Denigration of Pakistani Judiciary - Hijratullah’s acquittal - Suspect does not mean criminal.

By: International Professor

Maulana Sufi Muhammed of TNSM has been charged with sedition, conspiring against the State and encouraging terrorism. Most serious charge is taken out of text of his statement that “Superior courts are un-Islamic”, when he was pleading case for Sharia courts at Swat on July 26, 2009.

Two days back Zulfiqar Mirza, Interior Minister of Sindh used word “Judicial Terrorism and Martial Law” against Supreme Courts. Yousuf Raza Gailani also says I am not afraid of courts and accountability, mean neither he would follow SC orders nor he has any intention to act upon orders of SC. Minister of Law Babar Awan has hired PAF plane to bribe and instigate lawyers to rise against Judiciary. Raja Riaz PPP’s Senior Minister of Punjab says that it is judicial “Martial law”.

Fauzia Wahab says that Judiciary is controlled by “Jihadees”. Zardari is openly involved in bullying to courts and judges in public meetings. Gen Athar Abbas, DG ISPR says that courts could set free 10,000 persons detained by army since last one year illegally without producing anyone in courts. Previously army has been pleading for special army courts but now it has decided to influence ATC judges for the desired results and recent move to declare martial law against media.

Zardari apologists in papers and discussion programs are blaming judges of “Judicial Activism” only in case if courts would pursue corruption cases against PPP’s mafia. Today Aitzaz Ahsan, Fauzia Wahab and Raja Riaz have attacked Chief Justice Punjab badly.

Lawless country is under control of war lords and thugs, fraudulent parliament, sham constitution, corrupt politicians and greedy army generals. It is laughing that Maulana Sufi Muhammed committed sedition while all others are attacking on Judiciary for more than Sufi Muhammed.

According to Barrister Ch: Fawad Husain anarchic has reached to a such yield point that nobody cares about prevailing laws of the state:

Quote: “Hundreds of people arrested on terrorism charges during the army operations in Swat and other areas remain in custody without being produced in court. This is in violation of Article 10 of the Constitution relating to safeguards against wrongful arrest and detention. The 18th Amendment added Article 10-A to the Constitution, which recognises "the right to fair trial" as a fundamental right of every citizen. At the same time, the authorities' failure to produce arrested persons before magistrates within 24 hours of the arrest is in violation of Sections 61, 167 and 344 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Trials of persons accused of terrorist activities are governed by the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (ATA), and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). Section 13 of the ATA establishes anti-terrorist courts and Section 14 provides for the qualification of persons who can be appointed presiding officers in these courts. An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has the exclusive jurisdiction to try an offence mentioned in the schedule of the ATA. Under Section 19 (7) of the ATA, after taking cognisance of the case, an ATC must proceed with the trial on a day-to-day basis and is bound to decide the case within seven days. However, trials linger on for months and years without verdict.

The main obstacle in the workings of the ATCs is created by past judgments by the Supreme Court. Through these judgments, the Supreme Court changed the nature of the ATCs from anti-terrorism courts to courts for trials of heinous offences. Cases ranging from child molestation to murder were transferred to ATCs. Anti-terrorism courts are now being used as replacement for regular courts and thus their role overlaps with that of the regular judicial system. This has effectively made ATCs dysfunctional.

In my view, the first measure required is to stop using the ATC mechanism as a parallel judicial system to override and replace the regular courts. ATCs must adhere to the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act in letter and spirit and trials in terrorism cases must proceed daily without undue adjournments.” Unquote

Failures of prosecution:

Free money has widely snatched civility and wisdom of the society and war of terror has politicized general behavior of the public, even selections of appropriate customary wordings have been soaked in hatred and abhorrence. Since courts have started to work independently many people are in panic to propagate against courts and purposely by hook by crook pretense they fail courts. Let us analyze who is behind propagation and their motives to defame courts. There are certain powerful groups, lobbyists and ex friends of courts on the scene like:

Major propaganda party is consists of Zardari apologists or NRO beneficiaries, second group is consists if ISI apologists, or on pay role of ISPR to justify criminal actions of Pakistan army during war of terror and trying to cover up loot of $ 18 billion and human rights violation. Whereas third group is consists of Sectarian Mullah’s, agents of feudal Pirs, foreign sponsored clergy, liberal fascists and moles of CIA, RAW and MOSAD.

If you may notice character of national media then in this regard those are also deeply divided on sectarian or ethnic lines. The reporting on the deads in drone attacks is witness that media has set aside journalistic ethics in coverage of any incidence. It is worst example of yellow journalism to hide source of information, use headlines without any solid proof, speculate and annotate names, misguide peoples and create an atmosphere of anarchic in the society. Usually media passes on polluted, fabricated and one sided reports of army media cells without any investigation. No media group is ready to tell truth to public and exact causalities of civilians, damage to properties and killings of women and children. It is an example and could easily be verified on net.

