Adil Najam
In a highly anticipated and awaited verdict, the Pakistan Supreme Court just declared the steps taken by then President Gen. Pervez Musharraf illegal. The details of the decision read out by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry are still filtering in and the implications of the decision are still not fully clear. I am still grappling with what this will actually mean in implementation and would love to hear from you what you think it will mean?
It is clear from the judgment that this does NOT change the legality of the current government or of the oath taken by President Zardari. But will it effect only the judiciary decisions (judges and how many) or does it have farther reaching impacts. My sense is, it will. But I am not fully clear just yet what these will be, and how. With this decision, it seems the Supreme Court and Chief Justice are back in the news big time and maybe more than just the rhetoric will heat up!
According to details (still coming in) in The News:
The Supreme Court of Pakistan Friday declared the steps taken on November 3, 2007 by former president Pervez Musharraf as unconstitutional. The judgment came after the 14-judge larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry completed the hearing of constitutional petitions regarding PCO judges, appointments of judges of higher judiciary and November 3, 2007 steps.
The Supreme Court in its short verdict declared the steps of November 3, 2007 taken by former president Pervez Musharraf as unconstitutional. Article 279 of the Constitution was violated on November 3, 2007, it said.
It termed as illegal and unconstitutional the sacking of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and the other higher judiciary as well as the appointment of Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar as chief justice.
The oath taken by President Asif Ali Zardari will not be affected by the SC verdict, is said. All the appointments made in the higher judiciary of Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar have been termed illegal. It termed as unconstitutional all the appointments of judges during November 3, 2007 to March 24, 2008. It said the strength of Supreme Court judges will remain 17. It declared unconstitutional all the steps taken by Pervez Musharraf during November 3, 2007 to December 15, 2007 including the increasing of number of superior judges through finance bill.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry announced the verdict.
The verdict said all the appointments of judges on and after November 3, 2007 under PCO were unconstitutional. The case of PCO judges will be referred to the Supreme Judicial Council, it said. The announcement of today’s verdict sent a wave of jubilation outside the Supreme Court and at all the bar associations. Sweets are being distributed as people and lawyers are chanting slogans in support of the judiciary. The 14-judge larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry reserved the judgment after completing the hearing of the case and announced it after a delay of over four and a half hour.
So you will let an illegal person conduct an election and take oath from that illegal person yet you are perfectly legal ?
Makes no sense.
Oath giving is mere formality and consititutional requirement. The judge who gets oath is not an appointing authority.
So if Dogar was illegal, and Musharraf was also illegal, then all actions and oaths of these individuals are also illegal, i.e. Feb 18 elections and PM, Ministers taking oath from Musharraf. So when can we expect fresh elections in the country based on this so-called historic decision ?
On the NRO, this is what THE NEWS reports today:
“The judgment is clear: NRO no longer thrives as a perpetual presidential ordinance without the usual 120 days life span. The SC has given another 90 days, starting today, for parliament to either turn it into an act of parliament or watch it dissolve into nothingness. But the real question is not about what happens on this front but whether the benefits taken under NRO are legal in nature; are they transactions that shall be treated as past and closed transactions even if the ordinance is allowed to lapse or will they become alive once the ordinance dies.
This critical issue is likely to be decided through petitions like the one already filed by Roedad Khan and others and many more likely to flood the courts in the coming days. And according to sources, Jamaat-e-Islami and PTI are all set to file petitions in this regards in the coming week. Like they say the devil is in the details and come the detailed judgement of the apex court, life may become far tougher for many in the coming days.”
Reminds me of yesterday’s post:
bheNs cudd ke laay gayee killa
laa hol wala quwwat illa billa
!!!!