Adil Najam
In a rather shocking move, the President, Gen. Perzez Musharraf just dismissed the current Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry for alleged “misuse of authority.”
According to a breaking news segment at The News:
The president has submitted a case against Chaudhry to the Supreme Judicial Council. Musharraf had received “numerous complaints and serious allegations for misconduct, misuse of authority and actions prejudicial to the dignity of office of the chief justice of Pakistan,” and Chaudhry had been unable to give a satisfactory explanation, sources said. The report did not specify what he was accused of. The council is a panel of top Pakistani judges that adjudicates cases brought against serving judges and will decide whether the charges against Chaudhry merit his formal dismissal and whether he should be prosecuted.
Basing their story on the Associated Press of Pakistan, the BBC reports further:
Mr Chaudhry was summoned to explain himself to Gen Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. His case was then referred to the Supreme Judicial Council which will decide if Mr Chaudhry should be prosecuted.
The move has shocked many, but signs of its coming can now be identified in hindsight. Mr. Chaudhry had served as the Chief Justice since 2005 and, on occasion, had taken steps that had irked the power structure in Pakistan.
According to a Khaleej Times report, for example:
Last June, the Supreme Court rejected a government move to sell 75 percent of state-owned Pakistan Steel Mills to a Saudi-Russian-Pakistani consortium for 21.7 billion rupees ($362 million). Mill workers claimed it was greatly undervalued. Also, Chaudhry has heard a landmark case brought by relatives of dozens of people believed taken into secret custody by Pakistani intelligence agencies. The chief justice has pressed the government to provide information on the detainees whereabouts. Talat Masood, a political analyst, said the removal of Chaudhry demonstrated the power of the military and suggested that Musharraf’s government wanted to have a “pliable judiciary” ahead of parliamentary elections expected later this year. Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1999, is widely expected to seek another five-year term as president from parliament this fall.
Recently, an open letter from Advocate Naeem Bokhari addressed to the Chief Justice and making a number of allegations against him – some personal – has been circulating on the internet extensively. Over the last week, I received probably two dozen emails with that letter in it (many from our readers, and one from my mother!). It seems to have created a stir. Many readers have been writing that we do a post on that letter. I had not done so, just because the letter was a little puzzling to me and its motivations were not clear. I wondered also if there were hints of personal rivalries or issues. On the other hand it was a well-written and seemingly sincere letter from a person of known integrity. In retrospect, the way the letter ended was prophetic:
My Lord, this communication may anger you and you are in any case prone to get angry in a flash, but do reflect upon it. Perhaps you are not cognizant of what your brother judges feel and say about you. My Lord, before a rebellion arises among your brother judges (as in the case of Mr. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah), before the Bar stands up collectively and before the entire matter is placed before the Supreme Judicial Council, there may be time to change and make amends. I hope you have the wisdom and courage to make these amends and restore serenity, calm, compassion, patience and justice tempered with mercy to my Supreme Court. My Lord, we all live in the womb of time and are judged, both by the present and by history. The judgement about you, being rendered in the present, is adverse in the extreme.
In all honesty, one has to wonder, however, whether it was that letter and other recent media focus on the Chief Justice that led to the removal of the Chief Justice, or whether these were merely instruments designed to prepare the way for this removal?
In either case, a removal of the Chief Justice in this way and for such reasons and at this time is a sad, sad development that will be one more blow to the hopes of the development of an independent judiciary in Pakistan.
Note: At various points we have reproduced, in our right-most column, cartoons from Daily Times (and here) and The News.
