Cowasjee, let Supreme Court to serve the poor masses instead of putting hands in snakes’ bag

            Only recently the Supreme Court has smashed the shackles of various pressures and has got independence to give verdicts according to the expectations of the people. People expect the Supreme Court to solve only their grievances which have destroyed their peaceful lives. Although the case which the Cowasjee has mentioned is pending before the Supreme Court, is a case to be decided but in my view is of no importance in the presence of the cases of the common people. Army and politicians have always remained in the game of aggrandisement of power. The common man is the worst sufferer in this tussle about which both the politicians and Army were not mindful. In this nasty game only those elements got benefits that were neither with people nor with army and politicians. Actually the creation of Pakistan was viewed by different segments of society differently.

People supported the creation with the hope that in Pakistan they would be provided all the happiness of life and that is why they sacrificed everything for its creation.

The big ones belonging to this area were considering the Hindus as their rivals in their progress and they were supporting the creation of Pakistan for their free progress having no competitors in any field.

The religious leaders after creation tried to transform Pakistan into such a State where only the theologians should rule the people.

These all naïve persons did not know that there was a more powerful group which possessed every sophisticated weapon in their hands. That is why all these persons were pushed to the wall and only one group emerged which not only wielded political power but also impeded the progress of every civil institution. They intruded every institution and assumed their function. Every institution was and is singing songs of the glory of this powerful group and considered themselves subservient to them. The case which Cowasjee has cited is part of the whole game which brought no good name to the Country.

            We lament that U.S or other Countries are not helping us in that way in which we deserve their full assistance. We daily put before them big figures of our losses in shape of persons and property. We time and again remind them that we are their friends against terrorism. Our lament is justifiable but their non-assistance has also reasons. The Countries which we ask for help have free thinking. They have open eyes and ears but closed mouths. On one side we condemn their every act and hold them responsible for our damage on other side we wish to increase good relations with them for our progress. Everyone wish to go to America without any hindrance but when face failure then become opponent to U.S and its policies. In my view the U.S and other European Countries know more about us than our own leaders and that is why their every act is calculated. The Kerry-Lugar Act is the best example of this knowledge. They want to assist Pakistan but on their own hands which is opposed by many.

            A very bad message goes to the World every day about our conduct when in the Supreme Court the corruption cases of our big ones are discussed. We provide proof to the U.S and other Countries about our corruption stories in the Courts. The institutions were destroyed by the persons of Authorities and were later on cleansed on a Special law which has been annulled by the apex Court. On one side the politicians are not agreeing on all issues, on other side the Supreme Court is not satisfied from the progress of the implementation of NRO judgment which is also a bad message for the rest of world from our side. How they shall become ready to help us financially when the cases about financial mismanagement are lying in the Courts. Any more financial help means to sow rice in the desert.

            The concept of ‘De facto versus de jure’ is a reality and is being perpetrated with full assistance of those who believe in the democracy and democratic ideals—U.S and its allies. Why the drone attacks were not stopped in Pakistan? The Parliament should assert its authority on the implementation of its own resolution about stoppage of drone attacks. The common people have now concentrated their attention on their own problems and are imploring the Supreme Court for the redressal of their grievances.

            When the Supreme Court time and again reminding the Government to improve the pace of the implementation of its judgments, the common man as well as the world Countries get bad impression about the mode of governance in the Country.

            The measures which you have cited are in the knowledge of everyone but they are helpless before the might of gunmen. People say that Pakistan has not progressed at that speed which was expected. Yes, but here corrupts, cheats and sycophants have progressed and have gone to such climax whence they even compelled the President of the time to issue a law for their safe future. One cannot say that NRO was annulled just to bring down the present Government. NRO had been challenged just after issuance because the far-sighted persons belonging to civil society and legal fraternity had considered it a big stigma on the forehead of the Country.

            Both the young generation and old generation are feeling suffocation in the present circumstances. The young generation consider their future dark while the old generation consider the creation of Pakistan a futile exercise when the greater and lofty ideals have not been achieved. Why extremism flourished? Why preventive measures were not taken at the outset? Where were the law enforcing agencies when the condition deteriorated? No one is ready to put light on the real situations. The number of political parties is increasing. The old parties are diminishing in their sizes which indicate that the society is fragmenting day by day.

            The NWFP Minister for Education has asked the teachers to send their children to Government Schools but has failed to ask everyone who is getting salary from the Government Exchequer to send their children to Government Schools. Uniform system of Education and quick justice are the only remedies to all the problems. National unity cannot be brought through songs or lectures of the orators. You cannot change the society by bringing more and more laws.

