab Town Police Station in Johar Town.
Punjab police officials said Talat misbehaved with the SP and abused
Mustafabad SHO Inspector Mustaneer Khan on the pretext of PMs security.
But Gilanis security staff had a different story to tell the media. They said
the two police officials got annoyed with Talat when he stopped the SHO,
who was in civvies, from getting close to the stage where PM was seated.
The police officer had breached PMs security cover by coming too close to
him.
During Governors Rule in Punjab in 2009, SP Athar had refused to
obey his seniors when he was ordered to stop the PML-Ns long march on
Islamabad by arresting the political activists. Then, he had removed his belt
1076

and badges from the uniform, saying he could not carry out illegal orders.
Mr Waheed was placed under suspension, but restored to his position when
Punjab government was reinstated by the court.
The fresh incident brought Punjab governor, the chief secretary, the IG
Police and the federal ministry of interior into the fray. Governor directed
Punjab chief secretary, IGP and home secretary to look into the matter and
demanded a detailed report within 24 hours. The governor said that
interference in prime ministers security was tantamount to high treason. He
directed Punjab police to take legal action against those responsible for this
unpleasant incident. Rehman Malik also rushed to the provincial metropolis
and had a long meeting with Governor Khosa over the issue.
Punjab Law Minister dubbed the occurrence an outcome of some
misunderstanding. He insisted that no security breach took place and that it
was responsibility of the said SP to provide security to the prime minister.
He said it was duty of the SP to depute the policemen as and when required
and the SHO was discharging his duties under his command. Rana said a
trivial incident had been blown up out of proportion. Commenting on Punjab
governors remarks, the Law Minster said that conduct of the governor was
unreasonable.
Political circles have described the episode an outcome of the renewed
tension between the PPP and the PML-N after conviction of PM Gilani.
Meanwhile, Lahore CCPO Muhammad Aslam Tareen has initiated a formal
departmental inquiry against SP (Operations) Saddar Division Athar
Waheed. While the sources in Governor House claimed that SP Athar has
been asked to report to the Police Headquarters, the Lahore CCPO said that
SP Athar will stay in Lahore. Punjab Police DPR Ms Nabeela Ghazanfar
said that the implementation of transfer orders of SP have been withheld till
further orders. She said Punjab government will decide his fate.

Defiance of judiciary: On 14th May, talking to Geo TV the

Speaker National Assembly said that she was still discussing with
constitutional experts the issue of Prime Minister Gilanis conviction by the
Supreme Court and the role she is supposed to play now. She, however,
disagreed with her postmans role and said if the Supreme Court can
interpret Constitution, Parliament also has powers.
Rehman Malik alleged that Sharif Brothers were issuing political
statements contemptuous to court in connection with the conviction case of
Prime Minister. He urged the Chief Justice to take suo moto notice of these
statements. He also claimed having more details of Sharifs money
1077

laundering. Latif Khosa claimed that the PPP could overthrow Punjab
government overnight. He said he could reject all summaries sent by an
ineligible chief minister. He accused PML-N of hatching conspiracies
against South Punjab province.
The Supreme Court deferred proceedings on an Intra Court Appeal
(ICA) of Babar Awan seeking the restoration of his suspended practicing
licence as the larger bench was not available for the time being. The court
seemed to dispensing the same medicine to Doctor Awan which is his
favourite; the dragging of feet.
Next day, Aitzaz Ahsan said the punishment meted out to Prime
Minister Gilani in contempt of court case, is unconstitutional. He said the
short order cannot be delivered in criminal cases and premier could not have
been sentenced in the absence of a detailed verdict. Ahsan said an appeal
would be filed challenging the Supreme Courts verdict. He further said that
objections to the judgment were based on constitutional and legal grounds.
The prime minister was sentenced in violation of Article 10-A of the
Constitution.
Regarding the appeal, the counsel said that the judges who convicted
the prime minister should not hear it. Moreover, on the role of Speaker
National Assembly in the process of a possible disqualification of the
premier, Ahsan said the Speaker was given the authority by the Constitution
and not the Supreme Court. He said it was up to the Speakers discretion
whether or not to send a reference in this case.
The Supreme Court resumed hearing of the contempt charges against
former law minister Babar Awan and adjourned the hearing till May 17
without indicting him. During todays proceedings, the court could not indict
the former minister as it was told that hearing of Intra Court Appeal (ICA)
on the indictment order is due on 16th May and the court should not indict
Awan today.
Babar in his plea said that he was a professional lawyer having no
other source of livelihood and his fundamental right stood suspended after
the suspension of his practicing licence. He stated that a significant number
of litigants who engaged him as lawyer over a period of years were suffering
irreparable loss, while his staff was also facing hardships.
On 16th May, Kaira told media that Prime Minister Gilani took the
cabinet into confidence over the verdict of Supreme Court, besides detailing
about his recent UK visit. The Prime Minister also congratulated Syed
Khurshid Shah and others over holding a successful PPP public rally.
1078

Meanwhile, Chief Justice of LHC referred pleas against the convicted PM

Gilani to another bench.
Next day, Prime Minister Gilani said that according to the
constitution, political parties were not responsible for ensuring that the
orders of the Supreme Court were implemented. Speaking to the media
persons after a ceremony held in connection with World Communication
Day, Gilani made a specific reference to the PML-N when making this
statement. He said in court orders it was not mentioned that implementation
of verdict was responsibility of PML-N.
When asked by a reporter if he would be resigning, the prime minister
replied who should I give my resignation to? He added we are following
the constitution of the country. He said that a bunch of people did not want
to see his face and want to remove him in order to succeed in their
conspiracy to hinder the formation of Seraiki province.
Answering question regarding the appointment of Chief Election
Commissioner Gilani said that the opposition did not accept him as the
Prime Minister but were willing to sit in committees formed by him. He
tauntingly said that they would soon recognize him as Prime Minister.
The NAB initiated inquiry into reference filed by Rehman Malik
regarding money laundering by Nawaz Sharif. Spokesman of NAB said the
letter to Swiss Authorities was ready to seek details of their accounts, but it
has been with-held because the court has handed over responsibility to
Attorney General. Nawaz said the PPP was seeking revenge through cases
against us.
The Supreme Court indicted Babar Awan on charge of contempt of
court committed by him during a press conference on December 1. The court
asked the AG Irfan Qadir to act as prosecutor and provide evidence on May
25, while the hearing of the case would be held on May 29.
On 18th May, Gilani called on Chaudhry Shujaat in Lahore and after
the meeting he challenged his opponents to bring no-trust motions to catch
me if you can. He added a long march by Punjab government would
amount to treason. The meeting with cousin thieves from Gujrat seemed to
have worked like a tonic for the scrounger from the city of Saints.
Nawaz Sharifs attention was drawn by media reporters to Gilanis
statement; he refused to comment saying flip-flop statements of illegitimate
Prime Minister do not merit any attention. He criticized the government for

1079

shamelessly backtracking on NATO supplies and added nobody apologizes

to beggars.
As the Supreme Court ran short of constituting a bench to hear
expected appeal by PM Gilani in contempt case, the Judicial Commission
met to fill a vacant vacancy. The commission recommended the name of
Chief Justice of LHC as member of the Supreme Court and appointing
Justice Bandiyal as Chief Justice of Lahore High Court.
Next day, the legal fraternity asked Prime Minister Gilani to step
down from his office, as he has been convicted in a contempt case, otherwise
they would launch a countrywide movement to oust him from power. This
announcement was made at All Pakistan Lawyers Convention held by
District Bar Association (DBA) under the chair of its president Sajid Ilyas
Bhatti. Except President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the
convention was attended by SCBA former presidents and prominent lawyers
Hamid Ali Khan and Qazi Esa
Some charged lawyers chanted slogans against PPP-led government
for its continuous defiance to the verdict against PM Gilani. In a resolution
passed by the lawyers unanimously, it was said that after convicting by SCP
in a contempt case PM Gilani has lost all legal, moral and constitutional
grounds to remain as Chief Executive of the country, therefore, he should
tender his resignation immediately or be ready to face the music.
The speakers also hit the PPP led government very hard for not ending
excessive load shedding, price hike, unemployment and reopening of NATO
supplies for the US Army and its allies stationed in Afghanistan. They asked
the government to not restore NATO supply line until USA did not stop
drone attack and tender her apology on Salala Check Post attack in which 26
men of Pakistan army martyred.
Following notices by the SSP Islamabad to Sharif brothers in
connection with fresh investigations into the incident of Supreme Court
building attack in November 1997, the party has begun consultations with
the legal advisers. Sources well informed of the developments in this regard
say that party leadership held a meeting with the senior advocates to discuss
legal value of the notices and what treatment they deserve.
Sharifs feel that it is an absurd attempt by the Interior Ministry to
drag them into a case which has already found nothing against them. It was a
sheer frustration of the Federal government as it has been unsuccessful to
deliver to the masses over the last four years and the PML-N exposed its ill
doings. During the meeting with legal advisers it was decided that
1080

appearance before the police will be made through the lawyers and not the
Sharifs. For this purpose, a team headed by Khwaja Harris Ahmad has been
formed.
On 20th May, Gilani invited Nawaz and Imran to attend dinner to be
hosted in honour of visiting Turkish Prime Minister. The invitation has put
both the invitees to test as both of them have declared that they did not
recognize Gilani as Prime Minister after his conviction on charges of
contempt of court. Meanwhile, SCBA rejected the call against Prime
Minister Gilani by Lawyers Convention.

Taming the military: On 16th May, Lt-Gen Asad Durrani stated

that being the army chief, General Mirza Aslam Beg right from the
beginning was on board both in the process of issuing instructions as well as
overseeing the disbursement of funds to political parties. Aslam Beg had
denied his involvement in distributing money in Mehrangate case.
Durrani in a statement submitted in the Supreme Court said: I
received my initial orders to organize distribution of election donations
through him. Though, the subsequent instructions were at times conveyed by
Mr Ijlal Haider Zaidi, a member of the Presidents election team, I kept the
army chief fully informed. Be as it may, ISI as an organization responds to
multiple centres of power: the president, in his capacity as the Supreme
Commander of the Armed Forces; the three service chiefs and the chairman
JSHQ; and indeed the prime minister, said Durrani. He added all accounts
were maintained by the officers belonging to various MI detachments and
funds were placed in temporary accounts, while details could be provided on
confidential basis. Only after the disbursements were over, the balance was
transferred to a special fund of the ISI. Since records-were meticulously
maintained, all transactions can be accounted for.
Next day, the Supreme Court bench hearing Asghar Khans petition
was once informed by the government that reports about Mehran Bank and
Habib Bank could not be traced out. The court remarked that that if all the
relevant documents could be furnished before the court in Bhutto reference
case then why the reports of MBL and HBL could not be traced.
The court insisted on producing of these reports and asked director of
HBL to appear personally along with ledger. The court also sought
notification under which political wing in ISI was established and directed
Governor State Bank to share information on withdrawal of funds. The court
said all these documents would clarify many things.

1081

Another bench of the Supreme Court directed the JAG to furnish the
reasons for not giving the charge-sheet to the accused of court martial before
confirmation of his sentence. The court observed during hearing of a 13 year
old petition that this was against the norms of basic justice and it was also a
violation of Article 10A of the Constitution.

Recessing economy: On 16th May, amid load shedding the

government increased electricity tariff by 16 percent. The cash starved
government would get Rs8.8 billion as additional revenue in the month of
June, which would mean about 100 billion per year. On 18th May, Rs3 billion
were released for IPPs.

Provincial disharmony: On 14th May, protests against power

outages continued across Punjab and parts Of KPK. President Zardari
chaired a meeting the sort out electricity load shedding. The government
vowed that such meetings would continue to be held till arresting the
problem of shortage.
Nawaz Sharif said South Punjab slogan is just an election stunt. He
termed restoration of Bahawalpur Province as vital. The PML-N chief said
that President Zardari and PM Gilani had become acrimonious towards him
after his visit to Sindh. About option of resignation he said it would give free
hand to the government. Next day, protests against power outages continued
across Punjab.
On 16th May, thousands of women took out a rally outside the Arts
Council, Karachi for the creation of a Muhajir province in urban areas of
Sindh province. The women first gathered at the Arts Council of Pakistan
and from there marched to Karachi Press Club in the form of a rally where
they were addressed by women leaders of Muhajir Sooba Tehreek. This was
the fifth protest of newly established Muhajir Sooba Tehreek in the
metropolis.
On 19th May, the nationalist parties said the demands for the creation
of a Mohajir province had no basis whatsoever, claiming that the Urduspeaking people were enjoying their rights. Branding such demands as a
conspiracy to bifurcate the province, the nationalists demanded the PPP-led
government to quell this treacherous rebellion and expose those behind it.
They also announced a protest demonstration on May 28 against the
attempts to carve out a new province. They also came down hard on certain
media outlets, saying they were highlighting the issue without an in-depth
understanding of the ground realities.

1082

Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah ordered the Sindh police chief and
other law-enforcement agencies to immediately remove the graffiti and
posters of so-called Mohajir province in various areas of Karachi. Chairing a
meeting at the CMs House, Qaim expressed anger over recent incidents of
target killings and directed the LEAs to take strict measures in this regard.
Next day, PML-N leader Sartaj Aziz said that the last four years of
PPP led regime witnessed worst ever governance coupled with rampant
corruption that caused the energy crisis, hitting Punjab most severely. Punjab
became the most affected province of the country in the wake of lingering
energy shortages as gas consumption fell by 13 percent in the province in the
last four years compared to 14 percent positive growth in the rest of
Pakistan.
The share of Punjabs agriculture in overall economy stands at 24
percent while rest of Pakistan is 17 percent. Punjab witnessed bottom low in
its contribution for industrial sector that stood at just 21.2 percent while rest
of Pakistans share stands at 31 percent particularly the share of Sindh is
quite significant. The share of Punjab in services sector stood at 54.8 percent
while rest of Pakistan was 52 percent.
The per capita income in Punjab stood at $1,140 which was 2 percent
less than rest of Pakistan. Comparing with Indian Punjab, Dr Pasha said that
Pakistans Punjab was lagging behind compared with Indian Punjab as other
side of border the Punjab grew by 8 percent more than our countrys Punjab.
The yield of wheat is 65 percent higher in Indian Punjab.
Giving reasons for decline in industrial sector contribution in Punjab,
Dr Pasha said that the research study found that the biggest contributing
sector of industry such as auto, cement and textile are mostly present in
Karachi. The share of textile industry declined from 50 percent to 40 percent
in Punjab despite this fact that the province possesses the largest share in
cotton production.
The Mohajir Sooba Tehreek announced to temporarily suspend its
organizational activities, but vowed to continue its struggle for a separate
province for the Mohajirs. However Graffiti and posters demanding Mohajir
Sooba remained intact despite CMs orders for their removal.

Baloch militancy: On 14th May, three people were killed and 22

wounded in remote controlled bomb blast in Quetta. The bomb targeted FC
convoy and two vehicles of FC were among seven destroyed in the blast.
Bomb experts estimated that 40 to 45 kg of explosives were used.

1083

IG FC and IG Police assured the Supreme Court that all out efforts
were being made for recovering the Baloch missing persons and they had
convened a meeting of the officials of various law enforcement agencies to
discuss the matter. Justice Khilji observed that finger was being pointed
towards the security forces in almost every case of missing person. Chief
Justice said the missing persons were the key issue of the province.
Next day, two Hazaras were gunned down in Quetta. On 16th May, at
least four persons including two police personnel were injured in an
explosion in Naseerabad district. A police mobile vehicle carrying two
accused for producing them in Sessions Court was targeted with a remote
control bomb. Next day, two policemen were killed in attack by gunmen in
Quetta.
On 18th May, two people were killed and another wounded in
incidents firing in Dera Murad Jamali and Gandhawa. Militants blew up
railway track in Sariab area near Quetta. Relatives of missing persons set up
hunger strike camp on Quetta. Next day, bullet-riddled body of a missing
journalist was recovered from an area near Turbat city of Kech district. The
Council of All Balochistan Press Club threatened to launch protest
movement by June 1, if culprits were not apprehended. On 20 th May, a
Police officer was shot dead in Khuzdar.

Turf war in Karachi: On 15th May, three activists of MQM were

among five people killed and another five injured in firing incidents in
different parts of the metropolis. Next day, seven more people were killed
and several wounded in incidents of violence in Karachi.
On 17th May, six people, including MQM and ST men, were killed in
separate incidents of target killing in the city. In Itihad Colony, two
policemen were shot dead when they came under attack by gunmen at a
picket. Next day, an activist to MQM was among eleven people killed in
incidents of violence in the mega city.
On 19th May, Chief Minister presided over a high-level meeting on
law and order and directed the Rangers police and other law-enforcement
agencies to strictly maintain law and order and ensure security of every
citizen in the province. Qaim further directed the LEAs to intensify
patrolling in various localities and trade centres. Next day, four more people
were killed in the city.

1084

VIEWS
Power politics
Can the people of Pakistan afford? Way back in 2009, Aryan Baker
wrote in the Time magazine: Beset by the feckless leadership and a
muddled sense of identity, Pakistan is now plunging into chaos.
Can the people of Pakistan afford to let the present rulers continue
pushing the country to the brink? It is high time that the opposition launches
a massive movement, which ensures free and fair elections under the
leadership of an upright and competent Chief Election Commissioner.
The country must be saved from further irreparable damage, when the
present government is bound to inflict on it.
Good that the GHQ is presently headed by a wise general, who is
rightly disinclined to walk into the corridors of power.
There is still time for Mr Zardari to hold an urgent meeting with the top
opposition leaders and carry the mandate of the nation with them.
(Inayatullah, TheNation 19th May)

Defiance of judiciary
Great expectations: From the large number of reactions I have
received to my columns, both from within the country and from abroad, it
appears that all are extremely worried about the current state of affairs in the
country and the danger posed to the very existence of our beloved
motherland. There is mortal danger hanging over our heads like a sword of
Damocles. Every sane citizen is worried about our future.
I had earlier written two columns on our judiciary and expressed my
reservations about its functioning and its inability to dispense quick and
cheap justice. A friend of mine from Lahore, Dr Fareed Ahmad, sometimes
sends me thought-provoking messages along with his good wishes. Last
week I received the following from him:
Name: Fazal Din, age: 75. Crime: loitering around at night. Justice:
rotting in jail for the last 38 years.
Name: Akbar Shah. Crime: stealing a bicycle. Justice: rotting in jail
for 13 years.
Name: Abdul Khaliq. Crime: cutting a tree (to cook food for the
children). Justice: rotting in jail for 14 years.

1085

 Name: Yousuf Raza Gilani. Crime: refused to comply with the

orders of the Supreme Court to write a letter to the Swiss Court for the return
of $60 million plundered national wealth. Justice: 30 seconds in an airconditioned courtroom (smiling), surrounded by governors, chief ministers
and ministers. Result: Yet more ridicule and insult to the Supreme Court and
acting as if though the conviction was a feather in his cap. More luxury trips
abroad, costing millions to the exchequer. Insaf ho to aisa ho. Wah, wah.
Pakistani Qanun Zindabad.
The above message moved me to write yet another column on the
judicial system. The purpose is not to insult or question the wisdom and
intelligence of the honourable judges. I only wish to discuss what is
bothering me as a layman.
As expectations in the judiciary rose after the restoration of the
judges, so the disappointment was the greater at the lack of realization of
these expectations. Who created these high expectations from the judiciary,
one may ask? Was it not the captain of the ship himself who presented his
case to the public and sought their support in his fight against the corrupt
leaders? But what happened when he was honourably restored after the
people responded and rallied behind him?
People from all groups across the political spectrum participated in
this long arduous struggle. They offered tremendous sacrifices for bringing
justice to the door of the common man. They held supreme the principle of
justice for all-whether rich or poor, powerful or powerless a system of
speedy and easy justice and above all, restoring peace and bringing
prosperity to the country. All these objectives were voiced in public
statements by the honourable chief justice, broadcast by the media and
registered by the whole nation. But what happened after the restoration?
There were claims of delivering justice and upholding the
Constitution even if the heavens should fall, restoring law and order and
bringing back looted money from foreign banks. Was the Constitution
upheld? Has law and order been restored in Karachi and Balochistan? Has
the looted money been brought back? The answer is no on all counts,
leading to widespread disappointment, despair and despondency.
Crime rates are on the rise, corruption has never been as high as it is
now and it has penetrated the whole political body of the country, essential
civic services are breaking down, inflation is skyrocketing, unemployment is
high, the education system is deteriorating and becoming increasingly
commercialized, health services are practically non-existent and terrorist
1086

attacks, theft, dacoity, rape, murder and kidnapping for ransom are on the
increase, making the life of the common man almost unbearable.
Which promise made by the judiciary has then, thus far, been
fulfilled? What is the fate of the NRO case? What kind of justice is it that
has been delivered to the chief executive of the country in the contempt of
court case against him? Had it been an ordinary citizen charged with the
same crime, would the honourable judges have punished him in the same
way? What is the reason for this leniency other than the high office he
occupies?
When a whole nation is disappointed, its collective anger needs to find
an outlet, which is often violent. Look at the fate of the Shah of Iran,
Saddam Hussein, Qaddafi, Zein al-Abedine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak.
And let us not forget the ultimate judgment that of the Almighty. The court
of the All-Powerful, All- Knowing is the Absolute Court. In His Court there
can be no delaying or deceptive tactics and none can claim immunity.
Many respected investigative journalists have reported extensively on
important ongoing cases involving influential. Unfortunately, their detailed
and biting reports have not produced the desired results. As a matter of fact,
they do not seem to have had any results at all. We still see the same game
continuing. Not a single high-profile case has been decided or its judgment
implemented. On the contrary, the accused are strutting around with heads
held high.
In one of my earlier columns I had named the virtues of the old
judicial system. It was cheap, quick and fair. It was not intended to imply
that our honourable judges should sit on mats in mosques. I am fully aware
that, under present-day circumstance, this is not feasible. However, they
should deliver quick, cheap justice, equal for all, irrespective of position,
influence or wealth. (Dr A Q Khan, The News 14th May)
Pearls of wisdom: I have been moved by the reference to Nobel
laureate Khalil Jebran by the learned judge Asif Saeed Khosa containing
pearls of wisdom but it appears these pearls would prove to be pieces of
stones before the political swans of Pakistan. One may add pity the nation
that is engulfed in darkness in spite of 40,000 MW hydel generation capacity
of power and pity the nation where the politicians cannot agree on a dam
that would earn them $ 4 billion yearly while the nation begs from USA. $ 1
billion aid in 5 years as also $ 6 billion US from IMF in 5 years ignoring
its own hydel resource to generate $ 4 billion US annually.

1087

Further pity the nation that is poised to buy energy from India
generated on Pakistans rivers to strike our shoes on our heads. Further pity
the nation which denies the final powers of arbitration and interpreting the
Constitution to the Apex Court claiming its Parliament to be the final arbiter.
Further pity the nation where its head of State takes refuge behind immunity
to safeguard his illicit money stashed abroad in an obstinate manner.
Pity the nation where head of Government revels in reported
corruption without batting an eye. Finally pity the nation where the law is
made a hand maiden of the powerful to serve their vested interests and pity
the nation where a child dies in the arms of his mother due to blockage of
traffic by people agitating the long hours of load shedding. (Dr Muhammad
Yaqoob Bhatti from Lahore, TheNation 15th May)
Sordid saga:
The former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousaf
Raza Gilani is like a half- witted person who is behaving as a confirmed
wiseacre who can destroy the whole country to hide the corruption of his
beloved master, Mr Zardari, the incumbent constitutional ruler of our state.
Mr Gilani is a sententious person trying to appear wiser than the whole
fraternity of lawyers of Pakistan as he has resolved to go on ridiculing the
Supreme Court and the honourable judges till the cows come home. It is
rightly said that a great fortune in the hands of a fool is a great misfortune.
We are not as pitiable a nation as one of the honorable judges has stated in
the verdict against Mr Gilani in the additional note but we are rather an
unfortunate nation whose elected leaders have always duped the people with
a vicious intent and have concentrated only on the aim of personal
aggrandizement. They have only proved to be political pygmies. Mr Gilani
has waged a full fledged battle against the judiciary with full vigor, strength,
craft and resources. This is certainly going to be a prolonged confrontation
only to the detriment of the people of Pakistan.
Mr Gilani got his lessons on 26th April when he was not only
convicted but punished in the courtroom for 30 seconds for having
deliberately scoffed the decisions of the most venerable court of the country.
Even though he has been convicted in the contempt of court and faces a
likely disqualification for holding any public office for the next five years,
he is repeating the same old mantra ad nauseam that he will never write a
letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen the graft cases against his master.
Adding insult to injury he also says in an audacious tone that no other future
Prime Minister will even write the said letter. Furthermore, he insists to
stand by his story that his future lies in the hands of the Speaker of the
National Assembly and only she has the powers and ability to disqualify him
1088

or not. He even cares a fig for the Election Commission which can boot him
out of his office. According to Mr Gilani he would exhaust all possibilities to
prove his innocence and his legal team would appeal against his conviction
as and when he returns from his official visit to England. Let us suppose that
the Speaker surmises the matter not as serious that it should be sent to the
Election Commission and if after thirty days, the EC disqualifies him, the
heaven will not blow on him as the President of Pakistan will definitely
pardon his conviction. (Mubashar Ali Sulehria from Wah Cantt, TheNation
15th May)
The Speaker speaks: As Speaker Mirza noted, the Supreme Court
interprets the law finally, and thus she is bound to follow that interpretation.
If Parliament wants something else done, it has to pass legislation, which
again will be interpreted by the Supreme Court. If Parliament is not willing
to pass legislation, then the Speaker must act on the basis of existing law and
Supreme Court rulings. If the impression has been created, as it has, that the
Speaker is applying her mind primarily to bailing the Prime Minister out,
that in itself would make for an unfortunate situation, where the Speaker, to
preserve the non-partisan nature of her office, would have to rule against the
Prime Minister.
On the other hand, the task is not the most difficult Speaker Mirza has
faced, nor is there all that much to be decided. The question of the Prime
Ministers membership is not to be decided, merely whether a question
about it has arisen. The question itself must be decided by the Chief Election
Commissioner, and it is certainly a factor that the office is vacant and can
only be filled on the Prime Ministers recommendation. However, the
Speaker does not have to decide the issue, just do whatever legally
constituted authorities instruct her to. That would not only enhance the
prestige of those authorities, but also of Parliament and its Speaker. While
Speaker Mirza is right in not going by anyones expectations, she should
remember that if she indeed goes by the law and Constitution, she would be
fulfilling the expectations the public entertains of her office. (Editorial,
TheNation 16th May)
A peep into Dr Fehmidas mind: In her interview, Dr Fehmida said
it is not right to say that her role is that of a post office. Had it been so, the
Constitution would not have given her 30 days to apply her mind on the
subject. This means, she will use the period allowed to her by the basic law.
And while the process goes on, Mr Gilani will stay in the driving seat.

1089

She deliberately did not explain when the 30-day period started or
would end. She said experts had differing views on the subject, but she
wouldnt give her own opinion. This ambiguity would also benefit the prime
minister.
The Speaker was also asked whether it was the Parliament which was
supreme to the Constitution, or vice versa. In a rather longish answer, she
recalled that she had already given a ruling that the Parliament was supreme.
Such a viewpoint in the prevailing situation would go in Gilanis
favour as the ruling coalition may take any decision on account of its
majority in both houses of Parliament. Similarly, the NA Speaker made it
clear that although it was the Supreme Courts right to interpret the
Constitution, the Parliament also has a role to play. The assertion means that
the Speaker doesnt keep out the lawmakers from what is generally believed
to be the judiciarys domain.
Many objections were raised when the National Assembly passed a
resolution in support of the convicted prime minister. Some thought it
amounted to a contempt of court by all those who had taken part in the
exercise. However, the NA Speaker came up with a quite different point of
view.
She told the interviewer that the resolution had been moved and
passed according to the rules and regulations. She, however, clarified that
she was not presiding over the session when the resolution was moved. This
again goes in Mr Gilanis favour, who himself has been criticizing the
judiciary since the day he was held guilty.
When she was asked to co0mment on the prime ministers statement
in the house that he would accept only the Speakers verdict (not that of the
court), Dr Mirza said he should not have said this. But then gave him the
benefit of the doubt, saying: Perhaps he was trying to educate the people.
The custodian of the house did not feel embarrassed when told the
drone attacks were continuing despite the unanimous resolutions passed by
the supreme legislature. She argued that the government does not have a
magic wand to get the attacks halted. She indicated as if any aggressive
move against the drones could lead to a war against the United States.
Needless to remind that the Speaker is supposed to be impartial while
discharging his/her duties. Despite belonging to the ruling party, the Speaker
doesnt act like the spokesperson of those who had elected him/her. The
answer of Dr Fehmida fully show to what extent she is (im)partial.

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Does the government need anyone else to defend its policies? Dont
these answers show the kind of ruling that can be expected in support of the
prime minister? (Ashraf Mumtaz, TheNation 16th May)
And why dont they leave Who is stopping them? Supposedly,
Pakistan is a democratic country. Understandably, logically and rationally,
that is if one believes in democratic norms, the citizens of Pakistan are not
the subjects of the incumbent PPP ruling regime or its Prime Minister. The
state of Pakistan is not Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Pir from Multan, the state
or law unto himself. The citizens of Pakistan are entitled to full civil,
political, legal and democratic rights, and no one, not even a sitting Prime
Minister, has the moral, ethical and political authority to tell them: Well,
you dont like me, then leave the country. Who is stopping you?
This is absolute arrogance, unfathomable ignorance, and an
inexcusable assault on the dignity of the nation. But above all, the Prime
Ministers emotionally loaded, ethically flawed, politically incorrect and
sentimental barrage. Why dont they leave? Who is stopping them; is a
direct consequence of the incumbent PPP regimes total alienation from the
mainstream populace in the streets of Pakistan.
The fact of the matter is that the PPPs entire political leadership
suffers from an incongruity, an incapability and an intellectual political
incapability to conceptualize a strategic vision of a democratic Pakistan and
its democratic political management. It is entirely focused on maintaining
the political status quo in the country and preserving their political power at
all cost, no matter what. The Zardari-Gilani junta considers democracy as a
process of skilful manipulations, a craft of buying and selling loyalties,
naming a price and paying it out of the national exchequer, and to hold onto
power irrespective of democratic ethical-moral constraints or legitimacy of
political power. No wonder then, that todays Pakistan stands at the verge of
a failed state. (The CNN interviewer in London insultingly termed Pakistan
as a failed society in the face of Yousuf Raza Gilani)
The Pakistani Prime Ministers visit to Britain has raised more
questions on the integrity and credibility of the Zardari-Gilani regime than
resolved any fundamental or important issues facing Pakistan. In the first
place, British hospitality to Gilani does not provide legitimacy to the
Pakistani Prime Minister, nor can it overturn the Supreme Courts
conviction. If anything, it made a public mockery of fundamental democratic
norms and conventions on which Britain (needlessly) prides itself now.

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Contradictions in British political behaviour are becoming vividly visible

so be it!
Then there are some other important questions that still further
undermine Gilanis personal political conduct, political integrity and
political credibility. For instance, why did Gilani and Cameron have a
lengthy private meeting? Did Gilani once again compromise Pakistans
national interests and sovereignty on the issue pf US-NATO supply routes?
Is Pakistan going to open the US-NATO supply routes on conditions laid
down by the Americans and their allies? Has there been, once again, secret
arrangements and commitments between the US-NATO and Zardari-Gilani
regime? Has Cameron, on the behalf of US-NATO, assured political support
to Zardaris incumbent presidency and covert backing to the PPP in
Pakistans general election? Are the commercial incentives offered to
Pakistan by Cameron subject to conditionalities? What are those conditions?
And so on and so forth?
Will Gilani, on his return, publicly share with the nation what was
talked about and agreed upon by him and the British Prime Minister? I do
not think so! The Pakistani people are being, once again, cheated by their
ruling elite: that is what Gilanis visit to England was all about secret
commitments, secret understandings, and surrendering Pakistans national
interests to US-NAYO dictates in exchange for the Wests support of the
vested interest groups in tomorrows Pakistan.
Indeed, the US-NATO would not like to see a national government
come to power in Pakistan because they are fearful that it would not serve
their geopolitical interests in the region. The question is: Can this stop a
transformation of political culture in Pakistan? Can they block a process of
change that is already underway in this country.
The Pakistani people are at a crossroads of an ultimate battle between
what it is now and what it ought to be tomorrow! That is our blinding
lightening flash of awareness in which to know, suffer and prevail over our
adversaries! We willWe willWe will Dr Haider Mehdi, TheNation
16th May)
Money laundering scandal: Hardly anyone can disagree that rule of
laws basic requirement is that accountability should be across the board that
should set an example in order to deter others from violating it. Our culture
is also such that generally leaders tend to regard themselves as untouchables,
which must end now. No one is above the law and clearly Mian Nawaz is no
exception. Perhaps who else but the PML-N understands better that the
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judiciary, liberated after a long drawn struggle is now free and is dispensing
justice without any fear or favour. If they are clean as they say, they should
have no reason to fear the courts or the investigators. One still feels that the
move reeks of a personal vendetta
When the PPP is hardly ready to let its members and ministers face
the investigations or the cases there is little moral or legal ground it is left
with to ask for accountability of its rivals. Indeed examples abound, the
recent one being the ephedrine scandal that the federal setup is trying its best
to hush up. While the inquiry into the money laundering scandal must be
pursued, PPP big fish who are currently absconding from the law also be
brought to the book. Finally one reposes trust in the judiciary that it would
view the case on merit. This is also a challenge for NAB to act
professionally. (Editorial, TheNation 19th May)
If he were to continue for another term: The journalist had the gall
to ask our Prime Minister to look her straight in the eye and then answer her
question. It was rude and insulting, to say the least! The Prime Minister
smiled and replied that there was nobody stopping the unhappy population
from leaving. And then, justifying his replies on returning home, he said that
the journalist had called Pakistan a failed state which she had not! Saying
things in an impromptu, humorous manner is not a strong point with our
Prime Minister, it is abundantly clear. If he were to continue for another
term, heaven forbid, I would definitely recommend learning the art of oneliners from Azizi or Omar Sharif. (Tallat Azim, TheNation 19th May)

Recessing economy
Lame excuse: The Sindh government has opposed the Thar Coal
project led by Dr Samar Mukarakmand over the objection that the
gasification method would pollute underground water and would have a
detrimental effect on environment. It is a reflection of the same argument
that regards coal extraction for energy purpose as harmful, especially against
the backdrop of global warming. However, the underground water that is
thought to be in danger of being toxified as a result of gasification is already
unfit for human consumption. Shelving a project of such importance merely
for this reason is unjust.
Secondly, the method of extraction that Dr Mubarakmand would be
adopting is being used all over the world and hence can be trusted as
reliable. Countries like China have been using their coal reserves to get
energy and run their economy without much environmental pollution. Since
the project is of utmost importance given the energy crisis, it would be
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unfortunate if it was politicized like Kalabagh Dam that has been strongly
opposed by Sindh. It is encouraging that Punjab has favoured the Thar Coal
project. Cheap and sufficient coal energy will fulfill Sindhs power shortage
as well as help the rest of the country grapple with the scourge. Objections
like environment hazard, without the proper research having gone into them,
are lame excuses that support Dr Mubarakmands complaint that the oil and
commission mafia is against it.
Both the Sindh and federal governments must instead make the
required funds available. (Editorial, TheNation 16th May)
Comparing economic situation with India! So what should we be
saying to ourselves? If India with all its industrial strength, a robust
domestic consumption base, a very healthy household/domestic savings rate
and with its new found status of darling of the West can be in such a deep
mess, then, by comparison, we are probably not doing so badly? The
economic challenges cum difficulties we face today in reality depict a global
phenomenon and, therefore, cannot be blamed on the incompetence of the
present economic managers?
In all fairness, the government may have a case to argue in its
defence; however, what it needs to remember is that the incriminating factor
against it is not the economic hardship being faced by the nation, but the
lack of vision and will on its part to successfully overcome the economic
difficulties facing the country no hope down the route! And if it is Indias
excuse is what we seek, then we also need to evaluate the seriousness and
sincerity with which their economic managers are busy taking some very
tough but necessary decisions. A renewed drive in India to increase revenue
collection that now for the first time nets the sacred cows of the past, e.g.
jewellers, companies including multinationals, that collected revenues in
India or made deals on Indian licences, but accounted them overseas to
avoid local taxes, consumers who displayed a taste for luxury but failed to
meet their tax obligations, capital gains tax on all transactions involving
assets or stake in India, evolving a performance based relationship between
the centre and the states that hinges for transparency and accountability of
funds and the resolve of states to raise their own revenues by implementing
state level value added taxes, etc.
But, in my opinion, the single most important difference that puts
them apart is that the Indian economic managers are not looking for excuses
and are genuinely ashamed on their recent performance. A recent debate
stirred in India by their Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Montek

1094

Singh Ahluwalias poverty definition, defined poverty on the basis of daily

consumption of Indian Rs28.65 and if accepted would mark down Indians
poverty level to below 15 percent. I had been quite impressed by the remarks
of the previous Head of the World Bank, Mr Robert Zoellick, during his visit
to New Delhi in March 2012, on this new proposed poverty benchmark:
while it may be overdone since the World Bank itself sets a $2/day (IR 100)
as the cut off, but for me what is important is the eagerness of the Indian
policymakers to grapple with poverty in India and their mindset that their
respectful place in the developed world can only be achieved by being
conscious of the shame associated with poverty.
My concern is that can we also be confident about a similar mindset
of our counterparts? (Dr Kamal Monnoo, TheNation 16th May)
Resources aplenty: For someone living in todays Pakistan, where
power load shedding has made the lives of the ordinary citizen miserable if
it has not taken away his job, the World Bank report declaring that it has a
plenitude of resources, is an eye-opener, apart from raising further questions.
The most relevant question is why these resources are not used, but the
report does not go beyond saying that the exploitation of these resources
would provide Pakistan enough energy so that its economy could grow at an
adequate pace. Among the points noted in the report is that of the 54 trillion
cubic feet of gas that has been discovered, 32 trillion cubic feet remained
closed, as has 354 billion of the total 937 billion barrels oil reserves. Though
the report noted that of the 40,000 MW of hydroelectric potential possessed
by the country, only 6500 MW has been harnessed. The report did not
mention the Indian theft of Pakistans share of the Indus Basin waters, even
though the Bank is a guarantor of the Treaty.
Another thing the Report did not mention, was that a government
which could not solve the circular debt issue, was not likely to raise the
funds needed to initiate alternative energy projects, such as the Kalabagh
Dam, wind power or gasified Thar coal. There had been a suggestion made
by PML-Q chief Ch Shujaat Hussain that the provinces could help pay off
the circular debt by foregoing some of the proceeds of the Finance
Commission and using the money that way. That is something that should be
given more consideration that it has got since it was made. It was initially
dismissed as an anti-Punjab government suggestion, and meant to throw the
blame of load shedding off the federal government and on to the Punjab
government. And since as any NFC Award money will have to come from all
provinces, the PPP, which controls two provincial governments and is a
coalition partner in the third, will also have to contribute.
1095

Now is not the time to apportion blame. The World Bank report makes
clear how load shedding should be overcome and that this is best done by
tapping the vast hydroelectric potential Pakistan has. The current electric
energy shortage is not just an inconvenience, but a threat to Pakistani
industry and agriculture, without which it is impossible to produce the
exports through which Pakistan will pay for the food, fuel and other goods it
needs to survive. It is therefore essential for the government to end those
parochial objections which do not owe themselves to considerations of
national interest, but to instigation by vested interests. (Editorial, TheNation
20th May)
Deplorable: It could only be a government totally unconcerned about
the masses that would keep on raising the electricity bills almost every
month even when there is no electricity. This is a travesty of the basic
responsibility of serving the public that the government carries on its
shoulders. The new increase is up to 16 percent while the outages have
increased to 18 hours per day and longer blackouts in the rural areas.
The rulers seem least bothered that the frustrated people who are up to
arms as witnessed by sporadic rallies in different parts of the country can
easily be mobilized by some political party to unseat the setup. The
argument during the Cabinets meeting when Minister for Railways Ghulam
Ahmed Bilour came to verbal fisticuffs with Minister for Water and Power
Syed Naveed Qamar for refusing to inform about the demand and supply
gap in KPK comes as small consolation since it shows some of them have
begun to feel concerned albeit for the prospect of electoral victory.
Interestingly, in the middle of this slanging match, Mr Bilour questioned
how would they ask people for the vote, if the power outages were not
stopped. The perception is that this being the last year of the governments
tenure its greed has gone out of control; it is busy raking it in by snatching
bread out of average mans mouth. The sole aspect the rulers are bothered
about is how to form the next government
Frequently raising the charges when it should be decreasing them in
accordance with few hours of electricity being supplied, the dispensation is
inflicting a gross injustice to the poverty stricken people. They are already
hard put eking out an existence given the prevailing inflation and with all the
extra charges and increased tariffs what else would they do if not set their
bills on fire. (Editorial, TheNation 18th May)
Overarching threat to security: Though Pakistan cannot be
insulated from the turmoil in Afghanistan, the overarching threat to its

1096

security emanates from within its borders. The country faces multiple
challenges, of which the dismal state of the economy is foremost. A nation
that ignores the linkage between a robust economy and national security
does so at its own peril. This was also what Chief of the Army Staff Gen
Ashfaq Parvez Kayani recently, said but there is no corresponding effort on
the part of the government to arrest the economic meltdown. (S Iftikhar
Murshed. The News 21st May)

Provincial disharmony
The cat is out of the bag:
The demand by a section of MQM
leadership in New York for carving a new province out of Sindh comprising
urban areas in the south contains within itself the rationale for arguing for
Seraiki and Hazara provinces. We have time and again underlined the point
that ultimately MQM would revive its old demand Jinnahpur. Reportedly,
the partys Rabita committee has not endorsed their call.
Leaving aside any other argument, one must say that the issue is
pregnant with turmoil and violence in a province whose capital suffers daily
bloodletting. This call is an inevitable corollary of the hornets nest of new
provinces stirred up by the present government just to gain political mileage.
Little wonder the MQM leaders in New York while making their demand
referred to the PPP set-ups support for the Seraiki province as a justification
for creating South Sindh. Sane elements in the country should be working
against splitting the provinces on ethnic grounds which runs contrary to the
teachings of the Quaid-i-Azam who urged unity, faith and discipline. Sadly,
even in areas where the people did not feel the need for a province, the local
politicians are diverting their attention with such secessionist notions. The
responsibility falls on the MQMs shoulders to come clean on the issue.
They must make their position clear, that they condemn such a move.
(Editorial, TheNation 15th May)
Highly shocking:
It comes as a big shock and surprise to
hear that the Pakistani Embassy in China rolled out the red carpet for
General Musharraf, who is wanted in Pakistan for the murder of former
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Baloch leader Akbar Bugti. It is quite
ironic that this has happened at a time when the party of late Benazir led by
her spouse and run by her close associates is in power. There is also Interpol
that was recently asked by the Interior Ministry to hand him over to
Pakistani authorities. Not only was lavish protocol arranged for him by the
embassy but he was also given the opportunity to address a gathering of the
diaspora and, not so strangely, he was stingingly critical of the present
1097

government during his speech. It is against diplomatic norms that a speaker

at a function arranged by an embassy should be running down the
government the embassy represents. In view of the kind of reception that
was arranged for him one begins to doubt whether the government has lost
touch with its key embassies and the kind of personalities it is issuing
patronage to. If the government really wanted him to face trial for the
charges against him, perhaps it should have rolled out handcuffs instead of
the red carpet. The kingly reception of the General cannot be understood by
any rationale. (Editorial, TheNation 15th May)

REVIEW
Shaikh Rashid has been the most vocal critic of the current democratic
dispensation in the country and the quality of governance provided by the
Zardari regime. Even Shaikh could not hold back his appreciations of
mastery of Zardari over power politics.
He commended the manner in which Zardari collected political parties
with divergent thinking to form a ruling coalition and kept then glued
together in difficult times. At the same time he ensured that opposition
parties remained divided despite their like-mindedness on most issues.
The British could be criticized for entertaining a convict Prime
Minister in violation of all democratic ethics and their own traditions and
cherished values. Not only that, Cameron went on to commending the
services of Gilani for promotion of democracy in Pakistan
But as Prime Minister of Britain, Cameron had to keep interests of his
country and the Crusaders above all moral obligations. A convicted head of
the government of Pakistan suited their designs the most. He being under
constant pressure at home would be willing to go to any length to serve the
interests of the Crusaders.
This was indirectly mentioned by Dr Haider Mehdi in his column.
Why did Gilani and Cameron have a lengthy private meeting? Did Gilani
once again compromise Pakistans national interests and sovereignty on the
issue pf US-NATO supply routes? Is Pakistan going to open the US-NATO
supply routes on conditions laid down by the Americans and their allies?
Have there been, once again, secret arrangements and commitments between
the US-NATO and Zardari-Gilani regime? Has Cameron, on the behalf of
US-NATO, assured political support to Zardaris incumbent presidency and
covert backing to the PPP in Pakistans general election? Are the commercial
1098

incentives offered to Pakistan by Cameron subject to conditionalities? What

are those conditions? And so on and so forth.
Haider continued: Will Gilani, on his return, publicly share with the
nation what was talked about and agreed upon by him and the British Prime
Minister? I do not think so! The Pakistani people are being, once again,
cheated by their ruling elite: that is what Gilanis visit to England was all
about secret commitments, secret understandings, and surrendering
Pakistans national interests to US-NATO dictates in exchange for the
Wests support of the vested interest groups in tomorrows Pakistan.
Dr A Q Khan in his column reminded the Executive by saying: Let us
not forget the ultimate judgment that of the Almighty. The court of the AllPowerful, All-Knowing is the Absolute Court. In His Court there can be no
delaying or deceptive tactics and none can claim immunity. He, however,
missed mentioning the judges who use different yardsticks for ordinary
citizens and those in high position.
27th May, 2012

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WAR WITHIN-XI
The Speaker National Assembly, Dr Fehmida Mirza completed her
deliberations over the verdict of the Supreme Court in which Prime Minister
Gilani was convicted and sentenced on the charge of contempt of court. She
observed that the Leader of the August House, which she presides over, had
not ridiculed the Judiciary. However, this word was specifically mentioned
in the judgment.
Based on her clinical observation she ruled that the question of
Gilanis disqualification has not arisen and the matter wont be referred to
the Election Commission for any further action so the case may be treated as
closed or buried in the courtyard of the Parliament. With her ruling the
authority of the Supreme Court was dead: Long live the sovereignty of the
Parliament!
Moments after the historic ruling Gilani jubilantly announced
scoring first-ever victory by the democracy, of course, by defeating the
justice system that is in place. Dr Fehmida rushed to Karachi to meet the
party boss, who had just returned from abroad, and got pat on her back for
proving that she certainly isnt heading a post office. She is capable of
doing more than mere receipt and delivery.
Aitzaz Ahsan announced that he was ready to file intra-court appeal in
which he had about two hundred objections and observations; to speak in the
language of an auditor rather than a student of law. Next day, he told the
media that his party leadership has decided not to file the appeal. This was a
cunning move that left the regimes adversaries biting their lips, including
the Khan, who has been gracious in giving Gilani to exercise his right to
appeal.
Meanwhile, a Supreme Court bench led by the Chief Justice kept
hearing the case of law and order in Balochistan. The court was able to
secure recovery of few missing persons, but in the process it discovered that
the virus of defiance of court orders had spread to bureaucracy. However,
some political leaders were invited by SCBA to ponder over Balochistan
issue and make some recommendations.
In Karachi, the PPP tried to win heart and mind of MQM and at the
same time crush the dissent within the party that had spring in its stronghold of Lyari. It backfired; first the Lyari operation failed and when political
opponents tried to make inroads a peace rally was fired at in a manner
peculiar to those who claim Karachi as our city. Turf war turned uglier

1100

when gunmen stopped a Swabi-bound bus near Nawab Shah, asked Sindhis
to dismount and then sprayed bullets at the remaining passengers killing
eight of them.

NEWS
Power politics: On 23rd May, Nawaz Sharif said that PPP
government has betrayed the people through its disservice and claimed his
party had no role in bringing PPP into power or making its chief president of
the country. Addressing a public rally in Attock, Nawaz said that even
though he knew the elections were rigged, his party decided to work with the
PPP. But the PPP had betrayed them.
The PML-N chief said that he has a special love for the people of
Attock. Today I have not come here to ask for votes; rather I am here to pay
gratitude to the people of Attock who had treated me well during my time in
the prison. Nawaz said if he had remained in power, prosperity would have
reached the town he was currently standing in.
On 25th May, Leader of the Opposition recommended names of three
former Supreme Court judges for the post of the chief election commissioner
(CEC). They enjoy excellent reputation as men of character and are
considered much better than the three names Justice (r) Munir A Sheikh,
Justice (r) Zahid Qurban Alvi and Justice (r) Amirul Mulk Mengal
proposed by Prime Minister. All three of them Fakhruddin G Ebrahim,
Nasir Aslam Zahid and Mian Shakirullah Jan had refused to take oath
under Pervez Musharrafs first PCO.
Next day, Prime Minister Gilani addressed a public meeting after
inaugurating a natural gas project for the people of Narowal and said the
PPP enjoyed the support of the masses from all provinces; therefore, the
claims of a long march by the opposition could not get the peoples support.
He claimed that he was not afraid of anybody as he was a public
representative and that the opposition should not make claims, which it
could not fulfill.
Referring to PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and Punjab CM Shahbaz
Sharif, Gilani said: One brother said he did not accept the president, the
second said he did not accept the prime minister and now Opposition Leader
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan says he does not accept the Speaker of the
National Assembly.

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Gilani said development projects worth Rs3 billion alone had been
completed in Narowal district that included projects of electricity, gas, roads,
and other programmes. He said Rs500 million were given to the Punjab
government for the road which had not been completed, adding he would
investigate the matter. He announced a grant of Rs2 million for the Narowal
District Bar Association. He also announced a separate grant of Rs1 million
for the Zafarwal Bar Association and Rs1 million each for the Narowal Press
Club and the National Electronic Media Club Narowal.
The PM also announced setting up a passport office in Shakargarh and
another passport office in Narowal City and upgrading of the Shakargarh
Nadra office. He directed Benazir Income Support Programme chairperson
Farzana Raja to include all the deserving women in this programme. He
announced Rs 500,000 each for five students who died in a school when the
roof collapsed in Narowal. He also announced Rs200,000 each for the five
students who were injured in this incident and Rs100,000 each for 25
students who received minor injuries.

Rule of law: On 23rd May, responding to a question, the CCPO said

that the police were demonstrating complete patience and tolerance despite
the fact that at least 75 cases related to lawyers torture on policemen had
been reported so far. He warned that the lawyers should not test the patience
of the police force and said that the frequent incidents of lawyers torture on
policemen could downgrade the morale of the police.
On 25th May, deeming the appointment of Ayaz Niazi as Chairman
NICL illegal, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered FIA to launch an
investigation against Makhdoom Amin Fahim in the NICL land scam.
Enraged chief justice in his remarks said that it was peoples wealth that was
plundered and it must be returned to them. The court further ordered details
of transactions made under the scam and also why an unlawful summary,
signed by Fahim, was sent to Prime Minister Gilani for approval.
The FIA director informed that Rs40.05 million was given to
Makhdoom Amin Fahim, his son Jaliluz Zaman and wife Rizwana Amin for
settlement of their Standard Charter Bank debt. He, however, said that
Fahim returned Rs 40.05 million to Khawaja Akbar Butt, who happened to
be a front man for one of the main accused of the NICL scam Zafar Saleemi
and the FIA did redeposit the same money in the commerce ministry.
FIA Director Jah informed the court that he investigated the case
pertaining to illegality and irregularities in purchasing property by the NICL
in Dubai and also some of the purchases in Casablanca. He, however,
1102

concluded that the deal had been made as per markets prevailing price of
land. Therefore, according to him no evidence of criminal case could be
made before the court of law.
About the third transaction, which involves considerable finance of
NICL for purchase of land situated in Karachi, he said approximately Rs1
billion had been recovered and deposited in the commerce ministry. When
the court inquired about the arrest of absconders, Jah said nine persons had
been arrested and action against them initiated under Section 87 and 88 of
CrPC and FIA Act.
Special Judge Central (FIA) Khalid Shabbir rejected the identical
petitions, filed by former minister for religious affairs Syed Hamid Saeed
Kazmi, seeking acquittal from the Hajj corruption case being innocent. In its
short verdict, the court stated that no one has been indicted in the case so far
nor any witness has appeared in the case. Therefore, the accused will be
indicted on May 30 and adjourned the hearing till then.
Later talking to media, Hamid Saeed Kazmi said a decision to file
appeal would be made after detailed judgment was given. He said the FIA
could neither present any proof nor any witness against him. He regretted
that his case was being prolonged, saying that even terrorists are released
after two to three months in the absence of any proof against them.
The Supreme Court suspended Farahnaz Ispahani's membership of the
National Assembly while hearing the dual nationality case. The Court ruled
that her membership from the National Assembly will be revoked on account
of not disclosing her dual nationality status to the Election Commission.
Meanwhile, Rehman Maliks lawyer prayed the court on behalf of his client,
for an extension in deadline to present the certificate of Malik revoking his
British citizenship.
Fayyaz Ahmad Leghari, a Grade-21 officer of the Police Service of
Pakistan (PSP), became the ninth director general of FIA during the tenure
of the present government. Fayyaz Leghari has earlier served as Karachi
police chief and as inspector general of police (IGP) Sindh but was removed
on the order of Supreme Court following the killing of Sarfraz Shah by the
Rangers in broad daylight.
On 27th May, Prime Minister Gilani said there was no restriction on
dual citizenship in the countrys constitution. There should be a debate on
the issue of dual citizenship and the parliament should decide the issue and
bring in new legislation as the world has changed. Mentioning that over 300
councilors, mayors and members of House of Commons and House of Lords
1103

in Britain were Pakistanis, he said the expatriates should not be deprived of

the right to vote and become members of the parliament.

Defiance of judiciary: On 21st May, Nawaz Sharif said that

nobody including the government has courage to stop the proposed long
march of the party and demanded immediate holding of elections to take the
country out of the mess created by the rulers. In an interview, the PML-N
chief stressed that the establishment must not take sides and should avoid
supporting any political party.
Nawaz Sharif said that if the government was not implementing the
orders of the Supreme Court, it should lock down all the state institutions.
He said the prime minister has made a mockery of his office and no one
expects something good from the incumbent rulers and people want to get
rid of them as soon as possible. He said democracy cannot succeed when
institutions are not respected. He stressed that the whole struggle of his party
is aimed at ensuring the rule of law.
To a question about reference to NAB by the interior minister for
reopening of cases against him, the PML-N chief said the government was
upset and looking for every means to pressurize the opposition. He said he
has not received any notice as yet and as and when received, he would take a
decision. He rejected the impression that establishment was opposed to the
PML-N and pointed out that Musharraf did try for that but could not
succeed.
Nawaz Sharif said it would be unwise to resign from the assemblies
because that would give a free hand to the government and people would be
denied of whatever little bit they were getting. He said if the opposition
resigned, those giving this suggestion would complain tomorrow that
elections were not free because a partisan person would be appointed Chief
Election Commissioner in the absence of the opposition.
Addressing the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament, Turkish
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said that democracy is a heavy responsibility
on the governments shoulders for the betterment of society. He lauded the
democratic process in Pakistan and expressed the confidence that
parliamentarians would address the challenges facing Pakistan.
Reciprocating the Turkish prime ministers speech, Prime Minister
Gilani said that Pakistans unique relationship with Turkey began much
before Pakistan emerged on the world map as an independent country in
1947. He said the Turkish leaders visit and address to the joint session was

1104

so important that the opposition had set aside its political differences and
decided to speak with one voice to honour and welcome a true friend of
Pakistan.
Earlier, on his arrival at the Parliament House to address the joint
sitting of both houses of the parliament, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan
held a meeting with Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza in her
chamber and assured of his countrys continued and unflinching support to
Pakistan.
Chaudhry Nisar said the people of Pakistan viewed Turkey as a timetested friend and a country on which they could always depend. Most
importantly, outside the House the regime termed the presence of PML-N in
the Parliament as a victory and their acceptance of Gilani as Prime Minister.
Next day, Acting President Nayyar Hussain Bukhari appointed Aitzaz
Ahsan in place of Babar Awan, as counsel to the court in the ZAB reference
case. The change was necessitated on view of suspension of the license of
Babar Awa nom orders of the Supreme Court.
Speaker National Assembly has just three days left to decide the issue
of Prime Minister Gilanis conviction by killing it or sending it to the ECP.
Otherwise, the reference would automatically stand forwarded to the ECP
for a decision. Reportedly the Speaker has sought response from Gilani on
his conviction.
PM Gilanis lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan had said that the Speaker has no
question to decide because there was already a court judgment and she has
no authority to judge. She is just like a post office and will transmit the
reference to the ECP, he said. Meanwhile, the Speaker has consulted Law
Minister and Wasim Sajjad on legal implications and ramifications of the
judgment.
On 24th May, Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza decided
not to send the reference against Prime Minister Gilani to the ECP, a move
that could lead to another legal confrontation between the state institutions
and fuel political tension in the country. She said, I am of the view that the
charges against Yousuf Raza Gilani are not relatable to the grounds
mentioned in paragraph (g) or (h) of Clause (1) of Article 63; therefore, no
question of his disqualification from being a member arises under Clause (2)
of Article 63 of the Constitution, in a five-page ruling issued by the
National Assembly Secretariat.