Respected Dr Shahid.
this is kamran qamar.main ap k program rozana dekhta hoon aur us se bohat sari information hasil karta hoon.jab ap ko 1st time GEO per dekha phelay to heran hua aur us k bad pershan hua k apna itna bara network koin chor diya.kafi din thak to is per sochta raha aur mujahy is k koi jawab nahi mil raha tha. pher mujhay kisis na batay k ARY per pressure tha jo jis ki waja se apko chorna par gia tha.lakin pher b dil nahi manta tha.last week jab ap k programe suna aur apne jo fact bataye woh meray khyal main sub k liye heran kun thay.agar main musaraf ki jagha hota to istifa day dayta.
aj main ap se kuch discuss karna chahta hoon.main is bare main bohat zida to nahi janta hoon, haan itna zaror hai k jannay ki try karta hoon.basically main na sociology main master kia hua hai aur job ki talash kar raha hoon aur basically humara km observation karna hota hai k isa koin ho raha hai.lakain yeh bat main manta hoon apki observation k samnay mari observation to kuch b nahi hai.main na socha k main apk sath yeh bat discuss karoon may b ap mari is bat k koi acha sa jawab day dain.
ap na aksar dekha ho ga k agar ek kawa (crow)mar jaye to sare kaway ekhate ho jate hain.isi trhan agar kisi community per koi bat aye to saray log jo un community k hote hain sath ho jate hain chahe un k kitnay b ikhtalf koin na hoon. is bat ki examples humare mulk main b kafi milti hain. ap teacher ko lay lain, ap students ko lay lain, ap business man ko lay lain, ap factory owners ko lay lain.
lakin hum jab siyasat danoon ki bat karte hain to yeh cheez bilkul b dekhanay ko nahi milti.mujhay nahi samjh ati k yeh koun se jins hain is ki kia pehchan hai? is ki kia zarorat hai? is ki kia soch hai.ap ne hamesha dekha ho ga k agar kisi siyasat dan k sath kuch bura hota hai to us k sabab b sarif aur sarif siyasat dan he hota hai.
agar ek janwar par koi muskil aye to us jins k sare janwar sath kahre ho jate hain jab thak k woh pershani khatam na ho jaye.
ap mujh se zida achi trhan jante hain k sare k sare siysat dan ek dosre k kuch na kuch lagte hain pher yeh log isa koin karte hain?sara din ek dosre k sath beth kar chaye pite hain aur rat main jab yeh log media par ate hain to us ki isi ki tisi kar dayte hain.apne khud dekha ho ga jalsoo main jaloson main ek siyasat dan ko mar par rahi hoti hai us ko police ghaseet k lay ja rahi hoti hai,us ko danday mar rahi hoti hai to us k pechay betha hua b ek aur siyasat dan hota hai.
khada k liya mujahy bataye k yah log akhar koun se jins hain in ko kia naam diya jaye, in ki zat kia hai in k mazhab kia hai in ki zaroat kia hi?
agar kabhi mumkin ho to ek bar is par apna progame zaror karna. kam sa kam logon ko b to pata chale k yeh koun log hain aur kia chahte hain?
ek aur bat b main na pochni thi ap se aur woh yeh k aj kal media par sare Ministers yeh keh rahay hain k CH IFTAKHAR na yeh kia woh kia authorties ko miss use kia.kuch din phlay jang main siyasat danon ki property ki detail ayi thi aur un ko perh k mera demag karab ho gia.
meray baap b 2 karor se zida ki property hai aur aj thak main na un ko nahi dekha k unhoon na kabhi achay hotel main khana khaya ho (holiday inn, PC, etc). aj thak meray baap k pass car nahi hai.sari zindagi wagan par safar kia.yeh log kisay bare hotels main khana kha layte hain. bari bari gharyun main kisay ghumtay hain, her month Other counties k kisay chakar lagte hain? agar ho sake to is k bare main b kuch bataye ga
Do take a very very good care of yourself
Regard,
KAMRAN QAMAR
Does the postponing of the hearing mean that they are negotiating and want this whole affair to somehow go away!
As expected, This is a replica of Naeem Bukhari’s Letter but Musharraf claimed that Shareefuddin Peerzada was the first person who was reason for such reference? I dont get it because he has stepped back now due to some weird reason.
The News published today the full reference filed agianst the Chief Justice, Chaudhry Iftikhar.
HERE
Another wonderful story by Ansar Abbasi about CJ and General Musharraf’s discussion in the news today:
Sifting facts from fiction
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id =6644