Current role of black coats:

Leading lawyers of restoration of judiciary movement including Aitzaz Ahsan, Athar Minallah, Munir Malik, Ali Ahmad Kurd and Justice Tariq Mahmood are speaking a language entire different to their previous cause. Those are behind newly invented torpedo against judiciary the “Asma Jahangir”, a suicide bomber of Zardari mafia. Whereas Law minister is distributing millions like Roman King to the bars and lawyers for her success.

Government premeditated appearance of suspected terrorists?

Since MMA Government remained in place to support Musharraf so agencies were not able to directly indict peoples on sectarian and ethnic grounds. Massacre of Jamia Hafsa was first open case of sectarian abhorrence, previously Generals had been making money secretly by selling citizens to U.S. but after emerge of Zardari, the CIA operatives in government started their activities more open and without fear. Gen Kiyani, Gen Pasha in army and Zardari, Gaillani and Rahman Malik in civilian set up hovered new definitions and theories of terrorism suspects. In their opinion “terrorists must be ethnically Pushtoon, Deobandi, Wahabi or Salafi”. The idea was based on the years of brain washing of western public by Husain Haqani, Farahnaz Isfahani, Hasan Askari Rizvi, Najam Sethi, Vali Nasr, Pervez Yahood Bhai, Ahmad Rashid, Amir Mir and Benazir apologists etc.

After Swat invasion the above term “Taliban” was applied to peoples of Swat, and dollars were bribed to reporters and anchors on wide scale. Data of such journalists is available on record in the light of their statements.

Gen. Athar Abbas and his three brothers shaped the Dawn and Jang groups that played major propaganda campaign to support American war of terror. The fake flogging video and so called media’s code of ethics was a conspiracy to hide civilian causalities, misery of displaced persons, target killings and imprisonments by army and agencies, shows a clear mockery of media.

Appearance, ethnicity, religious affiliation and sect of suspected terrorists were proclaimed as a guide line to police in different provinces. Army’s invasion on population of the 6 million scattered on thousands of square kilometers without thinking of any reaction from locals was a foolish idea. The so called defense analysts and retarded army officers sitting in defense housings and Askari properties are so naïve that none reported consequences of civil war.

Revenge seekers or victims of war of terror struck back with full force and made history that bravest army on planet started to lick its wounds. Those targeted most secure areas of defense and intelligence departments, and that is always part of the civil wars if any army dares to invade on locals. It wondered every one that rejoinder of reactionaries was more than expected, accurate and pin point.  It parallelized the all big cities like Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi. Question arises here that were those really reactionaries or revenge seekers, or some international agencies were playing behind the scene to defame, demoralize and disrepute the Pakistan army.

Truth was not made public under fear of problems in flow of free U.S. dollars as money was entirely obliged to perish Taliban so everyone that fits into criteria of Pushtoon, Deobandi, Wahabi or Salafi was arrested.

Hijratullah case was an example:

When Hijratullah was arrested at Lahore by the courtesy of ISI and stories flashed in media that ISI caught him red handed when he was going to fire on helicopter, he had wireless set and his images in media compelled everyone to think about deceiving role of agencies. Honor of army, Punjab Government and federal agencies were on stake and were hurt by terrorists attack on police centre, and Govt. had to produce any escape goat to fill the gap. However the court’s decision was not surprising, it was on merit and agencies failed to prove their case.

There are dozens of other cases when peoples were arrested on the basis of sectarianism or ethnicity, so courts had no choice to evict those innocent peoples. The people’s confidence on courts system is a result of lawyer’s movement and stand of honorable justices against fraud Dogar courts. After decisions of honest judiciary culprits have no choice to kidnap evicted peoples before release from jails, that also proves that Mush and Zardari mafia was working on sectarian and ethnic lines and their administration adopted an easy path to indict innocent peoples in terrorism cases.

Whether every case is worth appreciating judiciary?

Answer is no, the most publicized and politically motivated cases are hanging in courts since long such as missing persons, NRO beneficiaries and their crimes, Jamia Hafsa case, Benazir murder case is running as a drama worth laughing, thousands of peoples in the custody of Pakistan army have no access to justice, there is no accountability on extra judicial killings by army, Bugti murder case is still hanging and killings at Karachi is also waiting for courts to trial MQM terrorists etc., are few examples of failure of Judiciary to take any appropriate step. But we are optimistic that honest judges would continue to distribute justice in spite of hurdles.

Conclusion: Most people are detained by army and police on terrorism charges are either very poor, religious or Pushtoon and their detention serve no service to Uncle Sam and help to achieve any of their target. So one by one court is evicting those persons. Question is when Zardari is using his presidential powers and more than 8000 criminals of NRO are hovering on the streets than how anyone can blame judiciary. Moreover most indicted peoples are victim of sectarianism and ethnicity.