Here we go again! This government’s latest own goal comes in the form of a letter to be sent to the Supreme Court by NAB authorities challenging not just the apex court’s competence to probe the Bank of Punjab scandal but also the validity of the prime minister’s executive order of March 15, 2009, that reinstated the judges. It represents the most direct challenge yet to the authority of the judiciary.
Who gave the NAB prosecutor general carte blanche to prepare a charge sheet against the Supreme Court? How can a petty functionary from a government agency muster up such audacity and impudence of his own volition without the backing of higher authorities? This government has been at pains to bring NAB under the control of the Law Ministry because of which we have seen a steady parade of officials passing through the turnstile as the search continued for compliant officers. A number of former NAB officials have either resigned or gone on extended leave because they found it impossible to work under the stifling influence of the law minister. One such official even admitted before the Supreme Court that the law minister’s interference has made implementation of the NRO verdict impossible. But this letter would appear to indicate that the government’s search for cooperative officials has finally borne fruit. Having succeeded in bringing NAB under its thumb, the government cannot distance itself from the views expressed in the NAB letter. Lack of action against the concerned NAB officials, along the lines of the firing of Advocate Abdul Basit from representing the government in the NRO implementation case, further proves the government’s complicity in the matter.
The fact is that all the issues and questions raised in the NAB letter have already been comprehensively settled in the PCO case verdict, which was unanimously hailed as a watershed by all and sundry. So then why rehash old issues now when the Supreme Court is in the process of deciding the fate of the 18th Amendment and is pushing for the implementation of the NRO verdict? Is the objective to create instability and uncertainty? Or is it to discredit and undermine the judiciary and cloak it in a fog of controversy in the hope that some of the smears might stick?
The nation mobilised in the historic long march of March 15, 2009, for the restoration of the suspended judges and a panic-stricken prime minister had no choice but to submit to the public will or risk the consequences of facing the wrath of the enraged millions if they reached Islamabad. His executive order, therefore, conformed to the will of the political sovereign, i.e. the public, who are the highest legitimising authority in democracy. The whole nation rejoiced at and celebrated the restoration of the judges. If this order was deemed to be invalid, then why did NAB wait sixteen months to raise objections? And if it is illegal then, before anything else, why has the attorney general not taken action against the prime minister for overstepping his authority?
In any case, the prime minister’s order to restore the judges has since been superseded by the Supreme Court’s PCO verdict, which declared the PCO to be invalid and illegal ab initio. As such, the validity of the prime minister’s executive order is no longer of any consequence. Similarly, if Justice Ramday’s appointment as ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court by the prime minister was illegal, why did NAB remain silent for so many months?
The prime minister stood on the floor of the National Assembly one morning and issued a thinly veiled threat to the judiciary saying that his executive order restoring the judges had yet to be approved by parliament, but then gate-crashed the chief justice’s dinner the same evening and invited him to a meeting at the Prime Minister’s House the next day in which the issue of the appointment of judges was amicably worked out to everyone’s relief. At that time the prime minister was hailed as a hero for saving the government by diffusing tensions between the executive and the judiciary. Why pick on the scabs now when the wound has begun to heal?
Since the NAB letter is not part of court record yet, it remains to be seen whether the Supreme Court will view it as constituting a contempt of court or not. But it is hard to escape the conclusion that its contents manifest not just a contempt of court but a criminal disregard for constitutional and democratic propriety. Court rulings are not implemented and direct court orders to officials are ignored, but the judiciary seems to be treading lightly these days. The vitality and vigour it displayed in expressing its independence and setting right the obvious wrongs was taken to be judicial activism for which it was severely criticised, not just by the proponents and beneficiaries of the status quo but even by some of those who fought and agitated for judicial independence but have since been marching to the tune of a different drummer. Nevertheless, it needs to be said that at a time when politicians and surprisingly even portions of civil society have accepted the prevailing stench as a fait accompli and have busied themselves in the procurement of personal benefits, the judiciary alone stands as our last line of defence against all that is wrong. If it is silenced or subdued, all will be lost.
Corruption is out of control, national sovereignty has been severely compromised and incompetence in high positions of authority has become intolerable, but we are told to be patient and not do anything to jeopardise the ‘system’, as if the ‘system’ is ordained by divine authority. Is it really so difficult to see that there is no system? All that is there is an unimpeded rampage over laws, institutions and established codes of ethics. What is referred to as the ‘system’ is in fact an open declaration of war against the judiciary, undermining of vital state institutions, fiddling with the Constitution, ostensibly to restore it to its original splendour but with the real objective of hamstring the judiciary and making the elected parliament subservient to unelected party heads, imposition of governor’s rule in Punjab (which is being threatened once again) and a plethora of massive corruption scandals that are far too numerous to be fully chronicled in this limited space. And let us not forget the new NAB laws that are reportedly on the drawing boards that will legalise and institutionalise loot and plunder. This is the ‘system’ some are so desperate to preserve. Patience is a virtue but even virtues have their limits. At this rate, pretty soon there will be neither a ‘system’ nor a country left to save.
The legacy this government is likely to yield is the dismantling of the edifice of Pakistani state by systematically undermining and corroding the institutions that support it. If what remains of the state implodes, the reverberations will resonate around the world with far greater force than the collapse of the World Trade Centre in New York. Unholy hell will, no doubt, be unleashed on us if that happens, but it is hard to see how this will advance the interests of those foreign powers that have vested security interests in this region.
The writer is vice-chairman of Sindh National Front and a former MPA from Ratodero. He has degrees from the University of Buckingham and Cambridge University.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment