EFFECTIVE  IMPLEMENTATION OF PROCEDURAL LAWS WITH CERTAIN AMENDMENTS FOR PERPETUAL PEACE

            After analysis of the whole Political and judicial scenario in the Country, I have reached to the conclusion that the main grievance of the people of Pakistan in general and Malakand Division in particular is the sluggish disposal of Court's cases, shameful level of corruption and injustices in the Government Departments. Once a case is instituted in a Court, then its disposal needs decades and thus the concept of justice is badly defeated through the procedures in various levels of the Courts.

            Actually, at the lower Courts the procedure is quite clear but other factors are responsible for the delay. Lack of interest of both the Counsels, lenient behaviour of the Presiding Officer of the Court with the Counsels and the Parties, non-attendance of witnesses in the cases are such factors at lower levels which need the attention of the Government for the expeditiously disposal of cases in the all Courts of the Country.

            In the upper Courts especially, in the High Court and Supreme Court, constitution of benches of two members, three members, four members etc. or Full Court is such concept which knows no finality. Even President General Musharraf, when faced this predicament of the constitution of larger and larger benches, finally destroyed the whole judiciary like a delinquent boy and created such crisis which is continuous till today. Actually, in this trickery of increase in the number of Judges in the Benches, the actual beneficiary is either the Government or a person who is supported by the Government. The same Supreme Court gave validity to the B.A. Condition in the Election and the same Supreme Court then declared it unlawful. Same kind of facts are decided by one Bench in one way and same kind of facts then decided in another way. The concept of larger and smaller benches is actually the bone of contention. The same issue if decided by a two member bench in one Government when is agitated in another Government and the number of Judges is increased to three, upside down changes the result and the previous Judgment which acts a precedent for the Courts and other institutions become meaningless. At this stage the confidence of the people is shattered in the Court's Judgments. This concept has created much uncertainty of the precedents which act as law for the rest of the Courts and Tribunals. At this stage the rule of might is right prevail. Government with abundance of resources and influence succeed in getting a verdict of its choice merely by increasing one Judge in the apex Court.

            The concept of benches both at High Court and Supreme Court should be abolished, the Judgment should be delivered either by a single Judge of these Superior Courts or all the Judges and the judgment at the stage should be final.

            Appeals from Service Tribunal or other Tribunal or Courts in the Supreme Court should be decided once for all. For example, the Supreme Court's two member bench in 1976 declared the untrained teachers entitled to annual increments and this authority remained valid till the year 2002, when a larger bench deprived them of the annual increments. Now it needs to be decided by even more larger bench or full Court whether they are entitled or not. Until the next case, not all those teachers who have been affected shall be awarded annual increments.

            These injustices are due to the procedural laws and different interpretations of the same matter by different Judges in the Governments of different Political Parties. This has created uncertainty and unpredictability of the Judgments on same facts. No one knows what the larger bench or Full Bench will do. No one can depend on the previous judgments firmly before the larger bench of the apex Court.

            The people of Malakand have not revolted against Pakistan. They are as much good Pakistani as are any other people but they have shown their resentment in their strongest terms of killing the people, destroying the State institutions. It is similar to an incident in our village. A married person had a psychotic wife. Her behaviour with him such that led always to her beating. The husband considered that his wife is not obedient to him and in with beating he would get her obedience. But with every new beating her behaviour was more inimical. At last, his brothers realised that their sister-in-law needs some medical advice. When she was shown to the doctor, the doctor immediately admitted her and started her treatment and sternly instructed her husband to change his attitude. Now she is quite well and her husband is more friendly with her.

            The people of Swat wanted speedy justice but in their demand they unknowingly adopted such behaviour which turned them "˜terrorists' and "˜anti-State' elements. They adopted violent way for the redressal of their grievance which cannot be appreciated by any sensible person. Destroying girls schools, slaughtering people were such means which made them savages in the eyes of the people of the Country and the World. Thanks to the ANP leaders who from the beginning know the medicine and the way of diagnose but the patients were so unruly that it was very difficult to medicate them.  Now it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to give approval to the agreements of the Provincial Government and the President should sign the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009 for which the people of Malakand Division in particular and the Country in general gave great sacrifice.

            The challenge of the State institutions has increased manifolds because now they will have sense the sentiments of the people and have to change their attitude towards the people so that such situations like Malakand Division may not arise in other areas of the Country. These institutions will have to review their performance so that the peace loving people may not turn into extremists or terrorists and may become so intolerant and aggressive to dismantle the whole system. The Prime Minister should always remember his promise of changing the system. When the President and the Prime Minister know everything they should not hesitate to change the system. Now the stability is directly related to the promptitude of these heads of the State and Government to effectively implement the laws which the people of the areas have demanded. The moment the laws were effectively implemented, the people will take a sigh of relief. Now the sincerity of the people is directly related to the sincerity of the Government. The Government will have to pinpoint those elements for uprooting who are hurdles in the way of justice to the people.

            The people of Pakistan have also the right to given free, fair and impartial justice at every institution of the Country. This blessing should not be confined to one area or locality.

            The Americans have elected a black person their President. This is their internal matter. The Americans have made friendship with Russia. This is their external matter of foreign policy. If in Pakistan, the Government have accepted a demand of decades, then why the Americans are suspicious about the acceptance of the demands of the people. Why the Americans have adopted different parameters of democracy. Whether our people are not justified in demanding from the Government a system of living for themselves. The people of Pakistan are as much free in their decisions as much the Americans are. The American Government should welcome the agreement for ever lasting peace otherwise America will never succeed in the future without the cooperation of the people of Pakistan in the South Asia.

Dated: Friday, 20 February 2009.