            Cowasjee, our problems are multiplying daily while once again you want to engage the apex Court with Army. There would be some reason behind this that the case is not coming to conclusion. Let the politicians get their powers from those who want to control them (the politicians). The Supreme Court is not the “Contractor” of correcting every thing.

Manzoor Ahmad Yousafzai

Dated: Tuesday, 23 March 2010.

De facto versus de jure

By Ardeshir Cowasjee
Sunday, 21 Mar, 2010

The other day I had a conversation with a man less than half my age, a well-educated democratic Pakistani, and on-the-ball as far as happenings are concerned in what is not Jinnah’s Pakistan but rather a mishmash of Ziaul Haq's theocracy and a corrupt, dysfunctional, governance-free autocracy.

A question I posed: who now is the most powerful man in Pakistan? Without pondering, his immediate response was: the chief of army staff. Now, this happens to be a de facto reality, no matter what anyone may say to the contrary. News items in the media, almost on a daily basis, tell us who Gen Ashfaq Kayani has met — from the US secretary of state and all other visiting US civilian or military fireman down to functionaries of our own government.

On March 16 ‘key federal secretaries’ met the general at GHQ to sort out our foreign policy, which the army runs. Such is the dominance of the army in the life of Pakistan — admittedly the sole organised fully functional institution we have that can still hold high its head despite the setbacks of the periods when it has wielded de jure power.

The army has no rivals. The ‘supremacy of parliament’ is but a myth. Not only is it not supreme when it comes to the Pakistan Army, but it is also subservient to the presidency over which reigns the de jure co-chairman of the party in power, who in turn has no option but to heed Kayani’s ‘advice’ on all vital policy matters.

Conspiracy theories concerning those who are, as it is known, ‘in power’ abound. As far as the army chief is concerned he has to do nothing but wait and deal competently with the menace of militant extremism that stalks the land, abundant in our western border areas and spreading fast downwards through the lush Punjabi plains.

The army is his and he can give extensions of service to whomsoever he may choose and there is little that the supreme commander or the supremacy of parliament can do about it. The press front-pages news of extensions of service given, of promotions made (even of brigadiers to major generals), then raises objections which are rightly ignored by the army.

The supreme commander, in his precarious position, put in place by Master USA can but acquiesce, for he is as sure as are we that whatever is done by Kayani is in consonance with the desires of Washington.

A rather nasty conspiracy theory doing the rounds is that the quickest way to bring Pakistan to its knees, literally, was to appoint the present president. Time will tell on that one, but as long as the army reigns supreme, de facto, as opposed to the supremacy of parliament, existence as we know it will carry on.

The army has for long been on top of it all, even prior to 1958. Pakistan’s first military attaché went to Washington in 1952.

He received instructions from the then commander-in-chief Gen Ayub Khan and defence secretary Iskander Mirza that his main task was to procure military equipment from the Pentagon and that there was no need to take on board either ambassador or foreign office as “these civilians cannot be trusted with such sensitive matters of national security”. Ayub Khan was appointed defence minister in a civilian government in 1954.

As to the right of Kayani to make his own appointments, readers are referred to a letter published in this newspaper on March 13, written by one man of integrity who has sustained respect over the years, his integrity amply proven by the fact that he has never been able to succeed in politics.

Air Marshal Asghar Khan has this to say on the “recent extension of service given to some generals”: “A service chief is within his rights to recommend to the government any such step which, in his opinion, is in the interests of the country or of the service he commands.”

There has been much of a kerfuffle over the extension given to the ISI head, Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha. It is obvious that both the army chief and Washington have decided that at this stage of the operations being conducted against the Taliban a change in intelligence command would not be advisable. That is not difficult to comprehend.

Having mentioned Asghar Khan and the ISI, I am reminded that there still lingers in the Supreme Court of Pakistan Asghar’s human rights petition of 1996 concerning the disbursement by the ISI of state money to influence politics — the elections of 1990.

The ISI, which has within it a ‘politician cell’, has been at play meddling in the political field since the days of Ayub Khan when he was jostling with power and held his elections the result of which was a foregone conclusion.

It held its hand in the 1970 elections, the only completely free and fair elections we have had. Since then, in 1977, 1988, and throughout the 1990s it has been heavily involved in sorting out governments. Active involvement in the 2008 elections was not necessary as the sympathy vote took care of that one.

In 2006, soon after Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry took office I had occasion to remind him of Asghar’s petition and requested that he hear and finally decide this pending matter of national importance. Events intervened. May I again, with all due respect, request that the petition be resurrected (judgment was reserved by the then chief justice of Pakistan at the last hearing in 1999, 11 years ago) and before the air marshal and some of those involved go to different place, it finally be decided.