1105

On prima-facie, no specific charge regarding the propagation of any

opinion or acting in any manner against the independence of the judiciary or
defaming or ridiculing the judiciary as contemplated under Article 63 (1) (g)
has been framed, she added. The Speaker expressed serious concerns
regarding the letters through which the Supreme Court assistant registrar,
while writing for the registrar, addressed directly to the Speaker and
separately conveyed the short order and the detailed judgment of the apex
court.
Fehmida cited the case of former MNA Javed Hashmi, who was
convicted by a sessions judge in 2004 and was sentenced to 19-year
imprisonment. After Hashmi filed three separate nomination papers as a
candidate for the leader of the house, the government raised objection,
stating that he had been disqualified after conviction for propagating and
defaming the armed forces. However, the then National Assembly speaker
overruled the objection.
Prime Minister Gilani declared the Speakers ruling as first-ever
victory of the democracy and Jiyalas in Lahore and Multan danced on drum
beats. Earlier, talking to a delegation of Supreme Court Bar Association led
by its President, Gilani said that it is the PPP leadership which restored the
Constitution and strengthened institutions and democracy. Gilani said
progress of the country was possible only with the strengthening of
democracy and sovereignty of any country cannot remain intact in the
absence of a Constitution.
Against the backdrop of rising hostility between PPP and PML-N
after PM Gilanis conviction, Punjab Governor Latif Khosa has written a
letter to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, asking him to place audit reports of
district governments before the Public Accounts Committee. The governor
said he was alarmed over siphoning off billions of public money without any
public accountability.
Discussing the constitutional and legal implications of not placing the
audit reports before the PAC, the governor has noted that it was violation of
relevant provision of Article 171 of the Constitution according to which the
laying of audit reports before representatives of the people in the Provincial
Assembly is mandatory.
The PTI moved the Sindh High Court against Prime Minister Gilanis
holding the office of the countrys premier after his conviction in a contempt
case by the Supreme Court and the misuse of the state exchequer under his

1106

leadership. PTI Central Secretary Arif Alvi elaborated the latter part of the
petition with reference to Gilanis visited the United Kingdom.
Next day, the ruling of Speaker National Assembly on the prime
ministers contempt case was sent to the Supreme Court office. Aitzaz Ahsan
said he has finalized the appeal against Supreme Courts verdict in contempt
case. He said his appeal contained 200 questions, and denied that the
detailed verdict of Supreme Court had ever declared PM Gilani as
disqualified. He strongly resented the idea of treating the august post of
Speaker as like a post office, and said Speaker ruled as per constitutional and
legal norms. Meanwhile, it was reported that the government has decided not
to file appeal in the Supreme Court.
The existing constitutional provisions do not envisage any role for the
ECP to influence Speaker National Assemblys initiative of having decided
not to send the reference on prime ministers disqualification to the electoral
body and dismissing the question of premiers ouster. The ECPs role is to
begin, in the light of Article 63 (3), only after it receives the reference from
the NA Speaker office after the lapse of prescribed time period. The
commission does not have any authority or mechanism to overrule or reject
the speakers initiative in case the latter decides not to refer the matter to the
electoral body.
The decision of Speaker National Assembly was challenged in Sindh
High Court. Petitioner Maulvi Iqbal Haider, who had filed a reference before
the National Assembly Speaker against Prime Minister Gilani following his
conviction by the Supreme Court in contempt of court charges back on April
26, submitted that the impugned decision of the National Assembly to not
submit the disqualification reference was a violation of Articles 4, 5, 9, 10,
25 and 63(2) of the Constitution as well as the oath prescribed under the
Constitution. He submitted that the Sindh High Court had already issued
notices to the Speaker in an identical matter, but despite the courts order,
she assumed the power of chief election commissioner without any lawful
authority and rejected his reference for forwarding the same to the CEC,
adding that this decision was a gross violation of Articles 5, 25, 63(2)(3), 68,
69, 189 and 190 of the Constitution.
The petitioner said that the role of the Election Commission and the
CEC were defined by virtue of Articles 222, 223, 224 and 225 read with
Article 63(3) and 5 of the Constitution and CEC has exclusive jurisdiction to
decide the reference in the terms of the Constitution, while the role of the
Speaker was also defined by the Constitution. He submitted that in case a

1107

question of an MPs disqualification arose, the Speaker had to refer to the

CEC to decide the matter in accordance with the law and Constitution.
On 26th May, Aitzaz Ahsan said his party had decided not to file an
appeal against the conviction of the prime minister in the contempt of court
case as it could be detrimental (to the premier). Addressing a press
conference in Lahore, he said there were some apprehensions and the PPP
top leadership unanimously decided not to file the appeal. However, he said
the appeal had been drafted having 146 objections against the judgment of
the Supreme Court.
He said doors for the Election Commission had been closed to take
any decision after the ruling given by National Assembly Speaker Fehmida
Mirza. He endorsed the Speakers ruling and said in the Constitution of
1962, the Speaker had the role of a post office only, but the situation had
changed now. He reiterated PM Gilani was still the constitutional and legal
chief executive of the country.
Legal experts believe that the government has decided to make the
issue political rather than fighting the case legally. They argued that the
Supreme Court conviction will remain intact and the apex court can in future
deliver a clear decision to disqualify the prime minister.
Tariq Butt of The News reported that strong fears that an appellate
bench of the Supreme Court might enhance Prime Minister Yusuf Raza
Gilanis sentence on the contempt charge and pass a categorical
disqualification order has forced the government to back off from filing an
appeal challenging the order of the seven-member bench.
Noted lawyer Dr Khalid Ranjha says as a professional lawyer dealing
with criminal cases for 35 years he mostly advises litigants not to file
appeals because there is always a strong risk that the sentence may be
enhanced by the appellate court. Dr Khaki said that the government
apprehended that the appellate bench of the apex court might further
strengthen the judgment against the prime minister and, in the words of
some people, the confusion in the seven-member benchs decision might be
removed by the larger panel of justices.
Next day, Imran Khan announced to move Supreme Court on 29 th
May against National Assembly Speakers ruling on PM Gilanis
qualification. Addressing a mammoth gathering at Liaquat Bagh Khan
advised rulers to bow to the Supreme Court and implement its orders.
Otherwise, he warned, the Tsunami March of his supporters would wash
them away from the power corridors. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
1108

chairman, in a message to Prime Minister Gilani, who according to him has

lost moral stand to be the chief executive, said if Gilani attempted to
bulldoze the apex court rulings to hide their (PPP leaders) corruption they
(PTI) would turn the table on him and his associates.
Nawaz Sharif has said his party will not allow the rulers to violate the
constitution and make a mockery of the apex courts verdicts. Talking to
PML-N Punjabs Joint Secretary Rana Sajid Iqbal and other party workers,
he said it is incumbent upon everyone to show respect to judiciary and
implement its decisions but the PPP men have made it a habit to violate
every law of the land.
The PML-N decided to file a constitutional petition in the Supreme
Court of Pakistan to challenge National Assembly Speakers ruling in favour
of Prime Minister Gilani. Khawaja Muhammad Asif, with the permission of
the party leadership, will file a petition in the Supreme Court on May 28
under Article 184(3) of the Constitution. In this petition Gilani has been
made the respondent, besides the Federation of Pakistan. The petitioner has
requested the apex court to hold the ruling of the speaker of the National
Assembly dated 24th May in the matter of the prime minister under Article
63(2) of the Constitution as arbitrary, capricious and illegal.
Dr Fehmida Mirza said that her decision against referring the case of
Prime Minister Gilani to the election commission is based on requirements
of justice. Addressing a gathering in Badin Fehmida said that as
Speaker she has made all decisions with full honesty and according to the
constitution. I am satisfied with my ruling, she said.
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and CoChairman Asif Ali Zardari, in their separate messages congratulated Prime
Minister Gilani for achieving the coveted status of being the longest serving
elected prime minister of the country in its 64 years history. The PPP
Chairman and Co-Chairman attributed the achievement to the leadership of
PPP and the policy of reconciliation.

Taming the military: On 21st May, the NAB launched a joint

investigation with Pakistan Army to probe into the mega multi-billion rupee
scam of NLC with recording the statement of civilian officer Saeedur
Rehman accused in the case. The NAB and JAG branch agreed in principle
that the civilian officer in the scam would be charged under the National
Accountability Ordinance while the military officials will be dealt as per
Army Acts.

1109

Audit Department had reported to the Public Accounts Committee that

the NLC had obtained Rs4.3 billion loans from banks between 2004 and
2008 for investment in volatile bourses and suffered Rs1.84 billion losses.
The NLC was also paying Rs2.7 million per day on account of markup on
loans illegally obtained to invest in the stock market.
The issue was taken by the Public Accounts Committee under the its
former Chairman Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and the report of the subcommittee had held three retired generals, then serving on important posts in
the NLC, and civilian official Saeedur Rehman, responsible for the loss
suffered by the NLC.
On 27th May, Fazlur Rehman said that the establishment was creating
hurdles in the way of JUI-F, adding that if transparent elections were
conducted JUI-F would emerge as the biggest party in the country. The
indifferent attitude of the establishment has forced Baloch youth to move to
mountains and wage war for their rights, he said while addressing Islam
Zindabad Conference held in Kalat.

Recessing economy: On 22nd May, the Nepra notified price hike of

Rs2.38 per unit under the head of the monthly fuel adjustment. This is the
second such rise in power prices in a row as the Ministry of Water and
Power had earlier notified a 16 percent increase in the power tariff just six
days ago. Meanwhile, FBR waived penalties on tax arrear payments in a bid
to ensure the maximum recovery of the stuck Rs100 billion arrears. Formal
notifications in this regard have been issued.
Next day, the cash-starved government decided to increase the
existing surcharge on various sectors including CNG, IPPs, fertilizers and
others, a move which would further push down the already hard-pressed
people. The CNG will be Rs15 per kg expensive in the country.
On 24th May, power consumers were under the grip of more than 16
hours load shedding across the country as gap between electricity demand
and supply widened due to decrease in hydel generation and unavailability
of fuel for thermal power plants. The water inflows and outflows at two
major dams are almost the same. At Tarbela, the inflows are 45,400 cusecs
and outflows are 44,700 cusecs while at Mangla the outflows are 43800
cusecs against the inflows 41,300 cusecs.
Next day, electricity crisis continues to plague the country as the
shortfall reached 7,500 megawatts. In several cities of Punjab, residents were
without electricity overnight and are experiencing load shedding of 14 to 20

1110

hours. The finance minister did not still pay dues to PSO, gas companies for
supplying fuel and gas for production of power. Dues to IPPs were not paid
yet.
The All-Pakistan CNG Association announced a complete strike of
gas stations and petrol pumps throughout the country from May 29 in protest
against governments plan to suspend gas supply to CNG stations
permanently or to increase its price to Rs100 per kilogram. The Association
had rejected governments plan to increase CNG price and all taxes imposed
on gas sector.

Provincial disharmony: On 21st May, hundreds of protesters

stormed and torched the Wapda office to protest against long hours of
electricity load shedding in Taunsa Sharif. They also attacked the local grid
station and blocked the Indus Highway linking Karachi with Peshawar for
several hours. They thrashed a DSP and a heavy contingent of police had to
be called in to disperse the mob and rescue the DSP.
The Sindh Assemblys Standing Committee on Privileges may award
six months of imprisonment to PML-N central leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali
Khan if he does not appear before it despite repeated reminders, said
provincial law minister. Soomro was talking to the media after attending the
PA bodys meeting at the assembly building that took up the privilege
motion against the opposition. The motion has been moved by PPPs Imran
Zafar Leghari, alleging that Nisar had insulted the culture of Sindh during
his press conference last year.
On 26th May, Shahbaz Sharif asked the people to stand by the PML-N
for eradicating price-hike and power outages. He was addressing a rally
against power outages in Kasur in which Ch Nisar Ali Khan, Punjab
Assembly Speaker Rana Iqbal Khan, MPA Naeem Safdar and Yaqoob
Nadeem Sethi accompanied him.

Baloch militancy: On 21st May, the Supreme Court summoned the

defence, interior and principal secretaries to the prime minister and
Balochistan governor to appear before the apex court in the missing persons
cases. During the proceedings, the chief justice remarked that the time to
suspend officials had gone and now the court would have to take some
action.
Advocate General Balochistan told the apex court that around 16
missing persons were still in the custody of security agencies. He informed
the court that five missing persons, who had disappeared from different

1111

localities of Quetta, were recovered from Karachi. He added that three of

them were being interrogated for their involvement in Lyari violence.
The President of the Balochistan High Court Bar Association
informed the bench that 18 journalists had been killed in Balochistan, upon
which the chief justice ordered the registration of cases on the killings of
journalists. The CJ directed the AG to arrange compensation for the
journalists killed in Balochistan. Home Secretary Naseebullah Bazai told the
bench that incidents of crime could not be curbed as mobile companies were
issuing as many as 60 SIMs to a single NIC. The CJ ordered licenses of
companies that failed to cooperate should be canceled.
Next day, Chief Justice said 80 percent of the allegations with regards
missing persons were against the Frontier Corps (FC). Meanwhile, Deputy
Attorney General announced his resignation during the hearing. The
Supreme Court had summoned the defence, interior and principal secretaries
to the prime minister and the Balochistan governor to appear before the apex
court, however, they were missing from the court proceedings.
The CJ noted that the police had shown no intention in recovering
missing persons, saying that if the missing persons issue was resolved, 60
percent of Balochistans problems would be solved. The SC summoned the
Balochistan Home minister to appear before the court on 23rd May.
Justice Khilji Arif Hussain remarked that keeping in view the ongoing
law and order situation of the province it was the responsibility of the
federal government to appoint the most efficient officials in Balochistan
rather than transferring the sitting proficient officers to other provinces. He
directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to present details
of SIMs issued by the authority in the province during the next hearing.
On 23rd May, Chief Justice, while hearing cases on the law and order
situation and human rights violations in Balochistan, remarked that if Prime
does not want implementation of the Supreme Courts orders, other options
including emergency were available in the Constitution. He said this during
a dialogue with Khushnood Lashari. The chief justice added that they had no
enmity with anybody rather they were trying to do something good for the
country.
PMs Principal Secretary Khushnood Lashari, Defence Secretary
Nargis Sethi, Balochistan DIG, IG Police and chief secretary appeared
before the court. Chief Justice was irked by the absence of Balochistan
Home Minister Mir Zafarullah Zehri. He ordered the interior secretary to

1112

register a case against him, saying that if Zehri did not want to appear, he
must be arrested and produced before the court.
Addressing Lashari, the CJ told him to visit the province to witness
the on-ground situation, saying that peoples homes were burning, target
killings were rampant and police was helpless, but no one was giving
answers. The chief justice said the provincial capital of Quetta had no-go
areas and that police officers were not willing to work in Balochistan.
Quoting the statement of Salauddin Mengal advocate, Justice Chaudhry
remarked that situation was so grave in the province that you would not find
a Pakistani flag and anthem just 10 miles off Quetta city.
Khushnood Lashari assured the court that they would again bring the
observations of the court into notice of prime minister. The prime minister
had also formed a committee of ministers on Balochistans deteriorated
situation, he added. At this, chief justice observed a member of the
committee had inquired from Sardar Akthar Mengal whether he lives in
Balochistan. How those people who know nothing about Balochistan would
solve issues of the province, he remarked.
People are blaming Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military
Intelligence (MI), Frontier Corps (FC) and other law enforcement agencies,
the CJ said. The defence secretary told the bench that ISI and MI had
prepared a report pertaining to the situation in Balochistan. Sethi also said
she had spoken to officials from both these agencies over the situation in the
province.
Chairing a cabinet meeting Gilani had directed his principal secretary
and the cabinet secretary to appear before the apex court in Quetta. A PM
House statement said, It clearly manifests how much the government holds
the Supreme Court in high esteem. Justice Khwaja remarked that Chief
Minister Balochistan Aslam Raisani had been in Quetta for a mere seven
days in the past six months. The hearing was subsequently adjourned to June
1.
Law Minister will chair a committee comprising three federal cabinet
members from Balochistan that will look into the missing persons cases in
Balochistan. Kaira said after cabinet meeting that any operation wasnt a
solution to the problem and the government had already apologized to the
Baloch people.
Kaira said imposition of emergency was the sole prerogative of the
executive and the powers could not be exercised by any other institution or
state organ. He was responding to a question regarding remarks of Chief
1113

Justice. He said the comments should not be interpreted in a sense that the
court was going to impose emergency in the province.
Next day, two people including a Hazara community member were
killed in separate incidents of violence in Quetta and Mand, while a dead
body was found dumped in District Kalat. On 25th May, unidentified gunmen
shot dead three people in Goth Badram of Kalat district. Attackers managed
to escape from the scene after committing the crime.
Next day, two rockets were fired in Quetta, killing one person and
injuring at least 20 others, some of them seriously. Rockets landed at two
different places at the Mannan Chowk, close to the Jinnah Road, while
another landed at a house on the Kansi Road in Basti Punchayat.
In order to address the deeply disturbing situation in Balochistan,
where the number of missing persons continues to increase and mutilated
bodies are dumped in broad daylight, the Supreme Court Bar Association
(SCBA) held a national conference at a local hotel in Islamabad. Speaking
on the subject The Balochistan Issue and its Solution political leaders,
intellectuals, members of civil society and opinion makers agreed that the
politics of the garrison should be replaced by civilian authority that
genuinely represents the will of the people.
The conference was attended by the leadership of all the political
parties, including Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan, besides representatives of
other political parties like the PPP, ANP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-eIslam, Tehreek-e-Istaqlal, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), PML-Q as
well as nationalist parties from Balochistan. At the end of the conference, the
SCBA issued a unanimous declaration that in parallel to negotiations, all
military and paramilitary operations should be stopped forthwith, and the
Army and Frontier Corps should be called back to the cantonments, besides,
pleading for a peaceful transfer of civilian power.
The conference stressed the release of all political prisoners and
missing persons; appropriate compensation be paid to all those who have
lost their lives or have become disabled rigorous training of the FC and
police for respecting the human rights; and urged religious leaders of
different sects to create the culture of tolerance and religious harmony,
respecting each others beliefs and ideological thoughts.
On 27th May, three persons were killed and eight others sustained
injuries in a remote-controlled bomb attack in out-skirts of Quetta. The
bomb planted underneath a donkey cart went off seconds after a van of

1114

Police passed by, killing a rickshaw driver and two donkey-cart owners;
policeman was among ten wounded.

Turf war in Karachi: On 21st May, six people were gunned down
in separate acts of violence in different parts of the metropolis. Sack-packed
body of a young man was recovered from Shah Waliullah Road. Next day, at
least 12 people, including three women, were killed and 35 others, including
two policemen, sustained injuries in Karachi when gunmen opened fire at a
rally against the demand for a separate Mohajir province. Violence gripped
various city areas after the incident in which 40 vehicles and six shops were
torched.
The Awami Tehrik and the City Alliance, an alliance of various
political groups including the PML-N, Peoples Aman Committee and
others, had announced a rally from Lyari to the Karachi Press Club against
the demand for the division of Karachi. The rally began from Cheel Chowk,
Lyari, and when it reached near Jodia Bazar unidentified armed men
suddenly opened fire on it. Firing incidents were reported from Nava Lane,
Denso Hall, Dhobi Ghat, Ranchore Line, Lea Market and Juna Market.
DIG South Range said that a search operation was under way in the
areas from where the rally was attacked and the situation had been brought
under control. Contingents of the police and Rangers finally entered the
disturbed areas to quell the violence and shift the injured to hospitals.
The Rangers raided the office of a certain political party in Ranchore
Lane from where they had arrested four activists and also recovered arms
from their possession. The Awami Tehreek has called for a province-wide
strike on May 23 in protest against the killings. Meanwhile, the situation in
the old city areas remained tense.
Chief Minister asked the Chief Justice of the SHC to assign a high
court judge to conduct an inquiry into the firing on the rally. He also directed
the law enforcement agencies to remain alert across the province in view of
the strike call given by the Awami Tehreek to protest against the killings.
Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM) Secretary General Muzaffar
Bhutto, who had gone missing on February 24, was found dead in the limits
of Chalgari police station of Hyderabad. The bullet-riddled body, also
bearing torture marks, was dumped in bushes. In reaction to his murder,
aerial firing was reported in parts of Sindh and vehicles were set on fire.
The party announced 10 days of mourning and a strike to be held
across the province on May 23. Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement
1115

(MQM) chief Altaf Hussain condemned the killing of JSMM leader

Muzaffar Bhutto and demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.
On 23rd May, shutter-down strike was observed in across Sindh
against the murder of JSMM leader and attack on Mohabat-e-Sindh (Love
of Sindh) rally organized by the Awami Tehrik. All the major markets in
Karachi, Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Sukkur, Badin, Umerkot, Thatta,
Shikarpur and other towns and cities were closed, while vehicular traffic
also remained thin on roads. However, the public response in Hyderabad
was partial.
Hundreds of people attended the funeral of the murdered leader who
was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Sehwan Sharif. Aerial firing was
reported in parts of Sindh and some vehicles were set on fire. Acting JSQM
Chairman Dr Niaz Kalani, Habib Bhutto and others expressed anger over the
killings in Karachi and demanded immediate arrest of elements involved in
the violence.
Unidentified armed men attacked a truck near Aliabad area of
Nawabshah and set the vehicle on fire. Truck driver Asghar, hailing from
Rahim Yar Khan, was burnt alive along with the vehicle. In yet another
incident, unknown persons set ablaze a passenger bus parked near old bus
stand in Sukkur. However, no human loss was reported in the incident.
Five people were killed in separate incidents of violence in the
metropolis. The Sindh Rangers and Police meanwhile claimed to have
arrested over 30 suspects affiliated with different political parties following
attack on an Awami Tehreek rally. The raids were conducted in Ramswami,
Ranchore Lane, Napier Road, Musharraf Colony, Bhorapir, Garden and
Lines Area; 22 kalashnikovs, 11 repeaters and around thousand bullets were
seized.
Prime Minister chaired the meeting of the federal cabinet and took
notice of the killing of people during the rally of in Awami Tehrik Sindh in
Karachi. He constituted the committee under Amin Faheem while the other
members include Maula Bux Chandio Syed Naveed Qamar and Syed
Khursheed Shah. During the meeting Maula Bux Chandio reacted angrily
over the statement of Interior Minister Rehman Malik, when Malik said that
PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif was involved in backing the culprits of Karachi
killing.
PPP ministers, who assembled at the Chief Ministers House for a
hurriedly-called meeting, came down hard on Interior Minister Rehman
Malik and their ally party, the MQM, for its alleged dubious role in the
1116

campaign for a separate Muhajir province. The ministers exhorted Chief

Minister Qaim Ali Shah, who was chairing the meeting, to raise the issue
with MQM leaders and Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad. Some of the PPP
ministers told the Chief Minister that the conspiracy of a separate province
initiated by certain people could not be ignored as it was gaining momentum
systematically in MQM-dominated areas.
The Culture Minister Sassui Palijo strongly criticized Interior Minister
Rehman Malik, saying that it was shameful that the interior minister was
calling peaceful people from interior Sindh as terrorists. Without naming,
she alleged that Malik always sided with another political party. Palijo said
that the policy of the interior minister was damaging the PPP in
Sindh. Sassui Palijo contacted presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar
in the US and informed him about the situation as well as Rehman Maliks
role in this critical situation. The ministers annoyance over Maliks remarks
and his role had been conveyed to President Zardari in the US.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf demanded the Supreme Court to take
suo motu notice of the killings of innocent citizens and losses to public
properties by certain evil forces who want to divide Sindh on ethnic
grounds. Interacting with the media at the Karachi Press Club, PTIs Arif
Alvi said the government, its allies and the PML-N were equally responsible
for deadly attack and the loss of lives.
Next day, two PPP activists were among six people killed in separate
acts of violence in different parts of the metropolis. On 25 th May, at least
seven people were killed and several wounded when unknown gunmen
opened fire on Swabi-bound bus in Nawabshah. The attackers had asked the
Sindhi passengers to disembark before spraying bullets at the remaining
travelers. President Zardari has called for a report into this incident and has
directed to bring culprits to justice. Meanwhile, six more people were killed
in Karachi violence.
Next day, President Asif Ali Zardari directed the Sindh government to
ensure the arrest of the culprits who attacked the recent pro-Sindh rally in
Lyari that claimed 11 lives as well as to prepare a comprehensive
development project for Lyari and review the complaints lodged against
certain elements on the basis of political victimization. On 27 th May, two
people, including an activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, were killed
in incidents of violence in Karachi.

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VIEWS
Power politics
Who am I? At the root of Pakistans ruling elites consistent political
and moral incorrectness is the violation of the conflict of interest paradigm.
The Pakistani ruling elite, both in actual governance and outside of it,
maintain such enormous personal interests that political power has become
an instrument of managing and acquiring wealth, prestige, internal and
external sources of support and maintenance of their economic and financial
power. The ruling elite has become a part of the international mafia of
corporate capitalism in cahoots with the powerful nations of the West that
seek to maintain puppet regimes in this country so that their geo-political
objectives can be facilitated.
In this process of undermining democracy in the pursuit of vested
interests, the ruling elite have formed a princely outlook on the political
governance of the country. They have formed powerful interest groups
resembling political aristocracy; as a result, they are determined to exert
decisive influence on Pakistans political system to consolidate their hold on
power and personal wealth. The corruption of these vested interest groups in
todays Pakistan is enormous, sapping away the countrys national strength.
This vested-interest leadership is even claiming privileges of birth (no
wonder, Asif Zardari has claimed hereditary leadership of the Pakistan
Peoples Party and many of the present leaderships wish to pass their political
power on to family members). As a consequence, they are undermining and
destabilizing Pakistans society as a whole.
Indeed, in any society, such outlandish abuse of political power and
privilege would breed anger, frustration, and deprivations, and present-day
Pakistan is no exception. The contemporary chaos in the country is nothing
more than a blatant violation of the political moralism doctrine and its
intrinsic linkage to the conflict of interest syndrome undermining
national democratic interests and institutions.
Let me illustrate my point further with a few more examples: the
PML-N leader, Mian Nawaz Sharif, was morally wrong and politically
incorrect when he said that if a doctors son can be a doctor, why cant a
Prime Ministers son be a politician? A doctors son becoming a doctor
poses no conflict of interest to anyone, let alone to the entire nation but,
political power can exert tremendous influence and falls within the moral
dimensions of conflict of interest principles. It is for this reason that the
Sharifs argument is flawed.
1118

Similarity, Zardaris decision to nominate his son to the partys

leadership is morally wrong, ethically flawed and politically incorrect.
Needless to say, the Prime Ministers son should never have taken part in the
by-election in Multan obviously, it was an act of political immoralism and
incorrectness. The Prime Minister and his son have been accused of massive
corruption: they should resign from their political offices that would be an
appropriate course of political moralism and political correctness. Flouting
the Supreme Courts judgments are acts of political immoralism as well as
acts of political incorrectness: Baber Awan should be in jail, Hussain
Haqqani should be tried in a court of law and the unlawful influence and
nepotism of all ministers, bureaucrats and parliamentarians should be
subjected to due course of law and appropriate legal actions.
Pakistans future existence is tied up with the common citizens
determination and willingness to participate and exert themselves in the
fundamental transformation of its present political culture. The ruling class
(has) failed to see the naked contradiction(s) that they (have) created (in
Pakistan). They (have) expected that(the masses can) be forcibly drafted
to fight a dirty war against popular self-determinationthus, we have to
look for the crack(s) in the political-culture that will eventually help and
encourage us to look at ourselves, wrote an eminent political philosopher
recently.
But it is scary to think where we might be in the near future in
Pakistan if a counter-culture against the present political system and
structure never transpires or materializes.
It is time for every citizen to ask: Who Am I? What do I stand for?
Is political moralism meaningless in todays Pakistan? Will it remain
irrelevant in tomorrows Pakistan? That is the vital question. (Dr Haider
Mehdi, TheNation 22nd May)
Will the real Nawaz please step up? Its a bit of a quandary. How
does one attempt an assessment of the politics of the once selected, twice
elected, twice exiled, and repeatedly duped prime minister? After all, the
man must surely know his power politics. You dont become the countrys
prime minister just like that, and that too twice over. But Nawaz did. And he
sent two army chiefs and two presidents packing. He got on the wrong side
of the world by taking the nuclear arsenal out of the closet and survived.
He almost ordained himself the Ameer-ul-Momineen through a spate of
constitutional amendments. He politically outlived a five-year exile and a
treason case to see the back of his nemesis, Gen Musharraf, only to turn the

1119

treason table and seek Mushs trial on the same charges. Hes defied the US
on more than one occasion and yet managed to get Washington to secure his
return to Pakistan, along with Benazir Bhutto.
Lets admit it; you have to be deft at both people politics and private
intrigues to manage all this.
So heres my dilemma. Why does a gentleman with such a
distinguished history suddenly appear lost in the political labyrinth?
Instead of cruising along on a thoughtfully charted political course, Nawazs
progression is becoming more about jolts and stops dictated by
circumstances rather than by design. Proactive politics appears to have been
replaced by reactive realpolitik. Instead of spelling out the terms of
engagement for the ruling dispensation, he seems to be forever fielding the
ball thrown his way by the street-smart president. Since 2008, he has
repeatedly ended up walking back his talk. What is happening here?
A number of factors are in play. Critics accuse Nawaz of only talking
about changing the power status quo but not actually wanting to upset the
apple cart since he is lord of over 60% of the country and also optimistic of
reoccupying the prime ministers sprawling residence.
The critique has its logicin essence; Punjab too is a litany of
failures. When the PML-N government took over, Punjabs finances were in
the black not anymore. So, it does make sense for Nawaz and Co to ensure
status quo because they will need the financial and administrative
advantages of incumbency to cover the shortcomings of that very
incumbency.
On the other hand, there is also the question of whether Nawaz has
met too daunting an opponent in the person of Asif Ali Zardari who
outsmarted him by taking him on board to facilitate the ousting of Gen
Musharraf and then forced him into jump ship in the middle of the sea. I
cant help recalling a conversation with President Zardari a long time ago
wherein he said, rather condescendingly and light heartedly, that had he
known that, Nawaz was such a simpleton, he would have made him
friends with BB a long time back. It was a statement made without malice,
or at least I didnt detect any, but a clear indicator that Zardari hardly
considers Nawaz an indomitable adversary. And the fact that Nawaz too has
failed to present a single credible threat to the centre must have bolstered the
presidents already bursting confidence.
Nawaz Sharifs political career has come full circle indeed And
Zardari, the consummate politician, has clearly smelled the putrid odour of
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this fear of Nawaz. Thus, he dangles the khaki boogey in Nawazs face to
force him to step back from the precipice every time he dares act like a
genuine opposition force.
The mantra of not doing anything that could possibly derail the
system, in his oft-repeated words, has started ringing hollow because the
possibility of khaki adventurism could not be more remote at this point in
time. The media and judicial landscape of the country stands transformed.
The masses are no longer a silent flock. From domestic politics to foreign
policy agendas, both the GHQ and the presidency are on the same page and
have worked out the happy formula of mutual appeasement and coexistence.
What third force is Nawaz so scared of then, the PTI?
The politics of blow-hot-blow-cold has run its course Simply put,
during the past four years, Nawaz has been rolling with the punches but he
has never put up a real fight. At one point, the PML-N talked of resigning
en-masse from assemblies to pressurize the government into holding early
elections but then very conveniently forgot about this option. Now the
logic goes, we dont want to leave the field open to the treasury and expose
the system to the third force. But the truth of the matter is that Nawazs
PML-N does not want to lose control over its own provincial purse strings
and is therefore willing to allow the federal government to carry on with its
plunder of the state exchequer. Simple.
People like Khawaja Asif and Khawaja Saad Rafique advocating a
categorical stance on the issue of the PML-N emerging as a genuine
opposition with clearly defined strategic objectives and not as an element
facilitating PPPs perpetuation in power are turning into lonely voices of
dissent What would a contemporary historian writing about the house of
Sharif say about its legacy: A family with a brotherly duo of a two-term
chief minister and a twice-elected prime minister; a party with make-do
policies aimed at short term electoral gains; a vision bereft of any real desire
to transform peoples life, and mindsets. After years of being in power,
Nawaz had the chance of a lifetime to leave behind a legacy to be proud of.
And perhaps he still can. The question is, will he step up and do
so? (Mohammad Malick, The News 25th May)
The leadership crisis: Politics is hardly ever free from shades of
grey. In Pakistan, it is downright dirty. The verbal assaults, character
assassinations, mutual disrespect, loot and plunder and violence have come
to be considered by the public as norm rather than exception. The

1121

competition is who can shout louder and who can steal more without leaving
a trace.
For a short while, Imran Khan appeared as a knight in shining armour
for the public desperately looking for a real change That hope faded away
as fast as his tsunami of public rallies was matched by a sea of similar
rallies by other political parties. The meteoric rise attracted opportunists and
advocates of pragmatism like a magnet offering their own recipes of how to
win the elections that now seemed distinctly possible. He was talked into
coming to terms with the beaten track of sure seats and ground realities,
synonyms for the status quo precisely what Imran Khan was supposed to
be up against.
Following the traditional route of electoral compromises, he
commenced wooing and inducting old faces with less than illustrious past
disregarding their history of changing sides at the throw of a coin. Most of
them had fallen out or were discarded by their previous comrades and were
waiting in the wings for an appropriate time, seeking to grab another
opportunity with the best odds to back a winning horse
Our nation today is faced with unprecedented economic, political and
social challenges The present dispensation that is a galaxy of the star
politicians have run the country to the ground, as they have refused to
change with times. They cherish igniting meaningless controversies and
entangling into legislation that has no impact on the well being of the people
or the progress of the nation.
Extraordinary situations need to be addressed by extraordinary
measures. The political class must change course from the daily dramas of
political manipulation and jugglery to focus single-mindedly on building the
nation and developing the economy. That would require transforming the
political parties into professional organizations. The politicians should
restrict themselves to act on the advice of their think tanks and to prepare
public opinion to sell those ideas and policies. Each ministry must develop
teams of technocrats, engineers and management experts for the planning
and implementation of the schemes.
Only those people that have problem-solving, entrepreneurial and
production skills can put this nation back to the path of progress. There
should be zero tolerance for rhetoric without substance, empty promises and
impractical ideologies that should be left for public meetings. How can
scores of ministers sitting around a table in Cabinet meetings, many of
whom have never done an honest days work in their life and have no other
1122

expertise, except oratory and pedigree to their credit, possibly contribute

anything in nation building? China has maintained a consistent growth over
decades following this policy that should not hurt us to replicate.
The symbolic half-a-minute detention sentence and conviction
awarded to the Prime Minister by a seven-member bench of the Supreme
Court cut no ice with the ruling bunch that rallied around the Prime Minister.
Since they command the majority in Parliament, a vote of confidence was a
piece of cake just as the latest ruling of the Speaker that has further
reinforced the principle of rule by the mob, setting aside the rule of law or
decency. Democracy will be victorious only when the will of the majority is
exercised with responsibility, the court verdicts are respected and
sensibilities are not offended. This form of democracy has protected and
promoted the rulers, but has failed to serve the people, the nation and the
country.
Whether the Prime Minister should resign or not has triggered a
debate on morality that may prove as inconclusive as most other such
debates. Our nation stands divided today more than ever before. Morality
can be applied where the people share beliefs, principles or ideologies that
regulate their lives leading to a universally accepted behaviour within the
community not where we place personal loyalty and self-interest above
fairness, care and sacrifice for national causes. Nor where we apply the
principle of an action to be right or wrong for others and not the same upon
ourselves and where our intentions, decisions and actions are all at variance
with each other. How does the Prime Minister plan to address these issues?
(Khurshid Akhtar Khan, TheNation 27th May)

Rule of law
Whose responsibility? One would hardly disagree with Chief Justice
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry addressing Law and Justice Commission of
Pakistan that dispensation of justice is a collective responsibility of the
judiciary and the state. Overall it is the criminal justice system of a state that
includes judiciary, police, legal fraternity as well as the laws and constitution
that are central to providing quick and inexpensive justice to the masses. His
assertion that no system except for one that ensures supremacy of the
constitution is acceptable is welcome. It is such a system that can ensure a
just society where the fundamental rights of the citizens could be assured
and also off stage players like the military kept at bay.
In fact no one knows better than the apex court that unless its orders
are implemented in letter and in spirit, the criterion of supremacy of the
1123

constitution and judiciary cannot be met Given the situation, the state
cannot absolve itself of its duties. Judges regularly complain that police with
all its evils make their job cumbersome. It is here that the states role comes
in; it should provide the resources for improvements in the subordinate
judiciary as well as reform the police force from where starts the initial legal
action including the FIR and the arrest of the criminals. (Editorial,
TheNation 21st May)
Speak no truth: Remember the Haj scam and Sohail Ahmed, the
secretary establishment, who the federal government made an officer on
special duty (OSD) in July last year after he followed Supreme Court orders
and produced before the court the restoration notification for an FIA
investigating officer the government had wrongfully transferred? Well, the
government is up to its old tricks again, and this time, four secretaries in the
Sindh government have been made OSD by the chief minister for pointing
out in an official report the causes of bad governance and politicization of
the bureaucracy. Once again, officials have been punished for doing their
duty and following the directions of the SC, which had, during the hearings
of the Waheeda Shah slapping case, assigned the four secretaries the task of
recommending ways to depoliticize the bureaucracy. Their honest work and
fair recommendations, however, have seen them removed from their
positions in what can only be called yet another message from the PPP
government, this time from Sindh, that it has little respect for SC orders and
will flout them where it suits its interests. Indeed, what does it say about the
attitude and mindset of the Sindh government that its chief minister was
unable to swallow a report highlighting that out-of-turn promotions,
frequent, abrupt and whimsical transfers and postings, ad-hoc charges and
lack of respect for tenures are the main causes of the bureaucracys
inefficiency, as well as a reason for bad governance and misrule? What did
the chief minister find so offensive about a report that recommended that
public office holders be held accountable in cases where they threaten or
misbehave with government servants as happened in the Waheeda Shah
case?
The civil service is a very important part of the state machinery, which
substantially contributes to what a government accomplishes. But if the
government itself begins to target and victimize the bureaucracy, it will
become difficult for the civil service to carry into effect the policies of the
political executive and coordinate the functions of various government
departments. The government should be carrying out a radical restructuring
of the existing bureaucratic order and holistically reform institutions.
1124

Instead, it treats public officials as if they were not the servants of the state
but of those wielding power. Any attempt by honest civil servants to bring
the high and mighty within the law is deemed an unpardonable act. Such
was the fate also of the four provincial secretaries in Sindh. However, the
bureaucracy also bears some responsibility for its politicization. There is no
dearth of officers who are keen to dance to the tune of their political patrons.
But the main fault lies with a political culture that encourages such
behaviour on the part of the officials. It is this rotten political culture that the
chief ministers actions are symptomatic of. The four provincial sectaries
must be immediately restored. (Editorial, The News 25th May)

Defiance of judiciary
SC proposes, Speaker disposes: The verdict has raised the morale of
the prime minister, though at the same time it has also sparked a new
controversy about the powers of the Speaker. She has made ineffective the
judgment given by a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court against Mr
Gilani. People ask if the NA Speaker is someone wiser and more powerful
than the countrys top court. Is she infallible? If so, then every MNA is free
to commit contempt of court and then take refuge under the umbrella of the
Speaker. Needless to point out that already the PPP leaders are targeting the
judiciary on various pretexts.
As things stand, the Speakers ruling holds the field and enables the
prime minister to stay in office unless some other order overrides it. Nobody
knows how long such an order will take to come by. Political circles are of
the view that by giving her ruling the Speaker has compromised her
impartiality and has established once again that she is only loyal worker of
the ruling party and can do anything to serve the party interest.
That her ruling will benefit the prime minister had become clear from
the views she had expressed in a recent TV interview. She had negated the
impression that her role in the present case is only that of a post office.
Substantiating her argument, she said if she was supposed to work just
as a post office the Constitution would not have given her 30 days to make
up her mind on how she should deal with the matter. Her assertion that
parliament has supremacy over the Constitution was yet another clear
indication of the kind of ruling that could be expected from her. In fact, all
other answers were also in line with the policy of the ruling party.
Now a new round of litigation is expected to start. Petitions may be
filed in the Supreme Court against the Speakers ruling. Arguments will be

1125

made about the maintainability or otherwise of such petitions and then after
a long time some order could be expected from the court.
Till then, the Makhdoom of Multan would comfortably stay in the
driving seat (Ashraf Mumtaz, TheNation 25th May)
A speaker and a prime minister: When it first became known that
National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza may hold the key to Yusuf
Raza Gilanis future as prime minister, we had written that her decision on
whether to send the disqualification reference against the PM to the Election
Commission will be as much a testament to the level of her own integrity
and uprightness as it will be a move deciding the PMs future. There is only
one right course of action and one hopes the speaker will stand up for the
law and not for parochial loyalties. Unfortunately, the speaker has chosen to
embrace the latter to dress herself up in party colours rather than upholding
the democratic norms of neutrality expected of a speaker, and the adherence
to law expected of a lawmaker. Dr Fehmida could have shown herself to be a
real stateswoman and truly spoken for the democracy her prime minister is
so fond of boosting about. Unfortunately she did not. Already, her decision
has been challenged by legal experts across the political divide while the
PPPs political opponents have threatened to challenge her decision in a
court of law.
The PML-N has condemned the ruling in the strongest terms and
Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has clearly said Dr Fehmida took the decision as a
PPP activist, at the expense of her duties as NA speaker. Legal experts have
also expressed reservations about her decision, arguing that after the
Supreme Court has already ruled on the matter, the speaker has no powers
regarding the disqualification of any member of the National Assembly. So,
what should we expect in the days ahead? There are two likely turnouts: one,
that the ECP will now consider the SC judgment directly, in which case it
would first have to declare that the speaker has no constitutional powers to
dismiss the judgment of the apex court; and two, that the administrative
order of the speaker will be challenged in the Supreme Court itself. In the
first scenario, if the ECP gives a ruling contrary to Dr Mirzas and declares
her decision unconstitutional, it will bring the office of the speaker and
parliament into disrepute and we will only have Dr Fehmida to blame. In
the second scenario, another long cycle of judicial wrangling will be
unleashed. Neither scenario will be the victory for democracy Prime
Minister Gilani has so confidently declared. Indeed, trust this government to
create another controversy: we have been seeing a judiciary-executive
confrontation, and now we have a judiciary-legislature conflict as well. We
1126

had expected a constitutional decision from the speaker but she has delivered
a political one. With her ruling likely to be challenged in a court of law, Dr
Fehmida may have bought more time for the prime minister, but she has
only earned bad name for herself. (Editorial, The News 26th May)
Loyalty trumps law: Imagine that the speaker had given a ruling
different from the one that she has. Imagine that she had risen above party
loyalty, as required by the mandate of her office, and allowed the question of
the prime ministers disqualification to proceed to and be decided by the
Election Commission, as required by the Constitution. Imagine that she had
not chosen to do what Aitzaz Ahsan suggested she might do while
addressing a press conference the day the Supreme Courts short order
convicting the prime minister was announced. Imagine that she had chosen
to do the right thing and exercise her powers judiciously, even at the risk of
being labeled a traitor within her party. Would that not be shocking? Would
it not confuse us and force us to re-evaluate our cynical view of our ruling
elite?
Thankfully, the speaker has saved us the trouble for such rethink. The
speakers ruling was always expected to be part of the larger PPP strategy
contrived to confront the situation arising out of the prime ministers
contempt conviction. The die was cast when Aitzaz Ahsan-PPPs now
favoured constitutional magician-cleverly suggested that the speaker could
independently decide that the prime minister had not been charged for
ridiculing the judiciary and consequently no question of disqualification
under Article 63(1)(g) could arise. The shameless resolution passed by the
National Assembly in support of our convicted prime minister had further
established that for the ruling regime it was all about winning. And to win, it
was willing to fight dirty.
Here is why the speakers ruling is wrong. In determining the issue of
disqualification of a member in a contempt of court matter, Article 63(1)(g)
prescribes two requirements: one, there be a conviction by a court of
competent jurisdiction; and two, the conviction should be for actions that
prejudice the independence of the judiciary or bring the judiciary into
ridicule. The Supreme Courts ruling in the prime ministers contempt matter
unequivocally stated that the prime minister had acted in a manner that
brought the judiciary into ridicule. That the apex court is a court of
competent jurisdiction is also beyond doubt. Thus, after the Supreme Courts
detailed ruling there was no ambiguity that the prerequisites for triggering
the disqualification process under Article 63(1)(g) had been satisfied.

1127

It is true that the court did not state that the prime minister stood
disqualified under Article 63(1)(g) and allowed the constitutionally
prescribed process under Articles 63(2) and (3) for effecting
disqualifications of members to run its course. By abusing the authority
vested in her under Article 63(2), the speaker has stalled the constitutional
due process. She has decided that despite the prime ministers conviction by
the highest court of the land for committing contempt of court and ridiculing
the judiciary, no question of disqualification has arisen under Article 63(1)
(g), merely because the show-cause issued to the prime minister didnt
mention the said article.
The speaker is vested with limited authority under Article 63(2) to
determine a question of fact, and not one of law. It is true that she is not a
post office and has to consciously determine that an alleged fact that raises a
question of disqualification in fact exists. But she can exceed this authority
to ask whether a question of disqualification has rightly arisen or not. The
authority to make such substantive legal determination of whether a member
ought to be disqualified has been vested in the Election Commission under
Article 63(3), but usurped by the speaker in the present instance.
Additionally, the objection that the Supreme Court has declared the
prime minister guilty of ridiculing the judiciary while not stating in the
charge sheet that the prime minister will be tried for breach of Article 63(1)
(g) is a legal ground for appeal against the said order. The prime ministers
legal team has reportedly identified gazillion errors in the contempt
judgment, and it has every right to do so. But those questions need to be
raised before the appellate bench of the Supreme Court during the appeal
process and decided by the court itself.
In taking into account such legal grounds of attack against the
contempt ruling while discharging her limited function under Article 63(2),
the speaker has elected to sit in judgment over a ruling of the Supreme
Court. That is impermissible under our constitutional scheme. The speakers
decision is thus incorrect. But it cannot be called illegal until a constitutional
court declares it to be so. So for now, the Election Commission has no
relevance to this controversy, as there is no question of disqualification
transmitted to it that it needs to decide. The ruling has however given rise to
a question of constitutional interpretation, and it is only a matter of time
before the speakers ruling will be challenged before a High Court or the
Supreme Court.

1128

As the matter involves interpretation of Article 63, determination of

the scope of the speakers authority, and the considerations she can lawfully
take into account while discharging her responsibility under Article 63(2),
this matter will eventually have to be determined by the court. Those
claiming that our constitutional courts cannot determine the legality of the
ruling issued under Article 63(2) are mistaken. One, there is no ouster clause
in the Constitution prohibiting the courts from interpreting the meaning of
Article 63(2) and the scope of the speakers authority pursuant to it. Article
69 only prohibits courts from questioning the validity of proceedings of
parliament and doesnt relate to an action of the speaker under Article 63(2).
Even otherwise, it is settled law that even an ouster clause doesnt
afford any protection to an unconstitutional act one without jurisdiction or
based on mala fide. Our constitutional courts will need to interpret the
meaning of Article 63(2) and identify the considerations that the speaker can
legally take into account while determining whether or not a question of a
members disqualification has arisen. Judicial interpretation of this matter is
required in the interest of legal clarity. If it is accepted that the speakers
determination on whether or not a question of disqualification has arisen is
infallible and no matter how irrational or whimsical her decision there is no
legal remedy against it, Article 63(1) will be rendered redundant to a large
extent and no member of the ruling regime will ever face disqualification.
The flawed proposition that political accountability in a democracy is
a suitable substitute for legal accountability has no place within our
constitutional scheme that balances separation of powers with checks and
balances. The speakers partisan ruling has highlighted the need for judicial
interpretation of Article 63(2). But in doing so the courts must not proceed
with such fervour and dispatch that undermines their claim to being neutral
arbiters of the law. There is no doubt that while the determination of a legal
controversy lingers some injustice is perpetuated. By that is true for all the
hundreds of thousands of cases pending before the courts, and not just for
the prime ministers conviction matter.
While a speaker can get away with partisanship, the court cannot. If
the ruling regime succeeds in projecting the prime ministers contempt
matter as a duel between the PPP and the Supreme Court, what will be lost is
the credibility of the judiciary. Skies wont cave in even if the prime minister
continues to lord it over this pitiable country for an extra few months while
legal processes grind along and we inch towards elections. But then you
wonder about the PPPs game plan. Forget doing the right thing, wouldnt
dropping the bag of bricks that Gilani has become and bring in a clean(er)
1129

guy to lead the party into polls be the intuitive thing for it to do? But then
would we be in such a mess if our rulers started doing the logical thing?
(Babar Sattar, The News 26th May)
Prime ministers disqualification: The constitution of Pakistan
(Article 631g) clearly lists conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction
as grounds for disqualification of an MNA. The speaker of the National
Assembly stands guilty of misreading the facts of the case, and the
constitution. This is the paramount reason that interpretation of the
constitution is the sole responsibility of the Supreme Court. This is yet
another attempt to ridicule the SC by this irresponsible government. (Tariq
Nazir Syed from Rawalpindi, The News 26th May)
A trifle partisan? National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirzas
decision not to forward a reference to the Election Commission against
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, smacks of being partisan. The stand that
Dr Mirza has taken was widely expected, as it falls in line with the
governments position in support of the Prime Minister, after his conviction
by the Supreme Court. It borders on the ridiculous, even farcical, to be faced
with a situation where one is at a loss to understand whether the final
authority in determining contempt of court and its implications rests with the
highest judicial authority in the land or the Speaker of the lower house. Dr
Fehmida Mirzas ruling presents the following argument for not forwarding
the Prime Ministers case to the Election Commission. I am of the view that
the charges against Yousuf Raza Gilani are not relatable to the grounds
mentioned in paragraph (g) or (h) of Clause (1) of Article 63; therefore, no
question of his disqualification from being a member arises under Clause (2)
of Article 63 of the Constitution.
There exists considerable legal opinion, which has voiced concern that
the Speakers ruling may not be consistent with the demands of the
Constitution. Other than a dangerous precedent being set, it lays the ground
for yet another round of confrontation. Whether between the Executive and
the Judiciary, or the government and the opposition, which will certainly not
let the matter rest in an election cycle. Some even point to the dire warning
recently given by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, during the
course of hearing another case, that if the government did not implement the
court orders, an emergency might be imposed in the country. Such
predictions are not to be made lightly, nor taken lightly.
While feeling hurt at the letter written by the Assistant Registrar of the
Supreme Court to the Speaker, Dr Mirza, in fact, betrays ignorance of

1130

normal procedure followed in government offices, where even a Section

Officer is authorized to issue orders on behalf of the President of the country.
The space given to it in the text of her ruling, in any case, suggests that the
argument has been needlessly stretched at the cost of the point at issue. The
Speakers ruling will most likely prompt some concerned citizen to file a
petition in the Supreme Court. It is not yet the end. (Editorial, TheNation
26th May)
May musings: Corruption and possession of political and executive
power make for a lethal mix. When the highest courts are defied and norms
of justice and fair play disregarded to serve personal and partisan interests
(the latest instance is the NA Speakers ruling on the Supreme Court
judgment), where to turn to for remedy and relief.
Can or will the people rise to take care of the evil-doers? Do we have
in the opposition the will and the sagacity to mobilize people to mount a
massive resistance? Do people and leaders know what they want and how a
new order and a better system can be brought into play?
In the earlier times, the solution was quick and simple. The guardians
of our frontiers would pick up the pieces and grab the helm. Hemmed in as
they are, by constraints and compulsions, internal and external, and
cognizant as they are of the formidable challenges of all sorts, rightly are
they hesitant to move in. Good that they will not walk in. But the influence
they wield could possibly be pressed into a meaningful service.
Let them keep away, but there is no harm in their extending a firm
advice for early elections under a competent and upright Chief Election
Commissioner. (Inayatullah, TheNation 26th May)
Contradictions in all that we do...: Justice is the current key word
in our national lingo. It appears that the Speaker of Parliament has chosen
to interpret the ruling of the Supreme Court in the contempt case and found
that it did not warrant a disqualification or removal of the PM. This is quite
like some of our non-scholarly clergy, who chooses to interpret Quranic
verses according to their personal vision and limited knowledge. Although
our Speaker cannot be called non-knowledgeable, the fact remains that she
and her family cannot be expected to take a position against the political
party to which they owe everything. Thus, anybody who expected any other
ruling from her needs to go back to the school of Pakistani politics. The
nation remains confused in the middle of all the legalese and most of us have
become half-baked lawyers ourselves after reading all the arguments given

1131

on both sides. However, the perception remains that there has been a
contempt of court, which has not been adhered to.
The PPP, in view of the Speakers ruling, may not even file a review
petition in the Supreme Court. The parties in opposition have begun to plan
their responses and actions in the light of this development. We can only
hope that protests will remain peaceful and no loss to life and property is
caused as witnessed in Karachi a few days ago. (Tallat Azim, TheNation
26th May)

Baloch militancy
Ominous warnings: Can the Supreme Court solve the highly
complicated issue of Balochistan all on its own, without any help from the
other institutions of state? Certainly, this is the challenge it seems to be
facing right now, with the two-member SC bench hearing the case of the
collapsing law and order in Balochistan desperately attempting to get other
institutions to act. When Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has to resort to
warnings about the imposition of emergency, the threat acquires an
altogether different significance and cannot be over-emphasized. It is a
telling indication of the extent to which Balochistan is on the brink of
disaster. Indeed, this can only be a clarion call for the rulers to awaken from
their self-imposed slumber and take charge of a province that is fast sliding
towards chaos. For, as the CJ reminded all major political players on
Wednesday, non-implementation of the Constitution has led to martial law in
the past. Given the destruction wrought during periods of army rule, there is
no room for anymore such experiments and that is what the CJs warning
was really about: asking the government to follow the law and give the
people of Balochistan their basic rights under the Constitution lest the
situation worsens and brings even more ruin.
But all that the government has offered is a hollow list, presented by
the prime ministers principal and defence secretaries, of measures taken to
stabilize the province. The CJ wanted to know why the PM had never
summoned Balochistans governor or chief minister over the security
situation. Indeed, why is the committee formed by the prime minister to look
into Balochistan not only clueless about the problems plaguing the province
but has never even bothered to visit Balochistan? Why isnt the prime
minister taking it to task for not doing its job? Balochistan Chief Minister
Nawab Raisani has only spent seven days in the province in the last six
months. This is criminal. But what is even more criminal is that the federal
1132

government is taking no action against him for being absolutely indifferent

to the burning province. The PMs principal secretary had little to say when
asked why the PM was unmoved. The court has also taken stern notice of the
failure of the Balochistan home secretary to appear before it and ordered the
interior secretary to act against him. We all know where this problem of
defiance to the courts stems from.
The court has made it quite clear it intends to uphold the Constitution
at all costs, and warned the government of the urgent need to do just the
same. It has also pinpointed the problems of Balochistan, including the role
of the Frontier Corps and other agencies in taking people away while the
provincial police remain helpless. That the problems are known should make
them easier to tackle. Everyone will now be watching what actions the
government takes and whether it possesses the capacity to rise to the
challenge. Balochistan needs a real, working political setup not an orgy of
the powerful whereby the provinces resources have been divided among
politicians on the basis of individual clout and a security establishment that
operates entirely above the law. CJ Chaudhry will not head the SC forever.
Governments and prime ministers will also come and go. But Pakistan is
here to stay and so is Balochistan. The government would do well to
remember that boundaries change when attitudes dont. Pakistan was carved
out of India because a communitys rights were denied. Bangladesh didnt
happen by chance. If history is anything to go by, Balochistan cannot be
taken for granted anymore. (Editorial, The News 25th May)

Turf war in Karachi

An unfortunate reaction: Though bloodletting has become a matter
of routine for Karachi, thanks to the ruling coalitions misconceived greed in
keeping their hold on power, the gory events of Tuesday are the outcome of
an entirely different but certainly divisive issue. It is the call for creating a
Mohajir province out of Sindh, an issue that was bound to come up
following the federal setups move to carve a Seraiki province out of Punjab.
In fact, the demand for a separate governing unit for southern Punjab was
made to strengthen the then dormant question of mohajirs, settled in Sindh,
having a province of their own. Recall the plan to establish Jinnahpur. The
peaceful citizens participating in the rally taken out to protest against the
demand for a Mohajir province, 14 of whom lay dead, and 51 who were
injured as a result of hostile attacks by unknown persons stand witness to the
inherent evil of disturbing the current governing structure of the country.

1133

Both public and private property houses, a bank, shops, cars and
motorcycles were torched by the rioting public.
The Nawa-i-Waqt group has been in the forefront warning against this
mischief, which carry the implications of violence and disarray. This group
has been urging, in these columns and elsewhere, not to fiddle with the
present structure of the country sanctified by the Constitution. Whatever the
compulsions, now definitely is not an appropriate time for any such
fissiparous move. Already bogged down in attempts at protecting local
interests, the leadership must beware that they would be sounding a death
knell to the countrys unity if they went ahead with further dividing it into
more governing units. Today, Pakistan is facing daunting challenges and
there can be no better way to overcome them than to have complete unity in
our ranks.
Mr Ayaz Latif Palejo, President of the Awami Tehreek (AT), who led
the Love Sindh Rally, felt so outraged that he vowed to avenge the blood
of victims. These murders will not go unnoticed. Those shedding blood on
the streets of Karachi will be held accountable, he declared at a press
conference. He also announced a wheel-jam strike beginning from Tuesday
evening to Wednesday evening across the province of Sindh. Obviously
pointing a finger at the provincial government, he alleged that the police left
the area right when the shooters began indiscriminate firing. Mr Palejo
charged that while containers were placed in the way of ATs rally, the proMohajir province rally faced no such hurdle. We once again sincerely urge
the federal government as well as all other political parties not to open the
Pandoras Box of provinces and put an end to this highly controversial idea
that carries disastrous implications. (Editorial, TheNation 24th May)
More lawlessness: The attack on a passenger bus on its way to Kohat
from Karachi that left 10 people dead and injured 25 others should wake up
everyone responsible for maintaining the countrys security. Such grisly
incidents have become quite common, which indicates that the police and
other law enforcement agencies need a drastic overhaul. The bus was
stopped near the area of Nawabshah, where gangsters with automatic
weapons sprayed it with bullets at point blank range. The assassins dropped
a leaflet mentioning a terrorist organization based in Sindh.
This modus operandi of the killers bears close resemblance to
previous attacks on passenger coaches occurring in Gilgit and Balochistan.
Whoever is involved, it is clear that they intend to create lawlessness as a
means to spreading general anarchy in the country. Like always, an inquiry

1134

has been initiated by the Federal Interior Minister, Mr Rehman Malik, which
is the traditional practice that speaks volumes about the way his government
approaches such serious incidents. The killers, as in previous cases, will
remain at large. With already so much violence going on, these attacks add
to the citizens fear and shake their confidence in the state. We have seen the
authorities failing to curb lawlessness in Balochistan, where things are on
the edge. If it is a foreign hand, as the intelligence agencies maintain, it has
to be proven and stopped immediately. (Editorial, TheNation 27th May)
Karachis need for a solution: Taking notice of the killings in
Karachi, CM Sindh established a Judicial Commission, headed by a judge of
the Sindh High Court, to probe into the matter. Likewise, the federal
government formed a Committee comprising four Federal Ministers, headed
by Amin Fahim. It is a fact that when governments lack political will to deal
with issues, they constitute committees and eventually matters are pushed
under the carpet. Hence, to bring permanent peace to Karachi, here are some
suggestions:
All stakeholders need to demonstrate their sincerity and seriousness
about the Karachi situation.
Political parties must commit to eliminate the criminal elements from
their ranks.
Appointment of a full-time Home Minister to look after the law and
order of the city.
More powers should be extended to the Police and Rangers to
maintain the law and order.

Depoliticize the police force.

Increase the number of police force, according to the citys

population, as presently over 50 percent of the force is deployed for
the protocol and security of the politicians and other VIPs.
Modern training and technology, including sophisticated weapons and
communication systems, must be provided to the Police.
Unfortunately, the police during the Lyari Operation was not as
equipped as the criminals, creating a serious threat to their lives and
that of the public.

1135

 Close coordination among secret agencies looking after the states

security and the timely exchange of information between them is
must.
The government, its coalition partners and the people need to support
the police or rangers against those who are involved in heinous
crimes. Nobody should try to protect them.
Finally, we must remember that no plan or policy can be successful,
unless the people at the helm of affairs are not sincere. The political forces in
Karachi must advice their workers and supporters to show tolerance in
dealing with each other, regardless of the language they speak or the
province/city they belong to. Karachi is Pakistan and all Pakistanis have an
equal right on the citys resources; no individual or political party can claim
that it has more rights than others. (Waheed Hussain, TheNation 28th May)

REVIEW
The Speaker of National Assembly despised being labeled as post
office while dealing with the conviction of Gilani in contempt of court
case. Any Jiyala or Jiyali would have thought that way, because a post office
is supposed to act as custodian of amanats handed over to it by public, never
betraying the trust by indulging into khiyanat.
Perhaps, it has been for this reason that this phrase was looked down
upon so vehemently. Well before announcing the ruling in the case of Prime
Minister Gilani, the Speaker had vowed not to act as post office. This was in
accordance with the directives she had received from the Scoundrel and the
Saint and also the advice she had solicited from legal experts within the
party.
In her endeavour to look Bold and Beautiful, Begum Fehmida Mirza
faltered on many counts while giving her ruling. She based it on the same
argument, or line of defence, which was taken up by Aitzaz during
defending his client and turned down by the Supreme Court. She even
preferred to borrow his words reflecting complete like-mindedness of
Jiyalas and Jiyalis.
She took full month, despite getting plenty of advice, guidance and
even dictation both open and behind the door, to deliver what her loyalty to
the party leadership demanded. She came up to the expectations of the

1136

Scoundrel and earned his favours, not only for herself but also for her spouse
and the son.
It looked so easy for a lady doctor to over-rule a legal verdict given by
seven judges of the apex court. They had detailed examination of the culprit
Gilani and meted out treatment which he deserved, or badly needed. The
Scoundrel sought second opinion from Dr Fehmida and she declared him fit
in all respects; legal and moral rules have no value in diagnosis carried out
according to medical science.
The decision of PPPs top leadership not to file intra-court appeal was
coordinated before hand with the ruling of the Speaker. This reflected the
mind of the Scoundrel and his cunning advisers like Aitzaz Ahsan. By doing
so he conveyed several messages to the judges and his adversaries
supporting independence of the Judiciary.
Out of these the one that relates to the Supreme Court as final judicial
authority, especially in deciding the Constitutional matters, is the most
significant. The government has indirectly conveyed that after the ruling of
the Speaker National Assembly there can be no appeal filed in any court or
constitutional forum. Begum Mirza is the final authority in such matters. She
is one-person Supreme Judicial Council to decide constitutional issues.
The apex court and legal experts may think otherwise, but that would
mean nothing to defiant duo of the Scoundrel and the Saint. That means that
the PPP leaders, of course with the support of coalition partners, have
planned to confront the Judiciary and continue defying its verdicts at will,
irrespective of the consequences.
As said in an earlier article soon after April 26 verdict in the contempt
case give an inch to a hardened criminal, he/she would take a yard has
been fully vindicated by the Speakers ruling and Scoundrels decision not to
file an intra-court appeal. And, quite ironically, this indecent edict has been
proved valid by a person who is known to be the most sober and sensible out
of all the Jiyalas and Jiyalis.
Her ruling has been an ultimate form of ridicule of the Judiciary far
more sophisticated than for what Gilani was convicted, yet the judges have
to digest it rather than taking suo moto notice of the offence committed by
the Lady Mirza. For all this the judges have to blame none other than
themselves.
Out of all the character traits a judge must possess, the quality of
moral courage is most important. He must have the courage to call a spade a

1137

spade in much clearer words than those of Khalil Jibran quoted by a judge in
additional note attached to the detailed judgment.
Certainly, the seven judges on the bench lacked this quality; instead of
expressing the truth with all its bluntness they preferred to take refuge in
references and cross-references to various Articles of the Constitution and
clauses of other relevant laws pertaining to the case. The one who chose to
call a spade a spade, he too opted for borrowing few lines from Khalil
Jibran. The result is before the entire nation. What the seven men wearing
hoods proposed, woman covering half her head with dopatta disposed.
Meanwhile, the turf war had been raging in Karachi mainly amongst
mafias patronized by three political parties. But, the war was so well
controlled by the respective leadersips since return of the democracy to
Pakistan that despite their conflicting interests it remained restricted to the
port city.
The check on its escalation was necessitated primarily for two
reasons; to keep the ruling coalition intact and block entry of a fourth force
into the arena from where enormous amount of cash and land could be
grabbed as fruits of democracy. The democratic system needed to be
preserved and allowed to flourishing.
This worked well till the time the respective political parties could
understand the hypocritical niceties of this strategy. The activists of the
PPP from Lyari somehow failed to match the hypocrisy of their leaders and
bitterness started appearing in the party. When Zulfikar Mirza decided to
quit Sindh government and the cat slip out of the bag.
Over time the Lyari Gang developed differences with party leaders
and Zardari preferred to preserve the coalition with the MQM and decided to
nip the evil in the bud that had sprouted within his party. Zardari ordered
operation in his partys stronghold and thus committed a rare mistake in
power politics; he stretched the loyalties of party activists beyond tolerable
limits.
The political adversaries tried to make inroads into Lyari with the help
of disenchanted activists of PPP, which was resisted by the Sindh
government. When all these parties joined hands to stage a rally to protest
against the demands for the division of Sindh, MQM disapproved of it and
reacted in familiar manner in which it excels. Twelve people were killed
when unknown gunmen opened fire at the peaceful rally.

