Adil Najam
In what is clearly a historic development, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani addressed the nation to announce the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The address, which was supposed to be at 2AM Pakistan Time, was late by many hours but the subtext was true to the rumors that had been circulating in Pakistan all day:
Here is the full text of the Prime Minister’s speech:
My dear countrymen Assalam-o-Alaikum,
I am speaking to you at a time when our country is standing at a critical moment. No country can make progress without political tolerance and the PPP and lawyers have been together in struggle for upholding democracy in Pakistan. Shaheed Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto actively participated in the struggle of restoration of judiciary was launched by lawyers. Benazir Bhutto wanted free judiciary and supremacy of the constitution.
The lawyers’ movement for restoring of judges was their democratic right. The PPP was shoulder to shoulder with the lawyers in the cause for the independent judiciary.
The slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto also wanted to reinstate the deposed chief justice.
I have taken all his coalition partners and the President into confidence about the reinstatement of the deposed chief justice once the current chief justice retires on March 21.
The deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will assume charges on March 21.
Benazir Bhutto wanted free judiciary and supremacy of the constitution.
I order all the provincial government to abolish Section 144 at once.
After consultations with all political forces of the country and President Asif Ali Zardari, we have decided to restore all deposed judges including Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as Chief Justice of Pakistan who will assume charge on March 21. The current Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar retires on March 21. I urge all the political forces and lawyers to work for the solidarity and welfare of the country.
Pakistan Paindabad.
Just over two years after he was first unceremoniously removed by Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf, and having once been restored by the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has now been ‘restored’ yet again as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The road from there has been tumultuous. The movement that gathered around him was always bigger than the CJ and it was bigger than those around him. The vindication today is not simply of Chief Justice Chaudhry, it is a vindication of Pakistan’s civil society.
ATP has covered the ups and down of this story. For some reason one has a sense that this story is not over yet. We have celebrated a reinstatement once before too. And from the PM’s speech it is not clear at all what the terms of the decision really are. But right now one wishes simply to bask in the joyousness of the moment, in the vindication of justice, in the goodness of the news. There is much analysis that is needed, but let us leave that for just a little later.
Sufi Muhammad has said that “Nizam-e-Adl” is now in force and does not require the President’s signature. He has told Judges to stay away from the courts which will now be run by Qazis appointed by him! Sounds familiar? Think… Nov 3, 2007. Are we going to have another Long March? Or, are these just a bunch of backward Pathans in the mountains… who cares!??
Qazi Hussain Ahmed said that “we had waited 61 years for ‘Nizam-e-Adl’ to finally be established in Pakistan”. He said this while celebrating with the lawyers, civil society and political workers (i.e. religious fascists of all ilk (just check the flags and banners being waved), and their appeasers the TI and PML(N)) this morning. This from the leader of a party that opposed Jinnah. Has Jinnah really won? Have we really done anything to ensure that Jinnah’s vision as expressed by him on 11th August 1947 is any closer to becoming a reality?
Have we forgotten how these guys treat Asma Jehangir, Tahira Abdullah and will do Ghazala Minallah? Akhtar Hameed Khan? Imran Khan and even Nawaz Sharif are gravely mistaken if they think the likes of Sufi Muhammad will be happy to stay ‘junior partners’. They have the guns, the hate, the nihilism and the will.
The Taliban in Swat will not be disarmed, according to the deal. They will merely ‘lay down’ their arms.. but keep them close at hand. That is what allows Sufi Muhammad to declare the President of Pakistan’s signature irrelevant. This is what we have capitulated to.
This cannot be called the Swatis’ free choice. How can you make a free choice when the Taliban hold a gun to your head and the state and it’s army have clearly abdicated all legal and moral repsonsibility and abandoned you!
Now it’d be free choice if Sharia were imposed in Zaman Park, or Raiwind farms/Model Town H block, or Defence Housing Society, or E7. Do that, and I’ll have more respect for these guys’ motives, even if none for their views. Dwellers of Mansura at least are not dishonest.. respectably determined, dangerous fascists.
How many in the media speak up against this? How many condone it? How many accept it as invetibale? We have hailed a largely blinkered media and its virtual black out of the ‘other’ opinion, for its almost blanket support of CJ Chaudhry. Now will we take control and show the media that we will not be led by it? A free media is a great and precious thing. Do we have the capability and will to now force this free media to start becoming more objective… and professional?
If we think that the country can go forward while at the same time ignoring the girls of Swat being pushed back to the dark ages.. we are very gravely mistaken. Are those girls not Pakistani? Are they not human?
It is a good day for the people of Pakistan. This is not about the Chief Justice or Nawaz Sharif and we shoudl always remember not to make it about them. This was about Pakistanis saying “enough is enough” and showing politicial persistence to get institutions right.
Bad day for enemies of Pakistan who are all sad today.
PAKISTAN ZINDABAD!
Yes it is a bhangra time. Let’s all celebrate as we alltogether have conquered the world and showed them that day will come when we surely going to return their aid and loan back with interest. Yes today we need your money to survive but still we are the greatest and much much higher to your capabilities. kudos
Kudos to Pakistan. Mia sahab zindabad, please make our great country to the highest echons and spit the u.s. taxpayers money.
Let us tell the world that we being the most successful democracy in the world and will be in the future. Please make this nation to respectable place that we don’t have to rely on the foreign aid for the survival as we say the pakistaniat.
As we all beleive that we are the biggest economy in the world because of the great brain and dedication to our country we have.
Will Justice Ifthekar continue with his tradition of taking suo moto notices and take any action against any of the following individuals:
1. Mr. 10%: Charges against him are definitely too long to list here.
2. Nawaz Sharif: Again a long list of corruption and kick back charges against him also, dating all the way back to Motorway & Yellow Cab scheme days. Qarza utaro, mulk sanawaro. Where did all that money go? and in more recent history, the plane hijacking case.
3. Musharraf: For breaking the constitution and that wonderful piece of ordinance called ‘NRO’. All charges against the dacoits of Pakistan are dropped and they all are welcome back to Paksitan as long as i get to keep my presidency. What the heck was that?
4. Justice Doger: Whatever happened to his daughter’s marks case?