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.
The TV image of Chief Justice of Supreme Court sitting like an erring child in front of General Musharraf, dressed in military uniform, glowering at the judge was more eloquent a commentary on the state of affairs in Pakistan than any I have seen so far.
Musharraf has not taken this step out of love for justice, fairness and to end corruption etc. Otherwise he would not have been holding on to all those corrupt PML-Q & PPP-P people for the last so many years in order to strengthen and perpetuate his hold on power.
Thanks to the journalist who appeared on GEO yesterday, and clarified that the documents regarding CJ’s son’s transfer to the FIA show that not only the Govt. itself was involved in this act but that it bore signatures of officials all the way from IG Punjab to the PM of Pakistan as well. Now after going through the entire act Govt. had a sudden revelation that it’s considered corruption?
And I’ve a few questions pertaining to this piece of information.
1. If CJ did in fact apply force to get this done, why did the government submit to it? If the motive behind his removal now is to curb corruption in the judiciary, why wasn’t his case referred to the Supreme Judicial Council right there and then? What took the government this long?
2. And if they knowingly submitted to an illegal direction of the CJ of Pakistan then they are as much responsible for the act as the CJ himself and should be sacked along with him (that includes the PM of Pakistan as well)
(B) Government of Pakistan says that he was asking for too much protocol. I’m sure that whatever he was asking for couldn’t possibly have been more than what Musharraf gets. I’m positive that almost all of you have suffered when he moves around in Lahore and Karachi. I remember being caged in my home for hours because the police and paramilitary forces won’t let us out even on foot when the Presidential motorcade was supposed to pass in front of our place in Lahore. Heck, a young girl died of a ruptured appendix in Karachi last year since her folks couldn’t take her to the hospital in time, reason being them stuck in traffic waiting for the Presidential motorcade to pass. Now compare what the CJ got to what Musharraf asks for and tell us as to who deserves eviction from his seat of power more?
The maula jutt header is funny but appropiate. :-)
What I feel that Iftikhar Ch will be forced to leave office and say SORRY on TV infront of Public. He would also be offended like AQ Khan and will be forced to admit the sins which he has not done.
I am glad to know that all elements of Judiciary system,common people[regardles of their relgious,culture belief] are protesting this act of dictator. Hope this demonstration of unity brings something fruitful.
It would also be good if bloggers express protest by puting some banner or text like they did against blogspot censorship.Dr. alvi can be expected to make some image in this regard.
I absolutely agree with Shaji; the CJ and his former and current colleagues had ample opportunity to get the rulers in check; the LFO fiasco and taking oath to pledge allegience to the new military rulers; the judiciary’s death did not come yesterday, it came with the judgement that sent ZAB to the gallows; and before that judgements which provided tacit approvals of military rule under the garb of “doctrine of necessity”
Adil,
I think Faiz’s ‘Hum Dekhain Gay’ will also be a befitting song for this event.