1138

Attack was widely condemned, including the MQM, but people of

Lyari and nationalist leaders were quite vocal in resenting the spilling of
innocent blood. Only a day later, yet another group of unknown gunmen
ambushed a KPK-bound bus and sprayed bullets at the passengers after
Sindhis were told to dismount.
This was gruesome act of terrorism, apparently to put blame on Sindhi
nationalists. However, nationalists condemned the incident and demanded
impartial probe. That is how an ugly turf war in Karachi turned uglier and
was likely to engulf the entire province.
28th May, 2012

1139

WAR WITHIN-XII
The week under review began with filing of petitions by the PML-N
and PTI in the Supreme Court challenging the ruling of the Speaker National
Assembly in which she decided not to refer the matter of Gilanis
conviction/disqualification to the ECP. The petitioners begged the court to
annul the ruling and remove Gilani from the office of Prime Minister.
Gilani reacted by accusing PML-N and PTI of judicializing a
political issue. He once again reiterated that the Parliament is supreme and
the ruling of its Speaker cannot be challenged in any court. Gilani the Saint,
who has been boasting of acquiring distinction of appearing in the Supreme
Court thrice, earning a conviction while defending the Constitution and
becoming the longest serving Prime Minister, achieved another milestone by
presenting fifth consecutive annual budget, though it has been widely
criticized by people and pundits.
Meanwhile, the people of Punjab resorted to violence during protest
rallies held in various towns against targeted load shedding of electricity.
Punjabis, as usual took time to understand the clever moves of the Scoundrel
to victimize them. PML-N leaders have also realized that they been fooled
by Zardari on this count.
Zardari, who has bunkered himself in Bilawal House in Karachi since
his return from Chicago, is controlling the targeted killings. He also spared
time to write to Speaker National Assembly to form a commission to work
out modalities to establish provinces of Bahawalpur and Multan, while
Nawaz Sharif pledged to safeguard sanctity of Sindh.

NEWS
Power politics: On 28th May, addressing a gathering in Lahore to
mark Youm-e-Takbeer, Nawaz condemned the covert US operation in
Abbottabad that killed former al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, claiming
that the incident had damaged Pakistans sovereignty. He claimed that

1140

Pakistan had become a beggar state whose sovereignty was repeatedly

compromised by various episodes such as the Raymond Davis incident and
the Abbottabad raid.
Nawaz Sharif said under his leadership the country had witnessed a
golden era, and referred to the current era as a dark chapter in Pakistans
history. He added that President Zardari had indemnified Musharraf and
promised him (Nawaz) he would not become president, but went on to dupe
him along with the rest of the nation. Nawaz criticized the president for
visiting Chicago and said, Zardari should tell the nation what he was doing
in Chicago.
Next day, angry over the alliance of the PML-N with Gohar Ayub of
the Likeminded group, Sardar Muhammad Mushtaq of the PML-N from
Haripur decided to seek PPP help and held a meeting with President Zardari.
After the meeting he said that it has been almost four years since he became
the MNA but not a single uplift project has been carried out in his
constituency primarily because he was from the PML-N.
On 31st May, Punjab cabinet approved the draft law of the Punjab
Local Government Act 2012 and announced that it would hold the local
government polls. However, the cabinet remained indecisive about whether
the local government elections should be held on a party or non-party basis
and left this question for the assembly to decide.
Shahbaz said in order to give an effective representation to the young
generation in decision-making process, five percent quota would be
allocated for the youth while 33 percent seats would be reserved for women
under the new local government system. Similarly, he said, special seats
would be reserved for minorities and farmers as well as workers in local
bodies institutions to give due representation to all segments of the society.
Prime Minister Gilani, however, expressed reservations on the proposed LG
polls.
Next day, the government incorporated the expenses related to the
provision of security for President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani in the
Finance Bill 2012-13 after they relinquish their offices. According to the
Finance Bill 2012, the government proposed amendment of Act IX of 1975
in the Presidents Pension Act by inserting a clause under which suitable
security, including services of personnel, vehicle or vehicles and allied
matters, has been made, which will be notified in the official gazette.
Similarly, in the prime ministers salary, a new section shall be added in the
Allowance and Privileges Act 1975, which states that every person who has
1141

held this office for not less than two years shall be entitled for life to the
suitable security.
On 3rd June, it was reported that Prime Minister Gilani has kept a
phenomenal amount of Rs22 billion at his discretion in the election budget
to spend on development projects of his choice in the coming months before
going to polls. Besides, he has also allocated a sum of Rs5 billion for
distribution among his party MPs for undertaking development schemes in
their respective constituencies to buoy up their electoral prospects.
Similarly, a sum of Rs5 billion was put under the PWP-I, which will
be meant for allotment to the ruling coalition members of parliament, who
are already getting a lot of money for their areas. The controversial PWP
was introduced by the first Benazir Bhutto government, which led to
innumerable scandals, irregularities and discrepancies. The following
administration abolished it. However, it was again restored by the second
Benazir government.
The data showed that the decline in spending on social security and
welfare was attributable to considerable decline in the expenditures of two
programmes i.e. Benazir Income Support Programme and Pakistan Bait-ulMal (48.66 and 24.9 percent respectively). The reason for the drastic decline
in the amount disbursed and consequently in the number of beneficiaries is
the removal of giving cash grants through the MPs and shifting completely
to disbursing grants to families who qualified for the poverty scorecard.

Rule of law: On 28th May, Prime Minister Gilani, while talking to

Hamid Mir, said there was no restriction on dual citizenship for legislators in
the Constitution, and he was in favour of expatriate Pakistanis having both
the right to vote and of becoming members of parliament. To a question
about the charges of corruption against his government, PM Gilani said the
judiciary and NAB were independent and if there were real cases, they
should be decided in the courts. The PM said price hikes are a global issue
and not confined to Pakistan only.
Addressing a conference arranged by the International Council of
Jurists on the subject of rule of law, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry claimed that the Supreme Court of Pakistan acts as the final
arbiter and protector of Constitutions norms, while the future of Pakistan is
linked to democracy. He was in London to receive the International Jurists
Award 2012.

1142

On 30th May, a trial court indicted former minister for Religious

Affairs former director general and former joint secretary in the Haj
corruption case. Special Judge Central (FIA) charged Hamid Kazmi with
acquiring residential buildings for Pakistan pilgrims at exorbitant rates in
Saudi Arabia in 2009, taking commission, making advance payments in
violation of the policy and appointing Ahmed Faiz as building hiring
supervisor. The court framed almost similar charges against all the three
accused, who rejected the charge-sheet.
The judge adjourned the hearing till June 5 and summoned 10
witnesses to appear before the court and record their statements on the next
date. The court also declared accused Ahmed Faiz as absconder for not
attending the court proceeding despite repeated notices. On May 25, the
court had rejected the acquittal plea of the former minister terming it
Premature as around 89 witnesses had yet to record their statements
including Ambassador in Saudi Arabia Umar Khan Sherzai.
The Supreme Court rejected the documents submitted by Interior
Minister pertaining to renouncing his British citizenship and directed him to
submit valid documents proving that he did not hold the British nationality
anymore. During the hearing the counsel for the interior minister presented
before the court a form filled by Rehman Malik. The court, however,
rejected the documents, saying it had asked the interior minister to present
an attested certificate issued by the British government to prove he had
forfeited his citizenship.
During the hearing, the chief justice asked the attorney general
whether he had intimated to the secretaries National Assembly, Senate and
provincial assemblies and sought their assistance on the issue of
parliamentarians holding dual nationality. The AG replied that he had
intimated the Law Ministry. The CJ reminded him that the court had asked
him to directly contact the authorities concerned. Waseem Sajjad, the
counsel for Farahnaz Ispahani, sought an adjournment in the case. The court
adjourned the hearing till June 4.
Next day, the Supreme Court directed the establishment secretary to
ensure the repatriation of Hussain Asghar, an investigation officer in the Haj
corruption case, to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and submit
before the court the notification regarding the withdrawal of his posting as
IG Gilgit Baltistan. The court took strong exception to the non-compliance
of its orders pertaining to the withdrawal of the transfer notification of IG

1143

Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Hussain Asghar, who was the head probing officer of
the alleged Haj corruption arrangement 2010.
On 1st June, Interior Minister Rehman Maliks application to renounce
his British nationality was accepted by the Home Office in London and he is
no longer a British national. Rehman Malik only filed the Renunciation of
Nationality (RN form) in person on 28th May, 2012. Malik had arrived in
London on Sunday afternoon in the same Pakistan International Airlines
flight with the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
The facts surrounding the case of Maliks nationality renunciation
may not only cause huge embarrassment to the beleaguered federal minister
but could also lead to the court taking action against him for supplying
incorrect evidence that he had renounced his nationality in early 2008. The
charges of perjury are a serious possibility if it is proven that Rehman Malik
attempted to mislead the highest court of the land.

Defiance of judiciary: On 28th May, PML-N and PTI moved the

Supreme Court to direct the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to
decide the matter of Prime Minister Gilanis disqualification and declare Dr
Fehmidas decision unlawful and unconstitutional. Senior PML-N leader
Khawaja Asif and PTI Chairman Imran Khan filed identical constitutional
petitions in the apex court, challenging National Assembly Speakers ruling
not to send the PMs disqualification reference to the ECP.
In their petitions, the PML-N and PTI made the Federation, Prime
Minister Gilani, the Election Commission of Pakistan, through its secretary
and National Assembly Speaker respondents. Khawaja Asif sought the apex
courts directions to the ECP to decide the question of the disqualification of
the PM under Article 63(2) and (3). Similarly, Imran Khan asked the apex
court to declare the ruling unconstitutional, void and in violation of
fundamental rights of access to justice and the independence of the judiciary.
Prime Minister Gilani, while talking to Hamid Mir in Geo programme
Capital Talk, said the issue of his disqualification had been forever put to
rest after the decision by National Assembly Speaker not to send the
disqualification reference against him to the Election Commission for a final
decision. I have been advised by my legal team and the party that I should
not go into appeal against the Supreme Court verdict, he said.
The Sindh High Court issued notices to the speaker National
Assembly, Prime Minister and Chief Election Commissioner on a petition
against the Speakers decision for not sending the disqualification reference

1144

against the PM to CEC. Petitioner Maulvi Iqbal Haider submitted that

Speakers ruling is without lawful authority and gross violation of the
Constitution.
Next day, Chief Justice of Pakistan said that judiciary has to win the
public confidence through its efficient performance and by giving quality
judgments. Although, the judicial organ of the state is independent in its
judicial functions, however, it cannot be left unbridled and without any
accountability. He was addressing at International Conference of Jurists
titled Accountability and Reforms held in London.
The ECP has shut the case of Prime Ministers disqualification after
the National Assembly Speakers decision not to send a reference to the
ECP. We have no plan to convene a meeting of the ECP to mull over the
court judgment because the issue ended after the Speaker ruled that no
question of the disqualification of the prime minister has arisen, ECP
member Justice (retd) Riaz Kayani told the media when contacted.
On 30th May, Justice (R) Riaz Kayani, Member ECP from Punjab,
clarified a news story and a statement attributed to him that appeared under
the headline: ECP thinks PMs disqualification case is dead now. A press
release issued by the ECP said: While interpreting these articles, I
categorically explained that the matter is now sub-judice in the apex court as
two petitions have already been filed against the ruling of the speaker and
the ECP would act according to constitution and direction given in the
judgment to be delivered.
Next day, National Assemblys Secretariat questioned maintainability
of the petition that sought direction to Speaker National Assembly for
sending the disqualification reference against the prime minister to the chief
election commissioner. The bench of SHC was hearing the petition of
Maulvi Iqbal Haider, who submitted in the petition that Yusuf Raza Gilani is
occupying the office of PM as well as member of MNA without lawful
authority.

Taming the military: On 30th May, President Zardari signed into

law the National Commission for Human Rights Bill 2012, handing ample
powers to a to-be-formed civilian entity to grill military and intelligence
organizations over alleged rights abuses. The bill was signed at a special
ceremony at Bilawal House, Karachi.
This development has evoked a mixed reaction from security and
legal circles as some analysts believed the law could invite gratuitous

1145

civilian interference into the work of security and intelligence agencies,

scuttling their capability to effectively discharge their national duty and
leading them to demoralization.
Some legal circles also expressed their reservations over the role of
foreign nations in providing financial assistance to the commission, which,
they believed, would increase indirect foreign interference in bid to bashing
Pakistans military as well as its national intelligence agencies. However,
there are others who support the PPP-led ruling alliance over the
commission and are dubbing it as a landmark development.
The Commission, headquartered in Islamabad, would consist of ten
members including Chairperson and a member each from the four provinces,
Fata and Islamabad Capital Territory, minority communities and the
Chairperson of the National Commission on the Status of Women and at
least two shall be the women members in this Commission. Federal
Government shall invite suggestions for suitable persons for appointment as
Chairperson and members of the Commission and, after proper scrutiny,
shall submit a list of these persons to the Prime Minister and the Leader of
the Opposition in the National Assembly.
The Commission would perform its functions either taking suo moto
or on a petition presented to it by a victim or any person on his behalf for
violation of human right or abetment thereof and the negligence in the
prevention of such violation, by a public servant. It can intervene in any
proceeding involving any allegation of violation of human rights pending
before a court by making application for becoming a party to the proceeding
before the court.
The Commission or any person authorized by it may visit any jail,
place of detention or any other institution or place under the control of the
Government or its agencies, where convicts, under trial prisoners, detainees
or other person are lodged or detained for purposes of ascertaining the
legality of their detention as well as to find out whether the provisions of the
applicable laws or other provision relating to the inmates living conditions
and their other rights are being complied with.
It would review the safeguards provided by or under the Constitution
or any other law for the time being in force for the protection of human
rights and recommend adoption of new legislation, the amendment of
existing law and adoption or amendment of administrative measures for their
effective implementation.

1146

The Commission would also spread human rights literacy among

various section of society and promote awareness of the safeguards available
for the protection of these rights through publications, print and electronic
media, seminars and other available means in all major languages of the
country.
The Commission would submit independent reports to the
Government on the state of human rights in Pakistan for incorporation in
reports to United Nations bodies or committees. It would also develop a
national plan of action for the promotion and protection of human rights.
The law says that the when the inquiry of Commission discloses the
violation of human rights, it would recommend the action and interim relief
to the victim to the Government or authority concerned. The Commission
would have all the powers of a Civil Court trying a suit under the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908). It may call for information or report
in cases of human rights form Government or its organization.
The Adviser on Human Rights who was present at the signing
ceremony will now formally write to the Speaker National Assembly urging
her to form the Parliamentary Committee for hearings and confirmation in
each of the posts in the Commission the names for which will be forwarded
to it by the Prime Minister in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition
in the National Assembly in accordance with the new law.

Recessing economy: On 28th May, official figures revealed just

before the budget that close to Rs2 trillion have been doled out by the PPP
government to grossly mismanaged corporations and state-owned enterprises
out of which over Rs1.1 trillion have gone to electricity companies, while
load shedding has only increased, Despite raising the electricity tariff by 150
percent, the government gave the power sector subsidies to the tune of
Rs1,122 billion but all this money seems to have gone down the drain or in
some rich peoples pockets.
Official figures on subsidies as well as the restructuring plan of giant
public sector enterprises (PSEs) such as the power sector, Pakistan Steel
Mills, PIA and Railways disclosed that the subsidies given were as follows:
the petroleum sector got Rs104 billion, fertilizer sector Rs110 billion, food
sector Rs137 billion and petroleum levy up to Rs136 billion. Official figures
also disclosed that the government had provided substantial amounts to less
developed areas in the last four years: Rs120 billion to Fata, Rs72 billion to
Azad Kashmir and Rs52 billion to Gilgit-Baltistan.

1147

All subsidies till March 2012 had been disbursed as timely

disbursement of tariff differential subsidy is being ensured. The BoDs of
Pakistan Steel Mills, another cash bleeding entity running into losses of
billions of rupees, has been reconstituted and a CEO has been appointed.
The implementation of a business plan for revitalizing the Pakistan Steel
Mills approved by the cabinet has started.
The Cabinet Committee on Restructuring of PSEs has operationalized
a restructuring framework for the Pakistan Railways. About 40 locomotives
have been repaired and become operational; route rationalization is being
pursued and loss making routes are being closed. Under the financial
restructuring plan, commercial borrowing has been obtained to repair 96
locomotives.
Next day, the government has in recent months increased its direct
borrowing from the central bank, effectively printing money to cover the
deficit, said Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Yaseen Anwar.
The government has borrowed Rs442 billion from the central bank so far
this fiscal year, Anwar said financing requests that he cant turn down. I
still have autonomy, but not enough to bounce a cheque from the
government, Anwar said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal in
Karachi.
That borrowing has kept inflation in double digits even as economic
growth has slowed to around 3%. Anwar said he expected inflation,
currently hovering just below 11%, to pick up in the next month or two.
Pakistan may have to return to the IMF for financial assistance this year
amid an unstable macroeconomic situation. Anwar said Pakistan could meet
its overseas debt obligations for now. But looming repayments to the IMF
from a programme that ended last year are likely to test the nations finances
in the months ahead.
From next fiscal year were going to have stresses. We see reserves
going down quite aggressively. He said the governments failure to get a
massive budget and mounting trade deficit under control could make it
difficult to meet the more than $4 billion in IMF loans coming due in the
fiscal year starting July 1. The IMF ended a three-year $11 billion
programme with Pakistan last year after disbursing only around $8 billion.
The fund withheld the final tranche of more than $3 billion in large part
because the government failed to take steps to reduce its budget deficit.
Payments on the loans have already begun, but they would ramp up in the
months ahead.

1148

The central bank, he said, is unlikely to be able to cut its key lending
rate, currently at 12%, in the near future. Even at these high rates, companies
are finding it hard to get loans in Pakistan as the big commercial banks
prefer to make profits buying government treasury bills, he added. Concerns
over the economy also have hurt the Pakistan rupee, which has been trading
around record lows at 92 rupees to the US dollar in recent weeks.
He said the central bank wont repay the IMF loans by buying US
dollars. That fear sent the Pakistani rupee careening lower earlier this year,
but the currency has since stabilized. The bank instead will run down foreign
reserves, which Anwar expects to fall by about half in the coming fiscal year
to $8 billion, representing less than two months of imports.
Pakistans Taliban insurgency and macroeconomic instability have led
to a fall off in foreign investment to just over $500 million in the current
fiscal year from annual levels over $8 billion a few years ago. Low foreign
investment is a real challenge, the governor said. He said he had turned
down requests from local banks to buy the Pakistan business of HSBC
Holdings PLC, which announced last month it was pulling out of the
country, and is instead inviting foreign bidders.
According to Economic Survey of Pakistan for the outgoing year
2011-12 to be launched tomorrow no development target was achieved while
there was a sharp increase in hunger, price-hike and load shedding.
Meanwhile, the government has approved Rs.873 billion Public Sector
Development Programme (PSDP) for the year 2012-13, with 360 as the
federal component. The growth for the next fiscal year has been projected at
4.3 percent where as estimated growth rate for the ongoing year would be
3.7 percent.
Dr Asim Hussain has emerged as a mighty minister in the present
government, as he has managed to convince Ministry of Law which earlier
refused to okay the summary of Ministry for Petroleum and Natural
Resources (MoPNR) seeking increase in Gas Development Surcharge
(GDS) on five sectors. The increase in price will scrounge Rs102 billion for
the regime.
On 30th May, at least three people were killed due to scorching heat as
temperatures shot up to 46 degrees in parts of the Punjab and long hours of
load shedding forced people to stage demonstrations, ransack Wapda offices
and other installations and block roads.
Protests turned violent in Faisalabad as demonstrators attacked the
Civil Line office of Fesco, causing damage to equipment and breaking
1149

windows and doors of the office. Meanwhile, all trade unions in Faisalabad
have announced a three-day long shutter-down strike on June 1. In Multan,
traders protested against prolonged power outages, chanted slogans against
the government, burnt tyres and blocked traffic. Protests also continued for
the second consecutive day in Kotli.
A protest was also held outside Bannu Press Club. Where protestors
claimed they had been without electricity for up to 22 hours on a daily basis.
In Lahore, four-hour-long power outages incited people who blocked GT
Road, suspending the traffic inflow from Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and other
cities for hours. According to our correspondent in Chak Jhumra, protesters
staged a sit-in at Bhai Wala railway crossing, stopping the Ghouri Express at
Faisalabad Railway Station and Karachi-bound Millat Express at Dry Port
for hours.
In Hafizabad, children chanted slogans against the government,
wearing breads around their necks and dragging donkeys to the protest site
with power bills stuffed in their mouths. In Sheikhupura, 14 students of
government and private schools fell unconscious. In Toba Tek Singh, a
senior leader of the PTI Qazi Ghiasuddin Janbaz announced a hunger strike
till death while the PML-N took out a rally lead by its district president Ch
Amjad Javed. In Kamalia, women launched a protest against 22-hour daily
load shedding while a high government officials effigy was burnt in
Kassowal.
Prime Minister Gilani claimed that the government was committed to
resolving the energy crisis and achieving energy security for the country,
adding that Pakistans power sector was presently facing a wide demandsupply gap, which had necessitated the enhancement of generation capacity
as well as related infrastructure. The PM was presiding over a meeting of the
Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) where he directed the Ministry of
Finance to urgently release Rs1.5 billion to Wapda to settle the remaining
claims of IPPs.
The PM said that the countrys economic growth was suffering due to
energy shortages and the government was taking steps on the short, medium
and long-term basis to bridge the gap between demand and supply. Gilani
said that solar energy was the cheapest renewable source and efforts were
being made to exploit this potential to the optimum level. The meeting was
informed that Suntech Power would develop projects of 100MW in suitable
regions of Pakistan in phases by installing each plant with generating
capacity of 20MW.

1150

The Economic Survey 2011-12, to be released by minister for finance

Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, will not give any updated figures on the cost of the
war against terrorism for the outgoing financial year. The last Economic
Survey 2010-11 had stated that since joining the US-led war on terrorism in
2001, Pakistans economy had suffered financial losses of around $68
billion.
Next day, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority issued a notification of
reduction in the prices of petroleum products from Rs4 to Rs13.24 per litre.
The new price list will be implemented from June 1 to 15. The notification
showed lesser reduction in prices than what was recommended.
The Economic Survey for 2011-12 exposed governments dismal
economic performance, as it missed all the economic targets set for the
financial year. The survey was released by Finance Minister Dr Hafeez
Shaikh. The survey, mirroring the economic realities of the country, did not
mention the adverse impact of the ongoing war against terrorism on the
economy during this fiscal year. The exact poverty figures were missing as
well.
The GDP growth remained at 3.7 percent against the target of 4.2
percent in the current financial year. The public debt of the country has
surged by almost 100 percent to Rs12.024 trillion as of March 31, 20112012 from Rs6.055 trillion in 2007-2008. The trade deficit has increased by
14.5 percent and current account deficit has swelled by $3.39 billion despite
the fact that the country received $10.8 billion in workers remittances in 10
months of the current financial.
The government injected Rs1.2 trillion in the last four years to
subsidize massive corruption, poor governance, electricity theft and stealing
of the furnace oil used for power generation. Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) sharply dwindled by 48.3 percent to $667 million during the first 10
months of the current ongoing fiscal as against $1,293 million in the last
fiscal with real investment declining from 13.1 percent of GDP to 12.5
percent of GDP.
Minister said tax measures enforced by the government in April 2011
had yielded dividend. The July-April 2012 growth in FBR tax revenues
demonstrated a growth of 24 percent to achieve Rs1,445 billion in revenue
compared to Rs1,250 billion collected last year. Efforts are under way to
achieve the ambitious target of Rs1,952 billion.
On 1st June, with eye on elections, government presented Rs2.96
trillion budget for the year starting from 1st July 2012. Earphones firmly
1151

plugged in to keep out the raucous jeers and sloganeering from the
opposition benches, Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Shaikh gamely kept reading
his prepared speech in his distinctive monotone.
The minister laid out a people-friendly budget with many goodies
for the electorate. And analysts across Pakistan are already challenging its
feasibility and the ability of the government to finance the promised treats.
While traders in Lahore have scoffed at the budget speech as the launch of
the PPPs election campaign, economic experts are expecting it to fuel a
dangerous inflationary spiral.
Following are the highlights of the annual budget presented by
Federal Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh in the National Assembly:
Total budget volume is Rs2,960 billion.
Gross Revenue Receipts are estimated to be Rs3,234 billion.
FBR sets Rs2,381 billion tax collection target.
Rs1,459 billion will be transferred to provinces under NFC Award.
Budget deficit is likely to remain at Rs1,185 billion.
Provincial Surplus is estimated at Rs80 billion.
Rs70 billion will be allocated for BISP.
Rs10 billion will be allocated for Export Development Fund.
10% additional discount at Utility Stores on different commodities for
BISP cardholders.
Government will set up 2,000 new Utility Stores, 35,000 families to
get relief.
100,000 youth to get internships, technical training.
Bachelor, master degree holders to get 40,000 internships each in
public and private sector.
20,000 graduates will be imparted skilled training to fulfill domestic
and foreign demand.
Government will pay tuition fee of PhD and master students
belonging to Balochistan, FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan.

1152

 Provide 20% ad hoc relief in pay and pension of Federal Government

Employees.
Income Tax Exemption Limit enhanced up to Rs400,000.
Tax on Business Turnover reduced from 1% to 0.5%.
Withholding tax ceiling for cash withdrawal from banks enhanced
from Rs25,000 to Rs50,000.
Federal Excise Duty on 10 items abolished.
Federal Excise Duty on cement reduced from Rs750 to 500 per metric
tonne.
18 raw materials, 9 components being used for text books, stationary
exempted from Customs Duty.
Customs duty reduced from 10% to 5% on 88 raw materials of
Pharmaceutical Industry.
Growth rate remains at 3.7 % as compared to 3.4 % during last two
years.
Pakistan will repay $1.2 billion of loans to IMF.
Sales Tax rate reduced from 17% to 16%.
Current expenditure registers 10% decrease.
Total volume of grants reached 70% of Divisible Pool.
Inflation reduced to 11%, next year it will be cut down to single digit.
Tax Revenue registered 46% increase, tax collection increased from
Rs1327 billion to Rs1950 billion.
Subsidy of Rs50 billion given on fertilizer.
Industrial growth rate projected to be 3.4% this year against 3.1% last
year.
Subsidies of Rs1,250 billion given on electricity sector during last five
years.
Government injected 3500MW of electricity to National Grid.
Pakistan to get 2 billion cubic feet of gas from Pak-Iran gas pipeline,
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan India gas pipeline.
1153

 500 million cubic feet of LNG will be made available for consumers.
Government gave relief of Rs70 billion on petroleum products.

National Economic Council approved Annual Development Plan of

Rs873 billion.

Federal Government share in Annual Development Plan is Rs300

billion.
200 projects completed under Public Sector Development Programme
(PSDP) at a cost of Rs300 billion.
Government allocated Rs360 billion under PSDP for 96 ongoing
projects.

Rs69 billion earmarked for Electricity sector, Wapda, electric

companies will be given Rs115 billion.

Rs44 billion earmarked for Social Sector.

FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan, AJK to get Rs37 billion.
Rs16 billion allocated for Higher Education.
Rs84 billion allocated for Transport and Communication (Rs51 billion
for NHA, Rs23 billion for Railways).
Balochistan share increased up to 9.09% in Divisible Pool.
Government accepted Rs120 billion as royalty on gas sale from 1954
to 1991 for Balochistan.
Federal Government will finance 11,500 jobs for Baloch youth.
Block Development Allocation enhanced up to Rs16 billion for GilgitBaltistan.
Rs10 billion allocated for mega project in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Rs17 billion allocated in PSDP for FATA.
Rs12 billion for development projects, Rs16.5 billion for current
expenditure for Azad Kashmir besides a loan of Rs8.5 billion.
Remittances by overseas Pakistan touch $13 billion mark during last
two years.
Exports registered 28% increase; volume touches $25 billion mark.
1154

Fists flew as rival lawmakers thrashed each other as Minister for

Finance delivered the budget speech. That the PPP MNAs were trading
blows with the PML-N MNAs seeking to break through their cordon around
the finance minister is something that didnt reflect on either the face of the
minister or his pace. PML-N MNA Malik Shakil Awan and PPPs Javed
Iqbal Warraich physically thrashed each other in the space between Prime
Minister and NA Speaker, as a result of which Javed Warraichs waistcoat
was torn in half.
This was the first incident of its kind in the parliamentary history of
Pakistan with two members physically assaulting each other in full view of
the prime minister and the Opposition leader. In an attempt to calm the
situation down, Fehmida Mirza asserted: [This] is an unconstitutional way
of protest. You are undermining parliament.
In an attempt to give a befitting response to the protest from the
Opposition, members from the treasury benches gathered around Prime
Minister Gilani just as he was leaving the House, raising slogans in his
favour. They also waved their fists in the direction of the Opposition
members as if advertising their victory.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament House afterwards, Leader of
the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan questioned how the finance
minister who a day earlier had admitted the governments failures while
unveiling the Economic Survey could possibly present the federal budget.
He added that rampant corruption had taken the shape of a consortium in the
country, and now entire families were involved in corrupt practices.
Observers noted that electricity to would cost more as government
aimed for massive cut in subsidy. The government has proposed Rs184
billion subsidy for the power sector for the fiscal 2012-13 (July-June)
against the revised estimated allocations of Rs464 billion in the outgoing
fiscal year under this head, indicating that it plans a massive increase in the
electricity rates.
The FBR would collect Rs932 billion through direct taxation while
the remaining Rs1449 billion would be generated through indirect taxes. In
major revenue spinning measures, the government has imposed Capital
Gains Tax (CGT) on the sale of property with proposed rate of 10 percent if
it is disposed of after one year and 5 percent in case of disposing it of after 2
years. After this period there will be no CGT.
In the outgoing year, the Intelligence Bureau (IB), which in 2009 was
accused of sparing Rs270 million from the secret fund for the PPP
1155

government to push the ruling partys political agenda in the Punjab, has got
from the public kitty Rs400 million over and above the budgetary allocation,
but without any explanation about the purpose for this supplementary grant.
Defence budget was boosted by 6.45 percent to Rs545.386 billion
though it recorded around a 4 percent decrease of military spending in real
terms for the next fiscal 2012-2013. Compared to outgoing fiscal years
revised defence budget of Rs510.179 billion, the government presented its
defence budget with only 6.45 percent increase.
As the country faced crippling economic pressures, rising
unemployment and increasing daily burdens, the only relief that the budget
seems to have provided is for the Presidency and Prime Minister House, the
budgetary allocation of which have jumped by Rs134 million and Rs156
million respectively for the new fiscal year.
Next day, Senator Ishaq Dar, while describing the federal budget as
disappointing, asserted that excessive bank borrowing and supplementary
grants during the ongoing fiscal year had grossly imbalanced the countrys
macro-economic indicators. He said that the government had borrowed
Rs939 billion from banks against the targeted amount of Rs303 billion,
while supplementary grants had also touched Rs425 billion.
He regretted that due to the energy crisis and a handful of other
factors, the cream of Pakistans business community was migrating to
Bangladesh, Turkey and the Middle East. The Senator pointed out that the
government had also stopped providing poverty figures in the economic
survey, but according to estimates around 74 percent of the population was
earning two dollars or less per day.
Dar criticized the government for not withdrawing the prime
ministers discretionary powers particularly in the utilization of development
funds, which still stand in the range of Rs25 billion to Rs29 billion: The
discretionary powers of the prime minister should be withdrawn to bring
transparency in the system. Dar also came down harshly on the federal
government for including the provision of lifetime security for presidents
and prime ministers of the country.
On 3rd June, infuriated by prolonged and unannounced power outages,
people across the country vented their anger by taking to the streets,
ransacking offices and torching vehicles, while at least eight persons died in
heat-related incidents. The KESC said that an angry mob in Korangi made
its team hostage and destroyed a truck and expensive equipment.

1156

In Dera Ismail Khan, students of the Gomal University blocked the

Indus Highway in protest against load shedding. In Faisalabad, traders
observed a complete strike on the third consecutive. All markets, shopping
centres and grocery shops remained closed while a number of rallies were
taken out. Pakistan Textile Exporters Association and Industry and Anjumane-Tajran office-bearers condemned the government for causing colossal
financial losses to traders and industrialists.
Lahore, Chishtian, Multan, Sahiwal, Lodhran Mandi Bahauddin,
Sialkot, Swabi and Mardan also resounded with protests and rallies. In
Jaranwala, the PML-N workers set up a protest camp, while in Toba Tek
Singh, PTI leader Ghiasuddin Janbaz ended his hunger strike and took out a
big public procession.

Provincial disharmony: On 29th May, the power crisis became

unbearable as major chunks of the Punjab Provinces cities faced three-tofour hour long outages twice a day, causing protestors to take to the streets in
protest. Electricity to about 70 per cent of Lahore remained disconnected in
the afternoon from 2pm to 5pm. Power regulation was being done by the
Islamabad-based National Power Control Center. Meanwhile, the overall
shortfall in electricity demand and supply widened to well over 7000MW.
An All Pakistan Textile Mills Association spokesman on Monday
expressed concern over massive announced load shedding of up to 10 to 12
hours a day. He said textile mills situated in Discos in Islamabad, Lahore,
Faisalabad and Gujranwala are being hit hard by unannounced load
shedding. He said the government had withdrawn the load shedding
exemption to the textile industry on independent feeders, and temporarily
announced four hours a day load shedding during high demand period.
Textile mill can only be viable if it is operational 24/7 and 365 days a year;
otherwise, it becomes unviable to sustain production in case of 10 hours
power suspension daily.
Fed up with prolonged power outages coupled with sizzling heat,
angry people took to the streets as power situation worsened. In Lahore,
Rawalpindi, Islamabad and other major cities residents also faced a severe
shortage of water, as water pumps could not be operated without electricity.
Irked by hours-long power outages amid scorching heat, people took out
processions against load shedding.
The protestors had staged sit-in protest at Kabirwala bypass Lahore
road, which resulted in blockade of roads leading to Lahore, Jhang, Shorkot,
Faisalabad and Sargodha. The protests against load shedding were also
1157

carried out in Khanewal, Faisalabad, Multan, Rahimyar Khan, Sahiwal,

Bahawalpur, Jhang, Sargodha and Rawalpindi. They demanded of the
government to end load shedding immediately.
The PPP government came under heavy criticism by senior party
loyalists from Faislabad in the presence of Faryal Talpur, central party leader
and sister of President Zardari, over its failure in addressing the power crisis.
Mehr Rasheed urged the party leadership to expel the idea of victory from its
mind in the next polls unless it solved the load shedding issue.
On 31st May, President Zardari sent a reference to the Speaker
National Assembly, calling for the constitution of a commission comprising
six senators, six MNAs and two members from the Provincial Assembly of
Punjab to look into issues relating to the creation of two new provinces,
namely Multan and Bahawalpur in the Punjab and to initiate the process of
amendments in the Constitution for this purpose. Meanwhile, Prime Minister
Gilani vowed to create Seraiki Sooba before general elections.
President Zardari alleged that the PML-N was behind the conspiracy
to create an ethnic crisis in Sindh by raising the slogan of a Mohajir
province. Addressing PPP MPAs of Sindh at the Bilawal House, Karachi, the
president said the PML-N conspiracy had failed with the support of the
MQM, which had proved that it did not want a division of Sindh.
President Zardari cautioned that the PML-N might create another
conspiracy and hence the party leaders should remain in contact with the
masses to inform them about the past politics of nationalist forces that had
now joined hands with the PML-N. He said the government was carefully
monitoring the activities of rivals, especially those who had started activities
in Sindh and were gathering nationalist forces to use them in conspiracies
hatched to destabilize the province.
Zardari said the PPP, being the party of the masses, was aware of the
real issues of the people and focusing on their early redress. He said with
over four years in government, the PPP had many achievements to its credit
and was in a position to confidently go to the people in the next general
elections. He said despite continued propaganda from the partys detractors
and unprecedented challenges from various quarters since assuming office,
the party had successfully navigated the course.
Nawaz Sharif addressed a public gathering in Matli and reiterated that
he was fiercely against the division of Sindh, and that the Muhabat-e-Sindh
rally had also been against the division of the province. He asked the rulers

1158

why innocent demonstrators had been targeted, and lamented that the silence
of rulers in the light of the tragic incident was unfathomable.
Violent protests against power load shedding continued in different
cities of the Punjab. In Faisalabad, power loom workers belonging to Sadhar
and Ghulam Muhammadabad blocked Jhang Road for several hours. They
chanted slogans against the government, marched towards the grid stations
and damaged its windows and gates and then went to the District Council
Hall and damaged several shops. They demanded resignation of Federal
Minister for Water and Power.
The protestors pelted a bank with stones, causing damage to the
windows and attacked the PPP city office on the Kotwali Road but dispersed
when the police baton-charged them; two protesters were injured. Local
administration ordered the closure of all petrol pumps as a precautionary
measure. Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) president,
vice-president and office-bearers of different trade bodies said they would
besiege the residences of ruling parties leaders on June 5 if the federal
government did not reduce the duration of load shedding.
The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry expressed grave
concern over the power riots in Faisalabad and feared that the violent
protests may engulf other parts of the country if the government failed to
take corrective measures immediately. The LCCI President said that despite
tall claims by the government, the electricity situation was fast turning from
bad to worse and forcing the people to take to the streets.
In Chunian, the people from all walks of life observed a complete
strike and took out a rally. The protesters damaged the furniture of XEN and
SDO offices and smashed windowpanes of a rest house. Protesters burnt
tyres in front of a Wapda complaint office. In Nankana Sahib, nine students
of different schools fell unconscious due to scorching heat and load
shedding. Protest rallies were taken out in Pakpattan, Toba Tek Singh, and
other towns.
On 2nd June, addressing a rally against prolonged power outages in
Sahiwal, Punjab Chief Minister said the Rs100 billion circular debt,
corruption and written-off loans were behind the ongoing energy crisis in the
country. He said the people were dying of hunger, but the federal
government was looting them. He announced generators would be installed
at tube-wells to overcome the water shortage.
Next day, Punjab Chief Minister asserted that load shedding was a
form of terrorism, and the countrys corrupt leadership had made the lives of
1159

ordinary people truly miserable. He also said that in order to rekindle the
countrys light; the lamp of Ali Baba and his forty thieves would have to be
extinguished.
He said during the energy conference, Prime Minister Gilani had
promised that a unified load shedding schedule would be enforced
throughout the country. He castigated the Prime Minister for backtracking on
his word, and said that a discriminatory and hypocritical attitude was being
shown to the Punjab on load shedding, which would not be tolerated any
longer.

Baloch militancy: On 28th May, five people, including two

policemen, were killed in two separate incidents. Police said that they had
found the bodies of three persons who were strangulated in Shalkot area of
Quetta. In another incident, two policemen were killed on the Saryab Road
when unknown armed men attacked a police mobile van.
Next day, Federal Minister for Information said a high-level meeting
chaired by Prime Minister Gilani discussed in-depth six dimensions of
Balochistans problems and the missing persons case. He said the meeting
discussed in detail the operational, developmental, administrative, legal,
political and financial aspects of the situation. Six-member steering
committee was also formed which would hold meetings on a weekly basis
and submit its report to the prime minister.
Kaira said the FC would have no anti-smuggling role in Balochistan.
However, the chief minister Balochistan would determine the role of the FC
for secure travel across the province. He added that the provincial
government would hold a dialogue with politicians and nationalists. Chief
of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani also said that a military
solution was not a durable solution and dialogue was the only way to resolve
conflicts.
Kaira said that the prime minister had directed the finance minister to
pay the amount for the federal governments share to be given in subsidy for
tube wells. He said the government would also allocate funds for two dams
in the upcoming budget, while Kachhi Canal would also be completed this
year and funds in this regard would be provided.
The minister said that funds would also be provided to make Gwadar
Port operational while Rato Dero-Gwadar Road would be completed too. He
said the Army chief assured providing foolproof security to local and foreign

1160

companies mining for minerals in Balochistan. He said the quota for Baloch
youth in the army would also be completed this year.
On 1st June, the Supreme Court directed the federal government to
submit a detailed report on the law and order situation in Balochistan by
June 4. The court observed that as per the Constitution, the federation is
bound to assist the provinces to cope with the internal and external threats.
The court further directed secretary Defence to collect all the
statements of the concerned authorities and present a clear statement before
the court for the solution of law and order situation in the province with
particular reference to abduction of people, missing persons as well as a
detailed report on the mutilated bodies being found in the streets of
province.
The CJP remarked that three persons were picked up in Balochistan
during the SCs hearing and later, their bodies were found while their cases
were under way. The IGFC must tell about those who are responsible or the
court will hold him responsible for the disappearances, the CJ warned. Raja
Irshad, counsel for the agencies, told the court that IGFC is in Iran on a visit
after which the bench summoned the IGFC for June 2.
The court in its order noted that whenever directions were issued to
law enforcement agencies, insisting for recovery of missing persons, only
dead bodies came in response. The court further noted that on the last date of
hearing, despite notices issued, there was no representation of the federation.
Justice Khilji Arif remarked that he could not sleep after hearing about the
death of three missing men. Is somebody trying to scare us Justice Khilji
asked? He said that nobody could be given a licence to kill.
The bench also expressed displeasure over AGs absence and asked IG
Police as to what was done after the bodies of three missing persons were
found. He told the court that a case has been registered. On this, the CJP
remarked that a case should also be filed against the IGFC and said that
Balochistan is also a part of Pakistan but everyone shows ignorance when
inquired.
The court rejected a report submitted by the representative of the
Ministry of Defence. Meanwhile, Raza Kazim, counsel for four international
cellular companies of China, Russia, Abu Dhabi and Norway are requesting
to become a party. The learned counsel contended that his clients wanted to
extend support for the improvement of law and order situation in the
province. The counsel denied on behalf of his clients that they were
responsible for the surge of crimes.
1161

Next day, Prime Minister Gilani directed the Balochistan chief

minister to take special measures to trace the missing persons. He also
ordered the chief minister to ensure well coordinated efforts of all lawenforcement agencies of both the federation and the province operating in
Balochistan to help overcome terrorism, kidnapping for ransom and other
criminal activities.
The premier also directed the Law Ministry to formulate the necessary
laws with respect to missing persons and to make the necessary amendments
in existing anti-terror legislation so as to counteract terrorism in the country.
The Ministry of Interior is expected to issue formal instructions within three
days to all law enforcement agencies not to issue any Rahdari, and to
declare existing Rahdaris null and void.
IG FC Balochistan said there is foreign interference in the province.
He claimed that around 30 camps of the insurgents are being operated from
Afghanistan to create chaos in the province. He added around 211 Ferrari
camps (training camps of outlaws) are being operated in Balochistan.
To a question, he said FC respects courts and political institutions.
There is no motive of FC but to maintain law and order and protect borders.
IG FC called for bringing out political solution of Balochistan issue. To
another question, he said FC and intelligence institutions are being criticized
under a conspiracy and that they are working in cooperation with provincial
government and CM.
Unknown gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire on a rickshaw and
killed a man at Sariab Road, Quetta while another man was wounded.
Earlier, a police constable was gunned down in Nawan Killi near provincial
capital here. Police said that apparently it was target killing incident.
On 3rd June, six people lost their lives in a fresh wave of target killings
in Quetta at the time when Prime Minister Gilani was about to land in the
provincial capital to review the measures on the law and order situation in
Balochistan. Three unidentified armed men riding a motorcycle attacked a
welding shop on the Sirki Road, one of the busiest commercial areas, when
the owner and workers of the shop were busy in taking their lunch.
Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) took out a protest rally
and staged a demonstration on the Sirki Road and strongly condemned the
incidents of target killings in Quetta. The leaders of the PkMAP demanded
of the government to provide security to the citizens as incidents of target
killings had become a matter of routine in Quetta, while the government was
oblivious about the gravity of the situation.
1162

Prime Minister Gilani said foreign elements had their sights on

Balochistans resources, adding that he had given directions to the chief
secretary of Balochistan to identify 35,000 graduates of the province to
provide them jobs in government departments. The prime minister was
talking to a delegation of the PPP Balochistan at the Governor House.
Gilani said that under the 7th NFC Award the share of Balochistan had
gone to Rs120 billion as compared to Rs40 billion in the past. He disclosed
that Rs31 billion have been allocated for the Kachhi canal project and Rs3.2
billion have been allocated this year to complete the road between RatoDero and Gwadar.

Turf war in Karachi: On 28th May, Altaf Hussain said that Sindh
does not belong to any one group and added that the province belongs to
everyone whose life and death is attached to this province. He said this while
talking to the visiting PPP delegation at the MQM head-office Nine-Zero on
Monday. He welcomed Amin Faheem, Khursheed Shah, Naveed Qamar and
Maula Bux Chandio at the MQM headquarters. Meanwhile, seven more
people were killed Karachi to de buried there to have the sense of
belonging. Next day, a Navy employee was among four people killed in
Karachi.
On 30th May, target killers continued to wreak havoc in Karachi and
claimed seven victims, including two employees of the Sindh Education
Department. Late night armed men targeted Asad Hussain; the deceased was
a former MQM activist who had left the party a few months earlier.
Three people, including Dr Aftab Qureshi, a kidnapper and an ASI of
Karachi Police, were killed soon after a police party, led by chief of the
CPLC raided a house in Hyderabad. Chinoy had received a tip-off about the
presence of Dr Aftab Qureshi and he along with a Karachi police team
carried out the raid.
Next day, nine people, including a Sub-Inspector (SI) of Pakistan
Rangers, were killed in separate incidents, bringing the death toll for the
month of May to 91. Three people were killed when armed men opened fire
on a car in Nazimabad late at night. Meanwhile authorities decided to
enhance special patrolling in all sensitive areas during day and night-time.
A high level meeting, co-chaired by Minister for Interior and Chief
Minister, was held on the directions of President Zardari, decided revision of
territorial jurisdiction of all police stations in Karachi while creation of subpolice stations in all the sensitive areas. The other decision was to establish

1163

community policing within the jurisdiction of police stations. Creation of

intelligence units consisting of IB, Special Branch along with local youth to
identify the criminals was also decided while no house would be rented out
by the owners unless prior information in sensitive areas.
On 1st June, ten people were killed in incidents of violence in Karachi.
Next day, three bullet-riddled bodies were found from various areas of
Karachi. Two people were killed in firing on a car in Gulistan-e-Jauhar area;
the killers escaped. At least three people were killed and three others injured
when unknown armed men opened fire on them in Surjani.
On 3rd June, two people were killed and several others injured when
unknown armed assailants opened fire in Paposh Nagar, Karachi. Similarly,
two persons, including a woman, are reported killed as a result of firing by
unidentified attackers and two car passengers were shot dead Gulistan-eJauhar.

VIEWS
Rule of law
Is the PM really that ignorant, or is he playing games? The
convicted Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has been a parliamentarian for
almost 30 years and also served as speaker of the National Assembly for
over three years but he still does not know that the Constitution
unequivocally bars anyone acquiring foreign nationality from becoming a
member of parliament In his latest interview with Geo, Gilani said that
there was no restriction on dual citizenship for legislators in the constitution
and he was in favour of expatriate Pakistanis getting the right to vote and
becoming members of the parliament.
There should be a debate on the issue of dual citizenship and
parliament should decide the issue and legislate because now the world has
changed, the prime minister said, and added that expatriate Pakistanis
should not be deprived of the right to become members of parliament and
voters in Pakistan. He said nowhere in the constitution was it written that
Pakistanis cannot hold dual citizenship or become legislators and
bureaucrats.
This statement of Gilani shows his complete ignorance of what the
constitution clearly states. Certain elements in the government are trying to
shift the blame of this bar on the apex court, which is presently hearing the

1164

case of dual national MPs and has even suspended the membership of PPP
MNA Farahnaz Ispahani.
Early this year it was the Election Commission of Pakistan led by
former Chief Election Commissioner Justice (R) Hamid Ali Mirza, which
had announced that the constitutional bar on dual nationals that has been
overlooked in the past would be strictly adhered to in the future. The
government had special liking for Justice Mirza as he was heading the
commission that had recommended all the criminal cases under the NRO
Although the prime minister did not see anything wrong with the dual
nationality holders to be the members of the parliament, the SC in its order
had reproduced the oaths of parliamentarians and those becoming US
national to reflect on the conflicts between the two.
The oath of the members of the parliament reads as: I,____, do
solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan: That, as
a member of the National Assembly (or Senate), I will perform my functions
honestly, to the best of my ability, faithfully, in accordance with the
constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the law, and the rules of
the Assembly (or Senate), and always in the interest of the sovereignty,
integrity, solidarity, well-being and prosperity of Pakistan: That I will strive
to preserve the Islamic Ideology which is the basis for the creation of
Pakistan. And that I will preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Regarding Farahnaz, who took the above oath as member of the
parliament, the SC said: At the same time, while acquiring the citizenship
of USA she has also taken the oath, which is administered to the immigrants,
who wish to become citizens of USA. Same is reproduced herein below: I
hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure
all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or
sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;
that I will support and defend the constitution and laws of the United States
of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true
faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United
States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in
the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will
perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required
by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental
reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

1165

The SC observed that in democratic dispensation under the

constitutional provision the members of the National Assembly and the
Senate occupy their positions as chosen representatives of people of Pakistan
and if the chosen representatives of Pakistan have already renounced their
citizenship, prima facie under the constitutional dispensation, they had no
right to represent them and decide the issues of all national importance being
the members of different committees including defence etc, where all open
and secret policies for the betterment of the people of this country/nation are
discussed. (Ansar Abbasi, The News 30th May)
Birth pangs of Pakistan peoples revolution! Every Pakistani
citizen will have to make a choice now: Forget, if you wish, Imran Khans
promise of a tsunami, Sheikh Rashids daily lamenting on TV talk shows on
the increasingly deplorable conditions of Pakistans masses, and General
Hameed Guls steadfast determination to define Pakistans future existence
linked to a national ideological renaissance. But, what no one can possibly
ignore in todays so-called democratic Pakistan is the common citizens 88
percent of its populations utter disappointment with the way and the manner
in which the incumbent 4 year-old democracy has functioned. Show me a
common Pakistani who is not fed up with this countrys ruling elite, past and
present, and I will show you an elephant that can fly. Heartbroken,
anguished, demoralized, poverty-stricken, depressed, economically
demolished, physically wrecked, socially ruined, emotionally destroyed, and
politically decimated Pakistanis, the majority of them, wish the present-day
democracy, along with its ruling leadership, both in the governance and
outside of it, would go away, vanish, disappear into oblivion.
It is a moment in Pakistans history that can transform itself into a
movement for a revolutionary transformation of its decades-old ailing
political culture. The agitating populace seems to be emotionally and
politically prepared for a sustained and collective assault on the politicaleconomic status quo that has laid ruins of this country. The people know that
the present so-called democratic dispensation and its leadership have offered
the nation nothing better than the previous military regimes or civilian
administrations. In fact, the incumbent regimes political and economic
management of national affairs has been the worst of the 60-year history of
the nation. The people are aware that even today, all important domestic and
foreign policy as well as military decisions in Pakistan are being made on
the dictates of Washington and London.
The challenges faced by Pakistan are monumental: the most serious
problem is that of a declining economy the economic mismanagement of
1166

the country by the ruling PPP Zardari-Gilani junta that has resulted in
unprecedented hardships for common citizens. Then there is the uncertainty
of the political climate coupled with institutional conflicts. Added to this is
the growing problematic in the deterioration in security-related issues all
over the country from insurgency in Balochistan to drone attacks in the
northern part of the country. Mounting national debts, run-away inflation,
skyrocketing prices, the lavish lifestyle of the ruling elite at the expense of
the national exchequer, the repeated failure in foreign policy and Pakistans
diplomatic initiatives, and so on and so forth there is hardly an aspect of
national political management which is not faulty, flawed or politically
incorrect.
Todays Pakistan exists in absolute political chaos. But can these
chaotic conditions be transformed into creative chaos leading to
revolutionary changes in the political culture and structure of the country
which could ultimately lead the nation into a stable and sustainable
democracy?
This will be a complex and complicated process entailing fundamental
understanding of reactionary political forces and how these forces operate in
defeating the nationalist objectives of revolutionary movements.
In the case of Pakistan, the underlying problem has been its ruling
elites historical alliance with the US and the West, most specifically
Britain Pakistan can no longer afford to be an ally and a partner in the USNato neo-imperialist neocon ideological capitalist agenda for a New World
Order for which Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya have been brutally and
savagely raped militarily and politically and other Muslim nations are
likely to be under future assault.
What Pakistan needs today is a national leadership not for sale to
foreign powers. A leadership of credibility, personal integrity and absolutely
devoid of personal self-seeking interests. A moral-ethical leadership. A
leadership that intellectually and in principle, enforces the conflict of
interest notion and is dedicated to serving the nation selflessly. A leadership
that comes to power not on the political, coercive and manipulative backing
of the US and Britain, but on the strength of the masses support.
Pakistan needs a qalandar, a political saint to lead the nation out of
its present quagmire out of its present foreign alliances towards
becoming an independent, self-reliant, self-respecting sovereign nation. Who
will be that political saint, the political selfless qalandar?

1167

The answer is: The One who will mobilize the entire nation NOW! It
is about time for being aware of somebody elses pain the pain of 180
million suffering Pakistani people. (Dr Haider Mehdi, TheNation 30th May)

Defiance of judiciary
Trouble ahead: The Pakistan Peoples Party on Saturday finally
decided not to file an appeal against the decision of the seven-judge bench in
the prime ministers contempt of court case. The partys thinking behind the
decision goes something like this: the PPP thinks it gained some ground
through the courts short order and the detailed judgment and does not want
to risk the gamble of losing it in the appeal process. According to those in
the party who took the final decision not to go for appeal, the sentence in the
short and detailed orders had convicted and punished the prime minister in
the shape of a 30-second imprisonment till the rising of the court but it had
not disqualified him. Thus, PPP legal eagles opined that if the party went
into appeal, especially in a hostile environment, the bench might revise its
decision not to disqualify the prime minister and even nullify the decision of
the National Assembly speaker not to forward the PMs disqualification
reference to the Election Commission. This was a risk the PPP did not
consider worth taking hence the decision not to appeal. This strategy,
however, does not appear to have helped in any meaningful way as the
matter has eventually landed in the apex court with both the PTI and PML-N
filing petitions challenging the speakers ruling. The hard work of Barrister
Aitzaz Ahsan and Co who came up with 146 objections seems to have gone
in vain.
But with the decision not to file a review appeal, the prime minister
has conveyed two ominous messages. One, that he considers the apex court
biased and partial and not likely to give him justice; and two, that the
government has decided to save itself by sparking a conflict of institutions,
turning the issue into one of a standoff between the judiciary and parliament,
when in reality, this is not a case of the judiciary encroaching upon
parliaments rights and responsibilities but a simple matter of the chief
executive of the country refusing to obey the countrys highest courtThe
truth of the matter is that the government may have wasted its last ace with
the decision not to file an appeal, ending up in a cul de sac where the only
options available for it to extricate itself from a legal morass are political
tactics. And thats what the government is doing: playing politics where
legal arguments have failed it. Now, it will have to fight the PML-N and PTI
petitions. But that wont be the end of its troubles. There are chances that

1168

PM Gilanis nomination papers for the next elections will be rejected by the
ECP, unless he is able to prove that this conviction was quashed through
appropriate forums an unlikely scenario, as things stand. (Editorial, The
News 29th May)
Duck, divert, dictate! Ever wonder what a Pakistani version of haka
would look like? Something like Prime Minister Gilanis decision not to file
an appeal in the contempt of court case? And just like certain varieties of the
traditional Maori dance, the intent here also seems to be to startle and scare
away enemies.
When the decision was first announced, even the most astute political
minds in the capital were a bit thrown off. By going for appeal, the PPP
could have trapped the court in another round of legal guerrilla warfare,
stretched out the time for the appeal process to reach its logical conclusion,
and sailed happily all the way to election day.
Indeed, for a party whose reaction to most crises in the last four
years has been to prevaricate and delay to suck its rivals into endless,
enervating battles and thus live to fight another day giving up an option
that would buy it more time made no sense. What was going on?
The prime ministers review appeal would ultimately have been
thrown out by the larger bench of the Supreme Court it was only a matter
of when and not whether and the PPP understood this all too well. When
Barrister Aitzaz was presenting his arguments in the contempt case, the court
was generous, some would argue, allowing him plenty of time to make his
tiresome and ultimately circuitous arguments. But given Team Gilanis
reaction to the judgment breathlessly accusing the bench of being biased
and without jurisdiction there was little chance the court would make
concessions for it this time round or give it a chance to endlessly drag out
the proceedings.
Going for appeal wasnt going to work out.
Some PPP insiders also suggest the decision not to appeal was
personally taken by an insurgent Gilani tired of ceaselessly being in the
spotlight and under intense political pressure. Before the hearings in the
PMs contempt case began, the focus of the court, and the media, wasnt the
PMs supposed delinquency but the six million dollars in Swiss accounts.
From trying to reactivate a probe into the presidents allegedly ill-begotten
wealth, the issue had almost entirely become about making the PM step
down.

