Government in a confrontational mode

Asif Haroon Raja

In pursuance of its policy of disregarding rule of law and defying the Supreme Court (SC), the PPP leadership has decided to ignore the apex court verdict directing it to write a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen money laundering trial case pending against Zardari & Co that was held in abeyance as a consequence to 5 October NRO issued by Gen Musharraf to share power with Benazir Bhutto. The blackest of the black ordinance NRO was nullified by SC under reinstated chief justice Iftikhar thereby reopening all the corruption and criminal cases of accused mostly belonging to PPP, MQM and bureaucrats affiliated with PPP. Instead of complying with orders of SC, the Government went into review to gain time. The review petition was rejected by the SC in November 2011. However, PPP’s core committee has decided not to write a letter to Swiss authorities on the plea that the President enjoys immunity.

The PPP top leadership also decided not to submit President’s reply to 11-member Bench of SC in connection with memo scandal in which the President has been nominated as one of the respondents in response to Nawaz Sharif and others petitions seeking investigation of memogate. Immunity was again brandished as the reason not to comply with court’s directive. Another argument put forward is that the federal government has already submitted its reply and the same should be taken as President’s reply. Zardari has now categorically stated that the decision of Parliamentary Committee investigating the memogate parallel to SC’s three-member judicial commission will be accepted, asserting that the Parliament is supreme.

The government’s reply is at variance with replies submitted by Gens Kayani and Pasha who as respondents and guardians of Pakistan’s defence and strategic assets maintained that memo is a reality and must be probed to determine the whole truth since it has devastating ramifications on security and independence of Pakistan. The government has taken an altogether different stance asserting that memo is a non-issue and its originator Mansoor Ijaz is of dubious character who in its view is working on an agenda to spoil military-civil relations. Submission of rejoinders by the two generals has annoyed Gilani and is in a confrontationist mode.

The US lackey Husain Haqqani (HH), allegedly involved in a treasonous scheme to weaken Pakistan has taken a similar stand in his reply to SC despite the fact that he enjoyed best of relations with Ijaz since 2005. The US and western world are concerned about the safety and well-being of their darling who had served them deferentially from April 2008 till his dishonorable sacking in November 2011. The US in particular is highly disturbed and several of its Senators and 16 prominent US scholars have expressed their anguish saying that he is being mistreated and harassed. HH after his comfortable stay in President’s House after his dismissal from his post of Ambassador in Washington has now made PM’s House as his safe haven. He refuses to come out of the comfortable confines and appear before Abbottabad Commission investigating 2 May incident in which he seems to have a deep connection. He has taken the plea that after having been projected as a traitor, he may be murdered by Islamic extremists or agencies.

During his hearing on 9 January before the three-member judicial commission, he didn’t produce his Blackberry phone records when asked for saying that stating that he had left them back in Washington. Like Ijaz, he has so far refused to surrender his privacy rights with Research & Motion Blackberry and continues to maintain his stance that he had nothing to do with memo. In all probability he will not surrender his privacy rights of his phone call data. He and his wife are busy gaining the sympathies of US-Western media and officials pretending that he is innocent and in duress. One wishes the dual-faced US leadership had taken an equally tough stance on HH network as it has taken on Haqqani network and its safe haven in North Waziristan.

Gen ® Jim Jones affiliated with HH since 2005, who had taken the memo from Mansoor Ijaz on 9 May 2011 and delivered it to Admiral Mike Mullen on the following day has made a sudden u-turn on his earlier stance in his affidavit which he voluntarily submitted to SC. He has asserted that he had no reason to believe that HH was the initiator of memo or that he had anything to do with it. In other words, he gave a clean chit to his friend and put the whole burden on Ijaz, thus gladdening the hearts of HH’s lawyer Asma Jahangir and PPP leaders. There is every reason to believe that Jones was tutored by vested interests to put a spanner in the case. Ijaz has rubbished his statement saying he will prove Jones knew that he gave the memo on behalf of HH. When Ijaz expressed his readiness to appear before SC on 16 January, Jones sensed that his lie would get exposed. He wisely made another somersault and stated he would not appear in the SC to corroborate what he stated in his affidavit.

Asma Jahangir, American and Indian stooge and a disciple of Hindu extremist religious leader Bal Thackeray took up the case of HH as his advocate. She first tried to close the case on the basis of maintainability and then prompted Jones through his client to submit the affidavit and weaken the case. Finding the wind blowing against HH, in disgust she spewed venom against the SC, Army and ISI. She cunningly tried to create bad blood between officers and soldiers and then announced that she would not fight his client’s case since she didn’t expect justice. On the prompting of her foreign patrons, she ate her words and rejoined the team of lawyers engaged by HH to give them moral support and also to lambaste the judiciary and military.

Clownish Babar Awan in his bid to become more loyal than the king and to become a hero overstepped his limits and put his legal and political career in jeopardy. The SC has taken a serious view of his offensive and mocking invectives against the superior judiciary and asked him as to why he should not be punished on charges of contempt of court and why his legal license should not be canceled. He has landed himself in thick bouillabaisse but he asked for it. He is taking such huge risks under the delusion that punishment meted out to him will be pardoned by his godfather sitting in presidency, not realizing that Zardari himself is in thick soup.

American run Human Rights Watch (HRW) in Pakistan uninvitingly poked its nose in memo affair giving its unwarranted opinion that SC was trying to subvert civilian setup by taking up the case which was not within its purview. Jones affidavit and HRW’s salvo were premeditated acts to put SC on the defensive and to fortify Asma. It amounts to intervention in Pakistan’s domestic affairs and must be condemned.

Taking into account policy of confrontation and non-cooperation of PPP’s leading lights, the SC is in a quandary how to get its verdicts implemented. Its reputation is at stake since the people have pinned high hopes in this institution under chief justice Iftikhar. Although SC has demonstrated exceptional restraint in the face of extreme provocation so as to avoid clash of institutions and to derail democracy, its patience is now wearing thin. On 10 January it spelled out six options and each option amounted to indictment. The ones defying judgment on NRO have been effectively pinned down. Next hearing is on 16^th during which the much awaited verdict will be announced. In case it decides to deliver the hammer on the heads of the ones bent upon ridiculing the judiciary, which it must before the masses start taunting the judiciary, it will have to seek the assistance of Army under Article 190 to ensure implementation of its directives. Taking into account government-Army standoff on account of PM Gilani’s diatribe against Army Chief and DG ISI and aspirations of the people, the Army will have to oblige.