Ball
Is In Your Court
By Amjad Malik
28 September, 2007
Countercurrents.org
On
28 September 2007, nine member bench hearing the identical constitutional
petitions comprised of Justice Rana Bhagwan Das, Justice Javed Iqbal,
Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, Justice
Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokar, Justice Falak
Sher, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice M Javed Buttar in their
short verdict dismissed all the constitutional petitions declaring them
not maintainable by 6:3, as a result the top judiciary threw the ball
in the court of parliamentarians who gave exit to a military man to
re decide whether President General Pervez Musharraf could win the presidential
elections with their votes on 6 October 2007.
Though the judgement is quite
to the contrary to the expectations and wishes of the people of Pakistan
which were raised by the judgement of 20 July by Justice Ramdey’s
court but since its early days of this newly achieved independence as
a result of lawyers movement therefore the legal hawks were expecting
this sort of mild decision on the logic to save the system thus avoiding
martial law the old fear in Pakistan at all times and SC once against
lost the chance to nip the evil in the bud and bury ‘the law of
necessity’ forever and exit military from national politics. However
SC refused such relief inviting the Parliamentarians to do the dirty
themselves and decide whether they wish the General to be elected or
not. Its up to them what they do.
This is the time that main political parties must consider the options
to vacate the electoral college before he is re-elected or if its too
late to put all the efforts behind one neutral candidate to show spirit
of participation in electoral process otherwise people have to put up
with military controlled democracy for further five years which may
result in tragic incidents like 1971 looking at kidnapped army personnel’s
in Waziristan and wishy washy statements on Dr Qadeer Khan.
As the battle for true democracy,
rule of law and justice in Pakistan has not finished and it will be
unwise to link it with one judgement or with one judge because it has
merely begun with this decision, and one thing for sure SC closed the
doors of going to courts every Friday for seeking political decisions.
Its up to the politicians to close the gap of constitutionally improper
accommodation of any individual ultra constitutionally against the letter
and spirit of the Constitution of Pakistan wherever it is with unity
by sheer intelligence, reconciliation and consultation in the wider
interest of the state and in order to promote democratic process.
Amjad Malik
is a Solicitor-Advocate of the Supreme Court of England & Wales
and a chair of Association of Pakistani Lawyers (UK)
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