1169

Gilani wanted out. It was time to change the goalpost once again.
The prime minister versus judiciary battle had clearly been lost in
the court of law but the court of public opinion still presented endless
opportunities for appeal, if only the PPP could tweak the narrative to its
advantage But the PPP must have known that both the PML-N and PTI
would challenge the speakers ruling and the court would probably accept
their plea and direct the Election Commission to decide on the PMs
disqualification. What then?
Remember, back during the NRO hearings, the PPPs rallying cry that
the robes and Raiwind had come together to vanquish the PPP? Rest assured
that war whoop will be heard loud and far in the weeks ahead, with Team
Gilani leading a deliberate campaign to prove the Supreme Court is
favourably disposed toward the Sharifs and even the Lahore-based Imran
Khan.
Thus, even if the question of the PMs possible disqualification wont
have a different answer no matter which course the PPP takes, what it has
the power to change is the public perception of what is going on. So it will
use its persecution complex as political strategy oh the poor PPP, harassed
by the judges yet again at the behest of the PML-N and others and employ
political tactics where legal arguments have been exhausted.
Which takes us to yet another theory about why the government didnt
go for appeal or another time-buying option: because the decision on an
early election is already done and dusted. In an extreme version of this
theory, some PPP insiders are even suggesting that the prime minister will
resign So the PM announces early elections, dissolves parliament and
resigns. Madness? Maybe, but not without method.
Given the countrys fiscal woes, several unpopular economic
decisions will need to be taken in the coming months So, why not hit the
election road in June then, leaving the three-month tenured caretaker
arrangement to take the politically toxic, tough economic measures? For the
PPP, its all just part of the haka.
People used to making gold are good at finding a silver lining in the
darkest of clouds. So, just when you thought the PMs goose is cooked, he
serves you political foie gras. Still wondering why the PPP didnt go for
appeal? (Mehreen Zahra Malik, The News 30th May)

Recessing economy

1170

Clarion call for reform: State Bank Governor Yaseen Anwar has let
the cat out of the bag by disclosing that the government is keeping the lamps
burning by printing notes and taking loans from the State Bank. Talking to
an American newspaper on Tuesday, Mr Anwar said that the government had
borrowed Rs442 billion this fiscal year, money which he could not refuse,
because he lacked the autonomy, as he said, to bounce government cheques.
However, the solutions he presented are equally unpalatable for the hardpressed people of Pakistan: to pay more taxes, or go to the IMF. The
question of paying more taxes would mean burdening the already hardpressed people, who have not only been battered by inflation, but who are
also suffering the effects of electricity shortages in the midst of summer.
More taxes would also mean going into the coming general election as the
government that has just soaked the poor Going to the IMF would be
made difficult alone by the global crisis, with the Greek debt crisis an eye
opening example of just how easy it will be to ask for money. Then there is
the problem of the IMF acting as an enforcer for the US at a time when US
policies are highly unpopular amongst the Pakistani people. Installments for
the recent, prematurely concluded, IMF programme, already constitute a
burden on the economy, and another programme, would mean more burdens
in the near term.
A tragic symptom of Pakitan's budget balancing act, is the stubborn
refusal to look at the expenditure side. Whether it is the ever expanding PIA
budget or the black hole that is Pakistan Railways, the temptation to avoid
difficult decisions and subsidize inefficiency at the cost of state expense is
always given in to. The same legislators who have protected their
agricultural incomes from taxation, have also learned to look on the budget
as a never-ending source of resources through which to maintain lavish
lifestyles.
The government must not ignore what has been said by the Governor
of the State Bank. This is not the only Governor to have made this particular
criticism of the government. So have his predecessors, two of whom bowed
out well before time. This particular Governor is a State Bank insider, and
thus one who has spent his entire working life on the governments side,
where he firmly remains. What he says should not be met by the government
as mere carping, but a clarion call to fundamental reform. (Editorial,
TheNation 31st May)
Time to act: It will be a great fallacy on the PPPs part and its allies
to bank on the indirect support that they may get due to Imrans rising
popularity in some of the cities in Punjab. These urban centres are
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considered to be the strongholds for Mian Nawaz Sharif and, thus if the PTI
succeeds to wean away the voters in these urban centres, the PPP and its
allies would be the indirect beneficiaries.
The fact of the matter remains that on the issue of load shedding, the
PPP and its allies must prepare themselves for the peoples wrath and the
notion that they will be forgiven is absurd, keeping in view the extreme
anger and despondency that prevail among a vast majority. There are other
pressing issues like inflation, rising prices, unemployment and deteriorating
law and order situation. These factors will also have some bearing on the
outcome of the upcoming general elections.
It would, therefore, be prudent on the part of the PPP-led government
to immediately put in place measures that would help reduce the peoples
burden. So instead of portraying a picture of paralysis, the government must
step forward and initiate decisive actions that are both visible and effective.
To achieve this goal, it is absolutely essential to introduce a new, competent
team to govern the state. This may be a tall order, but then there are no easy
solutions for a country whose economy is hemorrhaging at a pace that
should never be tolerated.
Anyway, the actions of both the government and the opposition
parties have failed to satisfy a beleaguered nation, yearning for a change for
the better. Conditions are ripe where any with good orator can mislead the
people creating more difficulties not only for the people themselves, but also
for the institution of democracy.
Finally, the coming weeks and months demand political maturity from
the forces, which believe that the peoples will must prevail in this country
because democracy is, perhaps, the only option that can allow Pakistan to
face the present challenges. (Azam Khalil, The Nation 1st June)
To bring a change: Nonetheless, we individually and collectively
need to become whole in order to survive, but this cannot be done under the
present dispensation nor if the same faces come into power for another term.
Who then shall be our deliverer? The answer has always been there staring
us right in the face. It is we the nation that will initiate its own cure or die.
What then will it take to awaken the will to initiate this cure? Will the trigger
be more dismemberment, loss of sovereignty or total anarchy or will it be
the sight of our families and loved ones engulfed in mortal danger?
The above possibilities are not the ravings of a pessimist, but
scenarios dictated by how things stand today. A piece by piece dissection of
this environment will reveal that we are now in the grip of a bear trap - one
1172

jaw of which is descending upon us from without, while the other is

threatening us from within, in a choreographed manoeuver with us acting as
the willing prey.
On the internal front, we have armed unrest in Balochistan, a low
intensity conflict in the KP tribal areas bordering Afghanistan and a restive
northern area. We are also afflicted by terrorism based on religious
extremism and ethnicity. The situation is exacerbated by poor law and order,
economic deprivation and a callous political dispensation. Externally, we are
stuck between India in the east, an unreliable western neighbour and a
western superpower that bode us no good.
Our enemies appear to have understood our psychology better than
ourselves. They have involved us in internal strife, which is fuelled as and
when it shows signs of flagging and more importantly, they have lulled us
into an apathetical state so that we have gone into an opium-like stupor that
takes us far from reality and dulls cognizance of the looming danger.
What form this cure should take is a point that generates much
drawing room discussion these days. I am disinclined (rather reluctantly) to
support those that advocate use of street power to force a change, for this
carries the possibility of spinning out of control. In my reckoning, the best
revolution is through the power of the ballot. If we follow the pattern of
voting in the last six decades of our existence we find the turn-out figures
fluctuating between 30 to 40 percent. It must be understood that change will
only be initiated if the vast majority that stays away from polling stations,
turns out and exercises its right of franchise. This majority in so doing, will
go down in history as deliverers and earn the eternal gratitude of fellow
countrymen. (S Tariq, TheNation 1st June)
10pc reality, 90pc fantasy: It had to be 10 percent budget and 90
percent drama a drama with an internal and an external dimension.
Internally, the government is left with only two resources: printing of notes
and borrowing from banks. The external financial oxygen is barely enough
to keep the patient on life-support. Foreign direct investment is down to a
trickle and the American controlled IMF-ADB combine has turned its tap
off.
A hundred and eighty million Pakistanis stand indebted to some seven
million expatriates who are sending back slightly more than a billion dollars
a month and are keeping Pakistan from defaulting on its external account.
According to the latest Economic Survey, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-

1173

led government managed to miss all its economic targets except containing
inflation.
The Budget 2007-08 was also an election budget 10 percent reality,
90 percent fantasy. Musharraf was dying to win but in came the PPP with a
bang. The PPP had its honeymoon year to reform-tax reforms, expenditure
control, power sector reforms and Public Sector Enterprises reform. But, the
PPP either had no intent or lacked capability. Instead, the PPP did two
things: printed notes to the tune of Rs3 trillion and doubled Pakistans public
debt from Rs6 trillion in 2008 to Rs12 trillion. As a consequence, atta went
from Rs13/kg to Rs38/kg and milk from Rs25 a liter to Rs75 a liter, an
increase of 200 percent in both the items.
Heres the reality part of the budget: Rs1 trillion in debt servicing,
losses amounting to Rs400 billion in the power sector, additional billions
into other public sector enterprises, Rs70 billion for the Benazir Income
Support Programme (BISP) and Rs545 billion for defence expenditure.
Heres the fantasy part of the budget: fiscal deficit 4.7 percent of GDP,
inflation 9.5 percent, economic growth of 4.5 percent, external resources of
Rs500 billion. The other three billion-rupee fantasies that were part of
Budget 2011-12 and will probably be part of Budget 2012-13 as well are:
Rs100 billion from Etisalat, Rs100 billion from the auction of 3G licenses
and Rs100 billion from Coalition Support Fund (CSF).
For 180 million Pakistanis who dont want to get into the nitty-gritty
of budgetary estimates the only figure that would have a direct impact on
everyones life is the budgetary deficit. One can literally forget every other
figure and just focus on the budgetary deficit which the government itself is
projecting at over Rs1 trillion (although the 10-month deficit during the
current fiscal stands at Rs1.48 trillion). To finance the deficit, the
government has three options: to print, to borrow from domestic banks or to
beg from foreign donors. If the government prints money, every Pakistani is
going to be hit by inflation. If the government borrows from banks, the
banks wont be left with much to lend to the private sector (therefore, more
unemployment). In essence, begging from foreigners will be the best but
then who is lending and at what cost?
The Budget 2012-13 may only be 10 percent reality but the
government firmly believes in looking reality straight in the eye and
denying it. To be certain, the kingdoms of fantasy are long lasting.
(Farrukh Saleem, The News 2nd June)

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Getting out of the black hole: Pakistan is a black hole for American
aid, said Gary L Ackerman during a House Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee
hearing, recently: Our tax dollars go in. Our diplomats go in, sometimes.
Our hopes go in. Our prayers go in. Nothing good ever comes out. During
the past decade, he added: We have sunk $24 billion in foreign assistance
into Pakistan. It is hard to fathom how so much money can buy so little.
Here, Ackerman has unwittingly used the right language. All this
money was meant to buy support. This comes quite close to bribing a
nation, on a large scale. Ackerman, I am sure, knows well that almost 50
percent of this aid goes back to the USA one way or the other through
contracts, consultations and underhand dealings. And how much the
trumpeted Kerry-Lugar-Burman Act has actually yielded? Not even half of it
doled out in driblets, to the chosen state and non-state operators.
As for calling Pakistan a black hole which keeps swallowing
everything that comes its way, one may also look at the way billions of loans
(in four years doubled) have disappeared literally sucked in! The
governments own latest Economic Survey says it all. Some headlines in
yesterdays papers: Government misses all targets, trade deficit up by 14.5
percent, inflation 10.8 percent, current account deficit $3.39 billion, power
crisis mounting by the minute, GDP growth 3.7 percent against the target of
4.2 percent. Strange that Rs1.2 trillion are stated to have been injected into
the power sector, while the load shedding crisis has deepened with violent
protest held almost all over the country.
Foreign direct investment already very low has dwindled by 48.3
percent. The Finance Minister admitted that the power crisis was causing a
loss of 2 percent of GDP annually. The survey is mum about the billions
being spent on the war on terror and a reference to the increase in the
poverty figures is altogether missing. Mention may also be made of the steep
fall in the value of the Pakistani rupee, which is selling for Rs94 to a US
dollar.
The energy debate does not just hit the economy and makes the
already stressed lives of the people more miserable, it also feeds into
unending terrorism that takes its own toll day after day. The Washington Post
May 31 report thus quotes Sherani a well known Pakistani economist:
The energy crisis is a fertile breeding ground for extremism and insurgency
against the state. You see huge demonstrations, the people are jobless and
the businesses have shut down so that is like playing into the hands of
extremists. It is serving their cause.

1175

One may well wonder what would have the Islamabad rulers done to
this luckless country if the Supreme Court had not become independent and
proactive. And if the media had not exposed the shenanigans of our powerwielders! Just look how they have messed up the law and order in
Balochistan and Karachi where all power has remained concentrated in the
PPP coalition governments. Sans sense of loss (Ehsas-e-Zia, as Iqbal puts it)
and without any sense of shame targeted killings go on and on and nobody
resigns
Zardari, with all his tainted past and low ratings in Pakistan and
abroad, has played his cards most shrewdly and despite the wrongs
emanating from him, he deserves credit for managing to carry on and keep
himself and his governments afloat.
A plethora of deep-set problems and formidable challenges stare at
our benighted country While each of these national issues need to be
addressed expeditiously, in my view, the most urgent of these is the
resolution of our widening differences with the USA. (Ikramullah ,
TheNation 2nd June)
The budget lies and deceit; tabulated and documented: The
finance ministers Fridays budget speech and the figures he quoted in the
budget documents are full of lies, misstatement of facts, deceit and false
promises. A comparison of what is said and written in these budget
documents with the facts of the past, gives an impression that no effort was
made at all to improve the economic health of the nation but instead it was
deliberately allowed to go from bad to worse.
Respected economists like Dr Shahid Siddiqi even go to the extent of
saying as a quid pro quo to the guarantors of the NRO, Washington and the
UK, the countrys economy was deliberately ruined. Today the countrys
security and sovereignty is at risk because of our awfully mismanaged
economy, Siddiqi said. While comparing the past statistics with the just
presented ones, Siddiqi worked out for The News the following list of lies,
misstatements of facts, deceits and false promises (abridged):
Finance minister shifted the blame on Musharraf regime for the bad
performance of Gilani government in the economic front.
Gross reserves declined from $16 billion to $6 billion During the
initial six months of the present regime flight of capital was criminally
allowed with all the authorities concerned turning their blind eye to
this attack on Pakistans economy.

1176

 Karachi KSE-100 index dropped by one third, prompting exchange

authorities to closedown the market, claimed the finance minister.
Facts are that the Stock Exchange crisis started in April 2008; one
month after the present regime took over, and continued till Jan 2009.
According to Siddiqi it was an engineered crisis involving top rulers
of the country.
The minister said: Within months, the rupee had depreciated from
sixties to the eighties. The fact, however, is This is also a fact
thatSaukat Tareen was on the record to have accused the banks to
have manipulated to get the Pak rupee devalued. Siddiqi believes that
it was all done on governments conspiratorial wink to get the country
into the trap of IMF.
The budget documents claim that the growth rate is on rise during the
last four years of the present regime. However, the fact is otherwise
but the figures were distorted to make the things look like as they suit
the present regime.
This years economic survey does not include the chapter on war on
terror apparently to hide from the people of Pakistan that the cost of
war on terror has possible risen to $85 billion.
Poverty is feared to have crossed all limitsthe government during
the last four years have stopped issuing poverty figures the practice
that has been a regular feature in the past.
The budget claims that the inflation is on declinebut the economic
surveyshows the inflation to have risen from 11.7 percent in 2010
to 13.9 percent in 2011.
The government claims that it has succeeded achieving macro
economic stabilization but in actual the estimates of budget deficit in
the last four years have exceeded 50 percent of what was announced
in the budget speeches and documents.
While the finance ministers emphasis was on what we inherited to
cover up the failings of this regime and his own, his predecessor
Shaukat Tareen and the then Governor State Bank Shamshad Akhtar
in November 2008 had told the IMF in writing that Musharraf
regimes economic performance was impressive.
The government claims that the extraordinary hike in petrol prices in
Pakistan is due to the escalating international oil prices. However, the
1177

fact remains that while the international oil price was almost the same
as it is today; but in February 2008 the petrol prices in Pakistan were
almost half than what they are today.
On September 9, 2008 when President Asif Ali Zardari took over as a
head of the state, he stated under no circumstances Pakistan would go
to the IMF and that the government would tighten its belt. But on
September 26, 2008Condoleezza Rice stated that Washington
would ask international financial institutions to give loan to Pakistan.
British foreign minister on the same occasion (September 2008)
unveiled the real facts by stating that Friends of Pakistan have
concluded a deal according to which the FoP would arrange loan for
GoP from IMF and in lieu thereof Pakistan would fight the war on
terror inside Pakistan as a partner to US-Britain led FoP.
In September 2008 the prime minister as well as his cabinet members
assured the people of Pakistan that Pakistan would get funds from the
Friends of Pakistan, but in actual they got nothing but a loan of $7.6
billion from the IMF. However, the foreign capitals were clear that
nothing in cash would be given to the government of Pakistan.
In 2009-10 the prime minister announced that till the end of load
shedding, the tariff rates would not be increased but the same have
been more than doubled as yet.
After 2009 floods, the prime minister and foreign minister announced
in a UN meeting that the floods incurred a loss of $43 billion but later
it was found to be less than $10 billion, thus leaving no credibility for
the regime which was given peanuts in cash because of its bad repute
and corruption. (Ansar Abbasi, The News 3rd June)
Zero: The PPP government courtesy Musharrafs last year plus
four years of its own circus now has zero fiscal space. Naturally, under the
Doctrine of necessity, Budget 2012-13 had to be 10 percent reality and 90
percent fantasy there was just no other way. The entire revenue stream is
just about enough to pay for a total of three expenses debt servicing, losses
at public sector entities (including the power sector) and defence. There is
just no fiscal space left for anything else. Remember; this was the very first
time that an elected civilian Pakistani government used the doctrine
originally coined by our military dictators.

1178

Heres the budget made simple: Government revenue=Rs350.

Provincial share=Rs150. Less debt servicing=Rs100. Less losses at
government-owned entities=Rs50. Less defence=Rs50. Balance left=Rs0.
Now with that zero we are going to fund a thousand other expenses
including Rs873 billion under the Public Sector Development Programme
(PSDP), Rs70 billion for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP),
water, power, a million dollar donation to the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin
Chishti, a multi-billion rupee cabinet division, an army of five dozen,
additional billions to the HEC plus maintenance of the presidential palace,
the prime ministers secretariat and the occupants frequent supersonic
junkets to the North Pole (just because it lies diametrically opposite the
South Pole).
Hats off to our budget drafters; zero has never before in the entire
human history been such a powerful numerical digit. After all, it was our
very own Abdullah Mohammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, the Muslim
mathematician, astronomer and geographer, three in one, who was the first
human to explain the power of zero. I have my doubts; however, that even
al-Khwarizmi knew the real power of zero.
With that same zero the government is going to provide employment
to 100,000 unemployed Pakistanis and raise the salary and pensions of a
million other Pakistanis by a whopping 20 percent. Sakib Sherani, my
friend, a respected economist and a former advisor to the Ministry of
Finance, eloquently calls the entire exercise an innocent fraud. But now
and then an innocent man is sent to the legislature.
Budget 2011-12 projected receipts of Rs100 billion from Etisalat. We
got zero. Budget 2011-12 projected receipts of Rs100 billion from the
Coalition Support Fund (CSF). We got zero. Budget 2011-12 projected
receipts of Rs100 billion from the auction of 3G licenses. We got zero.
Budget 2011-12 projected receipts of Rs40 billion from Eurobonds. We got
zero. To be sure, Budget 2012-13 also has similar fantasies. Someone wise
once said that to be matter of fact about the budget is to blunder into
fantasy.
Zero, I thought, was zilch, nil, nix, null, zip, nada and nought but
many a zero thinks it is the ellipse on which the Earth revolves. (Dr Farrukh
Saleem, The News 3rd June)

Provincial disharmony

1179

Divisive and pernicious: President Asif Zardari sent a reference to

the Speaker of the National Assembly on Thursday advising her to constitute
a commission to go into the details of creating two new provinces out of
Punjab namely, Multan and Bahawalpur Even if we put aside for a while
the motives of originators of the idea of creating new provinces, it does not
make sense for a country that is virtually penniless even to think of
undertaking a venture that would entail additional expense, which the
running of the new federating units would inevitably call for. Pakistan mired
into debt and deep economic troubles, should be devising ways and means to
economize in every conceivable sphere. Even if, for certain compelling
reasons it was considered desirable to divide Punjab into smaller units, the
move could be put off for better times in the future. The PPP might like to
include this project in its election manifesto, but must not proceed in haste to
implement it. The present government should leave it to its successor that
would come into power after the forthcoming general elections to take stock
of the situation and decide. But financial constraints are just one aspect.
Another, perhaps more weighty argument against any division of the
country, is the reality that at this juncture the Pakistani society is,
unfortunately, rent by parochial sentiments to the neglect of wider national
interests. Any attempt at sub-dividing the country would carry the
foreboding of further dissensions, which might be too strong to repair. It
would be highly pernicious. The leadership ought to be occupied in finding
ways to evolve the mindset that sheds petty local interests if they tend to
impede the realization of the overall national benefits; for ultimately all and
sundry in the country would benefit. That is also the message of the Quaid
when he counseled unity, discipline and faith.
One cannot ignore certain clear signs suggesting that the motives
behind the idea of new governing units are suspect. If the intention is to
break the hold of PML-N in the biggest province of the country, the PPP
should not be surprised as well to accost the Jinnahpur challenge later on and
the ANP the Hazara demand. They had better not open the Pandoras Box.
(Editorial, TheNation 2nd June)

Turf war in Karachi

The divide: All that a four-member ministerial committee of the PPP,
constituted by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, has been able to come up
with to explain the causes of the deteriorating situation in Sindh, particularly
Karachi, is that Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is behind a conspiracy
to divide Sindh and the movement for a separate province for Urdu-speaking

1180

people is his brainchild. Is this all the government can do point fingers at
political rivals when the issue at hand is truly divisive, has already led to
bloodshed and is increasingly threatening to unleash more violence on an
already blood-soaked Karachi? In the past too, Interior Minister Rehman
Malik has named the PML-N as the force behind the burgeoning movement
for a Mohajir province, even though there is no evidence to support this
claim and despite the fact that thus far, all suspicions rest on the MQM. On
its part, the MQM hasnt done much except issue half-hearted statements
to convince anyone to the contrary. Indeed, while the MQM has repeatedly
said it does not want a division of Sindh and supported a resolution in the
Sindh Assembly denouncing the calls to divide Sindh, it has not been
explicit in rejecting the demand for Karachi as a separate province.
Altaf Hussain, talking to the members of the committee who visited
Nine Zero on Monday, said the MQM did not want Sindh divided; however,
he did not go one step ahead and completely reject the calls for a new
province. What are the Sindhi nationalists supposed to think given that the
MQM has actually introduced bills calling for the creation of new provinces
in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa? Why would they not think the MQM
was behind the Mohajir province movement also, given that the MQM
would be the largest beneficiary of such a division? But lets also not forget
that the PPP too has much blame to share in the controversy. A call to carve
a province out of Sindh was inevitable after the centres push to create the
Seraiki province out of Punjab. At this point, rhetoric along the lines of
Sindh belongs to everyone will no longer assist in solving problems or help
avoid bloodshed. What is needed are decisive action through which the
MQM and other forces reassure each other that they will not support projects
expressly inimical to the other. Boundaries are not sacrosanct but they also
cannot be divided on the basis of a desire to marginalize political rivals.
Karachi is Pakistans multicultural petri dish. Its diversity must be protected,
not sacrificed at the altar of power politics. (Editorial, The News 30th May)
A state of lawlessness: There would hardly be a day when the
newspaper reader would not come across the sorry tales of target killings,
sectarian murders and of dead bodies dumped in gunny bags or simply lying
on the road to putrefy and, of course, mysterious disappearances. While
there are certain places usually associated with these incidents, crimes of all
kinds also keep occurring all over the country. People get killed or wounded
every day in defending their properties against the trigger-happy thieves and
robbers and lose their lives savings in the process. Stories of bank heists
causing loss of millions, holdups for vehicle lifting and an unaccounted for
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number of cell phone and purse snatchings form part of the daily fare of the
reader. Status in society is no bar to falling victim to these crimes. The rich,
in particular, fall in danger of getting abducted for ransom. This list of
crimes or disregard of law is by no means complete
Nine persons fell to the bullets of the target killers in Karachi on
Monday alone. The massacre of fellow Karachiites has become so common
that they do not even feel shocked; only the bereaved are left to wail. And to
be honest, the Karachiites are not impressed by the rulers rhetoric of
demanding immediate and condign punishment to the offenders. Thus,
President Zardaris displeasure at the working of the law enforcement
agencies in the context of Mondays bloody events does not provide any
comfort, neither to the friends and relatives of victims, nor other Pakistanis.
At Parachinar, a passenger bus was stopped, and the criminals mowed down
four persons of a religious party and wounded nine others. In Balochistan,
the unfortunate province known for disappearances and the discovery of
tortured bodies, Monday was particularly frightful. Attack on a police van
killed two, seven lost their lives in other incidents and three bodies were
found in gunny bags. A drone attack left four dead in North Waziristan,
bringing the fatalities this year to 90.
No doubt, crimes are a part of modern life but when they go
unpunished, as in this country, they flourish. The rulers must remember that
security of life and property is the first requirement they are supposed to
fulfill. If the resources already available are put to proper use the situation is
bound to change. (Editorial, TheNation 30th May)

REVIEW
Aitzaz, while addressing media at his residence in Lahore, said there
was no need for filing intra-court appeal against conviction of Gilani
despite the fact he had identified and noted down nearly two hundred flaws
in the detailed judgment of the Supreme Court. He argued, with his unusual
Jiyala zeal and enthusiasm that the appeal wasnt needed though Gilani had
been found guilty and sentenced by the highest court of the country.
According to his typical logic, Gilani was still the constitutional Prime
Minister of Pakistan. Zafar Ali Shah of PML-N during an Express TV
programme anchored by Javed Chaudhry while commenting on this logic
said it was like having a stomach-full of lunch during Ramazan and then
declaring: Rest assure! Im fasting. Shah missed quoting a better example.

1182

A Jiyali liker Aitzaz Ahsan had contested the gang rape case of
Mukhtaran Mai and that case too he had spared time on humanitarian
grounds and assisted without receiving any fee. As a result, he along with
two ladies received lot of publicity internationally. Of late, the Supreme
Court has set aside the prosecution case and upheld the appeal of the
defendants.
Based on the latest ruling of the apex court, one could expect Aitzaz
taking a somersault by making a unique claim that Mukhtaran is still a
virgin. As the court has ruled that no gang rape was committed, so her
chastity cannot be questioned. But, one should rest assured that even without
this verdict Aitzaz is capable of arduing on the issue for hours.
The gravity of the energy crisis with which Pakistan had been
afflicted in general and Punjab in particular, both the Scoundrel and the Saint
were not bothered at all. This was quite evident from Prime Ministers
bullshit talk in the meeting of Private Power Infrastructure Board in which
he covered almost every conceivable aspect of energy crisis and ways to
overcome this, but quoted no practical step that his government had taken.
He even mentioned his meeting with Vladmir Putin on the sidelines of
SCO and his forthcoming visit to Pakistan. He also talked about IranPakistan gas pipeline project, CASA-1000 and TAPI. Except for the stooges
present in the meeting, nobody across the country was impressed, especially
those who were protesting and crying because of power outages.
The Turnip Brothers from Raiwind Farms took four years to
understand that the Scoundrel has exacted democratic revenge from more
than hundred million Punjabis. They have now started talking about this, but
still remain quiet over their role in facilitating the exacting of revenge in the
hope that the Big Turnip would become Prime Minister of Pakistan for the
third time.
There is still a long way to go, but they have started feeling Takht-eLahore slipping under their feet. The threat is two-pronged. Imran Khans
PTI is posing direct threat to the CM House in Lahore, while indirect threat
aims at splitting Punjab; taking away major chunk of the cake and eat it too.
In words of Munir Niazi, they have been always late in realizing as to what
has happened to them in pursuit of defending the system.
The Scoundrel and the Saint are relishing the fruits of democracy
protected vehemently by security guards from Jati Umra. On 1st June, the
beauty of democracy was in full display in National Assembly where it
staged a cat-walk under direct supervision of Dr Fehmida Mirza.
1183

While the cat walk was being staged by Hafeez Shaikh under full
protection of Jiyalas like Raja Rental, a ferocious cat-brawl was on in the
background. When the show was over, the Leader of the House had cynical
smile on his face rather than the one synonymous to spontaneous expression
of joy over victory of democracy. It had to be that way, a cynical smile was
quite befitting for the face of a convict, though he happened to be the Chief
Executive of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
4th June, 2010

WAR WITHIN-XIII
Sixth day of the month of June was historic in Pakistan, not because
the planet Venus came in between the Sun and Earth, but what happened in
the Supreme Court of Pakistan on that day. The very first case fixed for
hearing was a suo moto notice taken by the Chief Justice relating to media
leaks hinting at a case of bribe aimed at implicating Chief Justice and
defaming the institution he headed.
Nobody other than his own son Dr Arsalan was accused of accepting
millions of rupees indirectly from Riaz Malik, a real estate business tycoon
of Bahria Town fame. He appeared before a bench headed by his father. It
became a breaking news and hot topic for debate for every TV channel in the
country.
In the second case the Supreme Court issued notices to Prime Minister
Gilani and Speaker National Assembly. During the hearing it was remarked
that by not filing an intra-court appeal Gilani has accepted his conviction
handed out by seven-member bench. In yet another case, the CJP directed
the KPK government to produce four women who were reportedly executed
on orders of a local jirga.
Almost entire week remained abuzz with news and TV shows on these
cases, especially the first one. Meanwhile, the apex court also passed
detailed judgment in NICL scam directing registration of cases against
culprits, including Amin Fahim. The events in apex court pushed the budget
debate and protests against power outages off TV screens.

NEWS
Power politics: On 4th June, Kaira said that PML-N chief was
enjoying the perks and privileges permissible to former prime ministers. In
response to a question he said the expenditures of Prime Minister House
1184

have been reduced and it would soon be transformed as an Institute of

Advance Studies. Responding to a question he said, the Federal Government
had nothing to do with the delay in flight of Nawaz Sharif.
On 8th June, the Supreme Court ruled that the ECP should start a
mechanism to carry out house-to-house verification of electoral rolls. The
ECP should be strict in its implementation of laws pertaining to elections as
well as monitor the expenses of political parties and other candidates on
campaigns.
No polling station should be farther than two kilometres from a
voters residence and candidates would not be allowed to use private
transport for voters. The ruling added that transportation for voters should be
provided by the caretaker government at the time. Candidates in elections
would not be allowed to establish camp offices near polling stations.
The court, in its order, stated that every political party has the right to
take part in elections and to try to become a part of government under
Article 17. It is the responsibility of the ECP to make sure that the parties
strictly follow the election rules. The ECP has the constitutional mandate
that the elections are conducted according to the set rules.
The PML-N and MQM were on the same page in backing Justice
(retd) Nasir Aslam Zahids nomination for the slot of Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC). Justice Zahid, so far, is alone to have the support of
the opposition and a party belonging to the treasury. The committee, headed
by Federal Minister Khurshid Shah asked Gilani to forward a new proposal
after one of his nominees, Justice (retd) Zahid Qurban, refused to stay
among the contenders.

Rule of law: On 4th June, the Supreme Court suspended Senate

membership of Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik in dual nationality
case. The apex court took the decision under Article 63-A of the Constitution
after the minister failed to provide testimonials in favour of his claim
regarding abandonment of British nationality. The court has also terminated
National Assembly membership of Farahnaz Isfahhani wife of Haqqani in
the same case.
A list of 14 more parliamentarians having dual nationality was filed in
the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The list included names of Finance Minister
Abdul Hafeez Sheikh Deputy Chairman Senate, Sabir Baloch and other
lawmakers. Malik Waheed Anjum filed the list before a three-member bench
when it resumed hearing of the case.

1185

Prominent TV anchor, Dr Shahid Masood also filed a petition against

Rehman Malik, stating that the minister was having UK nationality and the
Britain had appointed him countrys honorary counselor in Niger, a republic
in West Africa. Dr Shahid Masood, through his plea, requested for being a
party in the case. The court has sent notices to all the listed lawmakers.
The regime reacted swiftly to make the indispensable man as advisor
to Prime Minister on internal affairs. The government has also decided to
introduce a bill in the Parliament to allow dual nationals to stay as elected
representatives. Reportedly, the coalition partners have taken on board.
The Supreme Court took suo moto notice of the recently emerged
video scandal and the death decree issued to seven persons by a Jirga of
Kohistan. Chief Justice instructed the AGP to find out from Chief Secretary
KPK about the five girls, who were sentenced to death by the local clerics
over dancing in a wedding ceremony along with two men, and inform the
court. He also directed him produce all the girls and boys in the court if they
are alive.
In his remarks, the CJP said that the court has repeatedly declared that
decisions issued by private jirgas (tribal courts) are illegal and
unconstitutional. The apex court also issued notices to Commissioner Hazara
Division, DPO Kohistan and DIG Hazara to appear before the court on June
6. Conflicting reports about the murder of the accused women were also
making the rounds in media.
District Police Officer (DPO) Kohistan Abdul Majeed Afridi said it
appeared to be a case of tribal rivalry and an attempt to defame a family. He
said the video was recorded three years ago and then edited in an attempt to
implicate the party goers. KPK Minister for Social Welfare talking to media
also denied the report, saying the women who danced at the wedding
ceremony were not killed.
Next day, after days of the capital being abuzz with rumours of a
mega corruption scandal allegedly involving the son of Chief Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry, the CJ has taken suo moto notice of reports
circulating in the media and summoned Arsalan Iftikhar Chaudhry, Bahria
Town chief executive Malik Riaz and attorney General Irfan Qadir. The
three-member bench headed by the chief justice will take up the case in an
open hearing on 6th June; other members will include Justice Jawwad S
Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif.
The electronic and social media have in the last few days been rife
with reports about Arsalan Iftikhar allegedly receiving crores of rupees from
1186

the Bahria Town management under different pretexts in order to influence

the Supreme Court in favour of Bahria Town cases pending with the SC.
There were also allegations that the Bahria Town management financed
multiple foreign trips taken by Arsalan and the CJs family members and
also paid for hotel and rented accommodation and cars. Additionally, there
were reports of Arsalan receiving about Rs340 million in different heads
from Malik Riaz.
Rehman Malik was desperate to take with him to Pakistan the
Renunciation of Nationality (RN) declaration certificate. The British
government fast-tracked Rehman Maliks application for renunciation and
former interior minister spent three hours in a huddle with the Home Office
bureaucrats to finalize the covert mission. Malik failed to achieve it as he
had already been summoned by President Zardari to Pakistan the same
evening.
Officials at Pakistan High Commission were surprised and intrigued
when they were told on 29th May that the interior minister was meeting the
British defence ministry officials, when clearly defence is not the domain of
the interior minister. On the same day, Rehman Malik was scheduled to visit
the Nadra/passport office in the High Commission of Pakistan premises.
The declaration of renunciation bearing a stamp of registration was
sent to Rehman Malik on 30th May, stating that his status has been
renounced with effect from 30-05-2012. Rehman Malik has also produced
before the Supreme Court a copy of forms dating back to 2008 when he
claims to have applied and obtained the renunciation but there are many
glaring gaps in this argument.
Sibghat Kadri, Britains first Muslim Queens Counsel who has
practiced law for over four decades and who is a leading lawyer in
immigration and nationality commented: It is obvious from the letter of the
British High Commission produced in the Supreme Court that Mr Malik
remained a British citizen until 1st June 2012 when his declaration of
renunciation became effective. Mr Malik lied on oath to the Supreme Court
in his affidavit in which he first stated that he had renounced his British
citizenship in March 2008, later amending it to 25th April 2008. In my
opinion it is no longer a question as to when he renounced his British
nationality but a serious matter of perjury.
Sibghat Kadri further said that he was extremely surprised at the fast
tracking of Rehman Maliks application by the Home Office. He further
commented: In my experience the Home Office never deals with any
1187

application relating to immigration or nationality in such a speedy manner.

They normally take weeks if not months.
In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (1) of Article 93 of the
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President, on the advice
of the Prime Minister, was pleased to appoint, with immediate effect, A
Rehman Malik as Advisor to the PM on interior, with the status of federal
minister.
On 6th June, the two men accused of dancing and singing at a wedding
party, Bin Yasir and Gul Nazar were produced before the Supreme Court and
told that the five co-accused Kohistani women were already dead. Adviser to
the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik appeared before the bench and
assured his assistance in the case.
Meanwhile, the police informed the court that the girls were alive and
would be produced before the court on June 7. According to the Hazara
commissioner, the helicopter sent for the girls could not land in their village
due to bad weather. Later, talking to reporters outside the Supreme Court
Afzal Khan said that the police cannot be trusted as they had received threats
from the DIG and commissioner of Hazara Division.
Interior ministry rebutted the report published on June 6. A press
release issued by the ministry said the objectives behind continuous
publication of such stories are nothing but to launch a vilification campaign
against Rehman Malik. The ministry said it is totally incorrect and
concocted that Rehman Malik had huddled with the Home Office
bureaucrats to finalize the covert mission.
Next day, on directions of the apex court, a team comprising federal
and KPK administration officials and three women rights activists visited
Kohistan. At 6pm the team informed the court that all the girls were alive
and well. They said: Despite bad weather and rough terrain, they succeeded
in meeting with Amna and Shaheena, while the other three girls namely
Begum Jan, Bazigha and Sareen Jan were stated to be present in the same
district.
But, speaking to the media, Muhammad Afzal, the brother of the boys
in the video, said he would not believe the girls were alive until they were
brought before the court and fingerprinted. I still say they are dead. If they
were alive, I will accept any punishment the court gives me, said Afzal.
The team told the court there was no veracity in the reports of their
killing and the video supplied to the media had not been prepared recently

1188

but pertained to another family function that took place about a year ago.
The bench appreciated the efforts of federal and the KPK administration,
and also thanked Rehman Malik for his assistance.
The Attorney General for Pakistan and KPK advocate general told the
court that if some time is given, arrangements would be made for visiting to
the remaining three girls in the same district. The chief justice appreciating
the efforts said its better if the delegation is accompanied by a Judicial
Officer Munira Abbas. The case was adjourned until June 20.
The investigators told the Supreme Court that evidence is available
against Ali Musa Gilani in the ephedrine scandal. The bench hearing the
case, inquired from the ANF about the progress in the case. Brigadier Fahim
told the bench that evidence was available against Prime Minister Gilanis
son. This was the first scandal which was being overlooked by the federation
itself, he added.
The court observed that the case was being monitored internationally;
not because it involved prime minister's son but for the reason that so many
grants were given to Pakistan for drug control. The court asked Brigadier
Fahim to proceed against all the accused in accordance with law without fear
and set an example. The CJP asked the ANF officer why the investigation
was not being completed despite his being given a free hand. Fahim replied
that four persons were arrested and investigation would be completed by the
end of this month.
Submitting a written reply over the petition of senior politician Sheikh
Rashid regarding the complete probe, NAB Prosecutor General said as the
ANF investigation was in full swing, it would be appropriate to let the
agency complete it. Moreover, he stated that under article 13 of the
constitution, it is fundamental rule of criminal law that no one should be
exposed to hazards of punishment and convicted twice for one and same
offence. He said that Sheikh Rashids petition was not maintainable under
article 184(3) because it did not involve a question of public importance.
Counsel for pharma companies, Traiq Mahmood said that ANF was
harassing his clients unnecessarily. Upon this, the court observed they could
not ask ANF to stop investigation but they expect the agency would not
press their staffers without any reason. On the request of ANF officer, the
court adjourned the hearing for three weeks.
On 8th June, the government assured the Supreme Court that Hussain
Asghar, former investigation officer in the Haj corruption case and
incumbent Gilgit Baltistan IG, will soon be returned to the FIA. The chief
1189

justice had asked the attorney general when Hussain Asghar would be
returned to the FIA.
The ANF arrested Asad Hafeez for illegally allotting the quota of
ephedrine for local use which was meant for exporting. Special Magistrate,
Rawalpindi approved a four-day physical remand of former DG Health Asad
Hafeez and ordered to present the accused again on June 13.

Defiance of judiciary: On 4th June, the PML-N staged a walk-out

from the National Assembly against the performance and policies of the
present government and warned Prime Minister Gilani to tender resignation;
otherwise, masses will have no option to take this decision on roads. Lesson
should be learnt from Hosni Mubarak episode. Unconstitutional Prime
Minister should resign and with the consensus of the House new Prime
Minister be made, said the Opposition party member from PML-N Ahsan
Iqbal, initiating the debate on Federal budget and proposed that elections
should be held in the country as earlier as possible.
Next day, PML-N legislators entered the National Assembly hall
raising full-throated slogans as Prime Minister Gilani was signing
applications of PPP parliamentarians. The PML-N MNAs gathered in front
of the prime minister and raised slogans; Go Gilani Go, We do not accept
Gilanis rule, and so on. Meanwhile, the business advisory committee of the
House decided that a general discussion on the budget will continue till the
end of next week.
Senators belonging to the PML-N walked out of the Senate to protest
against Prime Minister Gilanis sticking to power even after his conviction
and also over reports of Rehman Malik being made the PMs advisor on
interior. Mushahid Ullah Khan drew the attention of the House towards
media reports that Rehman Malik was being made advisor after the Supreme
Court suspended his membership of the Senate on the question of dual
nationality. He billed it as another example of disrespecting the court
decisions.
On 6th June, a three-member bench of the apex court, headed by the
Chief Justice summoned Ahmed Ali Riaz Malik, Chief Executive of Bahria
Town, in the suo moto case of an alleged business deal involving some
Rs300-400 million between his father Malik Riaz Hussain and Dr Arsalan,
the son of Chief Justice Chaudhry. It was reported that Malik Riaz paid
between Rs300-400 million to Dr Arsalan and also sponsored his foreign
visits under different pretexts in order to influence the Supreme Court in
favour of Bahria Town cases pending with the SC.
1190

Dr Arsalan has, meanwhile, denied the allegations of corruption that

have circulated in the media in recent days. During the hearing, Chief Justice
remarked that his son would be dealt with in accordance with the law if
found guilty in the instant case. He said anyone who conspired to malign the
judiciary would not be spared.
Attorney General Irfan Qadir, addressing the chief justice, argued that
he could not be part of a bench hearing his own sons case, at which the
chief justice replied that the court was aware of the code of conduct, adding
that this was a matter of the honour of the judiciary. The CJ also said that the
court would hear the case in accordance with Quranic injunctions.
During the hearing Colonel Khalil, Principal Staff Officer of Malik
Riaz, appeared before the court and submitted that Malik Riaz could not be
contacted as he was in London for medical treatment. Later, the court
summoned Malik Riazs son, Ahmed Ali Riaz Malik but he too could not
appear before the court and could not be contacted as he was abroad as well.
He directed Ahmed Ali Riaz Malik to appear before the court on June
7 with all relevant records of his company relating to the allegations against
Dr Arsalan. The court also directed the Chief Executive of Geo TV to secure
the materials mentioned by Shaheen Sehbai, Group Editor of The News,
during an interview aired worldwide from Washington.
Hamid Mir, anchorperson Geo News, appeared before the court and
contended that neither he nor Shaheen Sehbai had any material regarding the
allegations against Dr Arsalan, adding that one week ago, Asma Jahangir had
told him about the issue and he had expressed his ignorance to her. Hamid
Mir said he later contacted Justice (retd) Tariq Mahmood about the matter,
who told him that Malik Riaz had discussed the issue with some other
journalists as well.
Hamid Mir said that he then met Malik Riaz Hussain, who showed
him a file containing some allegations against Dr Arsalan, but did not
provide any video documentation relating to the scandal. He also said it was
Imran Khan who had said on his show, Capital Talk, that a conspiracy was
being hatched against the chief justice.
The court also summoned Geo News anchor Kamran Khan with the
material on which he had conducted his programme on June 5. The court
also directed the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP)
to appear before the court with the relevant record of Malik Riazs company
so that an appropriate order could be issued in this regard. The court also

1191

directed Colonel Khalil, Principal Staff Officer of Malik Riaz, to inform his
boss to appear before the court with material.
Earlier, Colonel Khalil told the court that there were some 21,000 staff
members in the company, with executive members of the board including
Commander Ilyas, General (retd) Ihtisham Zameer, Major General (retd)
Khalid Sultan, Mariam Rehman, etc. Mariam Rehman, while appearing
before the court, submitted that Malik Riaz had resigned as Chairman of
Bahria Town. Commander Ilyas, who heads a project of Bahria Town, told
the court that there was no mention of the alleged business deal in the
project he heads and not a single penny was released from his project in the
alleged business deal. The court shall resume hearing on June 7.
Dr Arsalan told the media his father has forced him to leave home till
the Supreme Court verdict in the suo moto case concerning his alleged
corruption. He claimed that he was innocent and denied all the allegations
leveled against him. Responding to a question, Dr Arsalan said he had no
issue with his father heading the bench, adding that a judge had no relations
while hearing a case.
Usman Manzoor observed an apparent difference in the reactions of
the fathers of four privileged sons allegedly involved in financial corruption.
In the case of the alleged corruption of the sons of Prime Minister Gilani and
former Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi, the fathers tried their best to save the
skins of their sons, but Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry, put his son in the dock the day bribe allegations were leveled.
Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly, while talking to
journalists outside the Parliament House, said that Malik Riaz exercises
influence over the rulers. He said that currently nine retired generals of the
Army are his employees and which politicians and generals he has bought
should become known to masses.
This man has bought many rulers. He said he is struggling alone
against this person and today when everything has become public, people
should think as to how an ordinary clerk has become a billionaire in a short
span of time. What type of relations he has with the son of the chief justice
and which type of business partnership he has with Zardari. These facts
should become known to the nation.
Chaudhry Nisar said that when Musharraf came into power in 1999
and the National Accountability Bureau took up many cases against him, this
man absconded but later he became a favourite of Musharraf. The agreement
of Malik Riaz with the DHA should be put before the court. He said that
1192

what privileges have been given to a few lawyers, who consider themselves
the custodian of the law, by Bahria Town and where the aircraft of Malik
Riaz is used. Who are the people in the lawyer and journalist community
that are supporting him?
He said a book could be written on the cases that are pending with the
high court and Supreme Court. Lives of the people, whose lands he grabbed,
have been ruined. These incidents should also be highlighted in newspapers.
He said what could be bigger crime than this that an individual has used the
son of the chief justice to get hundreds of cases against him hushed up. He
said he has been a favourite of Musharraf and Chaudhry Brothers and is of
Zardari now.
While the PPP is trying to keep itself away from the alleged scam
involving the son of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the Special Assistant to
Prime Minister on Political Affairs, Fawad Chaudhry, says that the story
about the CJ sons Rs400 million affairs with Malik Riaz will appear in the
Sunday Times, London next Sunday. Not only this, the PPP leader also
tweeted that Honourable CJP! Accept responsibility and resign & Dear
Chamchas of CJP stop imposing heroes, fakes cannot be retained in this
position for long.
Ansar Abbasi in his report wrote: Who is Ahmad Khalil and what is
his role in the Malik Riaz-Arsalan Iftikhar scandal, which has now been
taken up by the Supreme Court of Pakistan following an unprecedented suo
moto notice taken by the chief judge of the country against his own son? A
businessman from Lahore, Khalil has been a friend of Arsalan Iftikhar till
recently. He is also associated with one of Bahria Towns projects and is also
closely connected to Malik Riaz Hussain. Khalil is also a buddy of Prime
Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.
Dr Arsalan Iftikhar said that he had never met Malik Riaz Hussain in
his whole life. Dr Arsalan may be speaking the truth but the question arises
if he ever knew that his friend Ahmad Khalil is closely associated with
Malik Riaz and what has been Khalils role in concluding what has now
emerged as a unique scandal in the history of Pakistan. Ahmad Khalil is
believed to be a key person to uncover the real story and who trapped or
defrauded whom.
Whether it is a case of the smartest of all traps against the Chief
Justice on the part of the business group and vested interests or shameless
corruption on the part of the CJs son, Arsalan is accused of pocketing
around Rs340 million from Bahria Town, directly or indirectly, with the
1193

promise that the business tycoon would get relief in his cases in the Supreme
Court.
The scam, as has been secretly shared by some key persons associated
with Bahria Town with some journalists, portrays Arsalan as a fool or a
daredevil or a perfect innocent for taking his family members to London
thrice during the last three years and getting sponsored, allegedly, by no one
else but Bahria Town. One Rizwan, who is the son-in-law of Malik Riaz, is
alleged to have generally made payments for these trips. Arsalan, however,
insisted that his friend Ahmad Khalil had engaged Bahria Town in these
tours without his knowledge. Later, he claimed, he repaid the amount to
Khalil through the latters cousin Zaid Rehman, who was in London to
facilitate them.
However, there is not even an iota of evidence, whether direct or
indirect, against the chief justice of Pakistan in these otherwise extremely
embarrassing affairs. Even otherwise the cases of Bahria Town were always
heard by a three-member bench and never by the Chief Justice of Pakistan
alone.
The fact that at what stage Arsalan came to know about the
involvement of Bahria Town in these foreign tours could be ascertained by
an independent probe but it is confirmed from all possible sources that
neither the CJ nor his family was told by Arsalan that Bahria Town had
anything to do with their foreign visits.
Arsalans accusers have been claiming that for the last three years
they have been bribing and sponsoring Arsalans foreign tours after having
been blackmailed by the young man. But despite promises the CJs son
never delivered and demanded more and more. Arsalan said the enemies of
his father are trying to target the CJ through him for all that the CJ is doing
against corruption, the corrupt and the most powerful.
Arsalan said that he was recently warned by Bahria Town owner
through an indirect source that if their cases were not settled, they would
leak the story to the foreign and local media. Arsalan did not explain as to
who conveyed him these threats. Arsalan admitted that Ahmad Khalil has
been asking him to talk favourably to the chief justice about Malik Riazs
cases but he never acceded to such requests because he knew his father
would never entertain such requests and has always decided cases on merit.
The CJs son said that he is into the construction and
telecommunications business and earns reasonable profits to finance the
foreign visits of his family members. He said that his business value is
1194

Rs900 million, it has more than 400 employees and has paid Rs2.2 million
and Rs3.2 million as tax in 2011 and 2010, respectively.
He lamented that he had to depend on Ahmad Khalil because he did
not want to carry cash with him. Khalil arranged the accommodation and
rented the Land Rover for their traveling in the UK but later it appeared to
him that the payments were made there by Bahria Town and that the credit
cards used were that of the son-in-law and daughter of Malik Riaz.
When asked if he had paid back the money to Ahmad Khalil, he said
Khalil was not keen to get the money because of their relationship but still
he later transferred Rs5 million to the account of Khalils cousin Zaid
Rehman, who facilitated them in London. Arsalan said that his father had
clearly told him after the restoration of the judiciary that he would not be
responsible for any of his misdeeds or wrongdoings.
The CJs son said that he was prepared to face an inquiry and would
prove himself innocent. He laughed at the allegation of receiving Rs340
million benefits including cash from Bahria Town. He even challenged his
accusers, who also claimed to have video recordings of his receiving cash, to
show transaction of even a single penny what to talk of Rs300 million to
Rs400 million.
This correspondent had a chance to talk to Ahmad Khalil last month.
When approached, Khalil endorsed Arsalans accusers viewpoint and
insisted that he was told prior to every foreign visit that he and his familys
tours were sponsored by Bahria Town. Khalil, however, was unsure if the
CJs family knew about the alleged sponsors of their foreign trips. Khalil
admitted to have talked to Arsalan several times about what he called the
unfair deal that the Bahria Town owner was getting in the Supreme Court.
A friend of the CJs family, known to this correspondent, when
approached said that the wife and daughters of the CJs family had
absolutely no idea as to who had arranged the trip and what was the cost of
the accommodation. It is said Arsalan had told the family that since he was
earning a handsome amount so he was spending all the money but now the
family is in a state of shock to learn about the kind of allegations leveled
against them.
The Supreme Court issued notices to Prime Minister, Attorney
General, National Assembly Speaker, the Election Commission and the
Federation while hearing identical petitions challenging NA Speakers ruling
not to pass on the disqualification reference against the prime minister to the
election commission.
1195

A K Dogar, the counsel for petitioner Azhar Chaudhry, told the court
that the prime minister was disqualified because of the application of Article
63 (1) (g) of the Constitution. He said the NA speakers ruling would lead to
the collapse and paralysis of administration of justice. Dogar further
submitted that the petition was filed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution,
which refers to fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution under
articles 9, 14, 17 and 25, adding that the same were violated by the
respondents and the Federation.
He said that after his conviction, the PM had not filed any appeal
against the court judgment. At this, the court asked the judicial registrar of
its office whether any appeal was filed either at the principal seat in
Islamabad or some other branch registry. The registrar responded in the
negative. Hence, the court issued notices to the NA speaker and prime
minister, observing that the Constitution would be strictly followed in the
country.
Hamid Khan, counsel for PTI Chairman Imran Khan, also appeared
before the court and contended that the NA speakers ruling was without
jurisdiction and unlawful. PML-N leader and advocate Zafar Ali Shah, the
petitioner, requested the court to direct the president to summon a parliament
session to discuss the ruling of the speaker. The CJ, however, asked the
petitioner to raise the issue in parliament. The court adjourned the hearing
till June 16.
PML-N parliamentarians could not register a strong protest in the
National Assembly but did manage once again to disrupt the proceedings of
the lower house on two occasions. In the absence of PML-N members, the
government found it difficult to complete the quorum in the House and, as a
result, Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi had to suspend the proceedings
on two occasions.
Next day, Chief Justice removed himself from the bench hearing the
suo moto case pertaining to allegations that his son Dr Arsalan Iftikhar
received Rs300 to 400 million from business tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain to
influence SC verdicts. Justice Iftikhar reiterated that he would do anything to
save the judiciary from destruction and protect the dignity of the institution.
He said the apex court would continue to conduct the proceedings in an open
court, in broad daylight and in front of the media, would not discriminate in
favour of anyone, and would decide the case purely in accordance with the
law. The CJ also said if it were in his hands, he would have put both Arsalan
and Malik Riaz in handcuffs.

1196

Later, the revised two-member bench resumed hearing in the case at

2:20pm, and ordered FBR to submit by June 9 details pertaining to the assets
and volume of tax paid by Malik Riaz Hussain. The court in its order further
ruled that since the amount of Rs30-40 crores paid on behalf of Malik Riaz
to Arsalan was mentioned in the statements of three persons, it was
necessary to ascertain the figures.
The court also directed Malik Riaz and his son Ahmed Ali to ensure
their presence before the court on June 11 and submit their written
statements. The court directed counsel for Dr Arsalan to submit a written
statement with further direction to both parties to exchange their written
statements.
Earlier during the hearing, Sardar Ishaq, Counsel for Dr Arsalan
Iftikhar, submitted that his client was falsely implicated in the case. He said
there is nothing but hot air in the scandal. Justice Jawwad S Khawaja
however told the counsel that the institution of the judiciary had been
damaged and when the institution was damaged, the whole country was
damaged. Thats why we are trying to get to the bottom of the case, Justice
Jawwad said, asking the counsel to prove that the allegations leveled against
his client were false.
The attorney general interrupted and said Dr Arsalan should be dealt
with in an independent manner instead of linking him with the institution.
The attorney general further said when the chief justice had himself said he
had served for so many years without having his own house or car, then why
was this still a matter of damaging the institution? Arsalan is the son of this
country, not of this institution, the AG further said.
Sardar Ishaq assured that he would assist the court while arguing
before the court in the case. Justice Jawwad S Khawaja reminded Sardar
Ishaq that the court had statements from three persons, and the counsel
would have to reply to them. You should tell us that your client did not shop
in Harrods or go to Monte Carlo, Justice Jawwad told the counsel. The
counsel contended that the secretary Bahria Town should provide him the
particular data while Secretary Bahria Town Shabbar Hussain told the court
he didnt have anything except Form 29.
Zahid Bukhari, counsel for Malik Riaz, submitted that the court
constitute a larger bench to hear the case. The court asked him to follow
proper procedure in this regard. Zahid Bukhari further submitted that the
court should not conduct the proceedings on a day to day basis as his client
was under treatment abroad. He requested the court to give him one weeks
1197

time. The court rejected his request and asked him to ensure the appearance
of Malik Riaz and his son on June 11. Justice Khilji told Zahid Bukhari to
inform Malik Riaz to refrain from giving interviews to the media, since the
case was pending before the court.
Earlier, Geo News chief executive Mir Ibrahim along with senior
anchor Kamran Khan appeared before the court. Kamran Khan described
details of the documents he had seen pertaining to the case. Kamran Khan
said Malik Riaz told him that these documents were also shown to Aitzaz
Ahsan. He further told the court that Malik Riaz showed him dossiers that
carried documents pertaining to Dr Arsalans summer trips to London over
three years. There were tenancy agreements signed by Dr Arsalan Iftikhar
for five-star accommodation in central London and receipts and invoices
showed that the payments were made from the accounts/credit cards
controlled by Malik Riaz for his family members, he said.
He further said that there were documents that showed travel and stay
arrangement for Dr Arsalan Iftikhar and a female accomplice, whose name
he could not remember, in Monte Carlo. Those payments were also made
from accounts controlled by Malik Riaz or his family members.
According to these documents, Kamran Khan said most of these
payments including those of several shopping trips made by Dr Arsalan and
other family members at pricey London stores were also made through credit
cards owned by Malik Riazs daughter and son-in-law in London. Malik
Riaz claimed that in between dates of his cases before the chief justice, Dr
Arsalan Iftikhar allegedly kept squeezing him under one pretext or another,
including supply of cement bags at excessive prices to Bahria projects and
sale of plots of land, Kamran Khan said.
Kamran Khan submitted that his show had repeatedly mentioned that
despite alleged payments and favours to Dr Arsalan, Malik Riaz did not get
any favourable orders from the Supreme Court. To the contrary, the chief
justice stayed within the law, which may have exacerbated Malik Riazs
frustration and desperation.
During the hearing, the chief justice said: If I were to go home today
or another March 9th was to happen, I wouldnt have a house to stay in, he
said. At one point a visibly emotional chief justice stated rather angrily that
some people thought that everybody could be bought and had a price. Not
any more, he intoned, adding, we cannot let things go on like this.
Everybody in this country will have to submit to the law of the land.

1198

On 8th June, Chaudhry Nisar announced that PML-N members will

stage a sit-in protest on June 11 outside the Presidency and PM House. The
opposition leader said that unfortunately both, the President and PM are
corrupt and sentenced. How can the criminals and corrupt people guide the
nation? Answering a question regarding Arsalan case, Nisar said that the
whole drama has been created by Malik Riaz, who does not even take a
breath without permission of President Zardari.
Malik Riaz admitted that he had no evidence against Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry. The man, who is today the source of great
embarrassment for the chief justice, interestingly, also claims that he still
sees the Chief Justice as a great hope for Pakistan. I see him as the lone
fighter against corruption and misrule, said Malik Riaz.
This correspondent had five sittings with Malik Riaz. What we
discussed during all these meetings was off the record as was the demand of
the real estate developer, who did not want to be quoted at that stage. But,
yesterday, Malik Riaz again contacted on mobile and the man appeared
contradicting himself with regard to the Chief Justice. On the one hand, he
showed his extreme frustration for being allegedly dealt unfairly and
sternly by the Chief Justice and, on the other hand, he said Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry was the only hope to check corruption.
On one occasion, he said that while all others were busy in loot and
plunder, the Chief Justice was the lone fighter against the corrupt. He was
satisfied with his evidence, which he believed would put Dr Arsalan on the
mat. He also alleged that Arsalan was being favoured and given money to
get the Bahria Town cases settled but he had no evidence of corruption
against the Chief Justice.
When asked if the Chief Justice knew that his son was getting money
from Bahria Town, he said he did not think so. When asked if the Chief
Justices family knew that Dr Arsalan had been taking them to Britain for
holidays on Bahria Towns expenses, he doubted they knew that. He,
however, said Dr Arsalan was fully in the picture.
Malik Riaz categorically denied that there was any power whether
civilian or military behind his move against the chief justice or his son. He
admitted that despite his view that there was nothing with him against the
Chief Justice, he would be under pressure from certain vested interests to
blame the Chief Justice, if he goes public. He said he did not want to be used
by others for their vested interest but was still eager to go public with his
evidence.
1199

Aitzaz Ahsan was also against breaking of the story through the
British media and that too when the Chief Justice was to be present in
London to receive an award for being one of the best jurists in the world.
When asked that the evidence, including the making of videos, which were
not shown, suggests as if Dr Arsalan was trapped, he said that the CJs son
had blackmailed the Bahria Town and had been milking him to multiply his
fortunes. Yesterday, while talking to this correspondent, he said that he was
not involved in any dealing with the Dr Arsalan case. He said that all the
evidence shown by him pertained to his son-in-law.
The counsel of Malik Riaz said his client did not give an interview to
any journalist about the bribes scam being heard by the Supreme Court
involving Dr Arsalan and Mr Riaz. Advocate Zahid Bokhari maintained this
during a talk with media persons at the Lahore High Court.
Next day, the Supreme Court dismissed the request filed on behalf of
Malik Riaz for the formation of a larger bench in the suo motto case of graft
allegations against Dr Arsalan Iftikhar. The Supreme Court said the existing
special two-member bench comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and
Justice Khilji Arif Hussain will continue the proceedings of the case.
Dr Arsalan submitted his initial statement in the Supreme Court of
Pakistan in the alleged graft case and rejected all allegations leveled against
him by the Bahria Town chief Malik Riaz. He said that everything was only
publicized through media but not presented in the court. He said that he runs
his own business and submits his income tax return regularly.
Arsalan stated that he went on London tour in 2009 along with his
family and stayed in a flat on his own expenses. Similarly, he again visited
London in 2010 and 2011. He said he didnt know as to whose credit
card was used to make his payments but he had paid all the bills.
He said that he was introduced to Ahmed Khalil through Zaid
Rehman. The CJs son submitted that there was no evidence against him,
adding that he was proud to be son of Chief Justice of Pakistan whose
honesty was recognized by the world. Arsalan Chaudhry said so far Malik
Riaz had submitted no evidence against him and he had the right to file a
rejoinder again in case Riaz gave any evidence against him.
Imran Khan has said that the revelations coming out in the Arsalan
case clearly show a deliberate attempt to undermine the Supreme Court.
Unnerved by the strong and courageous decisions of the Supreme Court, the
ruling mafia decided to damage his image. Since the CJ himself is

1200

incorruptible and a man of high integrity, those wanting to weaken him

chose to target his son.
Why did he do this, asked Khan? The CJs son was not working for
Riaz Malik and had no business relations with him. The only reason this was
done was to entrap him and then blackmail or undermine the integrity of the
Chief Justice. This is further established by the fact that all the receipts of
the transactions and reportedly some video clips were carefully retained. If
there was no ulterior motive then why was this incriminating evidence
against the CJs son being collected?
There is little doubt that this was a well thought out conspiracy to
defame the CJ and the Supreme Court, and Malik Riaz played a central role
in it. He said Arsalan Iftikhar also has much to explain, and if evidence
establishes that he accepted favours by making promises of influencing his
father, then he must bear the consequences.
The chief justice has done the right thing by deciding not to hear the
case himself. The truth will surely come out. But facts reported in the media
clearly show that Riaz Maliks intent was not to buy influence but only to
compromise the Chief Justices son and use this later to defame the judiciary.
We know who the real instigator behind Riaz Maliks conspiracy is.
He is just a pawn in the hands of the corrupt Zardari/Gilani cabal ruling the
country that is threatened by an independent judiciary. It has long been
seeking to undermine it in whatever way possible. He said Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf will stand with the independent judiciary and would thwart any
attempt to malign the CJ and the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice will resume hearing of 11 cases, including killing of a
security guard and property confiscation, against Malik Riaz and his son, Ali
Riaz, on June 12. The hearing of the cases will be conducted by the bench
headed by Chief Justice, and comprising Justice Jawwad S Khwaja and
Justice Khilji Arif Hussain.
On 10th June, Christina Lamb brushed aside media reports of being
contacted by anyone in the graft case against Dr Arsalan Iftikhar. She termed
as 'made up' the reports disseminated through social networking site Twitter.
Reports circulating in the social networking site claimed that Malik Riaz,
had contacted the Washington Bureau chief of Sunday Times to expose the
scandal right when Chief Justice was scheduled to receive the International
Jurists Award-2012. It was a planned move to malign the Chief Justice who
is considered incorruptible, the reports also said.

