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Rule of law has a price An article by Amjad Malik, MA, LLM Pakistan is amid various rumours and thanks to its former intelligence tom cats and jackals who are singing like a canary acting as if supreme national interest is best served by spilling the beans. They were doing a disservice then, and not a national duty now. One thing is for sure, that they do not speak without a payment, and people needs to find out their pay master general for clarity. General Musharraf’s trial though a hot national issue, but thanks to the current day rulers who are tongue tied due to his trial dependant on the fate of the govt in the form of ‘NRO’. Supreme court’s 31 July ruling has entangled the PCO, non PCO issue and those who took oath on PCO number 2 are pulling down the one’s who were favourable to PCO number 1 via various petitions. Parliament helplessly despite the clear mandate of 18 February 2009 could not emerge as a powerful institution and is forcibly confined to a debating club, thanks to the presence of 1...þ
Rule of law has a price
An article by Amjad Malik, MA, LLM
Pakistan is amid various rumours and thanks to its former intelligence tom cats and jackals who are singing like a canary acting as if supreme national interest is best served by spilling the beans. They were doing a disservice then, and not a national duty now. One thing is for sure, that they do not speak without a payment, and people needs to find out their pay master general for clarity.
General Musharraf’s trial though a hot national issue, but thanks to the current day rulers who are tongue tied due to his trial dependant on the fate of the govt in the form of ‘NRO’. Supreme court’s 31 July ruling has entangled the PCO, non PCO issue and those who took oath on PCO number 2 are pulling down the one’s who were favourable to PCO number 1 via vario us petitions. Parliament helplessly despite the clear mandate of 18 February 2009 could not emerge as a powerful institution and is forcibly confined to a debating club, thanks to the presence of 17th amendment and lack of implementation of ‘charter of democracy’. A few critic claims that faces have changed but system of Gen Musharraf survives. president still can dismiss the national assembly is a worrying sign for democrats.
Both major political parties rather than allowing the ‘mind set’ to come forward and expose their weaknesses in governance, must sit together and allow a workable time frame for the implementation of sacred charter which has a key to the sovereignty of Parliament and true democracy and its future. Military dictators came and went on the name of ridding corruption, but when they went, neither corruption went with them, nor militancy of mind and heart. They took away remaining basic instincts of the democratic process. We fall from the hands of military dictators to civil autocrats and the nation in the end got nothing out of this exercise. That has happened not once but four times with this poor nation.
When I see the dirt y linen washed away on the media by those loyal officers I compare it with the fees of those lawyers who defended Musharraf and its regime and I laugh at this system of accountability. 80 lakhs for one day hearing is a joke. Who will make him and those of his legal hawks accountable. An armed uniformed officer refused to obey the orders of civilian elect leadership, that is not their crime. But people are hiding behind those that how many will we hang to sort out the system, are making a big mistake.Question very rightly is, have we got the courage to bury the hatchet and start from somewhere. Issue is not how many, the real issue is can we. Can this weak, incompetent, full of mal governance leadership try General Musharraf as held by Supreme Court of Pakistan on 31 July 2009 that he abrogated the constitution and amended it for his self interest when he had no such power.
Bringing him to books is a national cause, but who will bell the cat is a million dollar question. I am afraid, these rulers can not. So what’s the alternate. I think we must attempt to strengthen the civil system and pay heed to Altaf Hussain’s call for a ‘truth and reconciliation commission’ and ask people to come forward accept their mistakes and jointly start from ‘A’ position from somewhere. A new beginning, a new era. Charter of Democracy also talks of a commission of a similar sort. Time is ripe that if we as a nation wish to promote democracy and culture of tolerance then we will have to learn to sit together and start from somewhere.
4 decades of polarisation has not left any roots of a strong civil rule. Emphasis on aid rather than trade has confined this nation of 170 million to a meagre bleak economy position where IMF and World bank dictat is followed in its entirety by compulsion than on equality. US interference in our internal matters and their forces presence in Afghanistan and bordering areas of Pakistan has created a ‘national security’ threat to the state of Pakistan. Leaders of Pakistan are not looking in the eye of the nation and tell them the truth and Pakistan is not yet ripe for a revolution either, though gradually moving towards it.
Rue of law has its own price, and Pakistan needs a ruler who can make Pakistan a symbol of progress and modernity, where tolerance breeds democracy through will of people. It is not a day’s job and it is worth pondering that if nation is disappointed by these current day ruler, no one will believe their slogans of democracy20tomorrow. If taking turn is democracy then the turn is coming of the people, which will turn tide and the time is running out fast. During my visit to Pakistan, I saw leaders using Pakistan as a ‘market stalls’. They come and put their stalls, make money and run. Good governance, justice at the door step, discipline, tolerance, democracy are slogans for the election and for the poor and those claims have gone with the election of Feb 2008. In current sugar crises leaders made millions, who can try Musharraf when those who are vested a job to try him are plunderers themselves.
Amjad Malik is a Solicitor-Advocate of the Supreme Court (England) and is a current chair of Association of Pakistani Lawyers (UK)
6 September 2009
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