With
Deportation Of Nawaz Sharif,
The End Game Begins
By Brigadier (R)
Usman Khalid
11 September, 2007
Countercurrents.org
The
holding of the office of COAS by General Musharraf is illegal after
his tenure of three years ended in October 2001; secondly after he attained
the age of superannuation on August 10, 2003; and thirdly after incurring
disqualification under Article 63 (1) (d) of the Constitution on December
31, 2004.
In a column titled ‘Beginning of the End’ in ‘The
Nation’ Lahore of 19 March 2007 I wrote that the End of Musharraf
began with his decision to file a reference against the Chief Justice.
The swagger sticks of the generals could not obtain the resignation
of the Chief Justice of Pakistan; the aura of the Presidency melted
away. On 12 May he compounded his error by ‘demonstration of force’
in Karachi and Islamabad simultaneously. To prevent the Chief Justice
of Pakistan from addressing the High Court Bar Association in Karachi,
the CJ was detained at the air port while the police stood aside and
armed thugs of the MQM fired directly into crowds. They killed forty
citizens of Karachi while the General himself was addressing crowds
in Islamabad bussed at government expense hundreds of miles by Nazims
(Mayors) from the Punjab and Frontier Provinces. He told the crowd that
the ‘show of force’ by the MQM in Karachi and ‘show
of support’ by his Kings Party in Islamabad was clear proof that
the people were with him and not the Chief Justice. Besides that being
untrue, he missed the point that the case of the Chief Justice was going
to be decided by Supreme Court and not by popular vote.
On September 10, 2007 (Pakistan’s
9/10) President Musharraf carried out another demonstration of force,
once again to intimidate the judiciary. He despatched the former Prime
Minister of Pakistan – Mian Nawaz Sharif – back into exile
in Saudi Arabia despite the Supreme Court having ordered the federal
and provincial governments not to obstruct his return to the country.
This order was passed upholding a fundamental right under Article 15
of the Constitution. General Musharraf has obviously not understood
that one do a lot of things with bayonets except sitting on them. The
demonstration of force on 12 May did not intimidate the judges. If anything,
their resolve to do the right thing must have been strengthened. The
Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution did not give the President
an authority to remove the Chief Justice. Mr Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry
was reinstated as the Chief Justice by the orders of the Supreme Court.
Independence of the Judiciary was thus asserted and institutionalised
by the high judiciary by its own action.
While Mian Nawaz Sharif was
being put on a plane to Jeddah on 10 September, the MQM filled the courtyard
of the High Court in Karachi with workers and carried out a gherao of
the building to intimidate the bench engaged in suo moto hearing of
12 May riots in Karachi. A lawyer assisting the court was murdered on
the premises and several other lawyers were beaten up by MQM thugs.
Like 12 May, 10 September was an orchestrated scheme of the Musharraf
administration to intimidate the judiciary. It succeeded on the day.
The hearing of 12 May Riots was postponed and the Supreme Court did
not take suo moto notice of the defiance of the court order by the government,
which was being flouted on TV screens of Pakistan. It was a clear case
of ‘contempt of court’ but it was perhaps not the right
time or occasion to take suo moto notice. In any case, a petition has
been filed against the ‘forced exile’ and redress sought
in ordering the government to facilitate the return of Mian Nawaz Sharif
from Jeddah.
It has become apparent that
frequent visitation of military rule in Pakistan is not because the
Generals are ambitious and avaricious, it is the acquiescent judiciary
willing to ignore, even endorse, the excesses of the Executive Branch
of Government, which makes that possible. When one judge – Justice
Iftikhar Chaudhry – refused to be intimidated into resigning,
the glare of accolade reformed the entire judicial establishment almost
overnight. The political establishment has also been provided the same
opportunity. The MNAs and MPAs are being asked to elect Musharraf as
President in uniform. All of them – whatever their party - can
also make public declaration that they will NOT vote for Mushharaf.
The political scene would be transformed overnight - once again by public
accolade rather than by threat of being nabbed by NAB. In the USA, an
electoral college elects the President. But since all those who seek
election to the Electoral College, declare beforehand which candidate
they support, the Presidential election in the USA is effectively a
‘direct’ election. There is no reason why the members of
the Electoral College for the Presidential election in Pakistan cannot
make the election equally transparent by declaring their intent beforehand.
Judicial activism has since
led to the release of a long incarcerated PML (N) Leader – Javed
Hashmi – and dozens of ‘disappeared’ who had been
held incommunicado without charge or trial for years. The most important
decision of the Supreme Court, thus far, has been to rule that Mian
Nawaz Sharif could return from exile abroad and that his return not
be impeded. There were signs that Musharraf would defy the Supreme Court.
The first salvo was fired by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs –
Dr. Sher Afgan – who said on TV that the judgement would be defied.
He was indicted for ‘contempt of court’ but before the case
against him could be heard, the ‘contempt’ precipitated.
The high judiciary in Pakistan is faced with intimidation as well defiance
initiated by the same person – General Musharraf. If that person
is dealt with first, the structure of intimidation and defiance will
melt away. At this time, the Supreme Court has several important petitions
before it. The most important are those filed by Qazi Hussain Ahmed
and Imran Khan. They have pleaded that the holding of the office of
COAS by General Musharraf is illegal after his tenure of three years
ended in October 2001, secondly after he attained the age of superannuation
on August 10, 2003, and thirdly after incurring disqualification under
Article 63 (1) (d) of the Constitution on December 31, 2004. The redress
is that General Musharraf should be retired forthwith.
The case of eligibility of
General Musharraf to contest election for President is also going to
come before the Supreme Court unless he is held to be disqualified by
the Election Commission first. The misconduct of General Musharraf has
provided an opportunity to every institution of the state to reform
itself rather than await a political messiah who will never come. He
also provides an opportunity to past and present collaborators of foreign
powers to hang themselves as Benazir is doing. I am more optimistic
than ever before in the 73 years of my life. I can see that the country
is being ruled by three armed mafias. The MQM in the South, the Takfiri
(those who consider the non-devout as worse than Kafir) mis-named as
Taliban in the North, and the military. (The military operates like
a mafia when it defies the state and obeys even unlawful orders of its
commanders). General Musharraf depends on the Military and the MQM for
his political survival. Only when he goes, the military can be brought
back under the state’s law and control and the other two mafias
can be tamed. It would have been better if the rebellion by the Electoral
College had materialised before the judgement of the Supreme Court on
petitions by Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Imran Khan. But I am sure the Supreme
Court can deal with a littler extra burden and a little more pressure.
The writer is Director London
Institute of South Asia
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