1201

Malik Riaz will be leaving London for Pakistan shortly to record his
testimony before the Supreme Court in Dr Arsalan's case, said his counsel
Zahid Bukhari. Zahid Bukhari said although Malik Riaz's doctors had
advised him not to travel; he has decided against it and will be heading back
home shortly.
Shahbaz Sharif said that Arsalans case was a conspiracy against the
judiciary and called upon the whole nation to stand by the Supreme Court at
this critical time. Speaking at a ceremony held to commemorate the third
death anniversary of Dr Sarfraz Naeemi at Jamia Naeemia, the Punjab CM
said that it was a duty of the nation to lend support to the Court, and
described Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as the last hope for
justice.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that convicted Prime Minister Gilani by
appointing Rehman Malik as Advisor on Interior had again disrespected the
Supreme Courts decision. He said that Dr Arsalan has appeared in the SC to
clarify his position regarding allegations and now it is Malik Riazs turn to
prove the blames leveled against the CJs son. The added that there was no
justification to demand Chief Justice to step down from his position as there
were no allegations against him in person.
Prime Minister Gilani asked Chief Justice to hear the case of his
[Gilanis] son if he could not hear the case of Arsalan due to constitutional
reasons. The prime minister also firmly asserted that neither the Pakistan
Army nor the PPP had anything to gain from the alleged case of graft
charges on Arsalan.
Gilani grudgingly added that one of his sons had been dragged into a
Haj scandal, while his other son was implicated for simply making a
telephone call. We are not afraid of these allegations I have been facing
the medias [questions] in this regard for more than four years, while
[Arsalans] case is only four days old.

Taming the military: On 4th June, the Federation again failed to

submit the notification in Supreme Court regarding setting up a political cell
in the ISI during the then regime of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. On the last date of
hearing the court had directed the Attorney General to submit the
notification of setting up political cell in ISI. During the proceedings, the AG
informed the court that he had written to Secretaries Ministries of Law and
Justice, and Interior but they have replied that notification could not be
found out. The court asked him to submit the notification on June 18.

1202

Regarding Habib Bank and Mehran Bank reports, AG told the court
that all the old persons working in the Law Ministry have retired or died. He
said the incumbent Law Secretary had written letters to Shahid Hamid, the
then Secretary Law and the Chairman of the Commission Justice (Retd)
Muhammad Ilyas that conducted the inquiry. He hoped that they must have
some information about the report, as normally the Chairman of the
Committee keeps a copy of the report. The Attorney General assured that by
the next hearing they would have more clues about the reports. The Chief
Justice said if a private TV channel anchorperson could supply the Mehran
Bank report then why the government still could not find out those reports.
Next day, Asma Jahangir alleged that high level security authorities
had made a plan to assassinate her. She made these remarks at a press
conference held at her Gulberg office in Lahore. Asma said information
about the plot to assassinate her was received through highly reliable
sources. She said the mindset of killing progressive and intellectual people
in Pakistan should be stopped now.
Asma said the interior minister (adviser to PM on interior) contacted
her on phone and deployed the Rangers squad but the security arrangements
were not satisfactory so far. She said President Zardari also made her a
phone call and discussed the matter. She said the Punjab government was
also informed about the situation, but the provincial authorities did not
approach her as yet.
On 6th June, the Peshawar High Court put on notice the DG MI, police
officers and tribal authorities in the missing persons cases and directed them
to appear in court on June 26. Petitioner Anwar Baig, resident of Tora Warai
area in Hangu district, had claimed that the police and spy agencies
personnel had whisked away his brother Habibullah on May 5, 2009.
According to the petitioner, the police later handed the missing person to
military officials and since then his whereabouts were unknown.
In the second petition, the court issued notices to capital city police
officer Peshawar and station house officer of the Faqirabad Police Station.
Bacha Zarin, mother of Nasir Ahmad, a missing student of Darul Uloom
Haqqania in Akora Khattak in Nowshera, had claimed in the petition that her
son was arrested by the police in the limits of Faqirabad Police Station on
April 27, 2012 and was now untraceable.

Recessing economy: On 4th June, Prime Minister Gilani addressed

the Command Staff College in Quetta and said prudent policies pursued by
the government helped achieve macroeconomic stability. He claimed that
1203

all economic indicators have shown improvement since we came into

power. Our GDP has grown by 3.7 percent. Inflation currently at 11 percent
will be brought down to single digit next year. Our fiscal deficit has
remained 5.5 percent.
Local producers of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) increased prices by
Rs6 per kg despite a decline in its international prices. The retail price will
be Rs106 per kg in Karachi, Rs111 per kg in Lahore, Rs115 per kg in KP and
Rs120 per kg in northern areas, Fata, Batgram, and Azad Jammu Kashmir
(AJK).
On 7th June, PM Gilani, to a question about power crunch in the
country, held Nawaz Sharif responsible for the crisis and said had Sharif
government let the work continued on the power projects initiated during
Benazir Bhutto regime; the country would have become self-sufficient in
production of electricity.
Next day, the Central Board of Directors of the State Bank of Pakistan
at its meeting held under the Chairmanship of SBP Governor in Karachi
decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 12 percent after making an
assessment of macro economic challenges facing the countrys economy.
The economy basically needs fundamental reforms to engineer a turnaround
in economic performance. Inflation expectations cannot be effectively
anchored around single digit targets without limiting fiscal borrowings from
the banking system, particularly the SBP, according to the Monetary Policy
Decision issued after the Central Board meeting.
President Zardari said that increased economic activity within the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will help its member countries to
overcome their economic weaknesses. He pinned high hopes on the
economic prospects of the SCO. The total trade volume of SCO member
states reached 4.65 trillion US dollars in 2011, an increase of 25.1 percent
year on year. Pakistan is an SCO observer state.
Zardari held talks with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, during
which Hu called for deepened pragmatic cooperation between the two
neighbors, especially in sectors relating to trade, energy and infrastructure
construction. During the talks, Zardari said he welcomes Chinese enterprises
to expand investment in Pakistan, especially in infrastructure construction
and energy, so as to safeguard Pakistan's economic development and
improve its people's living standards.
The KPK government presented its fifth budget with total outlay of
Rs303 billion for the financial year 2012-13, Annual Development
1204

Programme (ADP) of Rs97.45 billion and 20 percent ad hoc relief to

government employees. Like the previous years, presentation of the budget
was a smooth affair.
On 9th June, Punjab Finance Minister presented annual budget for the
year 2012-13 with total outlay of Rs782 billion. In his budget speech the
minister said the federal government has been doing excesses with Punjab
over power distribution, inflicting serious harm to the industries of the
province and rendering people without jobs. He announced to allocate Rs10
billion for the next financial for power generation keeping in view federal
governments apathy to redress the provinces power woes.
CNG stations remained closed in Punjab, KPK and parts of
Balochistan for the fourth consecutive day due to the All Pakistan CNG
Association (APCNGA) strike increasing the woes of the general public.
Owners of petrol pumps joined the strike of the APCNGA and closed down
their filling stations, as the government took no notice of their strike.
Next day, All Pakistan CNG Association Central Chairman announced
reopening of CNG filling stations and postponement of the strike for three
days after holding a meeting with Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain.
Paracha said the minister has assured the association he would look into
their demands and resolve the issue.

Provincial disharmony: On 4th June, Shahbaz Sharif held the

Federation responsible for power crisis in the province, saying failure to
supply electricity to the Punjab was a clear manifestation of the Federation's
criminal negligence and ineligibility. The Federation is treating Punjab with
discrimination on the matter of power supply, he reiterated his regret.
On 8th June, the Supreme Court sought explanation from Ministry of
Water and Power and Ministry of Finance for not issuing Bill of Lading for
the machinery and equipment of Nandipur and Chichokimallian projects. A
bench headed by Chief Justice heard a petition of Khawaja Muhammad Asif
against delaying of the projects.
During the hearing, the petitioner contended that both the projects
were not accomplished well in time due to delay in issuance of Bill of
Lading from the concerned authorities. He said that equipment and
machinery of Nandipur and Chichokimallian projects is still in Beijing and
Karachi. The bench also noted that matter relating to seek opinion of the
Ministry of Law on contracts of both the projects was delayed for one and
half year.

1205

Baloch militancy: On 4th June, two Punjabis were among dour

killed across Balochistan in incidents of violence. On 6 th June, unknown
armed men abducted a man in the Rakhani area of Barkhan. The victim Mir
Muhammad along with his lawyer was on their way to district court when
some armed men intercepted them and took Mir Muhammad away to
unknown location on gunpoint.
Next day, at least 14 people, including five children, were killed and
more than 40 injured in a blast outside a seminary at Sariab Link Road,
Quetta. A powerful bomb went off when hundreds of students and scholars
were attending a degree-distributing ceremony (Dastar Bandi) at Jamia
Islamia Miftah-ul-Uloom, run by prominent religious scholar Maulana
Abdul Baqi. The ceremony was to award degrees to 150 students who had
learnt the Holy Quran by heart.
Eyewitnesses said there was no proper security arrangements at the
madrissa as the people could move easily in and out of the premises when
the blast took place. Two nephews of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islams General
Secretary Senator Abdul Ghafoor Haidari were also among the dead.
Balochistan Governor and Chief Minister condemned the blast and directed
the authorities concerned to investigate the incident and take stern action
against the culprits.
On 8th June, at least 12 miscreants were killed in exchange of fire with
Levies Forces near Pak-Afghan border area in Chaghai. Three tribal men
were also killed in the firing. Levies Forces have also recovered cache of
arms and several vehicles from their possession.
Next day, gunmen killed four policemen in a drive-by shooting on the
outskirts of Quetta. There was no claim of responsibility for the latest
incident. The citizens of Quetta have demanded the district administration,
provincial and federal governments for finding permanent solution to daily
killings and provide security to them.
At least five more persons were killed in the ongoing gun battle
between Levies Force personnel and miscreants after which the death toll
has reached 20 on the second day of clashes. A number of armed men fled
towards mountains after killing a tribal elders son.
Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, head of the inquiry commission on missing
persons, said that there was concrete evidence to show that foreign
intelligence agencies were responsible for the deteriorating law and order
situation in Balochistan as well as the disappearance of individuals.

1206

Addressing a press conference in Quetta, he asserted that no state institution

had confirmed reports regarding the number of missing persons, and added
that baseless propaganda was being created to confuse the issue.
According to the commission, the total number of missing persons
stood at 460, including 18 from Islamabad, 117 from Punjab, 174 from
Sindh 170 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 57 from Balochistan and 24 from
Azad Kashmir and the FATA. He also said the bodies of 42 missing persons
had been discovered in Balochistan.
The commissions chief said that during the past week, 12 people who
had been missing had been recovered from Balochistan. He claimed that
some of the missing persons were in Afghanistan but could not be recovered
because they were in US-controlled territory: We have credible reports
about the 11 to 15 missing persons of Balochistan who are in the Paktia and
Policharkhi jails under the control of the US Army in Afghanistan, he said.
Expressing his dismay over the attitude of those who were released by
their captives, he said that no missing person following release was ever
willing to talk about the forces that had abducted him. Lack of evidence is a
major reason for the low number of convictions on the missing persons
issue, he maintained.

Turf war in Karachi: On 4th June, at least ten people were killed
in separate firing incidents across the metropolis; twelve people including
three women were also injured. Protests were held in several areas of the
metropolis against the ongoing of wave of violence. MQM staged walk out
from the Senate.
Next day, three people including a cop and a supporter of MQM were
killed in separate incidents of target killing here on Tuesday. Four suspects
allegedly belonging to the Lyari Gang war group and accused of being
involved in multiple cases of targeted killings and extortion were
apprehended by the CID Sindh in two different raids. The police have also
recovered arms from their possession.
Sindh Rangers DG Major General Rizwan Akhtar called on Sindh
Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah. The meeting discussed law and order
situation prevailing in the province of Sindh particularly in Karachi city. DG
Rangers apprised the Chief Minister Sindh about measures taken by the
Rangers along with Police for curbing the activities of criminals and antisocial elements. Chief Minister Sindh stressed the need to have constant
vigilance and action across the board.

1207

On 7th June, the scourge of targeted killing claimed seven more lives
in Karachi, including those of a cloth trader and an activist of the banned
Sipah-e-Sahaba. Scores of traders staged protest in MA Jinnah Road. They
blocked the road and chanted slogans against the police and extortionist
mafia.
Next day, two supporters of the ANP and a member of the Katchi
Rabita Committee were killed in separate incidents in the city. Four people
were gunned down and two others injured by armed men late at night within
the Sohrab Goth police remits.
On 9th June, four people were killed and two injured after Irshad, an
active member of area Amman committee, took serious notice and called
Jirga to sort out a petty matter. The jirga decided to send the involved
persons into police custody for legal action. Following the decision, the
committee members, who were on the way to bring these persons into police
custody, came under an armed attack. Resultantly, four out of six committee
members were shot dead.
Meanwhile in separate incidents, three people were killed in different
parts of the metropolis. The Co-ordination Committee of MQM strongly
condemned the brutal killings of M Iqbal and M Khurram by armed
terrorists. Both of them were workers of unit 113 of the Baldia Town Sector
of the MQM.
Next day, at least five people were killed and two others injured when
dozens of unknown armed men riding motorcycles opened fire in Musharraf
Colony of Hawks bay area. The deceased belonged to Lyari's Haji Salamo
Group. According to the eye witnesses, a group of motorcycle riders was
roaming in the area since morning. Four more people, including a soldier,
were killed in other incidents of violence.

VIEWS
Power politics
A parlous situation: The grotesque chaos of a PPP government at
work has been on display for the past four and a half years so there isnt
really much that needs relating. The incompetence on display has been
devastating. If it has taught us anything, it is how not to govern. Today rules,
regulations and procedures count for nothing. Officers are transferred
according to whim and fancy and promotions and postings can be bought

1208

and sold. Actually just about everything is up for sale. We have indeed
undergone a transformation in the four and half years of the PPP/ANP/MQM
rule, from a crooked and sham democracy into a full-fledged kleptocracy.
For instance, we now shamelessly concede that crime does not pay as
well as politics in Pakistan and an anything goes system is what suits us
best and if the blame for all this has to be shared between the over promoted
leaders of the current coalition and their delusional view of their own
popularity no one is more responsible than Mr Zardari, our great helmsman,
who nodding and grinning and smiling encouragement like a clumsy dentist
has played the pivotal role.
But they are not the only ones to blame. Instead of uniting to confront
the regime, the opposition and the establishment have looked the other way
and rather than act they have dithered. Sitting on the sidelines and
vacillating between masterly inactivity, on the one hand, and tactical
manoeuvring in key sectors on the other, they have exacerbated the policy
making paralysis that presently prevails. By failing to concert and act firmly
to institute a system of governance where prevailing policy inefficiencies are
rectified they must share the blame for darkening our future.
Pakistan is not threatened by any fanciful theory of being an
improbable state or a historical accident. Nor does religious extremism
pose the kind of existential danger to Pakistan that some would have us
believe The real failure is one of leadership. It has failed to provide
security, justice, education, and the opportunity to earn a livelihood; and
people have lost hope that it ever will. No wonder some have taken up arms.
Loyalty is a two way street, you have to give in order to receive.
So what of the future? To get out of our current mess our pundits
advise patience. Elections are around the corner, they say, so there is no need
to upset the constitutional apple cart. As if the new crop of leaders, mostly
retreads of an earlier era, will get us to the Promised Land. As for patience,
yes, it is a virtue but it is as often a counsel of despair, and that we cannot
afford.
So what should be done? A coup is not the answer True, elections
are a good option, in fact, the best but what if all elections will produce is
yet another weak and squabbling coalition? And lets, for the moment,
discount the prospect of a tsunami, So whats left?
Heres a plan. Pakistan faces an economic emergency Politically,
too, the situation is inflamed Furthermore, the impasse that has developed
between the executive and the judiciary is now total. The former seems to be
1209

deliberately and purposefully challenging the orders of the Supreme Court.

Caught between the exhortations of the judiciary not to follow illegal orders
of the executive and the latters determination to brook no defiance of its
directives, senior civil servants have effectively downed tools.
We are not yet at that juncture we were in July 1977 In the
circumstances a politically broad based national government is one way out.
However, as anything broad based in Pakistan is almost impossible to
achieve because political parties seldom agree, a neutral non-political
dispensation for a limited period of time, say two years, is another option.
No doubt a way can be found to give it the required constitutional cover.
Foreign powers that matter, like the Americans, will probably be
happier dealing with a government which is neither dysfunctional nor
isolated However, for the scheme to succeed, the blessings of the major
political parties are essential, failing which a genuinely fair referendum
could be held because otherwise all sorts of complications will arise and we
may once again have to revert to a Musharraf-like sham democracy or
worse, martial law, neither of which this country can sustain.
As it happens, a neutral set up comprising technocrats should also suit
Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif and a chastened PPP Hopefully some are
working on such an arrangement and have plans to sound out the major
political parties. We should know more in the weeks and months ahead as
the fight between the judiciary and the executive intensifies and key court
judgments, some of which have been unconscionably delayed, are finally
announced.
Of course, the timid lot will prefer to wait until bedlam ensues or, as
someone said, the fruit is ripe for plucking. Actually, the fruit is not only
ripe but has begun to rot and may soon turn rancid; hence we have no time
to lose. (Zafar Hilaly, The News 5th June)

Rule of law
What does it tell you? Grief and despair are visible all over the face
of the nation in todays Pakistan. Is there a glimpse of hope anywhere? Is
there a silver lining someplace in sight? Or are we, as a nation, destined to
die from the excess of grief and desperation at any moment? Do we have a
direction? Do we have a discourse? Are we radarless, aimless, purposeless
and exceedingly becoming pointless?
There is never a day when our weaknesses, what seems to be inherent
weaknesses, are not exposed glaringly in our faces and yet, we refuse to
1210

learn. We, as a nation, habitually hide behind lame excuses, and disregard
what can be learned from life experiences or from committing insane
mistakes. We have become motionless, thoughtless, feeling-less, action-less
in a time and moment when continued motion, self-reflection, self-correction
and self-improvement are the need of the hour. We are stuck in time we are
in a whirlpool of self-deception, self-destruction and self-illusion. We are not
moral, we are not ethical, and we are misleading ourselves to a horrifying
national abyss of our own making.
Consider, for instance, the recent episode at Islamabad International
Airport where a Saudi national, reported to be a diplomat, was physically
manhandled and badly beaten up by the airports security personnel It
seems that the present-day democracy has failed us in its ultimate essence:
what we have instead, in the form of national affairs managers, is a
completely distorted, seriously ailing and decisively disorganized,
incompetent political organization and leadership that, in itself, is a threat to
this countrys public management.
Consider the Presidents unilateral decision making in party business
and national affairs: the manner in which the partys leadership was
obtained, the oligarchic nature of political structure developed and the loss
of personal credibility and integrity, to name only a few issues. The list is
exhaustive. Examine the Prime Ministers public conduct: the obvious
disregard for the Supreme Courts judgments, the alleged corruption charges
against his family members, the ill conceived political nose-thumbing of
public opinion, the lack of ethical judgments, the massive unprecedented
corruptions under his national stewardship, the growing poverty of the
masses, the financial and economic mis-management, the failure of foreign
and diplomatic policies and so on and so forth.
Democracy only succeeds and flourishes when role models of higher
moral-ethical standards in public conduct are set, demonstrated and acted
upon by the elected leadership. Rhetoric, political manipulations and
misplaced political showmanship are no substitute for real-time work for
public welfare and decency in political behaviour.
Had the convicted Prime Minister resigned from his office on moralethical grounds, had the incumbent written a letter to the Swiss authorities
on the instructions of the Supreme Court, or had the President and the Prime
Minister subjected themselves to the ethical dignity of their respective
offices and democratic norms, the nation would not have been standing at a
crossroads facing the dilemmas of its present political-economic sufferings

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and a questionable future. Will our unbearable pains become our remedies?
(Dr Haider Mehdi, TheNation 5th June)
The dual Malik: Violations of the law continue in every fashion in
the country. The Supreme Court, having lost patience after about 10
hearings, has suspended Interior Minister Rehman Maliks Senate seat
meaning that in effect he no longer holds the post of a minister. The court
has said it is unconvinced by the proof produced by Malik that he had
given up his British nationality ahead of filing papers for the Senate in
March 2008. The SC decision comes as a slap in the face for both the
minister and his legal team. Malik, we have to remember, apart from his role
in handling internal affairs is regarded as one of the most trusted men around
President Zardari and as such an indispensable part of the present setup.
The stern action by the SC bench should set a good example for all.
Laws need to be respected and the Constitution followed if we are to have
any kind of order in our country. The failure to adhere to this simple
principle has already brought us close to ruin. But rather than taking heed of
the verdict issued by the court, the government has acted at once to subvert it
and Malik has promptly been made advisor to the prime minister on interior,
meaning that he essentially continues the functions he has already been
performing with so little success. No doubt he will also retain all the perks
and privileges which go with being a minister. In other words, the PM has
again demonstrated a complete lack of respect for the highest court of the
land. This is a serious matter which should not be trivialized.
The issue is not only that of dual nationality which is forbidden to
parliamentarians by law but also that of cheating and lying before the court.
The evidence Malik and his team had sworn they would come up with never
surfaced. The court has already indicated it is not willing to tolerate this.
Farahnaz Ispahani has also lost her National Assembly seat for holding dual
nationality. About ten other parliamentarians are under scrutiny. What is sad
is that instead of setting good examples our top leaders do just the opposite
and, by acting in this fashion, further weaken the rule of law in a country
where it has already sunk extremely low. (Editorial, The News 6th June)

Defiance of judiciary
Difficult justice: The case of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry
summoning his own son Arsalan Chaudhry on reports of financial corruption
is a unique one in our history The interesting point is that while these
details were being widely whispered about, no one had brought any formal
charges of corruption against Arsalan or accused him outright. In the
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absence of formal charges, the CJ was not legally obligated to summon

Arsalan or Malik Riaz. Yet, he took suo motu notice on what seem to be
moral grounds because he clearly realized that the authority of his office,
the respect and integrity of his person and the reputation of the judiciary as a
whole might become hinged to this case. The manner in which the story
started doing the round does raise suspicions of a controlled leak or a
targeted campaign to sully the reputation of the top judge of the country
without presenting a single shred of hard evidence. Thus, it is a welcome
step that the CJ has decided to hear the case and get to the bottom of things.
While Arsalan has denied taking money or even meeting the Bahria
Town chief executive, the proceedings of Wednesdays open court saw a top
TV anchor testifying that Malik Riaz had met with the anchor and showed
him copies of documents suggesting financial links between Arsalan and the
Bahria group. Other credible journalists have also made these claims but
outside the court. It is of course way too early to say what happened. But
stories have surfaced here and there suggesting Arsalan may have been set
up, with government connivance, in a bid to defame the CJ. One adviser to
the prime minister has even predicted on Twitter that next Sunday a
prominent London newspaper will publish a detailed report on this issue.
How he knows is the question. The matter needs to be probed and the details
established beyond any doubt because this is not just an issue of an errant
son or a manipulative business tycoon but also one about the integrity of the
SC itself.
Opinion is divided on the question of whether the CJ should be part of
the bench hearing a case involving his own son. However, we must also not
forget that there would not be a hearing but for the CJs own initiative to
take suo motu notice. Moreover, if the CJ does end up presiding over this
bench as the case progresses, there will be exceptional pressure on him to
remain impartial, and even the slightest relief to any of the accused will be
misinterpreted. This could actually act as a check against biases creeping
into the proceedings. It thus remains to be seen what decision the CJ will
take given the pros and cons of continuing on the bench. Finally, in what can
be called a positive development, this case has also brought to the fore the
question of kings and kingmakers in Pakistan and may pave the way to
question the workings of corporations and big businesses, and their open
flirtations with power centres in Pakistan. So the Supreme Court has to find
out whether this is a story of corruption, or a case of a bid to damage an
institution by hurting its chief. The CJ seems determined to ensure that the
full truth emerges in the matter, and this fact alone is worth applauding given
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the involvement of an immediate family member of his in a case that

allegedly involves shady deals and perhaps far more mischief than that
which is visible to us at the present. (Editorial, The News 7th June)
CJs correct decision: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry
has heeded the counsel of Attorney-General Irfan Qadir that was based on a
clear legal compulsion and dissociated himself from the case of alleged
corruption against his son, Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, leaving it to a new bench to
hear the case and pronounce. A day earlier on Wednesday, though, he
appeared determined to head the three-member bench he had constituted for
the purpose, affirming his commitment to uphold the law and show no
quarter whatever to the accused if found guilty. The Chief Justice vowed that
he would go to any length to defend the honour of the court. Indeed,
considering the long list of suo moto notices that Justice Chaudhry has
issued in the recent past in cases where grave wrongs appeared to have been
committed, it was morally binding on him to take a similar notice of the talk
of the town about the alleged corrupt practices his son had indulged in
involving an amount of between Rs300 and Rs400. But, had he insisted on
hearing the case, it would have been contrary to the principle he had himself
laid down.
At the Thursday hearing, two private TV anchors who had been called
to the court to depose what the real estate tycoon Malik Riaz had told them
about Arsalan, produced a plethora of information that tended to implicate
him in dealings which would raise serious questions about his probity.
According to the counsel of Malik Riaz, he could not present himself before
the court since he was under medical treatment abroad. The anchors could
not present written evidence to prove the point because, they maintained,
Malik Riaz of the Bahria Town had only shown it to them but refused to
hand over. It included details of free foreign trips, stay, shopping and
instances of other corrupt practices all at the expense of Malik Riaz and
family. To an anchors question, which he had put to Malik Riaz about what
benefit he had taken in return for these favours, he had replied that so far he
had taken none as 42 cases were lying pending against him in the court. The
Bahria Town chiefs version of events is yet to be heard.
There is little doubt that the Supreme Court, which has been fearlessly
taking up cases of corruption and malpractices committed by the
government or its agencies and disposing them off with impartial verdicts,
would live up to this tradition by showing the same spirit in pursuing the
case against son of its own Chief Justice. (Editorial, TheNation 8th June)

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The CJs decision: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad

Chaudhry has decided to step down from the bench hearing the suo motu
case of his own son, Arsalan Iftikhar This shows that the CJ was not
engaging in hyperbole each time he claimed that everyone was equal before
the law and the law was equal for everyone. He has proved that whosoever
tries to pervert the course of justice will be taken to task whether it is the
chief executive of the country, the all-powerful intelligence agencies or
someone from the CJs own family. Indeed, with senior judges calling
politicians, government officials and even military commanders to account
in recent times, no one can deny now that the superior judiciary in Pakistan
has really come into its own.
The CJ must also be similarly lauded for deciding not to head the
bench before which Arsalan Iftikhar will appear, given the obvious conflict
of interest and violation of due process it could entail. However, before
stepping down, the CJ said that if it were up to him he would have put both
Arsalan and Malik Riaz in handcuffs. And indeed, Thursday saw some
serious allegations emerge against both parties, especially as senior Geo TV
anchor Kamran Khan shared exhaustive details The court has asked Malik
Riaz to appear in court, and he must do so, not just to explain why he paid
Arsalan all this money for almost three years, but also why he ultimately
decided to stop doing so and went to select journalists with evidence of the
payments. What was the purpose of doling out this money and what pushed
him to ultimately out the details to senior journalists?
On Wednesday, Geo anchor Hamid Mir had told the court that the
powerful army and intelligence services might be manipulating Malik Riaz
in order to get at Justice Chaudhry for pursuing cases related to illegal
detention and extrajudicial killings by security forces. Others have suggested
this could be a conspiracy by the PPP-led government to malign the
judiciary, embroiled as it is in a longstanding conflict with the judiciary over
its own acts of corruption and their consequences. In any case, if this is a
conspiracy to undermine the CJs reputation as well as the judiciarys, the
only way to find out is to get to the bottom of the allegations against Arsalan
and Malik Riaz. And the Supreme Court appears determined to do just that.
If many more gates open in the process, so be it. (Editorial, The News 8th
June)
In the name of the father: Never even in his wildest imagination
could Arsalan Iftikhar have expected to become a poster boy for unbridled
avarice. Who could have predicted that while five generals had failed to

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bring his father to his knees, the son could have delivered a crushing blow
all by himself?
On his first appearance in court on Wednesday, Arsalan had managed
an air of false bravado. On Thursday, however, he was reduced to a pale
shadow of yesterdays self. Pensiveness had replaced feigned aplomb and
the mood only grew darker as Geo News Anchor Kamran Khan carried on
with his deposition. Indeed, if even half of what Kamran Khan shared turns
out to be true, Arsalan is either an idiot savant or an obnoxiously cocky
young man who simply didnt give a damn about the consequences of what
he was doing as long as he could have his fun, and that too at someone
elses expense. So what if many would now like his father to pay the price?
His alleged acts of corruption thoroughly documented and on the record,
read like an accountants wet dream.
In a brief interaction with the media, loading his statements with a lot
of I didnt know this at the time, and I paid back this person or that,
Arsalan has already confirmed that he engaged with Malik Riazs Bahria
Town enterprise. So at least thats out of the way. On the other hand, he has
also argued how he could take money from Malik Riaz when he has never
even met him, ever. Maybe he needs to be told that none of the players who
received money from Younus Habib in the dirty ISI-funding scheme had
ever met the banker. You dont need to meet people to meet their money,
son.
But sarcasm aside, the ongoing saga has raised some critical
questions. Is this case about yet another allegedly dirty first son entering into
an unholy alliance with another unscrupulous business tycoon? Is it another
example of the tragic trend of the lands high and mighty feeling secure in
the conviction that they are beyond accountability?
Or is this simply about felling a man who has become a paragon of
justice and honour?
The chief justice has already done the two most honourable things
expected of him. Without waiting for the filing of any formal charges or
complaint against his son, he took suo motu notice of media murmurings
and ordered a full-blown public hearing in the affair. He then recused
himself from the bench hearing the case to avoid charges of conflict of
interest. After all, the supreme courts strength lies in its moral propriety and
Justice Chaudhry has upheld it, yet again. One is reminded of the words of
Christopher de Bellaigue in his biography of Iranian Prime Minister
Muhammad Mossadegh: He was not a soldier, deriving prestige from the
1216

pips on his shoulders and the shine on his shoes. He did not borrow his
authority, like a mullah, from God. It was all his own.
It is all the CJs own too.
So where do we go from here? The classic way of establishing the
identity of hidden perpetrators of a crime is to first ascertain the
beneficiaries of the outcome of such a happening. So who benefits if Chief
Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry falls?
Lets see. The ruling PPP government would surely love to see his
back. From gunning for the president on corruption charges, convicting the
prime minister for contempt, to incarcerating ministers for graft and
suspending MNAs for being dual nationals, the SC has been a thorn in the
governments side for the past four years. Not only that, the CJ has never
shirked from rattling the executives collar for every perceived act of
misgovernance.
But lets be clear: there is no evidence as yet to suggest the
government is at all involved in this latest saga. And yet, some in the PPP
have themselves sullied the partys name by being shamefully public about
their glee at the CJs travails. Fawad Chaudhry, until yesterday a dictators
peddler and now the prime ministers adviser, God help Gilani, has been
paying for the CJs blood, especially on Twitter and ironically in the name
of morality and propriety. This at a time when the only advice one would
give the PPP-led government is to stay as far away as possible from this
scandal. Even Geo anchorperson Hamid Mir said that when he asked Malik
Riaz if the government had put him up to hatching this mega-scheme, the
business tycoon said the president had in fact advised him to keep the whole
thing under the lid and in fact to not get involved in any such scheme.
But obviously, Fawad Chaudhry knows better than Zardari. My
humble opinion, however, is that if theres any real advice for the PPP, it is
to stay neutral. Fawads ramblings on Twitter certainly wont help.
Then there are the intelligence agencies who are incensed by the CJs
irritating habit of ferreting out missing persons from their unannounced
custody. His unrelenting hammering away on various human rights-related
issues has made them look like unremorseful rogues loathe to changing their
ways. And since they wont change, why not help change the man standing
in their way? Thanks to the CJs focus on Balochistan and the missing
persons issue since 2007, both matters have been forced into the national
debate and are no longer seen through a purely security paradigm.

1217

Nobody would be happier than the security agencies to see the CJ beat
a hasty retreat and that too in indignation.
Then of course, there is the mightiest of the mighty, our holiest holy
cow, Malik Riaz, who needs to tell us why he was paying if he was
Arsalan all this time. According to Hamid Mir and Kamran Khan, Malik
Riaz has told them it was the CJs son who was blackmailing Malik Riaz,
threatening to adversely influence the Bahria Town cases pending in the
Supreme Court if Malik Riaz didnt continue paying up. The other theory of
course is that it was Bahria Town that approached Arsalan in the hope that he
could positively influence the CJ into letting the boss off the hook. Which
theory sounds more convincing?
As powerful as the CJ is and as popular, the fact of the matter is that
no Arsalan Chaudhry can dictate terms to a man of Malik Riazs wealth and
influence. Not only does he have the politicians in his pocket, he also
maintains strong ties with the army. And while the CJ exercises all his
influence and power while sitting on a bench, in broad daylight, much of
Malik Riazs power comes from his subterranean hobnobbing with the
powers that be. Indeed, when people question why Malik Riaz would engage
in a scheme such as the one that has come to the fore one that may end up
damaging the CJ but would certainly see Malik Riaz sullied himself they
forget something very basic about how power works: it corrupts, yes, but it
also deludes. How many of the mighty have fallen just because of an
unshakable belief in their own infallibility?
The capital is now abuzz with whisperings of how this scandal even
if it has nothing to do with the CJ except that it involves his son will be
used to bring down the top judge. The issue will be packaged as the CJ
having become a liability for the court, thus forcing him to resign for the
greater good of an institution that he has spent a lifetime serving. We need to
stand guard against any such schemes and not let the CJ pay for something
he hasnt done. But we must also ask as many already are that even if the
CJ did not err as the top judge of this country, did he look the other way as a
father? (Mohammad Malick, The News 8th June)
Caesars wife and the burden of suspicion: So does My Lord the
Chief Justice, on whose side emotionally guys like me will always gravitate,
realize how the wheel comes full circle? He was our St George pursuing the
dragon of corruption and wrongdoing in high places. And since the stars are
not without their share of irony, sharp and interested eyes are seeing the
footprints of the dragon reaching up to his own front door.

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It doesnt matter whether young Arsalan, his son, was the beneficiary
of gifts coming from the generous hands of Malik Riaz, arguably the most
powerful person in Pakistan today, more powerful in my opinion than the
commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army. Former generals and admirals are
in his pay. Islam may be our avowed faith but the passion which really
sways our good and great is connected to the holy kingdom called real
estate, whose crowned head is Malik Riaz.
What matters is that Arsalan has been touched by the breath of
suspicion and when it comes to Caesars wife, or son as in this case, that is
enough. Both, if the state of the Republic is to be counted as healthy, must
be above suspicion.
There is another irony at work here. The same media forces which
gifted us Memogate, making a firework out of a molehill, are behind this
latest scandal. Not a shred of evidence has been produced showing the
money connection between Arsalan and Malik Riaz. It may well exist but we
could have done with some evidence and investigative reporting. The
commentaries could have come later. But it has been the other way around
here, the Supreme Court calling for details and everyone concerned earnestly
engaged in scurrying for cover.
This is exactly what happened in Memogate, the media blitz so strong
that the CJ and the army chief both fell for it. This time theres been no blitz,
just a whispering campaign. But so insidious that CJ Chaudhry felt
constrained to act. But, I fear, he may have acted in haste. After all, this was
a matter involving his son. As a trained lawyer, a former advocate general of
Balochistan, it should not have been difficult for him to get at the truth,
sitting Arsalan across the table, and then, if any impropriety was established,
deciding what to do.
Even if there is any truth to the worst of the allegations about Arsalan,
he is guilty of impropriety. A son of My Lord Iftikhar Chaudhry of all people
should have nothing to do with someone like the honourable Riaz Malik. If
they do they are courting temptation. And if, as a consequence, they find
themselves in a soup they have no one to blame except themselves.
When the Islamabad Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Bill came up
before the Defence Committee of the National Assembly I opposed it
strongly and wrote a dissenting note, on the simple grounds that the army
should receive no special favours when it came to housing colonies.
Malik Riaz had a deep interest in the matter and kept calling me.
(Where his interest is involved, let me say, he is nothing if not persistent.)
1219

Against my better judgment I was persuaded to come on a guided tour of

DHA Islamabad, the great Malik at the wheel himself and I on the front
seat...taking in the vast construction work underway, bulldozers working day
and night, the land acquired, some of it forcibly. It was all very impressive
and I felt some of my cynicism subsiding. Then there occurred an error
which set me thinking. When the tour came to an end and it was time for
coffee, ready for a PowerPoint presentation, stick in hand, was a rather
sheepish-looking administrator of the DHA. What on earth was he doing
there, less administrator and more like a hired underling? I knew I had made
a mistake. Making my excuses I hurriedly left.
Arsalan being who he was should have known what company to keep.
Even if the sums being bandied about 30, 40 crores are put to one side,
the mere association between him and the tycoon in question should count as
an impropriety, especially when we are talking of St George on his white
horse and the king of real estate with so many irons in the fire.
But such things are not easily proven in the Islamic Republic. We are
a remarkably free country in this sense: anything goes. Wholl depose
against Arsalan? If we know our Malik Riaz, not him. So my guess is that all
we are likely to get is another Memogate, sound and fury amounting to very
little, Chaudhry partisans solemnly shaking their heads and saying that in
investigating his own son he has emulated the example of the first caliphs;
and media gladiators, of whom there is never a shortage in our land,
throwing dark hints about the forces behind this conspiracy, and foretelling
disaster and constitutional mayhem.
The silliness has already started. Malik Riaz may be the man behind
the rumours but he has said nothing on record, nothing that can be quoted or
held against him. Giving currency to the rumours and bearing witness are
some champions of the TV screen. But if the case is to proceed and My Lord
the CJ clear his name and honour, it must rest on something more solid.
So, not surprisingly, we are being treated to the spectacle of My Lord
the CJ trying to glean information from Malik Riazs Bahria Town whose
officials, retired generals amongst them, are playing mum, as was only to be
expected. And since we are not going to get media personalities deposing
anything on oath anytime soon, what we will be left with is another trail of
unsubstantiated rumour.
The record of recent judicial commissions is not very inspiring. The
Abbottabad Commission is still dancing in the shadows. Memogate is
something the SC would give anything to forget. In the Asghar Khan case
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the SC is taking its time charting a clear course even though solemnlyaffirmed testimonies are available in this case. Given this shining record, are
we likely to see anything clear-cut or dramatic in something as hazy as the
Arsalan allegations?
What this latest episode emphasizes is a truth we are all familiar with:
in the Turkish bath of Pakistani politics no one is fully clothed. To a lesser or
greater degree everyone appears to be on the take. Standards that should be
guiding us simply arent there. We all seem to be in a hurry to get ahead, no
matter what the means. Hence the conundrum we face: while the country as
a whole seems to be doing poorly, favoured individuals, and their number is
not small, seem to be doing very well: collective regression or
impoverishment, individual progress.
One can go on and on and make a dismal litany of it. But just imagine
the consequences of this latest piece of national theatre: for all his faults, and
uncharitable souls can point to a few, My Lord Chaudhry is someone so
many of us have looked up to. Our history is full of judicial stuffiness, the
higher judiciary pandering to the whims, dancing to the tunes, of tin-pot
dictators. Chaudhry has asserted judicial independence and taken up issues,
like those of missing persons, no apex court has dared touch before. Dragons
may not have been slain but a host of good causes have been upheld.
And now ugly rumour arrives at his door. But he should take it in his
stride. Such things happen but they come and go. If there is one thing
constant about life it is that nothing is permanent, everything passes. This
too will pass. And perhaps, if we are lucky, we may learn something from
the experience.
Tailpiece: A newspaper picture says it all: former generals Shaukat
Sultan and Ehtisham Zamir representing Bahria Town in the Supreme Court.
Generals of the Wehrmacht acting as real estate agents: mind-boggling
thought. (Ayaz Amir, The News 8th June)
Kleptocracy in focus: The chief justice did the courageous thing by
taking suo motu notice of the clandestine affair between Malik Riaz and his
son Arsalan Iftikhar that had spread like wildfire through a crafty whispering
campaign. And after putting the judicial wheels in motion to hold to account
his son and Malik Riaz, and throwing his weight behind affixing the liability
of the two in a transparent and impartial manner in an open court, he did the
right thing by recusing himself from the case. Those who argue that the
accusations rooted in gossip should have been shrugged off are wrong. The
conduct in question might be that between two private individuals, but one
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of them being the CJs son, the insinuation was that illegal gratification was
offered and accepted to influence the outcome of court cases pending before
the Supreme Court.
From the disclosures made by journalists so far it is obvious that
documents and accounts (and probably even videos?) were meticulously
kept to drag the name of the CJ through dirt and consequently bring into
disrepute the integrity and credibility of the apex court. The matter therefore
didnt relate to the CJ alone, but would bring under cloud the competence of
the highest court of the land to dispense justice not adulterated by
considerations of favour. And this in turn would bring into question the very
notion of the existence and utility of rule of law in Pakistan by lending
credence to the view that (i) law is not a shield for the weak but a weapon in
the hands of the powerful to keep in subjugation the lesser mortals in
society, and (ii) unimpeachable integrity is a defunct concept as every mortal
is up for sale at the right price.
Such jaundiced view of the state and society is not a figment of
cynical imagination but is rooted in the reality that the ordinary Joe is
confronted with on an everyday basis. By all rational accounts we are living
in a kleptocracy: a government of the extortionist, by the extortionist, for the
extortionist. The state is in default of its contract with the citizen. You no
longer have an entitlement to your rights even if you do your duty as a
citizen. And consequently you have to pay for everything, even to protect
your most basic rights to life, liberty and dignity. And if you are ready,
willing and able to pay, it doesnt matter if what you seek is right or wrong.
State largesse flows through channels of personal patronage. Personal
loyalty trumps merit. There is no distinction between honest and dirty
money. And there are no principles remaining, only interests.
And consequently instinct demands that one accumulate as much
wealth and influence as possible and use it to build social networks of
protection to replace the role of the state. And it is people like Malik Riaz,
who have mastered the ways of this brave new world where money buys
influence, influence yields more money, and with the use of money and
influence to cajole the powerful and coerce the weak there are no limits to
what you can accomplish. But not everyone in this state and society is
comfortable with the rules of our evolving kleptocracy. And when someone
who has reached the highest echelons of power within the state, like the CJ,
refuses to be bought or otherwise inducted within the kleptocracy, the stakes
go through the roof.

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Within the kleptocracy that we are referring to, the kith and kin of the
powerful do exceedingly well. Why should it be surprising that the mediocre
son of our CJ grew a sense of entitlement to receive preferential treatment
and climb the ropes without paying his dues? Does such lack of discretion
and propriety reflect poorly on Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the father? It
probably does. But does it undermine his integrity or credibility as a judge
and a public-office holder? Absolutely not. In exposing the dealings between
himself and Arsalan Iftikhar, Malik Riaz has used the nuclear option. Why
would anyone need to employ means of last resort in the event that quiet
persuasion is working? According to media accounts, Malik Riaz leaked
details of sponsoring the merry-making of Arsalan Iftikhar because his
investment wasnt paying off.
So what we have so far is this. By his own account, Malik Riaz paid
Arsalan Iftikhar to influence the outcome of judicial proceedings pending
before the Supreme Court. Was he forced to do so because the wily Arsalan
was blackmailing poor Mr Malik? Improbable, and Mailk Riaz would need
to adduce evidence to establish that he was at the receiving end of this
clandestine relationship with the imprudent 34-year-old. As Arsalan Iftikhar
was not holding court and adjudicating cases implicating Malik Riaz, he
would in fact need to establish that the CJ was in fact blackmailing him
while using his son as an agent. Without this, and in view of information
disclosed by Malik Riaz himself, he could be charged for offering illegal
gratification to influence a public servant.
This could make him liable under Section 165-A read with Sections
162 and 163 of the Pakistan Penal Code as well as Section 9 of the NAB
Ordinance. If it were established that Arsalan Iftikhar accepted the
gratification with a view to influence the discharge of functions by the office
of the CJ or other public servants due to the exercise of his personal
influence, he could also be liable under Sections 162 and 163 of the PPC.
Now that details of this scandal are out in the open, it is essential for the
apex court not to take a narrow view of this affair in the event that Malik
Riaz backs off and doesnt adduce any evidence before the court, but instead
exercise its inquisitorial powers to collect and decipher facts to ensure that
both Malik Riaz and Arsalan Iftikhar are held to account for their actions in
accordance with the law.
In this debate, Malik Riaz must not be seen as a solitary individual.
He might be a good friend, a loving father and a rich man who believes in
charity. But he is also a phenomenon that highlights the growing predatory
instincts of our society. This phenomenon has cultivated the myth of
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infallibility and immortality of the powerful within the society. It has

defeated the conventional wisdom that if you are caught with hands in the
cookie jar society holds you to account and respectable folk refuse to
associate with such delinquents. It has established that irrespective of
personal repute, money can buy the best professional assistance. It has
proven that if cut a piece of the pie everyone is willing to play ball. This
phenomenon has established an ethic of success that labels right and wrong
as irrelevant for those who aim for upward professional and social mobility.
The CJs commendable action of dragging his son before an open
court and laying his ethical failings in plain public view is a defining
moment in the fight between continuity of the depraved status quo and the
desire for change. As nothing succeeds like success, the strength of the
entrenched kleptocracy is rooted not in its popularity but in its efficacy. Our
ruling elites across the political class, the khakis, the bureaucracy, the
media and the lawyer fraternity etc are mostly its beneficiaries.
The few who still have qualms about meddling in grime have turned
apathetic having made their peace with the ground reality they cannot
change. In this environment, the action of the CJ to stand by law and
principle, even as he subjects himself and his family to public scrutiny and
possible embarrassment, has provided a unique opportunity to stand up and
fight the kleptocracy. We must not fitter this opportunity away. (Babar
Sattar, The News 9th June)
Tehlka hoshruba: Despite the fact that we knew how things are done
and favours granted and sought in this country and many others like it, still,
the awesomeness of this particular plan as it unravels does boggle the mind.
We always knew that Malik Riaz was one big and powerful real estate
tycoon. But we did not quite realize the extent and how the whole country
was nothing, but a shopping mall for him with everybody and everything
for sale.
Malik Riaz had not catered for the fact that, in this particular case, his
sneak previews to anchors and journalists of choice would result in a suo
moto notice so quickly. For once, I think, he miscalculated. The proof that he
showed to a select few, on the surface, seems authentic enough of the fun
that Dr Arsalan Chaudhry, the CJs less than illustrious son, has been having,
for a whole three years at Malik Riazs expense. If we can read things right,
the Chief Justice is quite prepared to make an example of this case, in the
light of the best Islamic traditions and notions of justice. Malik Riaz told the
selected journalists that he has spent or paid up to Rs40 crores to Arsalan,

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implying that he had been promised relief in the cases against Bahria Town
in the courts. When he did not see anything happening even after three years,
he felt it was time to leak some information to the press, where he had
presumed it would remain a scandalous subject of discussion and harm the
integrity of the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court.
The best of the best PR campaigns could not have brought Malik Riaz
the sort of fame he is wallowing in now. Himself, no longer even the
Chairman of Bahria Town on official documents; he is sitting far away
somewhere unable to show up in the Supreme Court, as asked because of
reasons of health. We would like him to take the situation to its logical
conclusion and lodge an official complaint against Arsalan Chaudhry in
order for a full investigation to take place in to the matter. Even though it is a
well known fact that Malik Riaz is not very well educated, but it is not
possible to fault his intelligence and abilities. The list of retired generals and
senior officers in his employ make a case study of how to overcome hurdles
that stand in the way of getting ahead in business.
Way back in 1999 when General Pervez Musharraf took sudden
charge of the country making himself and those in his inner circle instant
celebrities, I too had a chance to savour the way this country functions,
albeit on a very small scale When time came to clear the bill there was a
lot of stalling. It was implied that that it will only happen if my brother-inlaw calls him. He (Malik Riaz) wanted it acknowledged in the influential
quarters that he had done me a favour! This is how it has always been in this
merry-go-round in Pakistan. So much for being simple and nice!
Coming back to the present, the Supreme Courts strength lies in its
moral propriety and so far it has come out well. Perhaps, there is a reason for
everything. Perhaps, and we certainly hope it happens; there will be no cover
ups for all the other famous, erring sons of the powerful. Perhaps, this might
set us on the road to change that we so crave for. While we have a list of all
those who stand to benefit if the Chief Justice and the superior judiciary is
weakened, we need to have the complete low down on all the favours and
bounties that Malik Riaz has bestowed on different people in different
institutions to keep things smooth for himself. The gifts and the foreign
tours, the works. It is our right to know. Those are the lists that need to be
exposed. It is also important if we are to change in the future. It is one heck
of an unlearning to do but unlearn we must, to develop a culture of merit and
justice for all! (Tallat Azim, TheNation 9th June)

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Drama: Money, lies, video tapes and real estate. Facts, speculation
and incomplete evidence. This drama has it all actors, a stage, audience
and a purpose. The same theatre, over the past couple of years, has seen a
prime minister plus his minister and a dozen other nerve-wracking dramas.
Stakes, this time around, are higher than the Himalayas trillions of rupees,
the longevity of a ruling coalition or the monopoly over terror of the deep
state.
There are at least five facts. One: there are powerful, powerful
interests out there dying to malign the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Two: a
scripted drama revolving around two central characters Arsalan Chaudhry
and Malik Riaz is being played out. Three: one of the central characters
happens to be the son of the sitting Chief Justice of Pakistan. Four: there
hasnt been a single allegation not one against the person of the CJ. Five:
there is no public money involved (at least no so far).
Next; a whole host of messages expressing opinions based on
incomplete evidence are echoing all around the theatre. There is speculation
that those powerful, powerful interests are being successful in their evil
designs at least partially successful. There is speculation that the drama is
being played out based on a pre-written script. There is speculation about
who the real authors of the script are civilian, uniformed or a joint venture
(the Arsalan-Riaz engagement allegedly began in 2010 while the missing
persons case is only a year old).
The two things that are missing from this drama are dance and music.
The real purpose of the script must have been to bring down the CJ on his
knees making forces that are bent upon remaining above the law dance to the
beat of their bank accounts. But there is neither dance nor music because
real life stagecraft is a social science and in social sciences there exists the
theory of unintended consequences.
Unintended consequences in this drama can be of two types. One: a
windfall that wasnt even expected by the script writer(s). Two: a perverse
effect contrary to what was originally intended by the author(s). For
example, the CJ becoming even more aggressive after this drama.
First sons have always been protected by our presidents and prime
ministers. This is a first history in the making. Shakespeare said, It is a
wise father that knows his own child. An unwise father? Perhaps. An
unwise judge? Not a hint of that not so far.
There are three players on the stage political parties, the judiciary
and the GHQs. On a stage where political parties stand discredited, a
1226

tarnished judiciary will make the GHQs even more powerful and that may
or may not have been the intention of the script writer(s).
The king cobra of our real estate cobras has played his king. Is there
someone who has an ace? Remember; the authors of the script are still
holding back cards that they havent shown.
Who will eventually sing: I fall and I rise, with the fire still in my
eyes; My scars and my stripes, You know I will survive; The strength that I
find when I dig down deep inside; Got me still in this fight, and Ill be the
last man standing. (Dr Farrukh Saleem, The News 10th June)
Minus one: version two: For anyone with an iota of common sense,
the matter is pretty simple. The Chief Justice has been viewed as a party
pooper by the well entrenched power club misruling the country. His
insistence on going by the book without fear or favour is an anomaly in the
top floor of the power structure where everybody scratches everyone elses
back and nobody is held to account for their crimes and commissions. The
pie is neatly divided and everyone gets a piece of it. Nobody wants to rock
the lawless boat because they are all in it.
Obviously, for this one happy family of haves, who would like to add
endlessly to what they have using their power and influence, someone like
the Chief Justice who tries to bring them to the book is a sore sight that they
could do without. Theyve tried to get rid of him before and the recent
scandal is the latest version of their plan to remove this hindrance in their
orgy of loot, plunder and lawlessness
While the proceedings of the case will bring forth the facts about who
gave how much money to whom and for what reason, the drift of the scandal
is quite obvious. It also tells us something about the source of the whispering
campaign. A shady business tycoon with friends in many high places, and a
self-proclaimed kingmaker, held meetings with many influential journalists
to convince them that the Chief Justice was not above board From here,
the story varies about why he decided to share information with journalists
regarding his bribing.
We will find out the truth about the accusations against Dr Arsalan in
the coming days, but there is nothing that could connect his doings with the
working of his father And when it became obvious to these perverse
power-players that the Chief Justice could not be corrupted, they trapped his
son, or tried to do so, to weaken his moral authority and sully his good
reputation. All this is clear as daylight.

1227

Parents are not accountable for every sin committed by their children.
Even if Dr Arsalan did something wrong, it cannot be used to target the
Chief Justice and create controversy around him. That doesnt stop some
people from trying it though. The scandal is being used, as per the plan, to
raise questions about the Chief Justice and to bear him down with the weight
of what his son did. Those who were never comfortable with the Chief
Justice and have found one reason or the other to criticize him, are now
suggesting that justice cannot be done unless he resigns. They do not stop to
question why the shady tycoon paid the bribe and are not interested in
bringing him to justice. They are not interested in why the tycoon kept the
record of his bribing and why he chose to disclose it to individual journalists
without handing over the documents.
So, was Malik Riaz alone in hatching this conspiracy against an entire
nations hope? The government has denied any involvement though the
conduct of its Attorney General makes it look otherwise. On the one hand,
he says that the court should not give any special treatment to the case and,
on the other; he has asked the court, like Malik Riazs counsel, to constitute
a larger bench. Some PPP wallahs have started asking for the Chief Justices
resignation due to the scandal. Commentators point out that the tycoon is
close to Zardari and has links in the army, thanks to some 11 retired generals
on his payroll. While the governments displeasure with the Chief Justice
does not need any explanation, the CJ seems to have stepped on some khaki
toes as well in his attempt to bring their working within the ambit of law. It
will not be difficult to tell who Malik Riazs partners in this conspiracy are.
We will know by their conduct in the coming days. (Jalees Hazir, The
Nation 10th June)
Moment of truth: Is it a coincidence that a US-based journalist and
group editor of a Pakistani newspaper revealed the details of the from rags
to riches story of the son of the Chief Justice in a novel way by posting a
carefully worded discourse on YouTube? The interview narrated a sting
operation in which Arsalan Iftikhar was showered with benefits of millions
of rupees in the guise of corporate expenses and business deals during the
last three years by the property tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain, a man of
immense wealth and connections (except with the Supreme Court) No
documentary evidence has been produced, but is claimed to have been
shown to a few television anchors.
The episode is also being construed as a conspiracy to discredit the
Chief Justice, who has acquired an unprecedented significance of integrity
due to his fearless treading a path that no one had dared before. It is also
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alleged to be a blackmail of the Bahria Town tycoon by Arsalan Iftikhar,

who became greedy and asked for more without delivering favourable
judgments in the cases pending in the Supreme Court.
The carefully planned and executed three-year operation could as well
be a deep conspiracy with innumerable sinister objectives or it could just be
a simple case of a resourceful but disgruntled victim frustrated with being
cheated or taken for a ride by an irresponsible young man. The timing and
the purpose of the interview could be to create an internal unrest in an
already unstable country with formidable domestic and external pressures or
it could be to pre-empt the sting operators and expose the scandal before
time, in order to provide an opportunity to the Supreme Court to clear the
name of its Chief Justice by following due course of law.
Our judicial system, like all other systems in the country, has failed to
bring radical reforms and has allowed prolonged indecisions to continue
President Asif Ali Zardari has accomplished much that all political leaders
dream of, but could not achieve. He has brought several legislative reforms,
allowed political activity and freedom of speech. He has beaten all odds by
keeping the various components of his government together to see the fifth
budget presented to the Assembly. He is all set to call the next general
elections and transfer power in a democratic manner prescribed in the
Constitution.
At the same time, his government has been unable to deliver much to
the public The President has proved to be a master tactician, but has lost
an opportunity to emerge as a leader and a statesman that could wash away
his past murky reputation. The governance of the last four-and-a-half years
by the democratically-elected representatives has brought little credit to
democracy that appears dysfunctional or to the politicians that have been
tainted with scandals of mega financial corruption.
This latest scandal has the potential of blowing up the remnants of
whatever morality may be left in our country. In this adversity also, lies the
opportunity for the President. He should rise above petty self and party
political interests. The enemies of Pakistan must not be allowed to put the
last nail in its coffin. (Khurshid Akhtar Khan, The Nation 10th June)

Baloch militancy
IGFCs Balochistan story: Referring to a recent statement of the
exiled Nawabzada Brahamdagh Bugti, he (IGFC) affirmed that the FC
would not let the designs of these hostile elements succeed. Nobody would

1229

be allowed to disintegrate Pakistan and we would continue fighting against

those who talk about the breaking of the country, he declared. The MajGeneral was of the view that militant camps had been eliminated by 2007,
but after the elections, the new governments withdrawal of the armed forces
and dismantling of some cantonments allowed the insurgents to reorganize.
While the Major Generals revelations are a serious cause for concern,
there is never conclusive and actionable proof presented with such claims.
Such proof should be produced before the public immediately and the
IGFCs lament that the media does not highlight the claim may thus be
resolved naturally. However, our intelligence agencies advise the
government to find a political solution for a problem, which if explained
as caused by foreign hands, seems to be a job for our intelligence agencies
themselves to tackle. Political solutions are being attempted already, but
political solutions may not be the correct salve for the IGs claim of foreign
interference. Concrete proof must be presented by our agencies to our media,
who will of course, then make every effort to highlight it.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister has moved to order the revision
of anti-terror laws, canceling rahdaris and banning non-custom-paid
vehicles to ply on the roads. His two-day visit to Balochistan comes in the
aftermath of the deteriorating law and order situation. The provinces
grievances demand education and health facilities, job opportunities,
development works, due share in the resources of the province, not for the
benefit of Nawabs who have plenty of them already, but the average man in
the street. (Editorial, TheNation 4th June)
Angry Baloch, foreign hand: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani,
on a visit to Quettapromised jobs to 10,000 youth and to provide training
abroad to 5,000 students at official expense. Besides, he recalled that under
the 7th National Finance Commission Award, the share of Balochistan had
been tripled from Rs40 billion to Rs120 billion. There was also allocation of
funds by the federal government for the completion of some other projects.
The Balochistan problem has become ever more complicated with the
passage of time, evading the governments efforts to resolve it. At the root of
it lies the feeling that the powers that be, whether at the federal level or the
provincial, have neglected the Baloch people, as their fellow citizens in other
provinces have progressed. This might, according to some, be a case of
misjudgment, but the fact remains that the extent of sheer poverty, the
meagre educational and health facilities and job opportunities, little evidence
of development in short, the situation reminiscent of a Medieval era setting

1230

 that exist in Balochistan would not be seen in the remotest corners of the
rest of the country. The argument that the comparison is misleading since the
level of development in Balochistan at the time of independence was far
lower than elsewhere in the country does not hold. That is especially so
when judged in the face of the availability of huge natural resources in the
province. The natural gas from Sui, for instance, has played a significant role
in the development of the country. It runs industry, lights houses, operates
kitchens. Yet, the facility is scantily available in the province of its origin.
Thus, it is not difficult to imagine how strongly the people in the
province should be feeling hurt, or even cheated. The situation can be
retrieved with a combination of dialogue and the execution of massive
development projects that tend to benefit the ordinary Baloch to give them a
sense of belonging and stake in the maintenance of peace and calm in the
province. Any and all military operations in the province must cease and our
intelligence agencies must present themselves to the court whenever
required by the Supreme Court to provide an explanation of its activities
there. (Editorial, TheNation 5th June)

REVIEW
Before reviewing the suo moto notice taken by the Chief Justice of
media reports about his son Arsalan receiving favours in cash and kind from
Malik Riaz, it would be appropriate to have a look at the two characters
named in the scandal. It can be said without any fear of rebuttal that
Arsalans character and credibility do not match that of his father.
Seeing him even in the light of Punjabi saying, he cannot be taken as
photostat copy of the Chief Justice. He may resemble his father only partly,
at best. It must be recalled that Arsalan was mentioned in 2007 too when
Musharraf had decided to remove the Chief Justice.
Malik Riaz is a real estate tycoon of the country, who has risen to his
present stature from a very humble background. His empire has grown
tremendously and with rapid speed, in a country that is experiencing wideranged economic slump for the last decade. Such unusual growth cannot be
attributed entirely to the business acumen of Malik Riaz.
In Pakistan, business enterprises, especially the land-related, cannot
flourish while remaining within the limits of complicated laws, rules and
procedures pertaining to land, urban or rural. He must have trespassed legal

1231

limits many a times during acquisition and possession of land for sprawling
residential schemes in the outskirts of twin cities and Lahore.
He protects the chunks of land so acquired quite vehemently, never
hesitating in use of force when so required by employing sizeable security
force he has recruited for the purpose. Worth of his real estate business runs
into scores of billions, unmatched by any other in this business.
Such a business tycoon in a country like Pakistan ought to have
accumulated tremendous social and political influence to promote his
interests; Malik Riaz could be no exception. This can be gauged by gleaning
through the history of his business. He began with exploiting the name of
Navy after which he named his housing scheme and reportedly paid millions
of rupees to Naval Chief of that time.
Since then he has not looked back. He went on to tighten the screw on
GHQ which was considered a business rival because of Defence Housing
Schemes. He moved so fast that Army found it difficult to acquire land for
its new housing schemes. The Army so cornered was forced to strike a deal
with Bahria Town for a joint venture in the name of DHA Homes. Riaz now
exploits Armys name as well.
On political front, he is known for having personal contacts with
Zardari as well as Nawaz Sharif and even with Imran Khan. Riaz has
obliged the former many a times by allotting ready-made bungalows to
needy politicians and extending other favours to Zardaris friends; all
happening on verbal instructions of the Scoundrel.
In return, Zardari too has been listening to Malik Riaz. It was he who
convinced Zardari to forgive Aitzaz Ahsan and that resulted into patch up
between the two. Admiral (retired) Fasih Bokhari was appointed as
Chairman NAB on the recommendation of Malik. There are numerous other
instances that can be quoted in this context, last but not the least; his name
also came up to head an interim government.
Of late, he turned into a philanthropist by agreeing to pay total ransom
amount demanded for the release of Pakistanis held hostage by Somali
pirates. His humane nature was activated only after receiving a telephone
call from the Scoundrel. Previously, his generosity remained confined to the
needy elite.
Media has emerged as new power hub and Riaz could not ignore that.
He is blessed with plenty of fortunes to win hearts of minds of media. Those
like Najam Sethi for whom he brings news from corridors of power, address

1232

him affectionately. Sethi calls him chiriya (sparrow), of course relating him
to soney ki chiriya (golden sparrow).
He has the capability, in collaboration with Zardari regime, to
purchase, exploit, or coerce media owners and their employees. It was
evident from the manner in which senior media persons went running when
summoned by him. It was not mere quest for breaking news that attracted
them like a magnet pulling iron dust.
It is also intriguing that media hyped the threats to the life of Asma
Jahangir concurrently with the story of Arsalan. The lady, who is quite loudmouth lawyer as Babar Awan used to be, is basically a jiyali. She is also
human rights activists heading an NGO and receives foreign funding.
She got the news about a plan to assassinate her. Rehman Malik sent
Rangers to her residence, Zardari and an American lady expressed concerns
about her safety. She is an exceptional person who is frequently forewarned
about every conspiracy that is hatched by the premier intelligence agency of
Pakistan. According to Hamid Mirs statement in the Supreme Court Asma
had told him about Malik Riaz-Arsalan affair about a week ago.
The nature of business of Malik Riaz is prone to numerous land
disputes and litigation cases and many of those were pending before the
court and many had been decided against Bahria Town. The suo moto notice
taken by the CJP of killing of some young boys in car racing held in one of
the phases of Bahria Town which was organized by Maliks son might have
annoyed the tycoon though he had settled the case after payment of Diyat for
qatl-e-khata.
Here the interests, or grievances of Malik against the CJP and
Judiciary, are in complete agreement with those of the Scoundrel. Both
harbour grudges against judges having germs to act independently. Both
want to tame or get rid of such judges who create hurdles in prosperity of
their respective enterprises which primarily flourish on application of
corrupt methods.
Therefore, the publicly stated aim of giving money and favours to
Arsalan to bribe the CJP for favourable court verdicts is not quite
convincing. Bribe could have been given or taken secretly without any third
person ever getting clue of it, but in this case all transactions with Arsalan
were well documented through audio-video recordings. Copies of these were
prepared and distributed among all like-minded forces.

