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.
@Aqil
Neither Musharraf nor his supporters made false claims about “independent judiciary” and “rule of law” while practicing none of the sort.
Iftikhar Chaudhry and his gang were unqualified to be judges in this case, or any case involving Musharraf.
It’s amuzing how the pro Mush people are whining about the bias of the judges when they had no problem with Mush stuffing the courts with judges of his own choice in order to be declared an elegible candidate for the presidency.
Nobody could be a judge in his own cause. How could the most honorable SCP forget this. However, since the judgment is in field propriety demands that all the sitting judges who ever took oath under ANY PCO whatsoever should immediately resign. It is against common sense that some PCOOOOS are okay while the last one is not…..
The judge is biased. If he is sincere and honest, he must resign after this judgement on the plea that he himself is a PCO judge!
Expected decision… “Doctrine of necessity” and revenge!
How can this decision be fair when The Judge was himself a party!
He is referring the current PCO judges case to judicial council but was against his case there.
If current PCO judges are wrong so are the judges taking oath under LFO!
If Chief Justice was fair and has regretted his oath under LFO, he would have resigned the day when he was restored…to prove that he has regretted his past decision!
If the judges are suppose to interpret constitution and law, under which law they declare some acts as lawful and some unlawful? If doctrine of necessity is wrong in one time or for one person, what makes it right in another time for another person? If dictatorship is wrong what justifies Pakistani version of democracy (worse then dictatorship)?