Post-NRO Pakistan: Uncertainty Rules, Again

Posted on December 19, 2009
Filed Under >Adil Najam, Law & Justice, Politics
26 Comments
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Adil Najam

As our ongoing ATP Poll on what should happen after the NRO decision by by the Supreme Court shows, there are many options but little clarity on what will happen nexts. Ministers are being stopped at airports. Summons are supposedly being sent to Ministers. PPP leaders are coming to the defense of their colleagues. And the PPP is vowing to go back to the courts to clear their name. In short, uncertainty rules Pakistan politics, again.

Presidents Pervez Musharraf and Asif ZardariPresidents Pervez Musharraf and Asif Zardari

This is clearly a challenging political moment for Pakistan. But it can also be a precedent-setting moment. A moment where the process of democracy and rule of law reconcile with each other without offending the basic principles of either. Uncertainty must not be allowed to morph into chaos, but the rule of law must also be maintained. If. Mr. Zardari and the PPP show political maturity in this moment, they could come out with more support than they had a week ago. But will they?

This editorial from Dawn seems to sum up many of the issues quite well.

In the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court’s judgment on the NRO, the ever-churning political waters in the country have been stirred to a frenzy. Uncertainty, if not panic, is detectable in the ranks of the PPP brain trust as the judicial wheels have swiftly started turning with unknown consequences. Meanwhile, sections of the media have gone into overdrive against ‘tainted’ and ‘immoral’ NRO beneficiaries, regardless of whether the cases had resulted in convictions or not.

Panic, glee, consternation, joy — amid the welter of emotions, few have thought to step back from the cacophony and find a way to protect the system and the transition to democracy. The post-NRO political landscape need not degenerate into a zero-sum game where the fate of individuals is elevated in importance above the fate of the system.

First things first, the judicial process unfolding to take the 8,000-odd beneficiaries of the NRO to their pre-Oct 5, 2007 status must be conducted with deliberateness and thoughtfulness. It is a process with no precedent in the country and it should be guided by the experts, unaffected by the political polemicists with barely concealed agendas. At the moment, it seems anyone who may or may not have ever seen a legal textbook or may or may not know the difference between civil and criminal proceedings is expounding on the effects of the NRO judgment. Such ‘expertise,’ whether well-intentioned or not, is certainly undesirable. It is imperative that the judiciary in consultation with the relevant parts of the executive be allowed to develop a road map based on the Supreme Court’s judgment to restore the pre-Oct 5, 2007 position of the NRO beneficiaries — undoing an illegality, however blatant, must be done along legal principles, not political expediencies.

Next, the political forces on both sides must proceed with caution. The PPP-led government at the centre must resist the urge, if any, to ‘respond’ to its detractors. Instead, it must demonstrate a genuine will to implement the Supreme Court’s order and allow the law to run its course. After years, if not a decade, of claiming that ‘political persecution’ was behind the cases registered against its member, now is truly an opportunity for them to clear their names and get a fresh start. The opposition, meanwhile, needs to be mindful that any short-term ‘gains’ to be had by rocking the system can morph into long-term damage if it creates space for extra-constitutional forces to create mischief. The democratic system can emerge stronger from this watershed event, but only if everyone keeps one eye on weeding out corruption and the other on protecting the democratic system.

Meanwhile, our ATP Poll on what should happen next is still open; if you have not voted yet, please do.

26 responses to “Post-NRO Pakistan: Uncertainty Rules, Again”

  1. Nadeem Ahsan says:

    Pakistanis cry. Pakistanis Weep. Pakistanis scream. Pakistanis mourn. Pakistanis wait for leaders. They have been waiting for 60 odd years. Yet no one in sight. Pakistanis are now waiting for the CJ to deliver justice. Just as it is about to happen, the cold hands of the intelligence agencies are up again to snatch away Justice from Pakistanis. But, Pakistanis will not rest in peace until Inshallah, justice is delivered. Justice may be denied, but for how long Pakistanis ask. Pakistanis demand Justice. Pakistanis expect Justice. Pakistanis will rejoice when Justice is delivered and the corrupt are prosecuted. They will not rest until then. Pakistanis will resist any attempt to impose martial law. This is not the Pakistan of 1999, this is the Pakistan of 2009. This is a Pakistan of free media and freedoms.

  2. Obaid says:

    This thing about holding ministers at airports etc. i not good. I do not like these guys but this is disrespectful to teh country and makes our image internationally even worse. The courts shoudl clarify what they need done with those in office.

  3. Farooq says:

    You are right. This coudl become a historic opportunity to pt democracy right. Zardari should go to the court and say “please try me.” If there is real evidence let teh verdict be against him. If not, let him clear his name as he says he is not guilty. Actually, if Msharraf coul not prove teh case against him, then maybe there just is not teh evidence.

  4. S. Harpasand says:

    How could Supreme Court cancel the amnesty for Zardari and his cohorts but not do the same to all the other amnesties signed-off by Musharraf ? For example, Mush also gave pardon to Dr. AQ Khan. Why is that constitutional but not the Zardari amnesty ?

    And if people and Govt of Pak are going to hold Zardari accountable for foreign court verdicts (like the swiss case) then why not honor all the other foreign court cases against prominent pakis …..like lets say the ones against Dr. AQ Khan ?

    Why such selective application of laws ?

  5. Azra says:

    I like the picture on your Facebook page with this story: Shararti logoun kay leeaye saza ka maqool intizaam hai!

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