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However, it has also been revealed that during the period the CJP was
being bribed through his son a bench headed by him had decided 52 cases
of land disputes against Bahria Town in one sitting. How could such
handsome sum of bribe did not produce the desired results and yet man like
Malik Riaz, with extraordinary business acumen kept hanging on to a man
as young as Arsalan and continued to be exploited for three years?
It appeared to be a well thought out conspiracy in continuation of the
campaign to defame and ridicule the Judiciary by criminal forces working in
unison. So, only well recorded payments could serve the purpose of the evil
forces and for that Arsalan was trapped and his tendency of falling prey to
temptations was exploited. The evidence collection continued for three
years.
The evidence so collected was distributed among all the aggrieved
parties who had suffered at the hands of the CJP. Selected media persons
were also summoned one by one and given hints about the scandal telling
that he has proofs and then Malik Riaz proceeded to London. Reportedly, the
plan was to let the cat out of bag through Christina Lamb and her
investigative report was insured for $12 million.
There are different theories about the purpose behind defaming and
ridiculing the Judiciary. According to Haroon Rashid the ultimate goal was
to rig the forthcoming general polls which could not be done in the presence
of this Chief Justice. Haroon is of the view that both, CJP and COAS are
being targeted by Zardari with the backing of the US which wants the
present regime to remain in place for another five years.
Dr Shahid Masood is of the view that the goal is to sabotage the
remaining state institutions to create a complete chaos in the country so that
it could be used as a pretext to declare Pakistan a failed state and then move
the UNSC for de-nuclearization of the country. In short, Shahid links it to
one of the goals of the ongoing Crusades.
Another theory relates to convergence of vendetta of two top
scoundrels of the country, one in political arena and the other in property
business. Other forces must have also joined hands with the two, or would
start joining as the case progresses. Disregarding the various theories, it can
be said that the battle lines have been drawn for the final encounter between
forces of evil and good.
From all that has transpired from events of the last week and debates
thereof, it can be said that certain aspects related to this scandal have been
established to a reasonable degree. These are:
1234

 Dr Arsalan has some character failings, especially temptations for

status and wealth, which have been exploited by others more than
once.
Riaz Malik had the resources to exploit these weaknesses and he
used those quite effectively.
Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry is an outstanding judge, but he has failed
in character building of his son; nevertheless, it is no matter of
shame; even Noah (SA) could not educate his son.
The apex court as an institute failed in carrying out timely
accountability of unlawful activities of the Executive on the
pretext of saving democratic system.
The delayed justice meant giving room to the criminals in power
corridors and those elements have exploited that room for striking
back.
The element of blackmailing exists, but it is yet to be established
that who all were exploiting whom.
The regime has denied conniving with Malik Riaz, but body
language of PPP leaders reflected that they rejoiced over every bit of
the scandal.
The above facts or inferences are not sufficient to pass any conclusive
verdict. There is no denying fact that it will require some time; but the need
to finalize the case as quickly as possible should not be ignored. The time
spent in taking the culprits to task will be exploited by various vested
interests. Therefore, in days to follow the one could expect that:
The regime would resort to its familiar delaying tactics so that the
issue is dragged to rub enough salt into the wounds of the target. A
PPP leader, Mr Chan has already proposed pending the case till 2013
The vested interests would try to kill two birds with one stone by
shifting the focus of conspiracy theories on to Army and ISI, by
blowing up the their annoyance over hearing of missing persons
case.
Demand for resignation of the Chief Justice has already echoed and it
will get stronger with each passing day.

1235

 The major issue to be clearly established is the nexus between

regime-Malik Riaz. They would try their utmost to sideline the CJP;
de-facto or de-jure.
If CJP did not resign, all the verdicts that do not suit the regime will
be dubbed as biased and CJP will be accused of acting revengefully;
of course judicial revenge cant be as noble as democratic revenge.
Zahid Bokhari has been counsel of Raymond Davis and Husain
Haqqani and both are now safe abroad. Will Malik Riaz also go
Scott-free; is so what would be the extent of foreign involvement.
Malik Riaz is known to have bought many generals, judges and
journalists in addition to politicians. He has declared open war against those
judges who could not be bought. Will he extend this war to journalists as
well? What would be the reaction of media that stands divided even before
Riaz-Arsalan scandal?
11th June, 2012

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WAR WITHIN-XIV
In the introduction of last review the sixth day of June was termed
historic. On that day the Supreme Court issues notices to Prime Minister and
Speaker National Assembly when it began hearing if petitions challenging
the Speakers ruling wherein she had refused to act as post office. A bench
also heard the suo moto case pertaining to Arsalan-Malik Riaz and in yet
another suo moto case, the CJP ordered production of four women who were
reportedly executed on orders of a local jirga.
While writing those lines it was never visualized all that was to
follow. What happened during the following week is evident from the
voluminous news and views included in this review. The news, planted and
the real ones, the views, honest and engineered kept pouring like monsoon
bursting in Chirapoonji and the more have been forecast.
The week began with Malik Riaz returning to Islamabad under
security arrangements usually laid out for the VVIPs. Next day he submitted
his statement in the Supreme Court and a few hours later held a press
conference in a five-star hotel during which he asked questions from the
Chief Justice waving a copy of Holy Quran. His intention was crystal clear;
to implicate the CJP in a corruption scandal along with his son.
The two-member bench hearing the case wasted no time in deciding
the matter. The court directed the Attorney General of Pakistan to get the
state machinery moving to probe into the matter and initiate criminal
proceedings against Dr Arsalan, Malik Riaz and his son, a British citizen.
This was a bold decision as it amounted to throwing Arsalan before the dogs
that were hounding for him since long.
Only a day earlier, the AGP Irfan Qadir had resorted to rowdy
behaviour in the Court Room No 1 of the Apex Court during hearing of the
case of conviction of Gilani in contempt case and resultant ruling by the
Speaker National Assembly. He used obnoxious language and made vulgar
gestures at the judges on the bench. Quite astonishingly, the court remained
persistent in exercising judicial restraint.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court continued hearing the cases of missing
persons and the CJP expressed his annoyance over recovery of dead bodies
of those persons about whom he had produced before him. At one stage he
showed the intention to call the COAS in the court.

1237

NEWS
Power politics: On 11th June, Altaf Hussain, said during a
telephonic conversation that MQM is a deal-making party and cannot be
wiped out and the state agencies hatching conspiracies against it should
accept the MQM as a reality. He was addressing the 34 th Foundation Day of
the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organization in different parts of the
country, he cautioned decision makers that the MQM was a reality and
without its involvement, no decision could be taken as it was a major
political party whose philosophy had now spread to other parts of the
country also.
Parliamentarians belonging to the PML-N staged a sit-in and protest
outside the President House in a bid to increase pressure on the government
to quit. Its high time the rulers and their government quit; otherwise, they
will face the same fate as Hosni Mubarak, opposition leader threatened.
Criticizing the government, he maintained that the rulers were now left with
only two options either they should resolve the problems of masses, end
corruption and accept decisions of the independent judiciary, or be prepared
to face accountability.
Next day, PML-Q President Shujaat Hussain separately met with
President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani and had extensive discussions
with them for working out a formula to be followed in the election year and
later in the general election. Shujaat Hussain had developed a broad
understanding with the PPP leadership that the PML-Q would support the
PPP for the formation of government in the Centre while the PPP would
assist the PML-Q for forming the government in the Punjab.
According to an official announcement, Shujaat Hussain called on
Prime Minister at the PM House and discussed the current political situation
with him. Shujaat said that the PML-Q would continue to be a partner of the
PPP for safeguarding and strengthening of democracy in the country. The
prime minister thanked the PML-Q chief for the conduct of his partys
provincial legislators and PPP members during the budget speech in the
Punjab Assembly.

Rule of law: On 11th June, Kohistan singing and dancing video

scandal took a new turn when the seven persons, named as eyewitnesses of
the killing of the five women by a close relative of one of the two accused
men, told a court that they were unaware about such an incident. They said

1238

Mohammad Afzal was telling lies as they lived far away from the village to
which the women belonged.
In another development, elders of Salakhel tribe sought the help of a
former tehsil nazim of Pattan to end their enmity with the Azadkhel tribe.
They warned that if their enmity didnt end then the rival tribe would kill
Mohammad Afzal, who had broken the news about the killing of the five
women on the orders of the jirga, and his two detained brothers for recording
the video and making it public.
Gilanis son MNA Ali Musa Gilani once again vehemently denied
having any link with a person identified as Tauqir or any of the others
accused in the Ephedrine scandal, while investigation teams continued to
assert that they had enough evidence to prove his involvement in the scam.
Ali Musa Gilani attended an inquiry held at the ANF headquarters.
reportedly, he did not add a single word to his previous statement.
The Supreme Court issued notice to Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain for
launching anti-judiciary advertisement campaign in print and electronic
media in the NICL scam that involved loss of billion of rupees to the
national exchequer. Justice (R) Ghulam Rabbani, the other day submitted
final report before the court, holding the PML-Q leadership responsible for a
campaign against judiciary in the electronic media.
The court also ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)
director general to appear before the court and explain as to what steps have
so far been taken to bring back the money of the NICL, transferred to
foreign banks by Chaudhry Shujaats nephew Moonis Elahi. The court also
ordered strict security measures for Zafar Qureshi, who was investigating the
NICL scam, after he told the court that inside court he is secure, but outside
the court he is no more secure.
Earlier, Secretary Commerce submitted before the court that he has
completed the process for moving a summary to the prime minister to
recover Rs35 million from Ayaz Khan Niazi paid to him as perks and
privileges. The secretary also tendered apology before the bench for delay in
the initiation of action against Niazi and justified the delay through
informing the bench that he was accompanying President Zardari during his
recent visit to China. The court adjourned the case till June 22.
On 13th June, Attorney General Irfan Qadir handed to Chief Justice a
letter from senate chairman requesting for giving special treatment to the
case of Rehman Malik. The court turning down the request maintained that
all parliamentarians who hold dual citizenship would be treated equally.
1239

Retaining the order to suspend the membership of Senator Rehman Malik

and MNA Farahnaz Isphani, the Supreme Court suspended the membership
of three more lawmakers belonging to provincial assemblies of Punjab and
Sindh. Punjab MPAs Muhammad Ikhlaq and Amna Butter and Dr Ahmed
Ali, MPA from Sindh, admitted that they were enjoying dual nationality.
Lawyer Chaudhry Azhar failed to submit proof of his client Rehman
Maliks renunciation of UK citizenship. Justice Jawwad wondered that the
counsel could not submit the RN form despite the repeated requests in the
last five hearings. Wasim Sajjad, counsel for Farahnaz, did not appear while
AOR prayed for the adjournment.
The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice indicted FIA
Director Waqar Haider in contempt of court case. The SC ruled that Haider
created hurdles in the way of justice by barring FIA officer Zafar Qureshi
from entering his office. Unfortunately trend of defying court orders is
taking place, the Chief Justice remarked. The court rejected the apology
tendered by the FIA officer.
It is worth mentioning here that FIA Additional Director General
Zafar Qureshi could not resume inquiry into NICL scam last year on August
13th, 2011 when he was not allowed to enter the FIA office Regal Chowk on
the pretext of a bomb in the building. The so called bomb call was aired by
an Assistant Director Security on behest of Director FIA Punjab, Waqar
Haider.
It is also noteworthy that after restoration of Zafar Qureshi, the FIA
DG had sent the investigation teams four members Deputy Director Javed
Shah, Assistant Directors Khalid Anees and Muhammad Ahmad and
Inspector Muhammad Sarwar on forced leave till September 30th, 2011, the
date of retirement of Zafar Qureshi.

Defiance of judiciary: On 11th June, Ansar Abbasi, who has

distinction of meeting Malik Riaz five times in connection with Arsalan
case, reported: Whether you call its Arsalangate, Malikgate or Trapgate, the
most disturbing aspect of the present conspiracy against Chief Justice
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry appears to be a perfect case of entrapment
that includes hefty contributions from Malik Riaz of Bahria Town while
certain elements representing the prime minister and even the ISI also have
an alleged role in this dirty game.
What Malik Riaz or his men did has already been shared by the real
estate tycoon with quite a few journalists and is now public knowledge,

1240

though denied by his lawyer. However, Ahmad Khalil, a close buddy of the
prime minister, played the master stroke by inviting his best friend Arsalan
and his widely respected and reputed father to his Lahore residence on Eid
dayan apparently uninvited Yusuf Raza Gilani also arrived before the CJ
had left.
Ahmad Khalil, who has been a frequent visitor of PM House and the
Secretariat besides having been part of some of the official foreign tours of
the prime minister, recently denied while talking to this correspondent that
the encounter between the chief justice and the prime minister was a set-up.
When asked if he had told Prime Minister Gilani about the Eid day visit of
his best friend Arsalan and his father, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, he said
the premiers visit was unscheduled and sudden.
This scribe talked to Ahmad Khalil on June 6 but since then he is
inaccessible as his mobile number is not responding. On June 6, an SMS
message was sent to him with the request that this correspondent wanted to
talk to him but instead of responding directly he immediately rushed to his
close friend and business partner (in one of the Bahria Town projects) Malik
Riaz, who called this correspondent from his mobile and facilitated the talk.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhrys son Arsalan Iftikhar
during his first face to face meeting with this correspondent on this
particular issue, confirmed that he had taken his father to visit his then best
friend on Eid day.
He had also confirmed that PM Gilani unexpectedly arrived there and
after the exchange of pleasantries they left. When contacted on Sunday,
Arsalan categorically denied that he had even taken his father to Ahmad
Khalils Lahore residence on Eid day. In response to a question, he said I
cannot say anything about whether the video of the event was made or not.
With yesterdays best friend turning into a fishy character, a middleman
and a pawn playing in the hands of the enemies of the chief justice, the
Bahria Town bosses were duly informed by Ahmad Khalil about his work.
Regarding the ISI role, sources allege that there is a video made by an
ISI Major or Lt Colonel, showing Arsalan Iftikhar collecting cash in a house,
alleged to be a safe house. Arsalan Iftikhar, when contacted, said that he had
engaged an acquaintance from ISI, a Major/Lt Colonel to get the payment in
relation to a contract between Fecto Cement and Radian Power Energy. He
said that he received cash on account of the same contract. When asked
where it happened, he said I did not remember the exact location but it was a
vacant and new house.
1241

He, however, had no explanation as to how the alleged video was

made. The ISPR has denied that the ISI had any role in this scandal whereas
former DG ISI Lt Gen (R) Shuja Pasha, when contacted, categorically said
that neither he allowed any such assignment nor anyone in the ISI could do
this without the DGs permission.
In his background briefing with quite a few journalists, Malik Riaz
showed them documentary evidence against the alleged corruption of
Arsalan Iftikhar. He also talked of some video but did not show it to anyone.
Publicly he has denied the media reports regarding his meetings and
discussions with media men Regarding the unauthorized recordings and
videos, the Bahria Town sources said that they did it because they were
blackmailed by Arsalan Iftikhar, who, however, denies all charges leveled
against him and insists that he is innocent.
The Supreme Court said if the graft allegations against Arsalan
Chaudhry, the son of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, were a
conspiracy, it would be proven during the course of the trial. It also ordered
that a security detail be attached to Arsalan while directing Malik Riaz
Hussain to submit his reply by tomorrow. Meanwhile, relevant documents of
Bahria Town were handed over to the SC Registrar.
The court gave the orders for a security detail after the CJs son,
through his counsel Sardar Ishaq, had requested the court that as his father
had barred him from the family residence, he should be provided security
because Malik Riaz or anyone else could harm him. He had contended in his
application that the federal and provincial governments, in view of
impending threats, had conveyed to him in both Islamabad and Lahore to be
careful in his movements.
At the outset of the hearing, Arsalan appeared before the court and
referred to a programme aired on Geo TV and conducted by Sana Bucha,
which was attended by four journalists, including Najam Sethi, Saleem Safi,
Iftikhar Ahmed and Hamid Mir. He informed the court that Hamid Mir
stated in the said programme that Malik Riaz had told him he had videos as
well as pictures of his mother and sisters. Arsalan contended that these
videos pertained to the period during which his mother was in London along
with other family members. Arsalan insisted that the script of the said
programme be called for and on having verified the fact, direction be issued
for registration of a criminal case against Malik Riaz.
As Arsalan asked the court to take action against Malik Riaz, the court
ordered him to remain patient and speak through his counsel who had
1242

appeared on his behalf. Justice Jawad S Khawaja asked Sardar Ishaq to

guide Dr Arsalan. This is not the manner, the way you are talking before the
court. Enough is enough, he said, reprimanding Arsalan.
Zahid Bukhari assured the court that Malik Riaz would not take any
step to harm Arsalan Iftikhar. He also sought two days for the reply of Malik
Riaz Hussain who, he argued, was ill. The court, however, directed him to
file the reply by June 12. Barrister Ali Zafar, the counsel for Bahria Town,
while appearing before the court submitted that Secretary Bahria Town could
not appear in the court. At this, Justice Jawad said that this was a court and
should not be turned into Bahria Town.
The court also noted that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)
chairman had sent under sealed cover the income tax returns of Malik Riaz
Hussain till 1996 and stated that records for the following years were not
available. Later, Mohammad Aqil Usman, FBR member legal, told the court
that they had arranged the available material on an emergency basis in
compliance with the courts order. The court, however, observed that Malik
Riaz remained the Bahria Town chairman till May 15, 2012 and directed that
the tax returns of Bahria Town and the partnerships till May 15, 2012, be
submitted today (Tuesday).
Malik Riaz arrived at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport late
night by his special plane. He said, since the court has forbidden me from
talking to the media, I will only tell you that I will record my statement in
the court. Flanked by security guards, Malik Riaz came out of the airport
and later left for his residence and route protection was laid by the regime.
Aitzaz Ahsan said that no one should point a finger at the chief justice,
while admitting that Malik Riaz had shown him some material relating to
Arsalan and he felt sorry for the CJs son. He said Chief Justice had nothing
to do with the alleged wrongdoings of his son and he (Arsalan) was himself
responsible for his actions.
Aitzaz said he had not burst into tears upon seeing the material against
Arsalan as he had wept only on two occasions on the demise of his mother
and Benazir Bhutto. He said Malik Riaz had retuned and would present the
relevant material in the Supreme Court and it was up to the court to ascertain
whether this was all a conspiracy or not.
Responding to a question, Aitzaz declined to give details of the
material shown to him, saying it was highly improper to discuss in public the
material on the basis of which the SC would decide the issue. However, he
said the media had exaggerated the issue on the basis of hearsay, which was
1243

highly regrettable. To a question, he dismissed the impression that the issue

was being highlighted to get the PMs son exonerated in exchange for a
clean chit for the CJs son.
Brushing aside any possibility of filing a reference against Chief
Justice on account of his sons alleged dealings with a noted business
tycoon, Prime Minister said that the case had been greatly exaggerated and
there was no question about proceeding against the Chief Justice of the apex
court. Commenting on media reports that said otherwise, the he maintained
that only a small section of the press had been projecting the issue of
sending a reference and clarified that such reports were baseless.
Next day, addressing a press conference at a local hotel in Islamabad,
Bahria Town chief posed three questions to Chief Justice, revealing that
several meetings were held between him and the chief justice in the
darkness of night, and asking the CJ to tell the nation how many such
meetings were held. Riaz questioned whether Arsalan was not a part of these
meetings and did not know about them. He also alleged that the sitting
registrar of the apex court, Dr Faqeer Hussain, was also present during
several of these meetings.
Malik Riaz also asked: How many meetings were held at the
residence of Ahmed Khalil between the chief justice and the prime minister
and was there not a sitting judge of the Supreme Court present during one of
the meetings? For how long did the chief justice know about this [Arsalan]
case and why did he wait till media reports to take suo moto notice, Malik
Riaz posed the third question. Malik Riaz alleged that he was blackmailed
and did not pay any bribes. However, Riaz clarified that he had not accused
the chief justice of anything and respected him.
When asked of the repercussions which may arise following such a
news conference, Malik Riaz replied that he did not care if he was charged
with contempt or sent to prison. During the press conference, Malik Riaz
disclosed that he would reveal more details of the matter in the future. He
refused to answer questions by journalists.
Earlier, Riaz appeared before the Supreme Court and told that Dr
Arsalan continuously blackmailed and extorted money from his son-in-law
on different pretexts, misusing his position as the son of the CJ. I have been
victimized and blackmailed by Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, Malik Riaz contended
in his 83-page statement submitted before the court.
Malik Riaz contended that Dr Arsalan was a close friend of Ahmed
Khalil, who happened to be a friend of his son-in-law Salman Ahmed,
1244

adding that Dr Arsalan cheated and defrauded him and his son-in-law and
also got illegal benefits under pressure, coercion and intimation. He said Dr
Arsalan Iftikhar told Ahmed Khalil that he was in the knowledge of suo
moto cases against Bahria Town before his father and could manage to
resolve the said cases.
Malik Riaz claimed in his statement that Rs342.50 million were spent
on Dr Arsalan Iftikhars three foreign tours. He contended that the suo moto
action taken by the chief justice was not legal as no question of enforcement
of fundamental rights had arisen, adding that the Supreme Court was not an
investigating agency and there were numerous competent authorities to
investigate or inquire into alleged commission of crimes.
Preferential treatment is meted out to Dr Arsalan Iftikhar as the
details of the assets, accounts, income tax, wealth tax etc have been
requisitioned from Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in my respect and no
such details have been asked to be furnished by Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, Malik
Riaz submitted. He, however, submitted that he had great regard and respect
for the Supreme Court and its judges including the chief justice.
Malik Riaz further submitted in his statement that the president, prime
minister or any political party and agency was not involved in this matter,
adding that nobody either prompted him or helped him in any manner in this
whole episode. He contended that his concise statement should not be
considered final and conclusive and he reserved the right to add details and
further incriminating evidence at a subsequent juncture before the august
court.
Zahid Bukhari, counsel for Malik Riaz Hussain, suggested three
options for the apex court, saying that the court should form a larger bench
to hear the case, appoint a commission similar to the one which had probed
the memo scandal or send the case for probe. Attorney General Irfan Qadir
suggested that the NAB should investigate the matter under Section 9 of the
NAB Ordinance, while Sardar Ishaq, counsel for Dr Arsalan, suggested to
the court constitute a judicial commission to probe the matter. The court,
however, observed that it would take the suggestions into consideration and
adjourned the hearing till Thursday.
During the hearing when Malik Riaz tried to inform the court about
the facts of the case, the court asked him to abstain from giving facts as Dr
Arsalan was also debarred from speaking before the court in the presence of
his lawyer. The court also asked Malik Riaz to speak through his lawyer.
Justice Jawwad S Khawaja observed that the courts main objective was to
1245

protect the dignity of the institution. At this Zahid Bukhari replied that it
seemed like the Supreme Court had made up its mind about the case, to
which Justice Khawaja replied that his mind would not be made up until he
signed the court order.
The hype and sensation that Malik Riaz tried to create by asking three
questions from the chief justice of Pakistan died a quick death as not only
the Registrar Supreme Court but also senior advocate Aitzaz Ahsan came out
to belie his claims openly on the media. Apparently, it seems to be a
conspiracy to scandalize the Supreme Court with the intention that the chief
justice should detach himself from the benches hearing the Bahria Town
cases.
Malik Riaz questioned: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry should reveal how many meetings have been held between I and
CJ in the darkness of night? Was Arsalan Iftikhar not a part of these
meetings, does he not know me? The sitting registrar was also present during
several of these meetings.
Dr Faqir Hussain, Registrar Supreme Court replied to this question
that the Chief Justice of Pakistan used to meet many people who would
request him for a meeting during the days when he was deposed. Upon
Malik Riazs request, the chief justice met him a few times in my presence.
Malik Riaz claimed that he had played a role between the Pakistan Peoples
Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawazs negotiations and, therefore, he
also wanted to play his role in the restoration of judiciary. Malik Riaz
wanted that the CJ should meet President Asif Ali Zardari but his request
was declined by the CJ. Another of Malik Riazs offer of a bullet-proof
vehicle for the chief justice was also declined by Justice Iftikhar Chauhdry.
Secondly, Malik Riaz of Bahria Town asked the CJ in his press
conference: How many meetings were held at the residence of Ahmed
Khalil between the chief justice and prime minister and was there also an
acting judge of the Supreme Court present during one of the meetings? The
Registrar replied to this question by saying that the chief justice did meet
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani at a few social gatherings but it was not
comprehensible how this could be scandalized.
Malik Riazs third question was, How long did the chief justice know
about this case and why did he wait till the media reports to take suo moto
notice? Registrar of Supreme Court replied that according to his
information, the chief justice was never provided with any evidence and the

1246

moment the media broke the story of presence of evidence which was shown
to journalists, the CJ took suo moto notice on the same day.
Moreover, senior advocate Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan also belied Malik
Riazs claims by saying that he had told the CJ about the sensitivity of the
matter but did not show him any documents in this regard. Aitzaz also said
that he did not follow up with the chief justice on the issue afterwards.
Malik Riaz had shown me the documents some time ago and it was my duty
to inform the CJ about it. He thanked me for coming and said he would ask
Arsalan about this.
CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry convenes full court meeting for 15 th June. The
cases pending with the Supreme Court as well as administrative affairs will
be considered during the meeting. Much importance is being attached to this
full court meeting, particularly after Malik Riaz submitted his statement in
the Supreme Court accusing Arsalan Iftikhar Chaudhry.
On 13th June, taking suo moto notice of a scandalizing press
conference by Malik Riaz, the Supreme Court issued a show cause notice,
asking him to personally appear before the court tomorrow and explain why
he should not be tried for contempt of court. Riaz defied the court by
holding a press conference pertaining to the Arsalan case. With a pocketsized copy of the Holy Quran in his hand, he hurled serious but
contradictory charges against the judiciary, the chief justice and his son.
The bench also said the remarks appeared to be causing obstruction
in the administration of justice because of the pendency of his cases in the
court and an attempt to undermine the authority of judiciary. Such
comments were tantamount to contempt of court, the bench said. It clubbed
the suo moto case with a petition filed by a lawyer named Ashraf Gujjar,
who asked the apex court to launch contempt of court proceedings against
the property tycoon.
Malik Riaz revealed that President Zardari put forward two conditions
for the restoration of Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as Chief Justice
of Pakistan which he accepted. First, Ch Iftikhar will not trouble the PPP
government unduly; second, he (CJ) will not run a parallel government. The
deposed CJ had agreed to my requests, he said, adding that he never talked
about NRO issue with the CJ.
He repeated that he still has confidence in the chief justice and all the
other judges, saying at the same time that everything, including justice, was
up for sale in the country. Malik Riaz clarified that he had not accused the

1247

chief justice of any wrongdoing and he had all the respect for him, but he
should answer the questions put to him.
When asked of repercussions which may arise following his action,
Malik Riaz replied that he did not care if he was charged with contempt or
sent to prison. Malik Riaz said this time he went to the Supreme Court not
for buying justice but to present the facts.
Nawaz Sharif discussed the overall political situation in the country
with party leaders with specific reference to the conspiracy aimed at
subduing the superior judiciary and its fallout on the whole system. The
party discussed various aspects of the conspiracy and its possible moves in
coming days and it was decided with voice vote that the PML-N would
stand behind the judiciary and would not let the non-state actors damage the
independence of judiciary or make the judges of the superior court
controversial.
The Rawalpindi District and Lahore High Court Bars Association
banned the entry of Zahid Hussain Bukhari, counsel for real estate tycoon
Malik Riaz Hussain, for supporting Malik who has leveled serious
allegations against Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry at a press conference. The bar associations also decided that no
lawyer would contest any case of Bahria Town Chief Executive Malik Riaz
Hussain in Rawalpindi and the lawyers would also assemble outside
Supreme Court of Pakistan on 14th June.
They said that Malik Riaz was not alone in this dirty game rather
some other forces were also hand in gloves with him to malign the apex
court. They said that the black coats were with SCP Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry during this hard time and would also render ay kind
of sacrifice to save the judiciary. The lawyers expressed their reservation that
cases of missing persons and that of against the defiant Prime Minister Syed
Yousuf Raza Gilani could be one of the reasons of the ongoing attack on the
judges.
Imran observed that Malik Riaz has turned Pakistan into an auction
house, (neelam ghar) by allegedly buying politicians, generals, journalists
and bureaucrats and he should reveal the names of these people by swearing
on the Holy Quran so that the same could be held accountable for serving
the ulterior motives of Riaz. He said that the allegations leveled against the
Chief Justice were meant to paralyze the superior judiciary. He said that PTI
would always stand with the countrys independent judiciary, he stated.

1248

He accused all other political parties for taking variety of benefits

from Malik Riaz, claiming that PTI was the only party, which hasnt
received a single benefit from the Bahria Town founder. Imran without
naming the politician from Rawalpindi said that this political figure was a
liar and had been propagating that PTIs Pindi rally was financed by Malik
Riaz.
Tacitly endorsing the claim of Malik Riaz about his covert meetings
with Chief Justice, Prime Minister Gilani said the meetings with the chief
justice were not objectionable and the government enjoyed good relations
with the top judiciary. He did not come up with a categorical reply when
asked whether he held some secret meetings with the chief justice.
The eldest son of Prime Minister and member Punjab Assembly,
Abdul Qadir Gilani, took jibes at Chief Justice regarding the corruption
allegations against his son. When allegations were leveled against us, it was
said that the prime minister should resign to ensure fair and transparent
investigation. We dont say that the chief justice should resign, but we do
want transparent investigation of Arsalans case, he said.
A meeting of the heads of allied parties was held at the Presidency,
which was jointly presided over by President and Prime Minister. The
meeting discussed coalition matters and the current situation in the country.
Spokesperson to the President said that the meeting also discussed and
reviewed the latest developments that had taken place in the country during
this week.
Ansar Abbasi reported that federal capital is abuzz with reports that
following the first shot fired through Malik Riaz, the PPP government is
contemplating a reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry or forcing him to resign through political pressure. No
government representative, though, has confirmed these reports but senior
Supreme Court lawyer Muhammad Akram Sheikh has already prepared the
initial draft of a petition to challenge or block any move against the Chief
Justice.
Next day, the Supreme Court directed Attorney General Irfan Qadir to
pursue the case against Malik Riaz Hussain and the chief justices son,
Arsalan Chaudhry, in accordance with law. The court said it expected that
the attorney general would set the machinery of the state in motion so that
all those, including Malik Riaz, Dr Arsalan and Salman Ali, son-in-law of
Malik Riaz, who might have committed illegal acts, were pursued and
brought to book with the full force and rigour of the law. Attorney General
1249

Irfan Qadir, soon after the hearing, told reporters that the matter could be
referred to the NAB.
The court in its judgment ruled that the matters giving rise to the suo
moto case might have been seen by some as a dark and sordid affair, but
they were confident from the very beginning that only khair and the
clearest dawn would emerge from the case. The court observed that no
affidavit or statement of Salman Ali Khan, whether confirming or denying
any transactions between him and Dr Arsalan or their relationship inter se,
had been filed by Malik Riaz.
Nonetheless attempts by individuals to obstruct the course of justice
are indeed a matter of serious and grave concern, and imperil the reputation
of the justice system at large. This is why such exchange of bribes with the
attempt, even a failed one, to influence the course of justice, has been
declared illegal and punishable under various laws. If proven guilty by a
court of competent jurisdiction, the parties involved are liable to be
punished.
The court also observed: It appears that Malik Riaz may not have
encountered failure in the past in receiving favours against payments of
illegal gratification. He may, therefore, in his own mind, have considered the
lack of any relief or favourable orders from the Supreme Court as simply an
attempt to extort money from him. With such thinking, it may not have
crossed his mind and he may actually have missed the reality that the court
was only doing its job in accordance with the law and the constitution,
dealing with cases solely on the basis of merit. His logic, perhaps, is not so
strange to him.
The judgment also pointed out that some of the problem stemmed out
from lack of due diligence displayed by media. The court said if there was
indeed a conspiracy to damage the reputation of the judiciary, then breaking
this news through a public interview uploaded on the internet, was probably
not the most constructive way of passing the news on. It also noted that the
supposed documentary evidence placed on record related only to around 4.5
percent of the alleged illegal transaction.
The judgment explained that the court had to take suo moto notice of
this case only to vindicate the peoples guaranteed right to access to
information about a matter of grave public importance. The matter of public
importance in this case, the judgment explains, was the aspersion cast on the
independence and integrity of the superior judiciary of this country,
particularly that of the Supreme Court and the chief justice.
1250

Justice Khilji Arif Hussain in his additional note observed: We as

judges are particularly in the public domain as all persons exercising state
functions are in the eyes of the people. Although family members of public
functionaries are, properly speaking, not performing state functions, the
alleged facts of this case highlight the necessity of extreme caution and
discretion in their private and public dealings and conduct.
The two-member special bench rejected any special investigation to
be conducted by a judicial or administrative commission or the NAB and
stood for the ordinary course of law as followed in other cases. But the court
handed over Dr Arsalan to the government to do what it prefers under the
law. The Section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 will apply in
the instant case, which provides a maximum sentence of seven years to those
found guilty.
The attorney general said the case might be sent to the NAB. He said
the government would take the final decision in the light of the attorney
generals advice to proceed further. In this case, he said, the federal
government would be the prosecuting agency through the FIA. He was of
the view that the police would not be involved in this case because the
matter did not fall in their purview. He said the FIA was the concerned
agency in this connection. However, a question that would come up before
the investigating and prosecuting agency would be whether and how it could
proceed against the British national Salman Ahmed.
NAB chairman said the Dr Arsalan case was a case between two
individuals and it had no financial implications for the national exchequer.
NAB spokesman Zafar Iqbal Khan said there was no complaint against Dr
Arsalan pending with the NAB, but if it came, it would be decided as per
NAB laws. Asked whether the NAB would open all the cases against Bahria
Town and DHA, he said so far no complaint was made yet to the NAB
Headquarters against Bahria Town, but one was there at the NAB
Rawalpindi.
The Supreme Court gave Malik Riaz Hussain seven days to hire a
legal counsel in the contempt of court case for ridiculing the judiciary.
During the hearing, Malik Riaz sought 10 days for hiring a legal counsel in
the contempt of court case against him, saying that he had contacted many
senior lawyers but nobody was willing to represent him before the court.
Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan observed that hiring a legal counsel was
the fundamental right of every accused. However, he asked Malik Riaz to
hire his legal counsel in a week. The court also barred Malik Riaz from
1251

speaking to the media since the contempt of court proceedings were decided
in the court.
Chaudhry Muhammad Ashraf Gujar, advocate, and former president
Islamabad High Court Bar, who had moved a petition in the apex court on
placing the name of Malik Riaz on the ECL, while appearing before the
court, contended that Malik Riaz was continuously appearing in TV
programmes despite the fact that a contempt of court case was pending
before the apex court.
Malik Riaz assured the court to comply with its orders. Meanwhile,
when the court read the order in the case, Malik Riaz contended that he
could not understand English upon which the court read out the order to him
in Urdu. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till June 21.
Aitzaz Ahsan declined to represent Malik Riaz in the contempt of
court case being heard in the Supreme Court. Talking to reporters, he said:
Malik Riaz has requested me to represent him before the court in the
contempt of court case, but I have refused. When asked reasons for his
refusal, he declined to explain.
The conspiracy against the judiciary is unfolding as a connection
between the media, the tycoon and prime ministers son has been established
through mid-break discussion videos leaked by Dunya TV staff. Mubashir
Lucman is known by all and sundry in media circles for his closeness to
former military dictator Pervez Musharraf and for numerous campaigns he
ran against the movement of lawyers, the restoration of an independent
judiciary and especially his venom against the-then deposed Chief Justice
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. This person appears to be the prime
character in the conspiracy along with Mehr Bokhari, who too joined the
media through a parachute landing, and Malik Riaz Hussain of Bahria
Town.
Behind the scenes footage showing Lucman and Mehr Bokhari talking
to Riaz during their show has surfaced on YouTube and some mainstream
TV channels under the title Malik Riaz Planted Interview with Mehar
Bokhari and Mubashir Lucman on Dunya TV. It establishes the connection
of the prime ministers son with the whole Malik affair, attempt of Mian
Nawaz Sharifs daughter attempt to get a favourable comment from Malik
Riaz and last but not the least, how a few so-called anchors could stoop so
low before a business tycoon.
The involvement of the owner of Dunya TV cannot be ruled out in
this conspiracy, as there were strict instructions from him to the anchors not
1252

to interrupt Malik Riaz. Mian Amir was also named by Lucman that he had
pressurized him to conduct the show. It is worth mention here that Mian
Amir is considered close to the government circles and his television
channel is getting more share than its ranking from the government ads. The
videos that have surfaced depict that the so-called anchors were acting like
paid servants of Malik Riaz besides Mian Amir.
There are two videos, in one of which Mubashir Lucman is seen
receiving a call on his cell phone from Ali Qadir Gilani, son of Prime
Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, and Mubashir told him that Riaz Malik was not
letting him name Hamid Mir, the known Geo TV anchor. Later Lucman gave
his phone to Malik Riaz, and then PMs son and Riaz Malik talked to each
other.
During the mid-break planning, Mehr Bokhari told Malik Riaz that
she would ask questions relating to the chief justice and Arsalan Iftikhar as
Arsalan has told her that he never met Malik Riaz. Malik Riaz agreed. Malik
Riaz also asked the so-called anchors that he wanted to readout some
documents, which later turned out to be orders of the Supreme Court against
him.
Lucman, while talking about the plots and money allegedly doled out
to media persons by Malik Riaz, said that he would talk about the villas
gifted to the journalists as he too wanted a house and would demand it
openly from Riaz. On one occasion, Mehr Bokhari told Riaz Malik that she
would ask a question about the CJ while Lucman saying that he would ask
questions from Malik Riazs side i.e. the allegations that Malik Riaz has
been leveling against the judiciary. All this was being penned during the
mid-break.
Even Malik Riaz is seen saying to both the anchors that they should
ask questions about his appearance in every deal because he wanted to talk
about it. He also dictated Lucman to ask him questions regarding the
involvement of other businessmen in Pakistani politics throughout the
history.
Lucman told Malik Riaz on one occasion that the chief justice had
pre-empted his move to explode the bomb and took suo moto notice of the
issue. Lucman also told Malik Riaz that Geo TV was running clips that
Malik Riaz gets his files cleared by bribing the officials. Upon which Malik
Riaz said, Hamid Mir must be running it because he is against us. Lucman
replied that why he is against you when you have gifted him a villa.

1253

On one occasion Malik Riaz complains to the anchors that all of his
questions that he wanted to be asked have not been asked. Lucman also said
that to create a hype of their show from 10 p.m. onwards, he would ask a
question from Malik Riaz, which would be answered after 10 p.m. I will
ask that you wanted to become prime minister of Pakistan. Malik Riaz
replied that he never desired for any post in the world.
Mubashir Lucman also readout a text message to Riaz Malik that
Supreme Court has arranged a room for Arsalan in Balochistan House.
Malik Riaz said that he would say this plus he has also asked a fourth
question from the CJ. They also agreed that they would talk about the
scandals of journalists at the end of the programme to clear Mehr Bokharis
name.
During the mid-break discussion of the triplet of the programme,
which was aired from 10 to 11 p.m., Lucman and Mehr are being given clear
signs that Malik Riaz would not be interrupted at any cost and if he wanted
to go overtime, he would be allowed without any hindrance. Then both the
anchors, Lucman and Mehr, like paid servants, started to make Malik Riaz
understand the crux of the code of conduct for judges so that Malik Riaz
could easily attack the chief justice regarding conflict of interest issue.
Lucman also asked Malik Riaz to give him information, which is
explosive. Malik Riaz replied that he has given so many bombs including a
fourth question to the CJ. Then Mehr Bokhari and Mubashir Lucman were
seen at odds with each other when Mehr announced to ask question
regarding Moonis Elahi from Riaz Malik. Lucman even left the set for a few
moments and was later convinced by Malik Riazs staff. When he came back
he said that he would say on air that Mian Amir and Malik Riaz pressurized
him to conduct the programme, which he eventually said later.
In the meanwhile, Malik Riaz kept on saying: Mubashir you are
spoiling my programme; for Gods sake come back as you are being unfair
with me. Mehr taunted Lucman that he was acting like a child. Mehr also
told Malik Riaz she has received an SMS from Maryam Nawaz Sharif
asking Malik Riaz to say on record that Hamza Shahbaz had refused his
offer of a bullet-proof car. Then on one occasion Lucman also said that a
person had come outside Dunya TV office and had evidences against Dr
Arsalan and that he would say this on air. Malik Riaz also disclosed that
only Mubashir Lucman was through with his son among the media
personalities.

1254

While discussing the affairs of the CJs son, Malik Riaz told Lucman
that he has invested money on him while Arsalan was repaying it back to
someone else. They made a joke of it. In the end, Mehr Bokhari is shown
saying that Arsalan Iftikhar might go to Geo TV for an interview.
TV anchor Mehr Bokhari later explained in her show that the
programme was not scripted and she had not been under any pressure from
any side. However, she admitted that one question might have been planted,
but she said in such TV shows it was a common thing that guests and
anchors and even some outsiders insisted that a particular question be asked.
During the hearing of a petition against the National Assembly
speakers ruling on the issue of Prime Minister Gilanis conviction by the
Supreme Court in a contempt of court case, an altercation started in the
courtroom after some lawyers and Attorney General Irfan Qadir exchanged
harsh words. The argument started when the attorney general said that all the
judges had run away from the court premises when the Supreme Court
announced its verdict in the contempt case against the prime minister.
Heading a three-member bench, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry told Qadir not to undermine the reputation of the court by making
such statements. Justice Jawad S Khwaja remarked that the attorney general
should not create noise as he was a senior law officer. Lawyers started
chanting slogans against the attorney general. The police were called in the
courtroom to control the situation. Police officials tried to calm down the
infuriated lawyers and told them to take their seats.
Advocate AK Dogar, while presenting his arguments, said that the
Supreme Court disqualified Prime Minister Gilani, however, he is still
holding his office. He said that Gilani deliberately insulted the court, and
that the speakers ruling was against the verdict announced by a sevenmember bench. The chief justice said that the court does not want to prolong
the judgment of the case, and that Dogar should highlight only the legal
points involved in the case.
Irfan Qadir criticized the chief justice and called him biased.
However, the chief justice said that the entire nation was aware of the
proceedings of cases pertaining to NRO and contempt of court regardless of
AGs responses. Aitzaz Ahsan, counsel for Gilani, said he would like to
submit the power of attorney on behalf of his client. Attorney General Irfan
Qadir said he would respond after Dogar finished his arguments.
Tariq Butt reported that Attorney General Irfan Qadir showed his true
colours, pleasing his masters in an unprecedented manner while degrading
1255

the Supreme Court judges and thus hitting the rock bottom. Since the day
one, it was widely predicted and expected that the top-most law officer of
the federal government would do what he precisely did. The primary
purpose of inducting him replacing suave Maulvi Anwaar was to take on the
judges in an offensive way. It is unthinkable that an educated man like him
would behave as an uncouth person.
His intolerably obscene and depraved gesticulation against the judges
in the packed-to-capacity Courtroom No 1 was unfathomable, unheard of,
and unparalleled in the judicial history. Irfan Qadir might have been
lynched by the lawyers sitting in the courtroom then and there had Chief
Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry not come to his rescue, said a leading
TV anchor, who saw the despicable scene.
Since his appointment, the attorney general has made it a point to
oppose each and everything that the judges sitting on different benches
believe, perceive and decide. He is yet to make any worthwhile contribution
in even crucial judicial proceedings. He acts like a spoilt child, whose
harangue is consistently ignored by the honourable judges.
Never in the judicial history has an attorney general been so rude and
insulting to the judges of the highest court. The justices deserve full marks
for tolerating the antics of such a person. While acting as prosecutor in the
contempt proceedings against Prime Minister Gilani in the Supreme Court in
April, he also went berserk and smashed hook, line, and sinker everyone
coming in his way, reserving the severest attack for the Supreme Court. He
crossed the limits, but was not awarded the punishment that he otherwise
deserved.
What Qadir argued wholly proved him as more loyal to the king than
the king himself. Even PM Gilanis counsel Aitzaz Ahsan could not say in
the prime ministers defence in his protracted submissions what the
prosecutor had the gall to state, with the judges oddly giving him a patient
hearing, remaining unruffled and cool and composed. The prosecutor also
supported each and every argument of the defence lawyer that established
that the two were hand-in-glove as per a planned strategy. In fact, he went
far ahead of Aitzaz Ahsan in several aspects.
His hilarious harangue was an engaging entertainment, provoking
grins. At the end of his tirade, which was bizarre in Pakistans judicial
history, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, who had led that bench, made a tongue-incheek remark that he was the first one appearing before it who had come out
with new ideas.
1256

Confirming that he was in cahoots with the defence lawyer, Irfan

Qadir said he honestly feels that he has not found even an iota of evidence
that showed that the prime minister committed contempt of court. It was
never felt even for a passing moment by anyone in the courtroom that a
prosecutor was speaking, calling for the conviction of the accused.
He had stated that the basic problem we are facing was that the
Supreme Court has assumed complete control of state institutions, including
the NAB. He tried to further degrade the court saying that the job of no
honest person was safe because of the apex court. Everyone attorney
general, federal law secretary, NAB chairman and its prosecutor general
had to leave due to the court.
Then he quickly contradicted himself without realizing and admitting
his bloomers. Sir, do you think, NAB Chairman Navid Ahsan was removed
because of your judgment? No, my lord he continued for over a year after
your decision and went only after the court assumed charge of the NAB. He
then resigned. Do you think the NAB Prosecutor General (Danishwar Malik)
went because of your judgment? No my lord he left due to the heart
problem.
Judges sitting in that bench were biased. This judgment is unimplementable in every respect, he said, while referring to the 17-judge
benchs ruling against the NRO. In its judgment, Justice Nasirul Mulk-led
seven-member bench found it intriguing that exercising his powers Gilani
replaced Maulvi Anwaarul Haq, who was prosecuting him. It said that Qadir
did not put forth arguments in favour of the prosecution rather pleaded that
there was no evidence, whatsoever, on the basis of which Gilani could be
held guilty of contempt.
In just over three years' time, the black coats are back on the roads in
support of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to foil
another attempt to stifle and ridicule the judiciary, as was done by the former
dictator Pervez Musharraf. The bar premises are resounding with the same
popular slogans Chief Tairay Janasar Beshumar Beshumar (Chief, you have
countless devotees). The Lahore High Court Bar Association and Lahore Bar
Association witnessed the same scenes of the past. Highly charged lawyers,
especially the young ones, were at the forefront of venting their anger
against the anti-judiciary elements and were firm in their stand.
Both the bars also took out a combined rally to pledge support for the
judiciary against the onslaught on the judiciary. The LBA also banned the
entry of Advocate Zahid Bukhari, the counsel for Malik Riaz, into the bar
1257

premises for an indefinite period. Through a resolution, the bar assured its
full support to the Supreme Court and announced a two-day complete
boycott of courts. The resolution said no lawyer would appear before any
court on Thursday and Friday.
The Lahore High Court Bar Association members forced their
president Shahram Sarwar Chaudhry to lead the rally as he was reluctant to
take out the rally and made an unsuccessful attempt to convince the lawyers
not to take out the rally. As the general house meeting started, the president
asked members to listen to speeches at first and a decision about taking out
rally would be made later. Considering these comments objectionable, the
lawyers burst into slogans in favour of the CJP and against Wyne.
President Shahram, who belongs to Asma Jahangir Group, struggled
to calm down the lawyers to keep the house in order. The president invited
Advocate Rana Zia Abdur Rehman for a speech, who termed the statements
of Malik Riaz against Arsalan Chaudhry a conspiracy against the judiciary
and said lawyers would defend the judiciary at any cost. But the charged
lawyer paid no heed to his speech and continued chanting slogans in favour
of the CJP. Amidst the resonating chants, Shahram invited Advocate Ahmed
Awais to rostrum.
Awais said the lawyers should be united and act collectively to defend
the legal system and respect of legal community. The lawyers started
sloganeering and did not let him complete his speech. Shahram Sarwar took
to the rostrum and tried to convince the lawyers that taking out a rally would
not be an effective step as they are small in numbers at the time. However,
no lawyer paid heed to his assertion and kept on insisting to take out rally.
The president asked lawyers they could take out a rally on their own
as he would not be part of it. He announced adjournment of the meeting and
said he would put the resolution before the house for which he had called it.
He put the resolution before the house and most of lawyers raised their
hands in the favour of rally. As the situation was slipping out of his hands,
Shahram decided to lead the rally, but only up to the GPO Chowk.
Later in a press release, Shahram Sarwar and other office-bearers of
LHCBA said they are standing by the judiciary like a rock wall. They said
LHCBA rendered countless sacrifices during lawyers movement which was
not meant for a personality. They demanded that a high-level commission
should be constituted to probe the issue which will expose the real culprits
behind the conspiracy against the Supreme Court.

1258

The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and Supreme Court Bar Association
(SCBA), the two supra decision making bodies of lawyers, plan to bring
together the divided legal fraternity over the recent developments on the
judicial front. The PBC would meet in Lahore today (Friday) and SCBA
within the next couple of days for a collective line of action, SCBA
President Yasin Azad said. He criticized the attorney generals uproar in the
Supreme Court.
He warned that lawyers would be on the streets in case attempts were
made to weaken the judiciary under the garb of give-and-take case between
two individuals. This case needs a comprehensive inquiry to bring before
the people a factual position, and the culprit must be taken to the task with
maximum punishment under the relevant laws irrespective of his status.
Burying his differences with the superior judiciary, former federal law
minister Babar Awan announced his full support to the Supreme Court,
adding that it is highly improper to demand resignation from Chief Justice.
He said he respected the CJP but the personalities did not have permanent
status as only institutions had perpetual status.
Chaudhry Nisar announced ceasefire with all the political opponents,
including leaders of PTI, for the sake of safeguarding dignity and
independence of judiciary. He said that Asif Zardari was behind all the
conspiracies against judiciary, saying Malik Riaz had also been launched by
Zardari against the judiciary.
About the Malik Riaz case, he said that there are some elements in the
ruling party, who are trying to give an impression that the Army or any other
institution is behind the case. However, the Army has nothing to do with this
case while the COAS never misused his authority. He claimed army has no
threat from judiciary; however, corrupt rulers are afraid of the independent
judiciary.
Muhammad Saleh Zaafir reported: The government has pre-empted a
judicial verdict through a resolution of the National Assembly adopted in the
dying moments of the budget session afternoon in the Parliament House.
The resolution has made it imperative on all institutions to respect the ruling
of the speaker under the relevant clauses of the Constitution wherein she
declined to refer to the chief election commissioner the case pertaining to the
disqualification of Prime Minister Gilani after the judgment in the contempt
case.
The resolution envisages that the The Speaker represents the House,
the dignity of the House and the freedom of the House and because the
1259

House represents the nation, in a particular way, the Speaker becomes the
symbol of the Nations freedom and liberty. The principal duty of the
Speaker of the House is to regulate the proceedings of the House and to pass
appropriate Rulings in this regard.
The legal observers are of the view that the resolution would be
exploited by the legal experts of the government as a shield against any
argument challenging its legal capacity. It is understood that eminent
constitutional expert Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan who is legal brain of the
incumbent administration, had also been consulted about the resolution.
The PPP government has issued orders to the Punjab government to
provide Police/Rangers security to Malik Riaz during his movements. In a
letter Malik Riaz Hussain had asked the Interior Ministry that he was
receiving life threats over his phone. It is important to mention that when Dr
Arsalan requested Supreme Court that he was facing threats, the apex court,
on suggestion of the attorney general, directed the Interior Ministry to
provide necessary security to Dr Arsalan.
On 15th June, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice turned
down a request of Aitzaz Ahsan to constitute a larger bench to hear the case,
as he pleaded that it was very important matter, which involved the
disqualification of not an ordinary parliamentarian but of the Leader of the
House and the Prime Minister.
AGP Irfan Qadir again showed aggression when the chief justice
inquired was there anyone representing the National Assembly speaker? The
attorney general stood up on his seat and said: The speaker is not
answerable to the apex court, adding, What if the Parliament summons the
chief justice tomorrow? Chief Justice Iftikhar remarked he would appear
because it was their own Parliament and told him that the speaker was the
party in the case; therefore, needed to be represented. National Assembly
Joint Secretary (Legislature) Nadeem Qureshi informed the court said that
he was appearing on the speakers behalf.
Aitzaz argued that under Article 63(2) if a question arises regarding
the disqualification of a member then the speaker had to determine it under
Article 63(1) (h) that the Parliamentarian had been, on conviction for any
offence involving moral turpitude, sentenced to imprisonment for a term of
not less than two years, unless a period of five years elapsed since his
release.
The chief justice said the integrity or independence of the courts and
ridiculing the judiciary was the specific parameter. And whether ridiculing
1260

the judiciary did not come under moral turpitude? Justice Khilji Arif Hussain
questioned if a member was convicted for propagating against the ideology
of Pakistan and he had accepted his crime then would the speaker apply her
mind.
Aitzaz said the speaker would still apply her mind. Upon that Justice
Khilji said it meant to overrule the apex court judgment, and the speaker was
given the power of appellate authority. But the learned counsel said: No!
She does not have that power? The chief justice questioned if a member of
the Parliament was convicted for less than one year and was sent to jail,
whether that parliamentarian would say he had not been disqualified; as the
punishment was less than two years.
The court stopped Aitzaz Ahsan from raising the objections on the
judgment, saying, You should have raised these points in appeal, which you
have not filed. Aitzaz replied that his client had accepted the verdict but not
the PMs disqualification from his office, adding that he was not showing his
disapproval of the courts judgment but trying to convince the court that the
PM had not been disqualified on the basis of the verdict. He further said that
his client did not need to appeal against the verdict and that he was not
asking to change it.
The chief justice asked Aitzaz to quote any judgment where a
member, who is convicted and also the judgment attained finality, remained
the member of the Parliament. The chief justice asked the learned counsel to
inform the court about the nature of determining the question of
disqualification and whether the speakers act was administrative in nature.
Aitzaz replied: No! It was an adjudicatory, quasi judiciary, adding
that after the 18th Amendment, the speakers office was not a post office and
she had to apply her mind. She cant abdicate herself from the duty to make
decision that whether a question has arisen or not, he further maintained.
The court said the speaker could not delay implementation or interpret
the judgment, passed by a seven-member bench. It observed that the speaker
could apply her mind on civil or session courts judgments. The chief justice
directed Aitzaz to conclude his arguments on Monday by 11a.m. before
adjourning the hearing of the case.
The full court session of the Supreme Court formed a two-member
committee to look into the matter of a controversial TV interview of Malik
Riaz. The panel, comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji
Arif Hussain, will investigate this attempt to defame the apex court through
an apparently planted TV show and take action under the contempt of court
1261

laws. The chairman of committee will submit the report to the SC registrar,
who would place the same before the committee members for perusal and
recommendation for further course of action, if required.
The chief justice had summoned all the judges to attend meeting of
the Full Court to discuss progress on rules of working committee. During the
meeting, the chief justice took notice of the TV show and summoned from
the Pemra the on-air and off-air clips of the talk show. Pemra Chairman
Abdul Jabbar submitted the videos and report of the interview to the
meeting. The clips were viewed inside the courtroom in the presence of
Pemra chairman. It was probably for the first time that all the private media
reporters were invited to cover the full court meeting.
Presiding the session, Chief Justice said that during the last week there
were several attempts to undermine the judiciary and now it has become
necessary to figure out as who was behind this wicked activity. The judiciary
was being maligned day and night, he said, adding that not even the
parliament could say anything against the judiciary.
Before that, Supreme Court Registrar Faqir Hussain read out a note,
duly approved by the chief justice. On the face of it, the footage showing
conversation behind the scenes smells of a planned conspiracy to shake
public faith and confidence in the administration of justice and undermine
the dignity and prestige of the court, thereby tending to bring the court and
judges into hatred, ridicule or contempt. It further tends to prejudice the
determination of pending cases before the Supreme Court. It therefore
warrants action under article 204 of the constitution read with Contempt of
Court Ordinance 2003, read the registrar note.
The chief justice inquired from the Pemra chief if he was aware of
what was being broadcast on television channels and if there was any
violation in the Malik Riazs interview. He also asked the chairman as to
what they could do in order to stop such contemptuous programmes. The
chairman replied that channels that violate the law are issued notices and
action is taken when complaints are received. He added that even the
licenses of the violators of the media laws are cancelled. The chairman said
that if the court takes a decision, then Pemra can initiate proceedings
according to the law.
AGP said he consulted the officials concerned to resolve controversy
around the allegations of a business deal between Malik Riaz and Dr
Arsalan. A statement issued by the AGP office said: The purpose of these
deliberations is to explore the possibility of constituting a broad-based
1262

investigation team so as to rule out the possibility of any influence on either

side thereby securing the ends of Justice.
Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly has got a videotape of
a talk among Malik Riaz, President Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani and other
noted celebrities. The sources said the video contains shocking revelations,
which would stir the power echelons. It also carries talk about new political
structure and plan to control media organizations. Nisar wants to make it
public at a suitable time.
Shahbaz Sharif denied the allegations of receiving Rs850 million,
which Malik Riaz alleged to have paid for the Ashiyana Housing Scheme.
Shahbaz said the contract was given to the company which offered the
lowest bid for the housing scheme, adding that there was no question of
getting money from anyone.
In an apparent attempt to bail out the father from the media onslaught
over her job, the daughter of Chairman NAB Admiral Fasih Bokhari
resigned from a lucrative post in the Bahria Town. Chairman was under
pressure from various circles, particularly media which was raising question
about his daughters connections with the Bahria Town. Ironically, the NAB
chairman is being seen with suspicion by both the government and the
opposition alike.
Malik Riaz was privy to the secrets of making and unmaking the
rulers and many credible personalities would be exposed in case of his
disclosures regarding the rise and fall of the governments, warned Chaudhry
Shujaat Hussain. He said although there were people richer than Malik Riaz
but they were not inclined to spend on others. He added that wives of the
rich and the powerful let the food rot in their refrigerators and later threw it
out instead of giving it to their servants. The PML-Q chief advised the
masses to keep in mind various social and humanitarian services of Malik
Riaz.
Next day, lawyers in a conference of all bar associations of Sindh held
in Karachi declared that a conspiracy against the judiciary was a drama
created by the government. They demanded that Prime Minister Gilani
should step down after his conviction by the Supreme Court in the contempt
of court case and warned that they would surround parliament if the premier
did not resign.
Lawyers announced complete boycott of court proceedings on June 18
throughout the province to express solidarity with Chief Justice and the
Supreme Court. They condemned the non-implementation of the courts
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order by the rulers and observed that rulers were taking the country towards
anarchy. They imposed a ban on the entry of Aitzaz Ahsan, Irfan Qadir and
Zahid Bukhari to all bar associations of the province.
The conference endorsed decisions of the all Pakistan lawyers
convention held in Rawalpindi and Multan in May. It appealed to the
leadership of the National Coordination Council to invite all democratic
forces, trade unions, students and professional bodies to support the lawyers.
Lawyers of the Rawalpindi District Bar Association in a protest rally
burnt effigies of those involved in what they called a conspiracy against the
judiciary. They raised slogans against those who are alleged to have taken
bribes. Earlier, in its general body meeting held at Jinnah Hall, passed a
resolution to commend the cameraman who caught clips of off-air
discussions. Similar rallies were held in Faisalabad and Arifwala.
Lawyers across KPK staged rallies to express solidarity with the
Supreme Court and vowed to foil conspiracies against Chief Justice. The
members of the Bar Associations in Peshawar, Mansehra, Mingora and
Karak staged rallies and decided to boycott the courts.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) convened a lawyers
convention in Lahore on June 21 to discuss the Arsalan Iftikhar case and
devise a future course of action. A resolution adopted by the Executive
Committee of the PBC demanded of the attorney general to take urgent steps
according to law.
Prime Minister Gilani went to Mardan to declare that sundry
conspiracies against the government and specifically against democracy
would be foiled, and claimed that even though his government had restored
and strengthened the institutions of the country; intrigues were still being
carried out against democracy.
Leaders of ruling coalition were assembled in the Presidency and
briefed by Senator Farhatullah Babar, who appreciated the resolution passed
by the Parliament endorsing the decision of the Speaker against sending a
reference to the ECP. He said that the Speaker represents the dignity of the
House. Allied parties reiterated the resolve to uphold supremacy of
parliament.
The spokesperson also said that the meeting called for an expeditious
and impartial enquiry into the case involving Malik Riaz and Dr Arsalan in
accordance with the Supreme Court verdict. The meeting rejected notions of

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any conspiracy involving the government in the case of Malik Riaz and Dr
Arsalan and termed such reports as baseless and unfounded.
Zahid Bokhari, counsel of Malik Riaz said his client had denied
giving any financial favour to any media person. He said off-air footages of
his clients TV interview seemed a big conspiracy and that he would stand
by the court against any such conspiracy. Bokhari said the law should take
its course and hidden faces behind this conspiracy should be exposed.
NAB arrested a front-runner of the movement for the restoration of
judiciary and a respected lawyer Nadeem Ahmed late on Friday night in
Karachi for unearthing the PPP governments recent conspiracy against the
judiciary and bringing the video scandal to the notice of the Supreme Court.
Nadeem was in the know of the conspiracy launched through Malik
Riaz as well as the government design to send a reference against the Chief
Justice of Pakistan. Nadeem forwarded the link of the leaked video to
Barrister Akram Shaikh for forwarding it to the Registrar of the SC. His
email was hacked by the government and resultantly Nadeem was arrested.
When asked to comment Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan told The News:
Nadeem was on the panel of lawyers that pursued the petition filed by the
Chief Justice while he was illegally deposed by General Musharraf. Nadeem
gave me invaluable assistance in the case before the 13-member bench of the
SC headed by Justice Ramday that reinstated the CJ. He is a man of integrity
and his name is borne on the law report of that case in which he put in a
great deal of effort and industry.
After airing of the news NAB announced that Nadeem Ahmed had
been arrested from the airport on orders of Accountability Court in a
Telecom Company case when he was leaving the country. The fact, however,
is that neither Nadeems passport has any visa of any country nor he has
made any booking for any travel abroad. Nadeem and his family was
humiliated at the time of arrest.
Documents show that NAB converted an old inquiry into a reference
simply two weeks ago at the time of the launch of the Trapgate. Nadeem was
an ex-director of a company allegedly involved in this fake NAB case. It is
also important that NAB is dysfunctional and acting as a puppet of the PPP
government. It is not arresting any criminal involved in much more serious
cases despite the orders of the SC but now it has started a revenge campaign
against those who have thwarted the conspiracy of the government.

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Nadeem is also a petitioner in the 18 th Amendment case before the SC

titled Nadeem Ahmed vs Federation of Pakistan. His counsel in this case
was Akram Shaikh. Ansar Abbasi said that the honesty and professional
credibility of Nadeem Ahmed was beyond any doubt. He said: It is very
unfortunate that a so-called democratic government is frustrated after it was
caught red-handed conspiring against the judiciary because of the wonderful
work of Nadeem Ahmed and is now taking revenge through the NAB.
On 17th June, Shujaat Hussain demanded that a commission should be
set up immediately for an inquiry into the Arsalan case, which should
conduct its proceedings in an open court. He further said some people were
continuously indulging in propaganda to create the impression that there was
a confrontation between institutions instead of persons; as such it is
necessary that a commission be set up at the earliest possible to probe the
affair.

Recessing economy: On 11th June, Sindh government presented an

over Rs7 billion tax-free deficit budget for 2012-13 with total outlay of
Rs577.98 billion and projected revenue at Rs570.82 billion, promising
20,000 jobs and proposing 20 percent ad hoc relief for public servants and
pensioners. The finance minister did not give details of the resources to meet
the deficit but promised 20,000 jobs during the next fiscal year.
Provincial Minister for Finance Mir Asim Kurd presented a tax-free
Balochistan budget for the financial year 2012-13 with a total outlay of
Rs179.931 billion, including Rs35.819 billion development expenditure and
Rs144.112 billion non-development expenditure, was presented in the
provincial assembly.
On 14th June, the government has decided to reduce the POL prices by
up to Rs11.75 per litre for the next fortnight to be effective from June 16. It
has also decided to decrease the CNG prices by Rs7.50 per kg. But Federal
Minister for Petroleum said that the government had decided to reduce the
price of petrol by over Rs10 per litre and CNG by Rs6 per kg.
The National Assembly passed the federal budget with a total outlay
of Rs2.9 trillion for the next financial year while the PML-N
parliamentarians utilized all their energies to lodge a strong protest against
the prime minister and his government. Amendments moved by the finance
minister were approved and incorporated into the bill.
Next day, government, in order to provide relief to the masses,
decreased the prices of Petroleum Oil and Lubricant (POL) products up to

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Rs11.75 per litre while CNG was reduced up to Rs4.82 per kg for the 2nd half
of June to be effective downwards from June 16. According to OGRA
notification the government has decreased the prices due to 12 dollars
reduction in the price of crude oil in international oil market.
On 16th June, incessant load shedding and power outages sparked fury
and fueled virulent protests across the country. Thousands of people
ransacked the Talagang Wapda office and destroyed its records in protest
against 20 hour-long power outages. In Chakwal, protesters blocked various
roads. In Khanewal, traders and political and religious circles demanded that
the prime minister, president and chief justice take notice of the abysmal
situation.
In Burewala, angry residents staged a protest against 22 hour-long
unscheduled load shedding. In Toba Tek Singh, police used teargas, batons
and firing in the air to disperse villagers protesting against power outages. In
Faisalabad, angry demonstrators blocked main city arteries and demanded
that the government take notice of their plight. Similarly, frustration bubbled
over in Charsadda where the residents of the city staged loud protests against
the governments failure to halt unscheduled load shedding.

Provincial disharmony: On 17th June, protesters in various cities,

including Faisalabad and Gujranwala, turned violent, pelted vehicles with
stones and burnt tyres to block the roads. Taking note of prolonged load
shedding and power riots across the country, especially in the Punjab,
President Zardari ordered the federal minister for petroleum and natural
resources to immediately supply gas to powerhouses to resolve the energy
crisis. On the other hand, thousands of PML-N workers in Lahore gathered
at Nila Gunbad to stage a demonstration against load shedding and express
solidarity with the judiciary.
Outages-stricken protesters also took to the streets in Gujranwala,
Faisalabad, Bahawalnagar, Chichawatni and various other cities. Traders
announced to start a nationwide campaign, including strikes against load
shedding from June 23. The All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran leader and
others told reporters in Rawalpindi that demonstrations would be held in all
district headquarters of the province.
In Faisalabad, people blocked all the roads leading to Faisalabad for
many hours during demonstrations against the unprecedented load shedding
of 20 hours here. They chanted slogans against the government. In
Pakpattan, hundreds of protesters blocked the Multan-Kasur Road for four
hours by burning tyres. The protesters attacked the grid station at Chak Bedi
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and broke its main gate. The grid station guard resorted to firing to disperse
the protesters.
In Toba Tek Singh, protesters burnt tyres on the Rajana-Samundri
Road and blocked the traffic for more than an hour. In Pirmahal, citizens
blocked different roads and railway tracks, and chanted slogans against the
area MNAs and MPAs. In Arifwala, citizens protested against 22-hour-long
load shedding and blocked the Bahawalnagar Road for three hours. In
Nankana Sahib two rallies were taken out against the 20-hour load shedding.
In Gujranwala a number of demonstrations were held against power
outages. People held demonstrations in Kamoke, Emenabad, Lohianwala,
Shaheenabad, Alam Chowk, Baghbanpura and Kangniwala. The protesters
got unruly and pelted trains and vehicles with stones. They demanded the
government take steps to end load shedding. Protests were also held in
Kasur, Jaranwala and other cities.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said national resources were being
spent on facilitating rulers and elite classes while poor and deprived
segments of society had been ignored. Rehman Malik blamed Punjab Chief
Minister for masterminding a conspiracy under which PPP MNAs and MPs
in Punjab were attacked.

Baloch militancy: On 11th June, six people were killed and 50

others injured when a powerful bomb exploded near a passenger bus in
Dringar area of Mastung district. Hospital sources feared that the death toll
might rise, as many injured were in critical condition. Emergency was
declared in all the hospitals of Quetta and Mastung districts after the blast.
On 13th June, three people, including a student, were kidnapped from
different towns of Balochistan. Two days later, two brothers were gunned
down and their uncle sustained bullet injuries in Tail Godown area of Quetta.

Turf war in Karachi: On 11th June, two people, including a

serviceman, were gunned down while three others were wounded in separate
acts of violence in the port city. Next day, unidentified gunmen killed the
brother of former member provincial assembly of MQM in Sher Shah
Market of Karachi. Six more people perished in other incidents of violence.
On 14th June, ten people were killed in incidents of violence in
Karachi. Next day, at least 11 more people, including a close relative of
outlawed Peoples Amn Committee (PAC) leader Ahmed Ali Magsi, were
gunned down in separate incidents of violence in the mega city. Since the

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killing of MQM Sector Committee member Mansoor Mukhtar, the Magsi

group has gunned down several other MQM men and law enforcers.
MQM Coordination Committee member and provincial minister, Raza
Haroon said that the MQM was ready to quit the government if his partys
separation from the government will improve the law and order situation in
Karachi. He said that to leave the government was not a solution to the
present crises in the city. He said that 45 workers of MQM had been killed
from May 7 to June 14. He expressed his partys deep concern over the
violence in the metropolis adding that that when MQM held Sindh interior
ministry there were no such incidents in the city.
On 16th June, the wave of target killings continued in the city late
night as five people were gunned down within a short span of 30 minutes,
bringing the death toll on the day to nine. Next day, city's acting police chief
ordered his force to shoot criminals on sight in a bid to improve the law and
order situation in the metropolis, while the ongoing target killing spree
continued with the murder of two people in separate incidents.

VIEWS
Defiance of judiciary
Arsalan case triggers raging debate: A predominant majority of the
nation believes in the hearts of its hearts that the chief justice is innocent in
the present sorry saga involving property mogul Malik Riaz Hussain. The
top judges track record, life, character and judicial career make this crystal
clear again and again. Had he been the type of person who could be bought,
he would not have had a problem with Pervez Musharraf and would not have
risked everything, teaching a nation of yes men how to say a resounding no.
But despite all our genuine love for what chief justice stands for,
accountability, certain pertinent questions have to be asked. In the initial
proceedings of the unique suo moto case, he said swearing on the Holy
Quran that he didnt know what business Arsalan was doing. The young man
is recently married for the second time in Lahore as the earlier wedlock
reportedly broke down.
Importantly, in just three years, from seeking a job in the FIA, the
young man is now owning and managing construction, engineering and
telecom company having 400 employees, which is valued at Rs900 million
according to his own account. One sincerely believes what the chief justice

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said with apparent agony but one would still ask why he, as a towering
father, didnt keep a closer tab on the sprawling business and other activities
of his eldest son?
During judicial proceedings and elsewhere, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry
laudably teaches the principles of accountability, merit and values that are
dear to everyone and which are ordained in the Holy Quran and Sunnah. But
he was unable to strictly follow them in his own familys case, in his own
house. Isnt it? The love for the gallant chief justice is beyond an iota of
doubt because he has set examples and precedents for the nation to follow
but we must ask all fathers questions so that we learn not to make mistakes
about our childrens profitable dealings and activities.
True, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was undeniably making tireless efforts
of dealing with the unending issues of corruption, missing persons, and
societal injustices, trying to rectify by working 18 hours a day, but still one
is constrained to ask: had he not been a better, watchful father and parent at
home by asking questions to his son precisely as he fires hundreds of queries
inside the court.
Why didnt he ask his son what was he doing for his livelihood and
how has he amassed a huge wealth? When the chief justice listens to
hundreds of people in his court, couldnt he hear bone-chilling whispering in
at least half of Islamabad about his sons reputation?
It is an undeniable fact that the superior judiciary has improved 100
times than before courtesy of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhrys abhorrence to
corruption. The judges have never been so independent, never so aggressive
against the status quo, against all-powerful people in Pakistan and against all
equally the government, the opposition, the military and the business
community and foreign influences.
An unprecedented history has been written in a short time. But in spite
of the great love for the judiciary it is time to review its shortcomings and
gaps that need to be rectified. It is a hard fact that the judiciary is not fully
staffed and that there are more cases than it can handle with. What are the
reasons behind this?
It is a fact that cases are not heard and judgments not passed in time
and that delays are experienced everywhere driving amazing levels of
frustration that perhaps even lead to corrupt practices. It is also a fact that at
least in the lower courts there is still a lot of corruption. Many guilty parties
are not convicted due to the lethargic or guilty prosecution and tedious
process of evidence gathering?
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What are the reasons behind these things and what is the solution?
How robust and tested is the self cleansing process of the judiciary to reduce
internal corruption and bad performance? How many people have been fired
or kicked out? What culture of self regulation, merit and discipline has the
judiciary set for its own, before it tries to influence the culture, values of
society? What can the judiciary fix by itself and what are areas that the
government and other institutions will need to fix?
What are ways to be conscious of this menace? What about parents
who end up either supporting their kith and kin consciously or
unconsciously even when they are committing wrongs and sins?
Psychologically what creates these blind spots and how can the parents
avoid them? How does one balance the duty to the public and his or her job
vis--vis the duty to his or her child?
People cynically say hire a judge, not a lawyer; they say only after
greasing the palms can anything really move in Pakistan. It is something
normal that powerful people are either themselves corrupt or are surrounded
by those who act on their behalf. It is also common for people to pretend
representing the powerful to pocket illegal benefits and favours.
We should find out the root cause to the disease. What is special in our
society that is causing this effect? Where have we gone wrong as a whole?
What are the reasons that there is corruption in every aspect of life? Why is
it that little shame is felt when it comes to corruption? Why is so that when
government leaders are attacked for corruption by the media they
shamelessly say opposition members also have done so or they say how
come you dont talk about the corruption of the army and other institutions?
We blame everything to conspiracy and have a culture to use this
escapism but now is the time to face the reality and confront the true ills of
society and culture and ask specific questions openly. We have very often
seen that eminent people, busy in serving the nation and humanity, end up
ignoring their own children, who spoil themselves as is evident from many
examples in our history It is a bitter fact that bribery is a hard ground
reality in Pakistan.
One cannot even do morally and socially legitimate and legal work
without bribing the concerned people. In Pakistan everyone knows about
this pungent reality and has accepted it, of course barring many exceptions.
If you ask any person trying to get some work done in institutions like
police, income tax, lower courts, custom or any government office, all would
complain that they cannot get anything done merely on the basis of legal
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rights and have to grease palms. It is not foreign to any of us that most
private companies in Pakistan keep a budget for bribing purposes and it is
considered a routine and a must expense. Of course, it is extremely
shameful.
Malik Riaz treaded the usual and time-tested path without realizing
that he would not get the quid pro quo, promised by the talented son, as it
was to come from a person like chief justice. He had two options either to
compensate Arsalan through bribe or get his business destroyed (Tariq
Butt, The News 11th June)
Questions the parties can face in the SC: Both parties will be
facing tough questions in the coming days in the apex court where the chief
justice has taken suo moto notice of the dubious activities of his son Arsalan
Iftikhar.
It will be seen whether any softness or strictness was observed in the
cases involving the Bahria Town chief or whether any decision was made in
their favour. Another question would be that why CJ could not notice the
foreign visits and shopping by his son Arsalan, his mother and other
members of the family. It would also be probed why Arsalans 400-strong
employees business concern could not be noticed by his father. Why
Arsalans amassing of wealth in threes years remained unnoticed? The
question will arise whether parents responsibilities towards their children
end after the children become mature.
The reason of maintaining of a file of investment on the Chief
Justices son since day one and then showing it to select media personalities
is one among the key questions that will have to be answered before the SC.
Why money was being invested on Arsalan Iftikhar since 2009 while his
cases came before the apex court in 2010 and 2011? Was it a trap set for the
judiciary since the restoration of Chief Justice as according to claims
Arsalan Iftikhar has been visiting Europe at Bahrias expense since June
2009?
Another key question is what benefit did emanate after allegedly
bribing a family member of the Chief Justice of Pakistan? Was it not
obstruction of justice? Did the judiciary give any favours in return? As per
testimony presented in the SC, every activity of Arsalan was video-filmed;
why was Arsalan being video filmed from very first day of his interaction
with the front men of the other party and what could have been the purpose
of video-filming every incident? Did they know that they would use this
material at a later stage?
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One key question arising out of the testimony of senior anchor Hamid
Mir is why President Zardari and Malik Riaz discussed this matter and why
the president stopped him from releasing the evidence to the foreign media.
What was the role of the president in this whole deal?
Another question that might be asked is why didnt Bahria Town chief
use his own credit cards to pay for the visits and expenses of Arsalan? Was
he scared of his direct involvement in the Trapgate? What was the purpose
of showing all the evidence to many media personalities? Wasnt it a
conspiracy to malign the judiciary through these journalists? Whether
foreign journalists were contacted to break the story on international media
at a time when Chief justice was to receive International Jurist Award in
United Kingdom? These questions have to be answered.
Some other questions include: When apex court did not give any
favour investment on Arsalan Iftikhar continued? Which were the forces that
helped in recording the video/audio tapes of Arsalan? Did Bahria Town chief
ever meet Arsalan? Who is Ahmed Khalil? What are his links with Bahria
Town? Was Ahmad Khalil in contact with Bahria Town chief when he was
paying for Arsalans lavish trips to Europe? Was entire operation of Trapgate
being monitored? As Bahria Town chief claims to have the possession of all
receipts of the Arsalans spending in Europe including tenancy agreements
and all other things, did he know what was he doing? (Usman Manzoor, The
News 11th June)
Fathers and sons: While the controversy over the unusual case of
Arsalan Iftikhar rages on, Prime Minister Gilani has added to the angst by
suggesting that if the chief justice of Pakistan cannot hear the case involving
his own son, he should investigate the cases pending against Gilanis sons.
Certainly the cases involving the PMs sons need to be heard. But we hope
that the prime minister is earnest in his desire to ensure that justice is done.
Misplaced sarcasm will only add to the tensions between the judiciary and
the executive and do nothing to help matters along.
While the prime minister has also stressed how important it is to
adhere to the Constitution, it should be noted that in the broader course of
justice morality and ethics too play a part. The CJ took a brave course by
taking up his sons case on a suo motu basis. The PM has never displayed
this kind of zeal to ensure justice; rather than chiding the CJ he should be
attempting to do just this. It is also true that as a father Justice Iftikhar
Chaudhry has set excellent examples for his children to follow. Sadly, we
have to say that the prime minister, himself accused of wrongdoing of

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various kinds, has not done the same. He certainly needs to make amends by
ensuring that justice runs its course and the accusations against his sons are
properly investigated. What we must also make sure is that controversy is
avoided as far as possible. Plenty of it has already been generated in the case
of Arsalan Iftikhar. Matters should now proceed as smoothly as possible
the wheels of the system should be allowed to roll on. The CJ has certainly
done his bit to ensure this. Is the prime minister, knowing how corruption at
all levels is eating into the heart of the state, even willing to do anything
about it? (Editorial, The News 12th June)
Unbecoming sarcasm: While one can understand the Prime
Ministers jibes at political rivals, it is hard to stomach his unbecoming
sarcasm directed at the Chief Justice. Talking to the news media at Lahore
on Sunday about the case against Arsalan Iftikhar, son of CJ Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry, currently being heard by the Supreme Court, the PM
suggested that the CJ should hear the case of his son (Musa Gilani)
considering him his own son so that he doesnt have to run after the FIA
and ANF repeatedly, if the law bars him from hearing the case of his own
son (Arsalan). This is a case of unnecessary slur and cheap mockery, and it
hardly behoves a Prime Minister, who has been convicted of contempt, by a
bench headed by the same Chief Justice, to do so.
It is obvious that such utterances would not go down well with the
people, especially when they have been in favour of Mr Gilani resigning his
job on at least moral ground, if not under legal requirements. The Prime
Minister also put forward the claim that the PPP had played a major role in
the restoration of the judiciary, had good relations with the Chief Justice and
great respect for the judiciary. The truth is that it was the dogged persistence
of the general public and the opposition parties that proved a deciding factor
in the issue in the face of the governments dilly-dallying to bring the
deposed judges back in office. About his respect for the judiciary the less
said the better. The Prime Minister should have also avoided dragging in the
army in the Arsalan case... He could have simply confined himself to
denying that the government had any role, but there was no point in
separately saying that the army had none either.
Both the government and the opposition must not lose sight of the fact
that the chaotic situation of terrorism, lawlessness, misgovernance,
corruption, accelerated inflation and hopelessness the nation is passing
through, no attempt must be made to damage the sanctity of the judiciary.
Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharifs words that the Justice Iftikhar
was the only ray of hope deserve to be seriously taken. He rightly
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maintained that the judiciary needed all the support the people could muster
at this critical juncture.
One would not question, though, Mr Yousuf Raza Gilanis dig at Mian
Nawaz Sharif, President of the PML-N, the main opposition party, as he
remarked that Mian Nawaz became a party to several court cases against the
government the NRO, memogate, rental power projects and Mr Gilanis
contempt case but not in the case of Arsalan, perhaps (because) he
understands Mr Riaz has good relations with all political parties. That is the
price politicians have to pay in the game of politics. (Editorial, TheNation
12th June)
The state of Pakistan: If you have not watched Francis Ford
Coppolas epic film, The Godfather, you should! In fact, every Pakistani
ought to watch this film. This movie is instructive in many ways in
understanding the intricacies of how political influence is bought by moneyloaded Mafioso, and how the mafia acquires the power to control political
events through corruption, bribing, violence, deceit, concealment, stealth,
subterfuge, evasion and cover-ups. And on top of that, the narrative of this
film is based more on reality rather than fiction just the way todays
Pakistans so-called democracy has become.
In the land of the pure and the pious, the entire state and political
leadership indulge in open and blatant corruption, bribing, stealing, looting,
underhanded dealings, nepotism, lies, cover-ups, defiance against the law
and ethical practices, violence against its own citizens; above all, making
money and using it for limitless politically-motivated objectives has become
the modus operandi of the state functionaries and national affairs managers.
The Familygate scandal has opened yet another floodgate of
information on how the current political dispensation works and operates
how unspecified amounts of money are made and then used to influence
national events, the countrys politics, media gurus, opinion maker
pundits, and the overall national political discourse. Irrespective of the
facts of who said what to whom and why, who showed what evidence to
whom and why, who was briefed by whom and why at a certain point in
time, who was bribed by gifts of expensive automobiles and costly villas in
upper-class estates, and why the recipients accepted these gifts, for what
purposes and intentions, and with what professional or ethical justification.
Who did business with whom, who financed whom with enormous amounts
of money, who paid whose holiday bills in thousands of British pounds for
whom and why, and so on and so forth. But one single-most important fact

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that stands glaring in our faces is that this country is being deliberately
destroyed. The entire ruling elite is decisively committed to engineering and
organizing a national political structure, oligarchic in nature, more
oppressive and regimented than traditional feudal systems, with the
objective to divide the nation between a ruling elite with enormous financial
and political resources vested in them, and a largely marginalized populace
majority subjected to its political control for an indefinite period of time in
the future. We live in very dangerous political circumstances now!
Indeed, judicial decisions and judgments will have to go through the
normal legal processes and procedures in the Familygate case. But the
Chief Justice of Pakistans prompt suo motu action against his own son has
once again reinforced Justice Iftikhar Chaudhrys personal credibility and
professional integrity. In fact, it has set an unprecedented example of
submitting to the rule of law no matter what might be at stake and who
might be affected. Appreciable, isnt it?
But the time has arrived for the nation to react and rebel against the
ruling elites incessant political atrocities and national mismanagement. It is
a moment to make enlightened, rational, philosophical and ethical-moral
judgments in regards to national politics, and set a constructive discourse for
the countrys political renaissance and reform in its political culture. It is
time for a revolution to be instigated by the masses themselves. It is a
moment for deliberation, re-awakening of national consciousness,
transformational change and political action to get rid of the entire
incumbent political elite, its reactionary, regressive and backwards
leadership, and the contemporary implicit planning to subjugate this nation
to another era of vested interests controlled regimes.
What Pakistan needs today is a Tahrir Square political movement of
its own - political action on a scale that should rock the very foundations of
the present-day political structure and bring it to its final demise. Enough is
enough its political actors and its theatrics should no longer be tolerated.
We still have time to save ourselves!
A Pakistani columnist on a recent TV talk show predicted a violent,
chaotic and formless political disorder in the country within the coming
months The question is: must we wait for the chaos to engulf us in its
flames and fires, and destroy us from within? Can we not find alternative
solutions to our national predicaments? Do we not have other options to save
ourselves from ourselves? Are the masses so powerless, so timid, so

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apathetic as to tolerate their own destruction at the hands of a few? Or are

we waiting for a messiah to liberate us from ourselves?
Let me share my own considered political judgment on the subject:
celestial interventions never happen in the affairs of nations when people
choose to remain indifferent to their own plights, and decide not to change
and challenge their own destinies. That is the law of nature and the
fundamental aspect of this view is the need to make ethical and moral
judgments in ones own personal and political conduct. Are we doing so?
The void has to be filled. The question is: who will fill this void
Todays Pakistan remains guide-less, radar-less, direction-less, pointless driven to this state by those who, in fact, are politically irrelevant to
the nations needs, ideologically insolvent, morally and ethically bankrupt,
and absolutely indifferent to the need for making a peoples welfare state.
Let it be a reminder: The nations are born in the hearts of the poets; they
prosper and die in the hands of the politicians (Dr Allama Iqbal). (Dr
Haider Mehdi, TheNation 12th June)
The CJ must stay: The bombshell that his counsel had warned the
nation Malik Riaz would drop appeared in the form of serious insinuations
against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry when he addressed a press
conference at Islamabad on Tuesday, after his first appearance before the
Supreme Court in the case of Arsalan Iftikhar. However, when the journalists
assembled there raised questions about his observations that had been
phrased as somewhat rhetorical questions, he refused to answer them,
insisting that he was not responsible for doing so; he had said all he wanted
to say. Malik Riaz threatened to hold another press conference later to reveal
still more incriminating evidence that would jolt the entire nation, alluding
that it would also be directed against the CJ. Strangely, he insisted that he
had great respect for him and the judiciary, acknowledging that despite all
the favours he had done to Arsalan on his assurance of getting the court
cases against him discharged, he did not get any relief.
The three insinuations Malik Riaz made were: the CJ must tell the
nation how many meetings took place between him and Malik Riaz in the
darkness of night and was Arsalan present on several of these occasions;
were there meetings in the house of Ahmad Khalil and was there a sitting
judge also present on one such occasion; and since when the CJ knew about
the facts of Arsalans case. Though Malik Riaz did not answer media
questions, analysts have come forward with their comments, which, they
claimed, were based on what they had learnt direct from Malik Riaz. Malik

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Riaz was calling on the CJ to assure him of restoring the deposed judiciary,
including him, if only he promised not to take up the NRO issue. This
request the CJ consistently turned down. But now Malik Riaz was trying to
give it another angle, as if the CJ was meeting him for getting some favours
from Malik Riaz. Secondly, Ahmad Khalil and Arsalan Iftikhar were best
friends and it was upon insistence of Ahmad Khalil that Arsalan persuaded
his father to attend a small Eid party in his house but quietly a little later the
President and the Prime Minister also turned up. Earlier, Malik Riazs
evidence of 33-pages was presented before the court, alleging that Arsalan
received favours, in the form of trips abroad and cash, to the extent over
Rs342.5 million to have the cases against him dropped.
The attempts to defame the Chief Justice, using the accusations
against his son, are in order to pressure him into resigning. This, when he is
doing a remarkable job in laying bare before the world the grievous wrongs
the various institutions of the government and others in society are doing to
the nation and is making every effort to set things right. The accusers must
be held accountable before the law. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry must stay in office. As for his son and Malik Riaz, let the law take
what course it must and those in the wrong accorded the proper punishment.
(Editorial, TheNation 13th June)
The Malik bomb: The prediction of his lawyer that Malik Riaz
would detonate some bombs in the Arsalan Chaudhry case has now come
true. The main character of the case, the owner of Bahria Town, has
implicated Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in the
case and asked him some questions in a press conference. The questions
were not asked in his sworn affidavit submitted in the apex court earlier in
the day. Malik Riaz claimed that he had held several midnight meetings with
the chief justice in what was apparently an insinuation that he had discussed
the Arsalan matter with him for reaching some compromise. But this point
was promptly answered by the Supreme Court registrar, who said some
meetings were held before Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was restored. So the
question that the Arsalan case was discussed between Malik and the CJ does
not arise. In his press conference, Malik Riaz also asked the CJ to tell the
nation when he came to know about the Arsalan case. While no official
comment is yet available on this point, leading lawyer Barrister Aitzaz
Ahsan has said that some time ago he had discussed this matter with the
chief justice, but Aitzaz has stated that in his view the CJ had not seen any
documents of evidence against his son. The third point raised by Malik Riaz
pertains to alleged meetings between the CJ and the prime minister at the
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home of a go-between. That matter is still vague and needs clarifications

from all sides.
The Arsalan-Malik Riaz case, which started off on the social media
and went to the Supreme Court as a suo motu case after being picked up by
the mainstream media, has now overwhelmed the political sphere and the
media scene in the country. It has become a potential time bomb which is
ticking while many more details wait to be revealed; and many big boys in
the judiciary, business community, media and legal fraternity could get badly
burnt. What is apparent is that Malik Riaz has admitted that he paid Dr
Arsalan millions of rupees in the hope that he would get some relief in his
cases in the Supreme Court. This could be a double-edged sword. It appears
to be an incriminating statement but Malik Riaz claims he was blackmailed
and was a hostage in the hands of Dr Arsalan, whom he called the don
controlling the judiciary. This is a very serious allegation. Malik Riaz has
also held back several other facts or claims which he says will be revealed
later. Thus he is holding some more cards anticipating further developments.
This could also be seen by some as a threat to the other side or an attempt to
blackmail, as some legal analysts have said in their comments. Whatever
more is to come, the issue has blown into a major crisis and a clash of
personalities that could turn into a clash of institutions as Malik Riaz has
also sucked in the prime minister and the president in his statements. A fullfledged, completely independent and high-powered probe commission is
thus immediately needed to control this dragon before it damages national
institutions beyond repair. (Editorial, The News 13th June)
The empire strikes back: In a 2008 meeting that has come to
symbolize Riazs political clout, it was he who brought the Quran in the
room so that Zardari could swear not to renege on his promises to Nawaz.
Riaz is the man in whose private jet Ishratul Ebad flew back to Pakistan
from Dubai after the MQM patched things up with the PPP last year. He is
the unlikely hero who helped forge the unlikely alliance between the PML-Q
and the PPP, while at the same time remaining dear to one of Ch Shujaats
pet hates: Nawaz Sharif. It is no secret that Shahbazs Aashiana Housing
Scheme would not have been possible but for Riaz and that he is such a
darling of the Sharifs that they wont even let Ch Nisar touch him not even
while Riaz is pouring money on the landed Khokhars to ensure their victory
against the opposition leader. And yes, Riaz is also the sovereign of an
empire powered by close ties to the military, and who counts by the
admission of his own staff officer ex air force commanders, naval officers
and former DGs of the ISI and ISPR among his humble servants.
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So thats all the major status quo parties, tucked up in Riazs pocket.
And on the other side stands the chief justice who has subjected all
these parties, usually shielded from accountability by their wealth, power
and influence, to uncharacteristic scrutiny. Even Nawaz, who may be willing
to embrace a transformative court while in opposition, knows he couldnt
live a single day in power under such an activist court headed by such an
activist CJ.
Not so hard to imagine, then, why Malik Riaz, and his line-up of
stipendiary would want to see the CJs back. Indeed, why assume Riaz
meant to influence the judicial process only in his own favour? Wouldnt it
be worth it for the others to risk supporting him from an arms length if he
doesnt succeed, they dont get burnt but if he does succeed, everyone shares
in the dividends?
According to the first accounts of his self-incriminating testimony in
court, Riaz has now openly claimed that Arsalan extorted and blackmailed
him while failing to deliver on getting relief for Bahria Town from the SC
And the final question: why did Riaz decide to go frontal? Because Plan A
failed and Plan B would have taken too long to execute. Consider. Sharing
evidence with select journalists who would get the whispers across to the
CJ did not have the desired effect of making the chief panic, back off and
begin to toe the line. Instead, the CJ took suo motu, then recused himself
from the bench and left behind two no-mercy judges to hear the case.
Which called for Plan B: slow slicing; the lingering death. Throw
some crumbs into the marketplace of ideas; let them gently toast under the
heat of public scrutiny; throw a few more; wait. Let the crumbs ignite wait
for them to become something more. The whisperings about Arsalans
alleged corruption; the questions about how it was possible for the father not
to have known; the doubts about how a man who didnt see what was going
on in his own house could claim to be a watchdog against widespread
injustices let it all burn into something much bigger: a public demand for
the CJs resignation, perhaps?
The superior judiciarys upper hand its sense of propriety and moral
uprightness as perceived by the public may have already been
compromised and even those who have always supported the judiciary have
been left flirting with the idea that, perhaps, the top judge could also be
wrong.

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Now, in a final stroke, Riazs frontal attack has left the CJ twisting in
the wind, injecting the last burst of fuel into a bushfire that was already
sweltering angrily.
So, while it will suit Malik Riaz and Co to drag on this mess for as
long as possible, the only way the SC can restore its honour is to put
Bahriagate on a fast track in which justice is seen to be done. At the heart
of his case is the charge that Riaz uses his wealth to exert political influence,
which he in turn uses as the treadle to further expand his business interests.
And this has always seemed like a claim so commonsensical that it never
needed proving except now it does. And thats what the court has to do,
especially as the wheels of political intrigue go choo-chooing away.
According to a top PM aide, imagine if, as speculated, the PM resigns
after the passage of the budget in July to avoid letting his own controversial
status sully the august house and then the CJs detractors begin to push the
idea that the top judge too should follow the moral example of the prime
minister and resign to save his institution from infamy?
All speculation, but look at history: we all remember the split
engineered in the superior judiciary during Sajjad Ali Shahs days... But the
CJs detractors may be miscalculating again. For who can deny how
fundamentally changed the SC of today is, having become an institution that
may well be plagued by internal differences but where there is unanimity on
the fact that no third force will be allowed to touch the symbol of judicial
independence?
But even more importantly, the detractors may be overlooking that
they are dealing with a changed Pakistan altogether: one where a media that
spits out its own dark secrets and a society increasingly aware of the ugly
nature of power has made it so much harder to get away with running a
mighty machine of corrupting political influence whether as an army
officer, a media mogul or a real estate tycoon.
Thats the optimistic explanation, of course and the only way to
make sure this is how things actually turn out in the end is to ensure that
when the smoke clears from the battlefield and the casualties are counted,
the Supreme Court is not among them. (Mehreen Zahra-Malik, The News
13th June)
Miracle: Only a miracle can save the chief justice. The entire
Pakistani society is structured to benefit the elite, both civil and military.

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Every institution on the face of this country that the elite have erected
is programmed to extract resources from the masses for the benefit of the
elite.
Pakistan is poor not because 60 percent of Pakistan is infertile.
Pakistan is poor not because our work ethics or our cultural attributes are a
hurdle to peace and prosperity.
Pakistan is poor not because our leaders are unaware of the right
policy mix that would lead to widespread prosperity.
Pakistan is poor because our leaders are greedy, selfish and ignorant
of history. This is what I learned from Daron Acemoglu, a TurkishAmerican MIT economist who is among the ten most-cited economists, and
James Robinson, Harvards ace political scientist, through their joint venture
Why nations fail: the origins of power, prosperity and poverty.
Egypt, the book states, is poor precisely because it has been ruled by
narrow elite that have organized society for their own benefit at the expense
of the vast mass of people. Political power has been narrowly concentrated,
and has been used to create great wealth for those who possess it, such as the
$70 billion fortune apparently accumulated by ex-president Mubarak. The
losers have been the Egyptian people, as they only too well understand.
Who will save the CJ from powerful, powerful interests who exert
power in an abusive fashion? According to Why nations fail, The
historical evidence is overwhelming. Many societies have done well for a
while until powerful people get out of hand. This is an easy pattern to see
at a distance and in other cultures. It is typically much harder to recognize
when your own society has an elite less subject to effective constraints and
more able to exert power in an abusive fashion.
Our leaders know full well how to turn Pakistan into a welfare state
but some governments get it wrong on purpose. Amid weak and
accommodating institutions, there is little to discourage a leader from
looting. Such environments channel societys output towards a parasitic
elite, discouraging investment and innovation.
The CJ cannot be allowed to discourage leaders from looting. The
CJ cannot be allowed to stand between the predatory elite and their prey. It is
in the interest of the elite that Pakistan continues with weak,
accommodating institutions.
Only a miracle can save the CJ but in order to be a realist you must
believe in miracles. (Dr Farrukh Saleem, The News 13th June)
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Malik Riaz, the mindset, now after chief justice: In a frustrated

effort to save his wealth and to serve the vested interest of his masters in the
civilian government and the establishment, Malik Riaz has launched a fullscale attack against Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. He admits that he
bribed the wavering son of the CJ Now he is all out to blackmail the chief
justice and hence raised three questions, containing half-truths but clearly
meant to malign the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Malik sahib, why did you not
raise these questions one, two or three years back? Why now?
He claims to have great love for Pakistan and its people but practically
he has laid the mines to destroy and destruct the only credible and propeople institution - judiciary - left in the country. He is out to deprive the
people of Pakistan of their only hope because the present Supreme Court is
not deciding his cases as per his wishes.
Malik Riaz Hussain might have succeeded in trapping Arsalan Iftikhar
but admits that the CJ or the Supreme Court did not favour him in any
manner In a country where the executive is involved in corruption and
does not feel shame in protecting the corrupt while the anti-corruption state
institutions like the Federal Investigation Agency and the National
Accountability Bureau are tamed in favour of the corrupt and tainted rulers
there is one institution, the Supreme Court, which has taken a stand against
corruption, injustices and brutalities of police, intelligence agencies and the
executive.
Malik Riaz should have praised the Chief Justice for not having been
purchased by any one, but why should he? He is in the habit buying
everyone. He has nine generals though retired serving under him, he is a de
facto ruler of Islamabad, he has partnership with army in the housing
business and has enormous influence in the media. He could not buy the
Chief Justice and here lies the problem for the Riaz Malik mindset.
Since 2009 the SC has taken up cases of corruption involving Rs400
billion and has saved tens of billions of the national exchequer, which had
almost gone into the pockets of the powerful and the mighty This figure is
apart from NRO cases that involve another Rs175 billion in looted money...
He is known as the king maker; there is a long list of ministers,
members of the civilian and military bureaucracy, politicians and even media
men considering him as their godfather; he has his choice men appointed at
every position that matters for him including chairman NAB; he is the best
friend of top government leadership and also enjoys excellent relations with

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the top leadership of other political parties. Alas, he could not tolerate one
dissenting voice. (Ansar Abbasi, The News 13th June)
The great game: The merits of this particular case notwithstanding,
the dismal fact remains that after a sustained campaign against the Pakistani
Army, a campaign now fully exposed by the Memogate Commission verdict,
the other institution that had the trust and respect of Pakistans entire
citizenry is now being targeted, and in the process the reputation of our
revered chief justice is being sullied.
Everyone knows real-estate tycoon Malik Riaz has excellent
connections, and not only among the political and military elite. He is also
known to be a close confidante and associate of President Asif Ali Zardari.
That the facts of the case have become undistinguishable from fiction is not
surprising, and conspiracy theories abound. A lot of expert opinion is being
expressed by anyone and everyone who can get within speaking distance of
a reporters microphone or can appear as a guest on any one of the many
television talk shows.
There are three players in this particular case Vested interests are
calling for the chief justice to resign; this is unacceptable and highly unfair.
No one should be railroaded from office on the basis of evidence not directly
connected to him. On the other hand, if it is proven that Arsalan Iftikhar is
guilty, the law should be allowed to take its course without any concession.
In any case, Malik Riaz is now on record that he has been using bribery as a
weapon. And as for blackmail, for what purpose and why was he diligently
maintaining receipts, records of credit cards and making videos?
Malik Riaz is not just anybody. He is a man who has energized the
housing industry in Pakistan Many people tend to forget how business is
done in Pakistan Because of the number of cases against the government,
and the unconcealed glee in PPP circles at the chief justices discomfort,
there is a suspicion that this could have been a deliberate frame-up in which
a lot of people were involved. Arsalan was the chief justices Achilles heel,
and those baying for his blood could have focused on the weak point. When
Arsalan was found not delivering the goods, the pressure was forcemultiplied. Malik Riaz claims he was being blackmailed, by the look of it; it
is the other way round!
The journalist community has taken a beating from this sordid affair
and has come out looking quite ragged Those showing biased or vested
interest can be suspected of accepting money or accepting graft in any other
form. In the process this not only harms the entire media community, but
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also the people of Pakistan by trying to hide the truth and promoting a paidfor agenda. One good thing that can come out of this episode, if it is allowed
to come to its logical conclusion, is that we will know without any shadow
of doubt who the black sheep are among us.
Instead of indulging in a blame game, it is time to do some real
damage control. Once and for all here is an opportunity to uncover the
machinations of whoever is pulling the strings. Previously the army was the
target of all the venom, and now it is the turn of the Supreme Court. The
Supreme Court must hand over the investigation of this case to a judicial
commission headed by a senior judge in the same manner as was done in the
Memogate affair. To keep the process transparent, the members of this
commission must be appointed by the senior-most judge after the chief
justice. This commission should be mandated to probe the entire affair and
give its findings within a very short term. Based on the findings, the matter
can proceed ahead.
In the meantime we have been reminded yet again of one thing:
money talks in Pakistan! (Ikram Sehgal, The News 14th June)
The only way: The historian Charles Beard once said that a
lifetimes reflection on history has taught him four things. When darkness
comes, the stars begin to shine; the bees that rob the flowers provide the
honey; whom God wishes to destroy him first makes mad, and the mills of
God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small. This sums up the
situation in Pakistan today. Truth is on the march. Mighty trees are falling.
The storm raging outside shows no sign of abating.
Where do we stand today? Pakistan has a nuclear bomb in one hand
and a beggars bowl in the other. All the pillars of state, with the exception
of the Supreme Court and the media, are dysfunctional. The President, the
symbol of the unity of the federation, is mired in corruption. Parliament, the
so-called embodiment of the will of the people, is fake. Under an imbecile,
corrupt and feeble government, like the one we have today, there is but one
step from discontent to revolution
Otto von Bismarck once said that political genius entailed hearing the
hoof-beat of history, then rising to catch the galloping horseman by the
coattails. History offers opportunity. Timing is the essence of politics. Imran
is an acknowledged leader of a mainstream political party and has a decisive
role to play in the fast evolving situation in the country. People expect him to
provide leadership. The voice of history beckons him. He must listen to the
street.
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He must, in the words of Chairman Mao, seize the moment. He must

seize the hour, he must respond to the challenge. He must identify himself
with the leaderless, rudderless protestors who feel abandoned by the political
parties in their hour of greatest need
Our country is in grave danger Today we are engaged in a great
battle. The lines are drawn. The issues are clear. Those who are not with the
people are against them. It is as simple as that. The time to hesitate is
through. Now or never is the moment when salvation from corrupt rule is
possible. Too long have we been passive spectators of events. There is a
moment in engagement, Napoleon once said, when the least manoeuvre is
decisive and gives victory. It is a one drop of water which makes the vessel
run over. For us that moment has come
Our cupboard is bare. This only antidote to this debilitating situation
is to throw out this corrupt government and give the people a chance to elect
their representatives with a fresh mandate. Everybody knows this is the only
effective answer.
The wrong answer is to allow this corrupt government to go on
plunging towards the abyss. The only way to ensure victory is to wield the
weapon which has brought the anti-Zardari movement thus far: massive
demonstrations, rallies and marches all over the country. (Roedad Khan,
The News 14th June)
A blow to the system: The Arsalan case: Aside from the details, the
case is a new low for Pakistans failed politics. This is new evidence proving
that a failed and unstable system and immature players are dealing a blow to
Pakistans internal stability.
Can the military be involved? Its highly unlikely considering the
army chiefs vows to stay away from politics, a promise he has so far kept.
The list of beneficiaries is long. What the case really demonstrates is that
Pakistani politics require a ruthless purge.
Our homeland cant progress without cleaning up the system. Thats
the lesson of the past two decades. Our politics are focused on destruction
more than building. There are some tough questions for our media too.
The relationship between a real estate tycoon and top journalists is
disturbing. The rise and power of the Bahria Town enterprise is also
something that does not bode well for the Pakistani state. We first saw
political parties challenging the state and now private companies, such as the

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Bahria Town, are doing the same. Is it in the interest of the country?
(Ahmed Quraishi, The News 14th June)
All sorts of ugly: At this mind-boggling and bizarre phase in the
countrys history when the highest court in the land struggles to save its
reputation from scandal inflicted by the absolutely criminal stupidity, if not
something more grave, of one Dr Arsalan, Attorney-General Irfan Qadir took
full advantage of the opportunity to deliver a spirited performance.
Appearing before the Supreme Court on Thursday in the case questioning
the Speakers ruling in not forwarding the Prime Ministers disqualification
reference to the Election Commission, he set aside all rules and principles of
decency. His words were so unguarded; his questions of the court so
impertinently and rudely phrased and last, but not least, his gesture to the
honourable bench so base and vulgar, that he detracted all attention from the
case that was being heard. As the chief law official of the country he was
supposed to be particularly mindful of the decorum of the court, but he went
to the extent of making vulgar gestures, which angered the lawyers present
in the room
This must be the first instance in legal history that the top law officer
of a government has created such an ugly scene in the highest court of the
country. Yet, the attempt to disgrace and defame the court reflects the
attitude that one is witness to in Arsalan Iftikhars case that is casting its
shadows over the dignity and honour of the judiciary. The unforgivable
theatrical behaviour of the Attorney-General cannot as well be dissociated
from the defiance of judicial verdicts by no less a person than the Chief
Executive of the country. Things are literally going out of hand where even
the judiciary is not being spared and systematically maligned. It is time for
the nation to set aside our differences and stand up to restore its dignity and
honour. (Editorial, The Nation 15th Jun)
Disarray: The squabbles between the Supreme Court and
government that we have been seeing for many months now appear to be
taking on a more dangerous form. They might develop into full-fledged fist
fights which could cause great damage and may need intervention of some
kind. The latest indication of this comes in the report that the government is
preparing to use Malik Riaz and his diatribe against the court as a means to
move a reference against the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Despite the denial of
law ministry officials and others in government, sources say a document in
this regard has in fact already been prepared against Chief Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry the man the government sees as the main
impediment in its various plans. The president and the prime minister are
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said to have met to discuss the matter of a reference and the ongoing Arsalan
Iftikhar case is said to be seen by the governments legal advisers as possibly
providing fodder for this.
There are also other developments. In the court room on Thursday,
during the hearing of the case relating to the National Assemblys speakers
ruling the contempt reference against PM Gilani, the attorney general used
extremely rude language in referring to the Supreme Court and created quite
a scene. The question now is how much contempt the court will endure.
How much of it can be afforded without throwing the Constitution into
disarray and totally messing up the balance between institutions that is vital
to the survival of any democracy? The executive does not appear to realize
that by attempting to harm the court it would in fact be delivering a terrible
blow to the democratic system itself and all that it stands for. Senior lawyers
are reported to be already planning a defence of the CJP. Clearly they expect
an assault on him to be launched. Things are moving far too fast for comfort.
New developments could unfold at any stage. But amidst all this chaos we
must hold on to the most basic principles. It is essential that each institution
stay within the boundaries laid out for it within the Supreme Law of the
land. Otherwise we can only expect deeper trouble to ahead and more
problems to develop within a setup which too often appears to be on the
brink of collapse in any case. (Editorial, The News 15th June)
The get-CJ-by-July strategy: Well get your chief justice by July,
max, he leaned over and whispered in my ear. We were both at a conference,
waiting to take our places on the stage. He was one of the speakers on a
panel of which I was the moderator. The time between panels presented the
opportunity to share important information.
The original plan, he told me, was to hit the chief justice while he
was abroad receiving an award in London; but the Malik Riaz disclosures
were delayed on the ill-advise of a silver-haired top legal aide of the
government a newly re-discovered party asset, to borrow someones
words. The top lawyer, according to my fellow speaker at the conference,
had advised the unleashing of the corruption-charges avalanche when the CJ
got back in the country.
Why; I asked? A resigned shrug of shoulders and rolling of the eyes
was the only response I got. So what happens now was my next question.
We will make his continuity simply unviable for the continuity of the
institution itself, he said with a knowing smile. But why did Malik Riaz
suddenly start talking to so many senior journalists in what appeared to be

1288

an obvious and desperate bid for the Arsalan affair to become shoptalk? He
turned, looked me straight in the eye and said, You wanted us to wait till the
court had read the last rites of the PM in the conviction case? Something
bigger had to occur before that. And then we were both called to the stage.
This happened mid-week.
The contours of the get-CJ-by-July strategy became evident the day
after, within hours of my stage-side discourse, and right in the well of
courtroom 1. In what was clearly a preplanned move, Attorney General Irfan
Qadir stood up at one point and addressed the bench, led by Chief Justice
Iftikhar, in an extremely rude and provocative manner. He brashly accused
the court of rushing through the case and dismissively asked the CJ to recuse
himself from hearing the prime ministers conviction case review. And then,
insisting that the seven-member bench that delivered the guilty verdict
against the prime minister had immediately fled the courtroom, he shocked
the packed courtroom by gesticulating in a manner known to every street
urchin of Pakistan.
Understandably, the AG has his personal bias against the CJ who cost
him his illegal continuation in the office of Chief Prosecutor NAB, but
Qadirs behavior was still shameful. However, there was a clear method to
the AGs madness. The plan was simple: force the bench to react and
respond in the same coin a reaction that would have been presented as
more evidence, a footnote perhaps, of conduct unbecoming of a judge in
some future presidential reference.
But the bench saw through the scheme and responded with utmost
restraint with only Justice Khwaja advising the AG to conduct himself
properly. For how long such restraint will last, is the real question?
I am fond of my whispering friend on a personal level and though
his politics may be problematic, his access to the epicenter of political
maneuvering and intrigue in the capital is certain. He knows what he was
talking about and isnt someone whose utterances can be ignored as typical
Islamabad conspiracy-theorizing. Another gentleman also in the know of
things had another interesting take to share on the Arsalan Iftikhar saga.
According to him, the entire issue would have been outed even if Arsalan
had supposedly delivered on his commitment and Bahria Town had been
blessed with favourable court verdicts. In such an eventuality, the favourable
verdicts would have been presented as being irrefutable evidence of a
criminal collusion between an erring son and his collaborating father.
Unfortunately, for the CJ-slayers, no incriminating favourable verdicts

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were handed down to be exploited as proof of a successfully-concluded

criminal arrangement.
The first setback came when instead of cowering into a corner or
submitting to the will of Malik Riaz & Co, the CJ took the bull by the horns
and brought his own son and his accuser in the dock. The second blow was
struck by the two-member bench on Thursday when it referred the case to
the government for thorough probe and action against Arsalan, Malik Riaz
and Ahmed Khalil. The ball to investigate and convict is now in the
governments court. Surely that was not a part of any Plan A, B or C.
The fundamental question at the heart of the Malik Riaz explosion
remains unanswered to date: why would a super rich businessman, a multi
billionaire in dollar terms, put his entire empire and his own future at risk for
a paltry Rs340 million? Especially when only recently the same man doled
away Rs140million to secure the release of a Pakistani sailor from Somali
sea pirates? He claims to have donated Rs850million to subsidize Shahbaz
Sharifs Ashiana housing scheme for the under privileged. In his high roller
power games, giving away hundreds of millions of rupees to politicians,
generals, bureaucrats and dirty journalists is business as usual for him. So
why the fuss over a measly Rs340m? He is man who has made his billions
by buying the powerful and bullying the weak and has never alienated
centres of power and influence. Looking at his past, his latest behavior just
doesnt add up unless one configures the picture to the much larger than that
painted by the self-proclaimed victim, Malik Riaz.
The script may have been read by Mailk Riaz but he is definitely not
the sole author. He has to be part of a bigger conspiracy and must have been
given impregnable guarantees that no harm would come to his person, or
personal fortunes for throwing himself in front of the judicial juggernaut.
This raises another question: What do you offer a man who already has
everything?
How about public office? For a man of Malik Riazs humble
beginnings, and who has controlled the political scene from behind the
curtain for over a decade, what could be more desirable than to be occupying
the very high offices that he has so diligently served and serviced? Its a
fact that he had been assured the governorship of Punjab, both by Zaradri
and Nawaz, in recognition of his mediatory services during their 2008
parlays. Indeed, Malik sahib often makes references to late governor, Nawab
of Kalabagh, and never hides his desire to walk in Nawab sahibs
footsteps.

1290

Unfortunately, Nawaz and Zardari fell apart and so did Maliks

dreams of being Punjabs Laat Sahib. Second best alternative: interim prime
minister? Fantastical as it may sound, you can never blame someone for
being overtly ambitious. Clearly the gentleman has big plans for the future
and the controversial mode of his entry notwithstanding, he seems to be
moving from being a king maker to a king of sorts himself. And what better
beginning than slaying a giant like CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry?
For all practical purpose, public office may forever remain a pipe
dream for an individual who had the audacity to justify, in a televised
interview, that he offered bribes and illegal gratifications to conduct routine
business in Pakistan. That he has been intelligently used is now quite
obvious and its only a matter of time before the real players get exposed.
There is always a time to cut losses and quit and the sooner the
executive and the intelligence combine realize this the better. About 60
judges of the superior court quit when Gen Musharraf sacked Justice
Iftikhar. In the event of an attempted repeat of the same stupidity, the
government will not be able to find a single sitting judge in any of the high
courts and the Supreme Court to abandon the CJ and cross over the dirty
line. Lets face it, the crude attempt to malign the CJ is already showing signs
of failure, and showing itself detrimental to the powers that be. (Mohammad
Malick, The News 15th June)
Et tu Brute? Whatever opinion judges, high or low, may like to
entertain of themselves, most Pakistanis look cynically at the judiciary.
Judicial failings, to put it no stronger than that, are the stuff of popular
legend. So if these accusations had been about the son of any other judge
most people would have just shrugged their shoulders and moved on. But
Arsalan Iftikhar living it up at the expense of the guy we have for the sake of
argument dubbed the shadiest character this side of Suez? This is the real
shocker. Et tu Brute?
Are we in the least bit surprised by President Zardaris reputation,
Pervaiz Elahis son, Moonis Elahi, caught in a land scam, the prime
ministers sons and other members of his family named in corruption
scandals, the money-laundering exploits of political leaderships past and
present? No we are not. But Justice Chaudhrys son in the same boat, caught
in the same hamam? It takes a stiff shot of brandy to swallow this one.
For when you hear such a thing you are apt to just raise your hands
and ask what next? Far from being titillated by Malik Riazs accusations, I
felt depressed. I can say the same for many of my friends. Not that Justice
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Chaudhry is without his shortcomings. I think he has quite a few. Even so,
he was a different chief justice, the Supreme Court under him the nearest
thing to a populist court in Pakistan. And because he stood up to Gen
Musharraf when there was darkness all around, so many of us, even while
aware of his failings, considered him our hero.
So despite the fact that he, like other judges, was baptized in the
waters of Musharrafs Provisional Constitutional Order, and was part of the
benches which validated the generals usurpation of power, we closed our
eyes to this past because we were desperate to believe in the future.
It was not just that we suspended judgment. We made a nearKhomeini out of the CJ and persuaded ourselves that a new dawn had
arisen And now to see the son wallowing in Malik Riazs cesspool, at one
with the sharks and the octopuses...it is enough to give anyone a headache.
Ah, but My Lord says he knew nothing. Coming from the highest
judge of the land, our hero no less, such a statement has to be taken at face
value A father, moreover, sitting constantly in moral judgment over others,
inveighing against corruption and wrongdoing in high places, delivering
mighty verdicts, not afraid to hold the highest in the land to account, not
afraid to look into the shadows and poke with a rough stick institutions
hitherto treated as the holiest of cows. For such a one especially charity
should have begun at home
True, Arsalans sins cannot be visited upon the father. But this is a bit
like the Abbottabad operation. Osama bin Ladens prolonged presence on
Pakistani soil was certainly no proof of our complicity but it did raise
questions about the competence of our vaunted intelligence agencies. The
father keeping an eagle eye over everything else but oblivious to the
shenanigans so close to him...this also raises some uncomfortable questions.
It is not easy to admit this but Malik Riaz is being at least partially
honest in this affair. He is not saying that the money gifted to Arsalan was
for charity or the Salvation Army. He is frankly admitting to trying to bribe
him in expectation of favours in return. This is self-incriminating and could
boomerang on him. Arsalan, on the other hand, is protesting innocence. The
CJ is pleading ignorance.
Others smell a conspiracy which, for all we know, may be true. The
CJ has stepped on too many powerful toes and it stands to reason that he
would have powerful enemies. But just consider: with the ammo that
Arsalans escapades have provided them, would those enemies have missed
their opportunity when it came their way? We are talking of power-brokers
1292

not saints. In a game of power the rules do not vary: favour for favour or an
eye for an eye and woe betide the innocent soul who forgets this.
The SC is under attack. No question about it. But its defence is also in
its hands. The clouds should lift if it only ensures that the dice are not loaded
against anyone and that justice is seen to be done. Above all, the CJ must
distance himself from all Bahria Town cases. Else impartiality will become
all that harder to establish. (Ayaz Amir, The News 15th June)
The Chief Justices son: It must be noted that the Chief Justice has
not been doing anything off his own bat. He has the support of the majority
of the legal community, whether lawyers or judges. At a crunch like this, this
support matters more than that of the ordinary populace, which he has
because of the judicial activism that the Supreme Court has shown.
Whether any proof is even produced of Chief Justice Chaudhrys own
involvement, which seems highly unlikely considering that Malik Riaz has
not won any of the cases before the Supreme Court, the damage has been
done. The high moral ground of the Chief Justice, which he has enjoyed ever
since President Musharraf dismissed him, has been eroded. If nothing else,
PPP supporters will make sure of that.
Already, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has mentioned one of his
sons, with the Supreme Court having taken notice of both. Though it is not
likely that a parent would not be aware of how was his son, a doctor of 32,
doing in his chosen field (not medicine), it is possible for a Supreme Court
judge who had nightmares about this very situation: getting involved in his
sons business dealings.
However, the Chief Justice has not taken refuge in any sort of
obfuscation. He has summoned not just his own son, but also Malik Riaz,
who must have thought he had bought his way out of such inconveniences as
court appearances. He seemed to want it all out in the open, where his own
fraternity, which supported him when he had been deposed, could see and do
what they did best: judge.
But the bringing into the open would serve another purpose. The
President gets a chance to clear himself of being behind the charges as does
the military, which has not been given special treatment by the Supreme
Court, and has come in for criticism in the missing persons cases. The legal
fraternity suspects these two of being behind the campaign. There is some
weight to this, because Malik Riaz has been linked to both, while both also
resent the Chief Justices attempts to impose the rule of law.

1293

What Arsalan Iftikhar is accused of, is presumably someones

conception of how a Chief Justices son should behave, and is presumably
based on how previous Chief Justices sons are supposed to have. Whether
this is true or not, Chief Justice Chaudhry did try to change that perception,
make judges adjudicators rather than upholders of the status quo.
To challenge it, the tools he used were the Constitution and his own
probity. The Constitution is in the hands of Parliament, and what has
happened to his own probity, he has seen. His entire lifes earning, his
repute, has been shown as subject to his own sons caprices. There is an
irony at work somewhere here.
The principles the Chief Justice upholds are imported from the West,
but the responsibility ascribed to him for the actions of an adult son are not;
they are very Eastern. Whatever the family tragedy, the national can only be
averted by a fact-finding commission. Only when the nation is told of the
reality will any recovery be possible. (M A Niazi, The Nation 15th June)
In the dock: The scandal involving Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, the Chief
Justices son, may not have enabled real-estate tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain to
have forced Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry from office, but the
interview he gave to a private TV channel provoked a controversy about the
media. The controversy brewed up when the remarks the two TV talk show
hosts made off the air, were put on the Internet. This was followed by the
dispatch, again over the social media, of alleged details of payments, in
money and plots in Malik Riazs Bahria Town, by Malik Riaz to various
prominent members of the electronic media. Although the list has been
labeled fake by Bahria Town authorities, and certain names on it are indeed
respected and professional journalists, rumours persist that whether this
particular list is correct or not, there is dubious funding being pumped in.
Put together, it seems that the case has put the spotlight on the
electronic media, and where it raised questions about judicial probity it has
also raised about the media. A superficial view of the situation would
indicate that interviews, including TV interviews, cannot be believed, and
have been tightly controlled, not by the interviewer, or the programme
producer, but the interview subject. This is an unfortunate situation, for it
means that public confidence will be shattered and genuine interviews, by
genuine interviewers, will be dismissed as yet another sham where the
interviewee controls the strings. Ever since electronic media proliferated, it
has been accorded the respect the print media has earned against dictatorial
regimes of the past, and its talk show anchors have been accorded great

1294

belief by their viewers. This power has been magnified by the fact that
Pakistan is a country with low literacy, and thus has limited readership,
compared to viewer-ship.
One of the most immediate consequences must be for TV channel
owners to do some soul searching. Electronic media is still at the stage
where its leading stars have not risen from within, but have to be brought in.
Also, channel owners need to ask themselves if they want hosts or producers
to misuse the power they have given them. However, before any aspersion is
cast, a serious and credible investigation is needed, into who if anyone
benefited from Malik Riazs largesse. (Editorial, TheNation 16th June)
Another resurfacing of the M factor: The present case of Arsalan
Iftikhar and Malik Riaz has been so timed that it has managed to
overshadow all the other cases being heard by the Supreme Court. If the idea
was to walk the CJ into a corner and get his resignation, it has backfired. The
citizens, by and large, and the lawyers community as well have seen the
bigger conspiracy behind the whole idea and have decided to side with the
judiciary so that it stays in its role. When it was restored in 2009, the
independent judiciary gave us some heroes and it is our wish that the
interpreters of law remain steadfast and true to their chosen calling. It is our
wish that their name is not sullied and no allegations made against them.
They need to be on very strict guard to be able to protect themselves from
the likes of Malik Riaz who, and how the mind boggles, have traveled the
distance to become Thakurs from Thekeydars in not too big a chunk of time!
So much so that from being a kingmaker, he actually wants to become king!
Lack of education being the least hurdle!
The mould that we made of heroes in journalism too is melting in
front of our very eyes. Most of the anchors on electronic media, who each
tried to outdo the others in their Hardtalk style a la Tim Sebastian, need to
clear their names from the dubious list being circulated. The authenticity is
yet to be verified, but the list in circulation has the names of most of our
prominent talk show hosts and how they have received hefty sums of money
and plots and gifts from Malik Riaz of Bahria Town. Self-correction is the
route to be taken to get out of this mess. A song that comes to mind is the
one about a girl asking her beau to help in searching for her beautiful
earring, which has fallen. Our version would be as follows: Dhoondo
dhoondo rai media, Bherron mai bherr jo hai kaala! (Tallat Azim,
TheNation 16th June)

1295

Assault on the judiciary and media: Five significant developments

hit last Fridays newspapers. Each of these will cast shadows, in the days
and weeks to come, over how the country will steer itself out of the various
crises facing it First the Supreme Court judgment on the Arsalan-Malik
sensational case. The matter has been handed over to the government and
specifically to the Attorney General. The court particularly mentioned the
laws under which the three people named would be tried, that would include
Section 163 (illegal gratification using personal influence over a public
servant), Section 383 (extortion), and Section 415 and 420 (cheating) of the
Pakistan Penal Code, and Section 9 of the National Accountability Bureau.
One may well wonder how the present Attorney General will be
handling the matter. His behaviour in the court, casting aspersions on the
Supreme Court judges, has already evoked strong protests and condemnation
from various groups of lawyers. It may also be mentioned that, according to
a leading newspaper, he is said to have told reporters that the first option
might be asking Arsalan and Malik to go for a settlement themselves or enter
into a plea bargain by paying the money back under the NRO or a formal
corruption reference be moved. In other words, a way might be found to
quietly get the case settled or have it closed possibly in accordance with the
wishes of the bosses overseeing the matter. (The worst scenario would be
somehow to indirectly drag the Chief Justice into the case in his capacity as
a father).
The court recognizes the historic importance of the case and how it
might affect the working of the higher judiciary in the future. This is how the
judges put it: Today, we as a nation stand at what is undeniably a fateful
crossroads in our historyif we fail in this (our) duty, we risk returning to
the period before March 9, 2007 The matter of public importance in this
case was the aspersion cast on the independence and integrity of the superior
judiciary in this country To put it simply, even a resourceful person such
as Malik Riaz has been forced to concede failure in his attempt to
compromise the integrity and independence of the countrys superior
judiciary despite the alleged payment of Rs340 million.
Now a word about the media. One has to recall how the story was
broken by the editor of a leading group of newspapers through the social
media (Facebook); and how suddenly all over Pakistan, the TV channels and
newspapers were abuzz with all sorts of revelations, including senior TV
anchors and journalists having had meetings with the real estate tycoon and
with talk shows making bizarre disclosures and sensational inferences.

1296

While the hands-on and prompt taking up of the suo motu case by the
CJ pre-empted a possible plan to damage and disable the higher judiciary,
the master operator went ahead with the ready cooperation of the media to
spill the beans, thickening the plot. Two of his bold initiatives pertain to his
unexpected press conference after his appearance before the Supreme Court
when with the Holy Quran in his hand he hurled loaded questions at the
Chief Justice and his repeated appearances at TV talk shows. The Supreme
Court has taken notice of these shenanigans on his part and, in particular, of
the insinuations during his talk to the journalists; it is presently questioning
him on the charge of contempt of court. His participation in the talk show at
a private channel has attracted a lot of attention where two anchors appeared
to have acted in a somewhat dubious manner. Caught by the camera during
breaks, they at times appeared to be in cahoots with the billionaire, while the
show was allowed to go on for two hours. Rightly has the Supreme Court
remarked: Without proper care and professional excellence even sincere
and honest journalists risk being used as tools in the hands of those who may
not be obedient to the laws and the Constitution of Pakistan.
It is worth taking note of the fact that the two national institutions
the judiciary and the media which in these days of gloom and doom (rank
incompetence and rampant corruption) had emerged as saviours and beacons
of light for the hapless people of a benighted country, had suddenly been
assaulted by a fabulously rich property dealer, who has been known as a
master operator and has a record for effective use of close contacts and
influence to gain favours and negotiate all kinds of deals. Through an
ingenious scheme both the independent judiciary and the media were to be
roped in scandalous turn of events. The CJs quick and timely initiative has,
to a considerable extent, neutralized the attack. But considering the thinking
and design of the power wielders in Islamabad, it cannot be said that the
attempt to discredit the media has totally failed. Indeed, it has dented its fair
name and fame. With the blessings of the lawyers and the right-minded
political parties, our wide awake and peoples welfare-oriented higher
judiciary will, hopefully, emerge stronger, more alert to the machinations of
evil-doers and keep upholding its integrity and independence of the country
as envisaged by the Constitution.
They are up against a political coalition, which, taking advantage of
the noisy protestations of the PML-N on Thursday, rushed though a
resolution that lays down that the Speakers ruling on the Supreme Court
judgment against the Prime Minister is a part of the Majlis-e-Shoora
(Parliament) and, therefore, cannot be questioned. Let us see how the issue
1297

pending before the Supreme Court will be addressed (Inayatullah,

TheNation 16th June)
Sound judgment: On Thursday, the two member bench of the
Supreme Court delivered a short order in the high-profile case involving
Malik Riaz, arguably the countrys most controversial and unquestionably its
most influential power broker, and Arsalan Iftikhar, son of the iconic chief
justice of Pakistan. The order directed Attorney General Irfan Qadir to
handle the controversy surrounding charges of a Rs340 bribe from the
business tycoon to the chief justices son and said, It is our expectation that
he [AG] will set the state machinery in motion so that all those who may
have committed any illegal acts including Malik Riaz, his son-in-law
Salman Ahmed Khan and Dr Arsalan Iftikhar are pursued and brought to
book with the full force and rigours of the law.
The sensitive nature of the case notwithstanding, the court has
subjected the matter to the normal course of law, views about which are
bound to differ. Since the SC is not an investigating authority and as the
matter pertains to two individuals, it is was the right thing to do. It can be
argued that had the court accepted the plea of Malik Riazs lawyer to
constitute a special judicial commission to conduct a probe, there would
have been more controversy and the courts detractors would have accused it
of maneuvering investigations as well as the ultimate outcome to favour
the CJs son. There was already talk that if the matter stayed with the SC, the
judges on the bench would be under inadvertent pressure simply by the fact
of hearing the case.
By subjecting the CJs son to investigations carried out by
government-controlled investigation agencies, the court has thus sent a clear
message that it does not seek any privileged verdict for a privileged son.
This is unlike the government that has persistently displayed an unsavoury
tendency to register lack of faith in the apex judiciary. We hope that fair and
impartial investigations will now follow and the guilty will be made to pay
their just and legal dues. It is also hoped that the governments biases will
not sully the investigations and, indeed, that those in power will take the
matter to its logical conclusion. What is now clear is that a deep conspiracy
has been at work to malign the chief justice and the top judiciary to force the
CJP out of office. It may now have been thwarted to a great degree. Indeed,
the outcome of this case will be the litmus test of the Supreme Courts
resolve to spread accountability to even the most holiest sanctums of power
in Pakistan. The case will also serve as a warning for the powerful and their
progeny. The additional note of Justice Khilji captures the essence of it all:
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Although family members of public functionaries are not performing state

functions, the alleged facts of this case highlight the necessity of extreme
caution and discretion in their private and public dealings and conduct.
Could there be better advice for the lands high and mighty and their
privileged first sons and daughters? (Editorial, The News 16th June)
Media integrity: It would be interesting to count up how many
major news stories in recent years have broken as a result of video footage
taped and then leaked to the media. However, the video that has appeared on
YouTube featuring Malik Riaz in an interview staged by a private TV
channel may have shaken peoples faith in the workings of the media like
nothing else. We have got a behind-the-scenes glimpse of how the great and
the not-so-good manipulate media agendas; and how self-same
independent media persons are happy to be complicit in off-air
manipulation. The entire talk show was planted, apparently in yet another
attempt to defame the chief justice of Pakistan, with links between Malik
Riaz the prime ministers son Ali Qadir Gilani and the hosts of the
programme clearly established by the leaked footage.
The entire episode makes a mockery of the concept of a free and
independent media going about its business without fear or favour. Leaving
aside the blatant pursuit of self-interest by all of those involved in the
production, what came across strongly was the lack of professional integrity
on the part of the journalists involved, their willingness to be complicit in
what amounts to a deception of the audience by allowing planted questions
and the porosity of the format in general. By Friday afternoon this
unsavoury episode was claiming heads. The director of current affairs of the
channel under question was said to have resigned in protest at
unprofessional practices, and one of the two anchors was also said to have
tendered resignation. To paraphrase an indelicate saying the solids have hit
the ventilation and the body-count may be expected to increase. We have
questions to ask. In the first place, why should journalists who demand
respect for themselves and lay claims to integrity have this kind of contact
with those who can and do influence them through various means. If they
genuinely wish to protect their reputation they should stay well away. A
battle has now begun among journalists with accusations and sometimes
abuse used as weapons to blame others and save oneself, while public faith
in the media and some channels stands badly affected.
But we must look deeper than this. While the issue of the medias role
and all that happened is significant, what is even more important is that we
may now have evidence of a conspiracy to damage the chief justice and to
1299

possibly force him out of his post. The leaked video has exposed a plot
hatched in the higher echelons of power. The truth has been laid out, in all its
ugliness for everyone to see and the government has in fact suffered far
more damage than the court. A full Supreme Court meeting has taken strong
notice of the programme and the leaked footage, held that the show amounts
to contempt of court and asked Pemra what it is doing in this regard. Where
the government stands in all this is clear in what the information minister
has been doing; he tried first while speaking at a Geo talk show to reduce
the whole episode to rivalries between anchors and posing to keep his
distance, and then spoke later in the day to one of the hosts of the planted
show, supporting her lame justifications. He was not being very careful
about the distance he had been so fond of keeping only hours ago. But the
question, once again, is: how big is the attempt to bring down a judiciary
that has time and again proved its mettle? Are shadows other than Malik
Riaz lurking in the dark, waiting to jump into the limelight on their turns?
We still do not know. But the book of hidden secrets may just have begun to
open. (Editorial, The News 16th June)
The perfect storm: The conspiracy narrative is appealing. Pakistans
makeshift accountability system comprises the media and the judiciary. The
media brings into public focus stories of corruption of the ruling elite and
the court takes suo motu notice, orders inquiries, stipulates timeframes,
assumes supervisory responsibility and produces legal consequences for
illegal conduct.
Take away the role of the media and the Supreme Court and the
plunder of state largesse would be a no-holds-barred affair. As the power of
the judiciary and even the media is largely rooted in probity and credibility,
take that away and the distinction between those being judged and those
doing the judging vanishes into thin air. And hence the Riaz Malik expos
that maligns the judges and the journalists by dragging them into the
cesspool he lords over.
All this is fine. But what is the one factor outside the control of
someone like Malik Riaz that makes such grand conspiracy work? Free will?
Could he contrive moral failings or defects amongst the righteous that he
could later expose? Even if we assume that the evil Malik meticulously
laid out a trap for unsuspecting decent folk (theres much talk of entrapment
these days) was he holding a gun to their heads forcing them to take a dip in
the cesspool?

1300

Can it be that we are all mad at Malik Riaz because he has shown us
the mirror and our reality makes us nauseous? Is he lying through his teeth
when he says money makes the mare go? Is he maligning the judiciary if he
suggests that our justice system is corrupt? If we didnt name names,
wouldnt we all agree that graft is firmly entrenched in the media business?
Can there be a simpler, non-conspiratorial explanation for Malik
Riazs actions? Lets consider this. Here is a man who has mastered the art
of using money to make things happen. He has accumulated a heap of
money and created a spoils system outside the structure of the state for the
benefit of all segments of the power elite. He believes everyone wants a
piece of the forbidden fruit.
He is not greedy and is willing to share the boodle with everyone who
has power. He believes he is not wicked for in an otherwise dysfunctional
state he is delivering value as a developer and paying his dues to the society
through charity programmes. So why expose and jeopardize the publicprivate partnership that has been working so well?
Could it be a combination of fear and anger? Malik Riaz got afraid
when his son was booked for murder in the car-racing incident. He felt his
son was being unfairly implicated. There were other cases picked up by the
Supreme Court in suo motu jurisdiction that took the long arm of criminal
law to the person of Malik Riaz. For once he found himself at the wrong end
of the system. He instinctively tried to buy his way out of the mess. As the
crucial matters were before Court One in the SC, no one lesser than the CJ
himself could help. He engaged the CJs son. The son happily accepted the
largesse lavished upon him but did not deliver. This provoked anger.
Pakistan was a sordid place, but so sordid that there was no honour left
amongst thieves either?
And Arsalan Iftikhar alone did not arouse the anger. What was the
point of years of sharing and caring if in his hour of need no one was able
to shield him? As time passed, the SC continued with its proceedings and
Arsalan Iftikhar with his merry-making on borrowed money, the frustration
mounted. The code of conduct in the dark world was clear enough. If you
take money, you get the job done. If you cant, you return the money and
apologize. If you do neither, youre not a freeloader but a blackmailer. And
so Malik Riaz went postal. If he was going down, he certainly wasnt going
down alone. Could the government, the establishment, stop him? Maybe.
But here came the congruence of interest. Who in the power elite wouldnt
benefit from a shamed and subdued Supreme Court?

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The challenge of reforming our state and society is Herculean. But let
he who has not sinned cast the first stone is what Malik Riaz seems to be
saying. And the argument has resonance. Arsalan Iftikhar doesnt preside
over a court. By establishing through documentary evidence that Arsalan did
actually accept monetary benefits and by alleging that the money was
accepted in the Supreme Courts name in order to influence the outcome of
judicial proceedings, it is the integrity, independence and credibility of the
SC that has been impugned. The charge leveled by Malik Riaz never was
that the exercise of authority by the SC or the CJ had been influenced by
illegal gratification. That was not the main cause of concern in public mind.
The charge was that the CJs son had made a promise (in the name of
the SC) in return for consideration and had failed to deliver. Consequently
the questions and doubts in the public mind were threefold: One, did the
CJs son accept money and benefits from Malik Riaz? Two, if so, was the
receipt of money the outcome of genuine business dealings between private
persons?
And three, if the CJs son accepted money by creating an impression
that he could get someone relief from the SC, would the SC prosecute him
with the same fervour and rigor that it unleashes on those implicated in
lesser corruption scandals? In not recognizing and addressing these
questions and concerns in the Arsalan Iftikhar-Malik Riaz case, the Supreme
Court has seriously erred.
The three failings evident in the Supreme Court ruling are these. One,
the assertion that the court usually refrains from exercising its inquisitorial
powers under Article 184(3) isnt backed by the courts record in the many
corruption cases it has handled recently. When it assumes supervisory
jurisdiction and issues categorical directions and timeframes for inquiries in
other scandals, why leave this matter to the attorney general? Application of
restraint in one case and activism in others without any significant
distinction in the subject matter raises the question of whether the court is
applying double standards.
Two, the court celebrates the role of the media when it highlights
scandals implicating executive officeholders, but issues a sermon when the
media acts as a whistleblower in a graft case involving the CJs son. There is
no denying that the media needs its own code of ethics, but a case involving
the alleged impropriety of the CJs son might not have been an opportune
time to drive home the point. Additionally, here the media did not allege any
facts that are untrue. So having stumbled on an embarrassing story regarding

1302

the CJs son, should it have simply shoved it under the carpet in the larger
national interest?
And finally, to assert that the concerns in public mind stand addressed
because Malik Riaz has submitted in writing that court verdicts werent
affected by his bribes is to miss the point completely. This man sits on
national TV for two hours and continues to hurl accusations at the CJ and his
son and the honourable court asserts the very next day in a detailed
judgment that the matter now rests. Such navet lends credence to SC
detractors who allege that we are living in an era of selective justice.
In its handling of the Arsalan Iftikhar case the Supreme Court might
have squandered a vital opportunity to salvage its reputation as a neutral
arbiter of the law. Now if Malik Riaz is punished it will be called a vendetta.
And if he is let off, itll be seen as a deal. Welcome to Orwells Pakis-farm:
all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. (Babar
Sattar, The News 16th June)
A state under siege: This government is evidently out to drown all
that stands in its way of loot and plunder in a deluge of corruption. Nothing
is sacred to them. Nothing is too holy to sacrifice to attain their unholy
objectives. They have already neutered, if not destroyed, the National
Accountability Bureau to facilitate the scramble of looting the state that we
see. Not a single functionary of state has been prosecuted, let alone
punished, for corruption during the tenure of the present government despite
its hard-earned reputation for being the most corrupt in Pakistans history.
The other thorn in the governments side, the judiciary, is turning out
to be a more difficult nut to crack. But through its callous disregard and
disobedience of a number of Supreme Court rulings and promoting and
elevating to high posts those who fall foul of the court, not to mention
pardoning of their prison sentences, this government has spared no effort to
undermine it and render it ineffective. Contempt of court is committed with
impunity and the penalty imposed for it by the court is side-stepped through
extra-constitutional exegeses.
And now questions are being raised whether this whole Arsalan
Chaudhry corruption scandal was a trap laid to ensnare his father, the chief
justice. It is an age-old ploy to discredit the man when you fail to discredit
his ideas. When Caesar proves to be above suspicion, sling mud at Caesars
wife in the hope that some of it sticks to Caesar as well.
The governments shameful defiance of the judiciary has produced the
entirely predictable effect of fostering the same impulses in others. Malik
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Riaz sat before a national audience in his press conference and declared that
he does not recognize the Supreme Court which, according to him, was
operating under Arsalan Chaudhrys influence, implicitly accusing the entire
apex court of corruption. He further boasted that he was not afraid of
contempt of court proceedings and was ready to go to jail. He appeared to be
quoting Gilani.
Then on June 16 the attorney generals shameful conduct before a
bench of the Supreme Court headed by the chief justice, in the case of the
speakers ruling on Gilanis disqualification in light of his contempt of court
conviction The speakers ruling on Gilanis disqualification reference was
a blatant instance of flouting the law and Constitution. Article 63(2) of the
Constitution makes is abundantly clear that the speaker shall (not may,
but shall) send a reference to the CEC regarding the disqualification of a
member of the National Assembly within thirty days if he is hit by any of the
provisions of Article 63(1). It further provides that if the speaker fails to
send the reference within thirty days, the reference will be deemed to have
been sent to the CEC. This does, in fact, reduce the role of the speaker to
that of a post office as it leaves no room for the speaker to apply his/her
mind or exercise any discretion.
If the Constitution were to provide some room for maneuvering for
the speaker to apply his/her mind or use discretion, the provision about the
reference being deemed to be with the CEC after thirty days would not have
been included since then the speaker would have the power to kill the issue.
But according to the provisions of the Constitution as they now stand, the
buck stops not with the speaker but with the CEC because the Article 63(2)
vests the power to decide whether a member has become disqualified or not
only with the CEC. The government is grasping at invented straws and using
parliament as a pawn in its power game regardless of the damage it might
sustain in the process.
The putsch against the judiciary is at its peak and even some former
white knights on white steeds have chosen to don the robes of dark lords for
this round. But these hostilities against the courts are only one facet of the
greater war against the state. A deliberate, concerted effort appears to be
afoot to dismantle the institutions of state that serve as its foundations
without which it cannot survive. The purposes and interests of this
government are evidently at odds with national and public interests. They
are treating the country like a sinking ship and, instead of rescuing it, seem
keen to loot it as it flounders. And they are certainly not alone in this. They
operate under the sheltering aegis of their foreign masters who brought them
1304

to power and sustain them in power against all odds and at a back breaking
cost to Pakistan and Pakistanis. It matters not that people are committing
suicides at record rates out of desperation and are forced to sell their children
to survive while a daily expenditure of two million rupees is sanctioned in
the budget for the Prime Ministerial and Presidential palaces.
It matters not that at a time when the country was drowning in the
worst floods in a century, the president was vacationing at his French
chateau Make no mistake about it; the war being waged in the Supreme
Court is a war for our national survival. As a nation and a country, we will
sink or swim as does our judiciary. The judiciary stands as our last bastion of
hope against the rising tide of malaise and evil. It is the only state institution
fulfilling its role of defending and protecting all that is worth defending and
protecting. If the judiciary is allowed to sink, the war is lost. The country
will stand defenseless against the winds that will then blow. This cannot be
allowed to happen.
But it is sad that the judiciary is alone in fighting the war for our
survival. At this lowest ebb in our history, when the soil we live off calls out
to us to act in its defence from destructive forces, we the people remain
silent idle spectators even though we stand to lose the most. If the current
trajectory of events plays out to its logical conclusion and the worse case
scenario comes to pass, the fat cats have their French chateaus to retire to.
What will become of the rest of the nation? The time for positive action is
now to save Pakistan from the clutches of those who seem hell-bent on
obliterating it. Raising a hue and cry from the sidelines or shedding tears
over spilt milk after the event serves no purpose. (Ameer Bhutto, The News
16th June)
Has the opportunity to reach the real conspiracy been lost? To
start with, in this case there was no complainant, no defendant, not even an
FIR, yet the CJ took suo moto action. May be, in his perception, the action
was justified as judiciarys image was at stake. The bench has, however, now
ruled that reputation of judiciary stood cleared by just Malik Riazs
statement, notwithstanding what Malik Riaz said in the press conference and
the fact that a number of black coats are out on the streets to show solidarity
with the CJ.
It seems that the bench has hurriedly drawn this conclusion to pass on
the bucket as it did not want to tackle the major issues stemming from this
case allegations against Arsalan, conspiracy to tarnish judiciarys image
and exposure of Malik Riazs beneficiaries.

1305

It is now a matter of record that within a span of few years, Arsalan

Iftikhars business, whatever it is, has expanded at unprecedented pace. The
allegations by Malik Riaz are also substantiated by written documents
(though not of entire amount). However, the case has been handed over to
the government for further investigations which itself is facing numerous
charges and prone to blackmail and compromise.
The trust reposed in the government investigation agencies in this case
is, to say the least, intriguing. All indicators are that Malik Riaz could not
have done it alone and, complicity of the government, due to numerous
reasons, could not be ruled out.
Now that the case has been handed over to the AG, part of the
government, any possibility of investigation into a conspiracy to tarnish the
image of judiciary has been closed.
Besides, being very close to the ruling elite, a manifestation of which
we saw in the protocol given to him, it is unlikely that Malik Riaz would be
probed about those obliged by him with bribes and other benefits.
As such, by referring the case to AG, the matter is practically closed
or, should we say, hushed up, especially with regard to conspiracy and Malik
Riazs beneficiaries. Judiciary has lost an opportunity to consolidate their
hard-won independence. Probably the price, this time, was too high, higher
than the blood and toil of many who struggled for the independence of
judiciary. (Maj Gen (retd) Tahir Alim, The News 17th June)
Plot thickens: From Arsalangate to Bahriagate and now to
Mediagate the plot of the Malik Riaz-Arsalan Chaudhry scandal continues
to thicken, adding more likely and unlikely characters to the developing
story. In a latest development, the full court meeting this Friday reviewed
the ongoing saga and decided that it seemed from the interview of real estate
tycoon, Malik Riaz, aired on a private TV channel, that a pre-planned
conspiracy had been launched to scandalize the court and bring the judges
into hatred, ridicule and contempt. It is clear that questions were deliberately
asked and answers furnished that would shake public faith and confidence in
the administration of justice and undermine the dignity of the court. The
court has asked the Pemra chief to explain what exactly the purpose of
having a regulatory authority is when contemptuous and scandalous material
against the judiciary gets prominent coverage on major TV channels. A twojudge committee will now await Pemras report on the matter before
recommending further course of action.

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The media, it seems, is now neck-deep in a scandal that initially

involved the alleged nefarious activities of a business tycoon and a son of
privilege. Now, the saga is unfolding such that it has also revealed in full
how some journalists instead of being reporters of or commentators on a
story can become the story themselves and how their faade of neutrality
can be shredded a reflection of the overall rot afflicting almost all
institutions in this country. So what is the way forward? As far as the media
is concerned, the onus of cleaning the screens lies solely on the shoulders of
top management and owners. Professionalism and personal integrity must be
the minimum requirements for journalists, whether in print or electronic
media. The fine line between news and showbiz stands smudged and must
be redrawn. The latest episode of a planted interview has put a big question
mark on the integrity of the media, and can only be removed through an
individual and institutional push for self-correction. In this vein, The Jang
Groups petition before the SC asking for across-the-board accountability of
the media is commendable and must not be made a victim of traditional
business rivalries. This is not about a particular channel, anchor or media
group but about the larger cleansing and credibility of the media in
Pakistan. (Editorial, The News 17th June)
The CJ: The moneyed class, the political class and the uniformed
class have long considered themselves above the law of the land. On April
10, 1973, some 39-year ago, a PPP government gave us our first consensusbased constitution that envisages trichotomy of powers in order to assure
checks and balances between and among the executive, the judiciary and
parliament.
Up until three years ago, our Malik Riazs, Gilanis and Musharrafs had
no de facto constitutional checks over them. Our entire societal makeup,
including the judiciary and the political system, was geared towards
achieving just one objective to further enrich the moneyed class and the
political class all at the expense of the masses. The 1973 Constitution had
aimed at creating a contractual state based on a social contract between the
voters and the leaders. For 36 long years, after the supreme law of the land
was enacted, we have been more of a predatory state than a contractual
Just look at the five typical characteristics of a predatory state. One:
rewards of political power are higher than anywhere else on the face of the
planet. Two: theres massive underinvestment in human capital. Three: there
is massive underinvestment in infrastructure. Four: tax policy is for the
rulers. Five: there is widespread rationalization of theft. The predatory
Pakistani state has created a country that has become one of the best places
1307

to live if and only if you are part of the moneyed class, the political class
and the uniformed class.
The predatory Pakistani state has created a country that has become
one of the worst places to live if you are not part of the moneyed class, the
political class or the uniformed class. Over the past three years, the judicial
organ of the predatory state seems to have woken up, longing to tame the
predators. The CJ has come in between the moneyed class and its prey
(RPPs were made to pay back a colossal Rs9.5 billion). The CJ has come in
between the political class and its prey. The CJ has certainly not been careful
in the choice of his enemies. The CJ had friends who had come and gone but
CJs enemies have been accumulating.
Who will tame the predators, kill the sharks? To be certain, the sun,
the moon and the stars would have disappeared long ago had they happened
to be within reach of our predators. (Dr Farrukh Saleem, The News 17 th
June)
Darkness at noon: When I look at myself in the mirror, what do I
see? This week, I sense that the shades of defeat and disillusionment have
deepened. After a lifetime spent in journalism, I feel lost in a wilderness at a
time when the nations horizon is almost lit by the media, particularly the
news channels. And the power of this media has cast its spell on the entire
society.
Now, my depressing thoughts have not entirely been instigated by the
sensational release of a video on Thursday in which two hosts of a channel
were caught in conversation with the leading powerbroker during breaks in
an unusual two-hour interview telecast on Wednesday night. It is true that
this Wikileaks-like disclosure has caused a huge media storm, also
prompting an intervention by the Supreme Court and raising questions about
the role and the influence of our talk-show hosts. But the overall situation in
which the media has a central role is also extremely disturbing.
It is against this entire perspective that the media has risen like a
phantom and you begin to wonder what its function and responsibility
should be in these critical times. In fact, the Mediagate scandal was in the
making on Thursday when the Supreme Court delivered its verdict in the suo
motu case involving Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, son of the chief justice. Earlier in
the week, allegations of corruption that were made against Arsalan by real
estate tycoon Malik Riaz had rocked the country.
In its verdict, the court directed the attorney general to set the
machinery of the state in motion so that all those who may have committed
1308

any illegal acts, including Malik Riaz, his son-in-law Salman Ahmed Khan
and Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, are pursued and brought to book with full force and
rigours of the law. Since the media had played a role in highlighting this
sordid affair, the verdict by the two-member bench also had some remarks
about the media.
The short order said: It is worth remembering that ultimately every
person and every institution is the custodian of his/its own reputation and
integrity. If we dont guard our reputation the honourable people of Pakistan
will be justified in pointing fingers at us. The same applies to all other
institutions, including the media.
Obviously, this observation was penned without the knowledge of
what was to explode later. At about the same time that the verdict was
announced, the social media was abuzz with the leaked video. By the
evening, the entire country was engulfed in the scandal and the three faces,
those of Malik Riaz, Mobashir Luqman and Mehr Bokhari, were repeatedly
flickering on all channels.
Here was evidence for all viewers of television that some channels
and some talk-show hosts stars in what has become a soap opera were
not averse to playing a dirty game and presenting a prearranged discourse.
That something like this could be planted at such a level surely cast a
shadow across the media in the context of its integrity and objectivity.
Combined with allegations that a number of prominent anchors and hosts
had been bribed by the tycoon, himself deserving of a biopic, this revelation
was seen as an indictment of the media and the waywardness of its lead
players.
It is interesting that those who are believed to be receiving obscenely
high wages are the ones who are alleged to have accepted favours from the
likes of Malik Riaz. Some hosts of talk-shows have also acquired a lot of
clout with politicians and powerbrokers and occasionally they cross the line
by acting as mediators in political disputes or disagreements. With all this,
their capacity to conduct a rational debate in a cogent manner remains in
doubt. What goes to their credit is that they do provide good theatre when
participants in their show lapse into verbal duels.
Coming back to this anguish that I have suffered as a professional
journalist, I have to concede that the media in its entirety is not necessarily
playing a negative role. However, some of its dominant features should be a
source of grave concern Our collective behaviour is deprived of the core
values that sustain a civilized community. Look at how corruption has
1309

seeped into our lives and people in high places who indulge in it have no
shame. It is in this context that the Malik Riaz-Arsalan Iftikhar episode or,
in a larger context, the entire saga of Malik Riaz undermines our trust in
the system.
So, what has been the role of the media in interpreting the crisis of
Pakistan and suggesting a national sense of direction? I look back at my own
lifes journey and feel that we, the professionals in the media, have not been
able to play any decisive role in the medias otherwise revolutionary
developments. Perhaps we were not suited to the task.
In that case, the burden falls on the stars that now dazzle across the
media scene and on the media barons who ultimately possess the power that
the media is believed to exercise. The silver lining is that it is also the media
that can expose corruption within its own ranks. The Guardian has done a
great job in its probe into the Murdoch empire and on the day when Pakistan
was breathless with excitement over the leaked video, Prime Minister David
Cameron had testified under oath at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics in
London.
It has been argued that the focus on the media and its corruption is an
opportunity for the media practitioners to do some serious soul-searching
and present themselves for accountability. We have to wait and see if the
two-judge panel that was set up by the full court meeting of the Supreme
Court on Friday will find that the leaked video constituted contempt of
court. More important will be the medias own judgment in a brutal selfanalysis. (Ghazi Salahuddin, The News 17th June)
Dons of democracy: Last week, in his capacity as the President of
Pakistan, Asif Zardari pardoned a personal guard of Malik Riaz, a convicted
murderer who had confessed his crime before a lower court and was
awarded 33 years of rigorous imprisonment for it. Zardari used the
Presidents power to have mercy on the man, while his appeal is still
pending before the High Court. Meanwhile, his friend and the employer of
the murderer was busy leveling very serious allegations against the Supreme
Court, a vital institution of the state that the President is supposed to protect.
A few days later, the Attorney General shocked the nation with his
vulgar and contemptuous conduct before the apex court bench hearing the
Prime Ministers disqualification case. And around the same time, a
courageous whistleblower unmasked the revolting nexus between the
unscrupulous billionaire, his friends in government and those promoting him
in the media. Last week was a wake-up call for every citizen of Pakistan
1310

who believes in the rule of law, rather than the rule of a ruthless and greedy
mafia hiding behind the jargon of democracy.
One thing is clear: the Zardari-led so-called democratic dispensation
is willing to go to any extent to retain its grasp on power and to protect the
orgy of corruption under its dirty wings. Even as it hypocritically mouths
respect for the independent judiciary, its undeclared but obvious policy has
been to undermine and subvert the institution, and last weeks developments
highlight their desperation and the criminal level to which these champions
of democracy are willing to stoop down to in order to achieve their
dictatorial goals. We now know that their onslaught against the independent
judiciary is not restricted to clever theorizing about the supremacy of
Parliament and the domain of executive authority or the devious
interpretations of court decisions and the Constitution. The plans they hatch
are more like the machinations of a wily wadera than the strategy of a
democratic government. And this is the basic problem.
The independent judiciary has been doing its duty to check the abuse
of power and rampant corruption of the so-called democratic dispensation,
and as is expected of the institutions of the state, it has done so within the
confines of the Constitution. In fact, regardless of what tainted individuals
like Asma Jehangir or Aitzaz Ahsan say, there is near consensus among legal
experts that the Supreme Court has shown judicial restraint in its attempt to
bring the erring government to the book. The courts leniency while dealing
with the government has been viewed by observers as a reflection of the
judiciarys interest in not completely demolishing the stinking house of
democracy and as an attempt by the honourable judges to provide the
government with the opportunity to clean up its act. Many now feel that the
apex court needs to end this policy of restraint and accommodation. That
might not be easy.
As custodians of the Constitution, the honourable judges have to
perform their duties strictly according to the book. Even in extremely
extraordinary situations like the one we are faced with these days, the courts
must follow the Constitution, and go by the rules governing their institution.
In their endeavour to uphold the rule of law, they cannot be seen to be acting
arbitrarily and in violation of the judicial process. This strict adherence to
the Constitution and the judicial process is viewed by the gangster
government as a weakness and it would like to take maximum advantage of
the constitutional constraints within which the apex court has wisely
confined itself. Still, given the complete disregard of the Constitution and
democratic niceties by the government, the legal experts are of the opinion
1311

that the Supreme Court should be more strict while dealing with the
government. They feel the honourable judges could do that without breaking
any rules or exceeding their constitutional mandate. After all, a hardened
criminal, who refuses to repent and mend his ways, deserves no mercy.
At the same time, even if the Supreme Court decides to give up its
policy of judicial restraint when it comes to dealing with the government,
that might not be enough to check the mafia-like shenanigans of those ruling
the roost today, dons who recognize no laws, sense of propriety or civilized
behaviour expected of an elected government. The nation cannot expect 17
men in robes to control the criminal gang, especially when it is dependent on
the same criminal gang to implement its orders. Given the governments past
performance and shrewd antics to frustrate the court rulings, the citizens of
Pakistan will have to play a more active role. We cannot stand on the side as
onlookers, waiting for the next round between a lawless, ruthless and corrupt
mafia posing as our government and a principled judiciary trying to bring
some sanity to how our country is governed.
Fortunately, things are moving in that direction. The scattered support
for an upright and pro-people judiciary hounded and targeted by a corrupt
and anti-people government, is coming together. Awakened by the
governments open declaration of war against the Supreme Court and its
decision to resort to mafia tactics, bars across the country have come to the
defence of their institution. Other professional bodies are also stirring. Civil
society groups that had gone into a slumber are beginning to articulate the
feelings of Pakistani citizens, who view the Supreme Court as a ray of hope
that could shatter the corrupt darkness of those in power. Most importantly,
two important political parties have taken a categorical stand in support of
the Supreme Court. The main opposition party in Parliament, the PML-N,
and the PTI tsunami have put their weight behind the Supreme Court.
The role of the independent media becomes extremely important in
this crucial phase of our history. Those responsible for informing the citizens
and moulding opinion have a clear choice. They could perform their duties
in public interest without fear or favour, understanding their function as a
watchdog against excesses of those in power. Or they could join the perverse
power club, hobnobbing with and speaking for power, taking their readers
and viewers for a ride. In times of crisis for the readers and viewers, it is not
very difficult to tell the difference. (Jalees Hazir, The Nation17th June)
Dr Arsalan admits he engaged intelligence official to get payment:
Where were the innumerable intelligence agencies, including the all-

1312

influential ISI and IB, when the junior VVIPs like Dr Arsalan Iftikhar were
allegedly getting involved in corruption?
This exposes the failure of intelligence agencies to timely warn the
authorities concerned, and in this case Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad
Chaudhry, about the alleged shady activities and wheeling-dealings of his
son Arsalan Iftikhar.
Pakistan has several spy agencies, including the Inter-Services
Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Military Intelligence, Special Branch,
Crime Intelligence Department, Federal Investigation Agency and some
others, but why none of them reported the matter to the chief justice.
If any such report was submitted to the federal government, then why
was such a report not shared with the chief justice, who was actually the
main target? On the contrary, some officials of intelligence agencies are
accused of having been involved in the episode as an alleged video showing
Arsalan receiving cash was prepared by them. How does the Bahria Towns
top management know about this video, but not the chief justice? The
question arises: was it a trap?
Although, the authorities concerned had categorically denied this and
insisted that no such activity took place, the Bahria Towns top management
in their recent background interaction has shared this information with some
journalists. Dr Arsalan Iftikhar did confirm to this correspondent that an
intelligence official was engaged to get him, what he insisted was, a legal
cash payment.
If it was a legal payment, then why a video was made and that too
allegedly by some intelligence officials and then shared with the Bahria
Town management? A powerful cabinet member of the Gilani regime is also
said to be holding some stuff prepared by the intelligence agencies, but it too
raises questions about the role of security agencies.
Senior Geo anchorperson Hamid Mir is on the record to have said he
was told by Malik Riaz that Adviser to PM on Interior Rehman Malik
possesses the videos made by some of the intelligence agencies. However,
Hamid Mir said when he cross-checked this from the interior adviser, he
categorically denied this. The adviser later also told the media persons that
he neither had any such videos nor had anything to do with the episode.
About the role of intelligence agencies, it is now being asked why
none of the intelligence agencies had forewarned the chief justice or any
other authority about the episode. Do these agencies only prepare scandals to

1313

blackmail those at the helm of affairs as and when it suits them or should
they help the key public office holders by timely intimating them if any of
their near and dear one is exploiting their position, one wonders.
Such a timely warning can serve the purpose but preparing files
containing negative material against politicians, judges and others is a
destructive activity and is tantamount to wastage of intelligence skills, which
are direly required to be focused on Pakistans enemies
Denials apart, this is high time for the government, intelligence
agencies and the military establishment to leave security agencies to perform
their prime responsibility and ensure that these are not used to blackmail and
harass the likes of chief justice, but to support them by providing timely
information, if any. (Ansar Abbasi, The News 18th June)

Recessing economy
A sad affair: The present government presented its fifth and final
budget in a politically charged environment Is the budget 2012-13
prepared to address the multi-dimensional economic challenges facing the
economy? Before we answer this, it is pertinent to list economic challenges
facing the country. The first and foremost challenge we face today is the
sharp decline in investment to 12.5 percent of GDP the lowest in six
decades, in 2011-12 from as high as 22.5 percent in 2007 a loss of 10
percentage point in five years. Has the budget taken measures to revive the
investors confidence and create conducive environment for its acceleration?
The answer is a big NO.
Investment is critical to growth... A sharp decline in investment is
associated with slowing economic growth Slower economic growth is
bound to create lesser jobs Rise in unemployment is bound to push more
people below the poverty line. Has the budget 2012-13 taken measures to
reduce poverty? The answer is NO. The Benazir Income Support Program is
not meant to reduce poverty. It only doles out resources to the poor as part
of the social protection strategy. Many questions have been raised about the
transparency of the resources distributed to the intended beneficiary.
Fiscal indiscipline is one of the root causes of Pakistans economic
meltdown. As in the previous four budgets, the present budget did not take
any measures to capture the areas which remained out of the tax net or
remained under-taxed. No measures have been taken to bring agricultural
income under the direct tax net. Doctors, beauty parlours, lawyers, intercity
bus services etc have remained out of the direct tax net. Little or no efforts

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have been made to minimize the gap between tax collected and tax deposited
to government accounts (withholding tax). No efforts have been made to
address the weaknesses of the NFC award.
On the expenditure side, no measures have been taken to address the
issues pertaining to the rotten PSEs, circular debt etc. As in the past, revenue
is over projected and expenditure, particularly subsidy, is grossly
understated, which is bound to create large slippages in budget deficit The
energy crisis is another root cause of Pakistans economic meltdown. Budget
2012-13 did not take any credible measure to address it. Raising the
electricity tariff has been the sole policy instrument of the government to
address the issue. This alone has never been a solution and will not be a
solution as we move forward. The energy sector needs reform and the
present budget has failed to take any credible reforms.
Thus, the budget 2012-13 has remained invariant with respect to the
economic challenges facing the country. It is a stand-alone budget with
fragile numbers prepared in a casual manner. The general public and
parliament have lost interest and no one is talking about the budget anymore.
This is a sad affair. (Dr Ashfaque H Khan, The News 12th June)

Provincial disharmony:
A nation in distress: An alien would stand aghast at the
overwhelming misery that the Pakistani nation has to suffer today; the ruling
PPP, however, feels absolutely satisfied at having honoured 80 percent of its
election manifesto and there should be no doubt that the remaining 20
percent of the task would be completed in the period left for it to run the
affairs of the state. The people, whose condition has progressively worsened
to a degree where, according to a World Bank report, as many as 7,000 of
them felt that there was no point in continuing to live and committed suicide
during 2008. An impartial Pakistan watcher would be at a loss to figure out
in what respect the standard of living of the common man whom the PPP
claims to represent has improved with the implementation of 80 percent of
its agenda.
But the most striking thing that none of the different parties
mentioned in the preceding paragraph would be able to ignore is the
darkness enveloping the length and breadth of the country. The entire nation
seems to be up in arms in protest at the prolonged electricity, water and gas
load shedding in the scorching heat of June and the inability of the
government to avert the crisis, even though at least the power shortage,
which has largely been responsible for water scarcity as well, had started
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rearing its head in an ugly form soon after it took over. Though in domestic
use, one can store water when the taps flow and use it sparingly and adjust
hours of cooking to accord with the gas supply, it is hard to bear the
electricity outages when the heat is oppressive.
Mian Shahbaz Sharifs strong protest at the discriminatory treatment
of Punjab in the supply of power from the national grid has been of no avail;
he pitched a tent at Minar-i-Pakistan and made it his camp office and tied a
black ribbon around his arm to register his outrage but the situation has,
instead, worsened. With the factories closing down, the economy in tatters
and massive job cuts, the peoples anger, especially across the entire
province of Punjab, has busted. They are out on the street, vandalizing
public and private property, not sparing grid stations, burning tyres in the
middle of the road and shouting angry slogans against the government. It is a
wake-up for quickly getting about to set things right. Top priority should go
to sparing Rs20 billion for the power plants lying idle for want of furnace
oil. Then should come planning, both short and long-term, to finally rid the
country of the scourge of shortages. (Editorial, The News 18th June)

Baloch militancy
Summoning the COAS: The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr Justice
Iftikhar Chaudhry, has warned that the court could summon the Chief of
Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, to ask him how the country should
be run. He was referring to the IG of Frontier Constabulary, Maj-Gen
Ubaidullah Khattak, holding a press conference on the worsening law and
order situation in Balochistan on June 2. The CJ made this observation while
heading a three-member bench of the court hearing the matter pertaining to
the law and order situation and target killings in the province, and proceeded
to order the transcript of the press talk produced on Monday. Again, the
court observed that the FC was held responsible in the majority of cases of
disappearance. It noted that the bodies of three missing persons they had
ordered recovered were thrown on the road.
The Chief Justice also noted that it was not the business of an official
in uniform to hold press conferences, and asked if the IG FC wanted a
confrontation with the court. This prompted him to ask further if this was the
conduct of the IG FC, why he should not summon the COAS. While
apparently pinpointing the IG FC by bringing in the COAS, Chief Justice
Chaudhry may have sent a warning to the civilian government, but his
asking about the role of the constitutional government and his further
comment that the time had come to summon someone with authority
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showed his own frustration at the attitude of all executive authorities, which
has been to attempt to deny any connection with, leave alone responsibility
for, the situation in Balochistan.
Chief Justice Chaudhry highlighted an important truth about the
situation in Balochistan, that even the provincial government does not seem
concerned about the increasing lawlessness, let alone the federal government
and its organs. However his question for the COAS is valid and deserves to
be answered. Indeed, if the Prime Minister can personally appear in court, as
can the Chief Justices own son, there is no reason the Army Chief can not
and should not be summoned to explain the situation in Balochistan for the
courts satisfaction. (Editorial, TheNation 13th June)
Fiction versus facts! Pakistan is passing through a phase when,
acceptance-wise, fiction tends to replace facts The issue of missing
persons is getting similar misrepresentation. Disappearance of persons is
certainly a sensitive matter, involving fundamental human rights; coupled
with this are the recurring gory episodes of mutilated corpses. Even a single
missing person or surfacing of a single mutilated dead body is a scar on the
face of the state and the government, inclusive of all its institutions.
Unfortunately, the issue is not being handled in a professional way. Passing
the buck is the name of the game. Had the matter been pursued in a skilled
manner, there would not be so much of gap between the numbers being put
forward by various entities.
Due to this attitude of complacency and pathological indifference, the
void is being filled by rumours and anti-Pakistan narratives. By now, there
are many strong interest groups thriving on the sensationalization of such
issues. In the absence of authentic and credible figures, acceptance of fiction
is replacing the acceptance of facts. Nobody is talking about the private
prisons of feudal and tribal chieftains in the interior of Sindh and
Balochistan that, probably, is the vital missing narrative in the case of
missing persons. There have all along been known and secret private jails,
especially in the interior of these two provinces, which may account for a
bulk of the number that remains untraced. Even there are allegations against
the sitting ministers of Balochistan about their involvement in abductions. It
is likely that all missing persons languishing in these private jails, and those
who become victims of the tribal and other feuds, are being conveniently
reported as missing persons and attributed to the highhandedness of the law
enforcement agencies (LAEs). While apportioning the blame, our LAEs and
intelligence agency are to be squarely blamed for letting the things come to
such a pass and not providing the requisite security to the common man on
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the street. Moreover, their failure to radiate a public friendly image is a

colossal leadership failure. No wonder, people only believe what all is
negative about them and a lot of good work that they perform does not stick
in the public opinion.
Recent revelations by Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, the head of the
Judicial Commission for missing persons, during his recent press conference
at the Civil Secretariat Quetta, were quite startling.
It is Sindh and not Balochistan that tops the tragedy with 174 missing
persons. As per his count, 460 is the nationwide number of these unfortunate
missing persons. Further breakdown reveals that: 18 missing persons are
from Islamabad; 117 from Punjab; 174 from Sindh, 170 from Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa; 57 from Balochistan; and 12 each from Fata and AJK. So far,
bodies of 42 missing persons have surfaced in Balochistan. Interestingly, the
commissions report is quite contrary to the common perception. Ironically,
its figures about Balochistan are rather close to the FC standpoint, statistics
and narrative.
Although the issue of missing persons in Balochistan is becoming
increasingly alarming, in all probability, it is being blown out of proportion
and getting larger than life and distorted projection.
The commission is of the view that foreign intelligence outfits are
brewing tensions and trouble in Balochistan, Its report said: Foreign
intelligence agencies want to worsen the Balochistan situation in order to
destabilize PakistanThere is concrete evidence of their involvement
There is a baseless propaganda about the number of missing persons.
It further observed that none of the state institutions has precise
statistics about the missing persons. As many as 44 people were recovered
over the past three months through the commissions efforts, Justice Javed
said. Just during the week prior to his press brief, 12 missing persons were
recovered from Balochistan.
Justice Javed revealed that some of the persons presumed to be
missing were in Afghanistan. The list of missing persons compiled by the
commission also contains the names of those living abroad and those who
are involved in terrorism-related cases. Though he did not show
dissatisfaction with the help received from the Balochistan government, he
pointed out that the Chief Minister had sent to the panel a list of 945 missing
persons without their particulars. We sent the list back to the (Home)
Ministry for correction, but it never came back, he maintained.

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The case of missing persons in the country has attained greater

prominence due to media hype, which tends to overplay the ordeal of victim
families, while using emotional metaphors and blaming the LEAs for having
arrested, tortured and killed the innocent people. The trend is getting popular
among the internal audience; whereas, the facts remain obscured.
Moreover, some of the terrorists while conducting raids/ambushes are
killed during the action. In many cases, their dead bodies are taken away by
their comrades, who probably bury them quietly at unknown places. The
families are not informed about their deaths, who assume that they are in the
custody of LEAs or intelligence agencies. Likewise, suicide bombers are
labeled as missing persons. Furthermore, proclaimed offenders, who go
underground, are clubbed into this category.
Regarding the future course of action, Justice Iqbal said: We have
been doing our job in Islamabad. We will soon visit interior Balochistan,
including Gwadar, Turbat and Khuzdar. No person will be declared missing
until or unless his/her relatives turn up and show their identity cards or
driving licenses. This is a welcome step, indeed; it would bring sanity to the
process and would discourage misuse of the term missing person.
The commission is, indeed, following a logical approach; and that is
why those thriving on sensationalism doubt its sincerity. Reportedly, the
Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VFBMP), an organization striving for
the safe recovery of missing persons in Balochistan, has stated that the
commission is not sincere in recovering the abducted people in the province.
It is about time that we start believing in facts, rather than fiction. The
leadership has a role to play in it. They may promote fiction and still survive
for some time, but once its time for answer to history, they would certainly
fail! (Khalid Iqbal, The Nation17th June)

REVIEW
The observers and analysts are almost unanimous in inferring that the
hue and cry raised by Malik Riaz about having been blackmailed by the son
of Chief Justice and robbing him of fortunes worth Rs340 million is part of a
conspiracy to catch a judge who has been the most troublesome for the
military and civil rulers in the history of Pakistan.
Before attempting to peel off some layers of the conspiracy it must be
acknowledged and commended that it has been work of a crafty evil genius
about which even the Devil would have felt proud of. Let us begin with
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accepting that a conspiracy cannot be hatched overnight; even in this age of

incubators the chick requires sometime to breakout of the egg-shell.
The first thing that has to be selected for the process of hatching to
start is the right hen. The selection of Malik Riaz, the chief hen of Bahria
Town poultry farms was an excellent choice as it had links to all the roosters
around. It also implied pitching a business tycoon (Malik Riaz) against an
icon (Chief Justice).
It is understood as to who masterminded the conspiracy plan: the
Scoundrel lodging in the den known as Presidency in Islamabad. The list of
his and his gangs (PPPs) grievances against the pro-active chief judge of
the apex court is much longer that that of the land-grabber real estate
developer.
The two scoundrels have very intimate relations and have generously
showered favours on each other, plenty of which, not all, have not been
reported by the media. Of late, it has come to the light that Zardari pardoned
the life imprisonment of one of the security guards of Malik Riaz a week
ago. The pardon was granted by short-circuiting the legal process just as it
happened in the case of Rehman Malik; both still had the right of appeal to
exercise.
Next question that needs to be answered is to establish when the
decision to hatch a conspiracy was taken. It was taken soon after the
Scoundrel was embarrassed to restore the Chief Justice under pressure. He
could not digest the insult and decided to exact democratic revenge at
appropriate time.
After selection of the hen and deciding the timing of hatching the next
decision related to the selection of the right egg. The hawkish eye caught the
sight of an egg that had been left comparatively unguarded. The egg by the
name of Dr Arsalan Iftikhar was to be brought under all-enveloping wings of
Malik Riaz.
Man with Bahria Town-fame was tasked to grab the egg and hatch
that. Malik Riaz performed the assigned task with proficiently using his
extensive experience of grabbing lands around twin cities. The hatching was
completed but the chicken was kept hidden under the wings waiting for the
right moment to expose it.
The above should also be seen with the statements of PPP leaders
which showed that they had not reconciled with restoration of the CJP and
they have been throwing concealed threats to withdraw the administrative

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under which he was restored. The reference against him and activities of his
son were also hinted at.
After the conviction of Prime Minister Gilani in contempt of court
case Zardari regime thought that the time has come to unfold the plan. The
regime was to go on the offensive against Judiciary; instead of parrying the
attacks coming in the shape of court verdicts. In other words, no more
defiance; it would be all-out Blitzkrieg on the stronghold of the forces of
rule of law.
Once the decision was taken to unleash offensive against the Chief
Justice Malik Riaz Hussain, who too feels like Zardari that he is an
aggrieved party victimized by Judiciary, was to expose the chick under
his wings. In other words, he was to let the cat out of bag.
In terms of confrontation, the war material Riaz had been collecting
for the past three years was used to secure a bridge-head from where the
forces of regime were to breakout. Malik Riaz, aided by the forces yet to be
clearly identified, successfully completed the first phase of the operation and
he also executed a breakout directly heading towards the citadel of the Chief
Justice.
Sheer out of exuberance, Riaz went beyond the scope of task assigned
to him. He resorted to biting more than he could swallow. The regime, which
had been pretending to be unconcerned with Riaz-Arsalan affair, could not
afford sitting back. It was constrained to launch the prongs which had been
withheld.
The first prong comprising forces of the regime was launched by
Aitzaz Ahsan and Irfan Qadir. During the hearing of petitions challenging
the ruling of the Speaker National Assembly over the question of
disqualification of Gilani in view of his conviction in contempt case, the
Attorney General objected to the presence of the Chief Justice on the bench.
Once his objection was over-ruled he talked to Aitzaz, who was sitting
alongside him. When Hamid Khan, the counsel of Imran Khan, was
submitting his arguments, Irfan Qadir once again stood up and said what the
hurry in hearing this case was. During shouting spree he used foul language
for the judges.
After the break, when proceedings started AGP again had brief
discussion with Aitzaz Ahsan and both got up to speak, but Irfan Qadir did
not allow Aitzaz to speak. His outburst against the judges was resented by
junior lawyers and the court security had to be called to restore order. This

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time, Irfan Qadir also made obnoxious gestures at the judges on the bench;
such gestures which would be detestable in the corner meeting in a street
what to talk of during proceedings of the highest court of the country.
Certain things are in the nature of the watchdogs and both Irfan and
Aitzaz have been employed and maintained as pets for protecting certain
interests of the master. Dog is instinctively faithful; but degree of
faithfulness varies in a stray dog and a pet dog and within pet dogs the
watchdogs excel others. But dogs also have some specialties; some bark but
seldom bite and others seldom bark but invariably bite. Both kinds were
represented.
On the heels of what happened in the Supreme Court another law
qualified watchdog holding the office of law minister moved a resolution in
the National Assembly which was adopted immediately. The resolution
supported the ruling of the Speaker of National Assembly in the case of
Prime Minister Gilani. So, the Parliament passed the verdict while the
Supreme Court was still hearing the case.
Then the nation was given the real breaking news through YouTube.
Some one uploaded a video film recorded by camera placed, probably, in the
key-hole of the door of the room where Malik Riaz was being given a
Turkish bath. Mubashar Lucman and Mehr Bokhari were performing the
holy ritual.
What this couple of loud-mouth anchors with not much experience as
journalists did is now known to every TV watching Pakistani. During this
ritual both Lucman and Malik Riaz received a telephone call from Gilanis
son. It is quite important to fully understand the impact of this telephone call
that this programme was also telecast live by the PTV. This nexus between
PTV and a private channel was something very rare and intriguing.
Some TV watchers genuinely feel that private channels should in
future show what happens during the commercial breaks rather than what
they have been showing live to date. Dunya TV show has proved that the
programmes which are enacted during breaks are financially more
profitable as compared to those telecast live.
Malik Riaz had returned to Pakistan with a mindset to say less in the
court and talk much through press conferences and interviews utilizing the
investment he had been making in media sector. He took-off well by asking
three derogatory questions from the Chief Justice in aprs conference. It
appeared that he had rolled the dice with the skill of a sharper, but Dunya
TV programme turned his three questions to no more than teen kaney,
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despite urging of PPPs Gondal to believe Malik as he had said that with
Quran in hand.
The arrest of lawyer Nadeem in Karachi by NAB indicated that the
regime is determined to pursue its Judiciary-related objectives. This man had
assisted Aitzaz Ahsan in 2007 in defending Chief Justice in reference against
him. This time he had blown whistle warning Zardari regimes plan to file
another reference against the CJP
To conclude, it may be said that handing over Arsalan-Malik Riaz
case to the Executive suits Zardari. He will stick to his strategy of dragging
feet over finalizing the probe. The expeditious disposal of the case is not in
the interest of the regime irrespective of any of the findings by investigators.
If the investigators say there is nothing in the case, then Arsalan will
escape punishment, but Malik Riaz cannot be exonerated from what he has
done in bringing disrepute to the Supreme Court. If the findings of the
investigators are such that lead to conviction of both that too wont suit the
regime, because saving buddy Malik Riaz is more important than punishing
Arsalan.
The delay will also suit the regime in providing enough time for mudslinging and tarnishing the image of Judiciary from whom he intends taking
democratic revenge. However, the Supreme Court had no other option but to
do what it did. It could not afford handling the matter on its own and risk
being dubbed as biased.
In the light of foregoing it might be said that Arsalan has put the
Supreme Court in an unenviable position. It is win-win position for the
adversaries of his father. As compared to the Dons of Democracy, borrowing
the words of Jalees Hazir, the Dispensers of Justice are facing lose-lose
situation.
Notwithstanding, the possible outcome, PML-Q and MQM have
acquired distinction of conspiring against independent judiciary twice within
five years. First they did under the leadership of a military dictator (the
worst among four dictators Pakistan has seen so far) and now under a Don of
Democracy (the worst among all the Dons Pakistanis have suffered).
18th June, 2012

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