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The Holy Cow 6

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Unread post Thu May 08, 2014 11:20 am
High Treason!

It’s just a coincidence that our final article no 6 happens to be about the article six of the constitution, which says,
High treason.- (1) Any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends
or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or
suspend or hold in abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of
force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.
(2) Any person aiding or abetting 5[or collaborating] the acts mentioned
in clause (1) shall likewise be guilty of high treason.
6(2A) An act of high treason mentioned in clause (1) or clause (2) shall
not be validated by any court including the Supreme Court and a High Court.
(3) [Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] shall by law provide for the
punishment of persons found guilty of high treason.
This article is important to discuss, as it’s this article that hangs over the head of Musharraf and is causing the rift between the government and the Pak Army. The government of Nawaz seems determined to indict the former Army Chief and the military dictator who ousted the government of Nawaz in 1999 and took the power. Strangely Musharraf is not indicted for that committed crime, but is tried for another crime of declaring an emergency in 2007, a far lesser crime than the former one. The move baffles everyone and yet all know why the government insists on singling out Pervaiz Musharraf. The argument is being given that the act of 1999 had been endorsed by the parliament and judiciary of that time and therefore Musharraf cannot be tried for that crime. This argument is just lame, as the amendment granting him the endorsement has been reversed few years back by 19th amendment.
I have always been a staunch opponent of military dictatorship and am for some kind of retribution for those who breached the constitution at any given time, but the more I read this document the more it gets clearer to me that the history of our civil and military relationship is far complicated that it appears at first sight. Sikandar Mirza was the first civilian who declared an emergency. Ayub was the first General to declare a Martial Law, Bhutto was a civilian minister serving in the Ayub’s cabinet. Bhutto challenged the authority of Ayub and came to power, after being groomed in the lap of a dictator. Zia as a General who ousted and killed Bhutto and yet tutored Nawaz for the job of so called civilian government. The story can go on and on, without coming to a happy ending. In order to stay close to the subject, I need to stay focused on article six. Bhutto devised it because he feared the Army Generals. He stupidly believed that by declaring any coup as high treason, he could seal the door from where the Generals emerged as dictators, he forgot that the only way to stop such adventurists from trying their luck, was to strengthen the democratic institutions and educate the people. Bhutto was no less than a civilian dictator all intoxicated by power and therefore he perished in an unnatural manner. The realization about the truth must have been quite bitter to swallow just before he was hanged that a piece of paper is worthless in front of a gun/sword.
After the death of Zia, PPP came to power, but their revenge couldn’t be more than to loot the country and grab as much money as it was possible, so the nation learned the amazing stories of corruption. Zia’s remnants were strong and therefore could go on ruling the country under the leadership of Nawaz with intervals, until NS found his Overman, Musharraf, who kicked Nawaz out of the country in a very humiliating manner. Nawaz has now gotten the chance to even the scores,but the big question remains, would he be able to do that or he is just repeating the history of his failures to complete full terms of his tenure. His relations with the Army are at its lowest and the treason proceedings against Musharraf are becoming a noose for this fatty, pathetic man. Nawaz came to power through unprecedented and historical rigging, is the accusation heard from almost all corners and yet he feels secure enough to not do anything about his reputation or to allow the sitting judiciary to look closer at the allegations and punish those who made it possible. He was given the blessings of powerful local and International actors and in return he promised to enforce the invisible agenda, like to please IMF, World Bank,USA, Serving Indian interests and declaring her as a most favored nation, settling the Kashmir issue on Indian terms….. and so on. I know, I’m drifting away from the subject and need to come back to the relevant issue.
Article six can’t be applied at random and in a discriminating manner. Who is going to decide who is a patriot and who is a traitor? Ayub breached the constitution of 1956, didn’t he deserve to be charged for high treason? Bhutto was a collaborator, so he also was a co-criminal. Zia abrogated the constitution of 73 and for that reason needed to be put before the law to be declared a traitor. Nawaz was a partner of the traitor, so he deserved no mercy either. We can go on with the examples but believe that the message is perceived. No justice to Musharraf can be done, if all the other culprits remain at large. The article six is so vague and yet so broad that thousands of people fall in its sphere. If we start from Ayub’s period all his cabinet members become traitors,all the bureaucracy falls in this category, any generals who supported the coup of 58 become collaborators,all the judges that supported that overthrow did commit a serious crime. All politicians who helped Zia abrogate the constitution, all generals who helped him, all judges who endorsed his subversive action,all civilians who provided him their assistance,all bureaucracy that kept working in lieu of annulment of the constitution, committed a treason. If all these people could get away with their crimes, then why Musharraf is singled out. There were other generals who rebelled long before Musharraf even put his foot back on Pakistani soil,so why doesn’t the government put all of these on treason trial? The lawyers engaged by Musharraf do their best to underline this reality. We shouldn’t forget the role of the politicians who joined hands with the dictators and thus provided them the endorsement and amendments,, all these fall under the article 6. What about the PCO judges, what should be done to these traitors? What about the man who not only legalized the Musharraf’s coup, but also gave him the permission to keep two offices simultaneously? What about the responsibility of the government of 2007, can they be freed from accountability for the actions taken by Musharraf? Last but not least. It’s important to see that there is no punishment suggested for high treason, the authors of this fake document don’t even dare to pronounce about the consequences. The parliament by section 3 is supposed to make law for punishment. What Parliament has the constitution in its mind? The parliament full of illiterate members, coming there with the help of rigged elections and where the speaker of the NA is scared to death for being exposed for rigging,. So much so that he gets a stay order from a pseudo court against the re-count?
It sounds funny that here I stand and plead the case of Musharraf, the man I really hate for the crimes he committed against our nation,but the principles of justice are more holy than my personal feelings. I sincerely believe that a fair trial should be given to all accused of any crime. Here comes our study of constitution to an end for the time being. We conclude that this document is written by dull minds and is full of contradictions and there exists a serious need to revisit it or perhaps it would be better to tear it up and create a new constitution, which is realistic and closer to the aspirations of the people of this country. We need a document that not only speaks of the principles of Equality and Freedoms, but even put these in practice. We know that this is not possible to achieve as long as we have the present breed of idiots in power, they love the status quo and revolution is beyond the capacities of our illiterate masses. So God bless Pakistan!
Last edited by resurrected on Thu May 08, 2014 5:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Unread post Thu May 08, 2014 5:23 pm
Shimatoree Senior Moderator

Res

Let us look at the large majority of the people of Pakistan. because after all it they who are supposed to be the decision makers……..or at least that is how it is supposed to be.

If you asked them about the word constitution or " AYEEN"………..they would not know DIDLEE SQUAT about it.
So if they do not know about it……………why would they give a SHIT………the fact is they do not.

This pseudo-document if it can be called that is an exercise in futility by those that are infected by the Virus of the WEST………….who simply are un willing to disengage from those good old British Days of the By-gone Era.
The British left………but everything British has remained including this constitution stuff.

There goes the legitimacy of this document.

Any system if it is going to be EFFECTIVE…..must be known to and understood by the common man and by this common man I do not mean the Lawyers, judges, politicians, students in English Medium schools and colleges, self promoting anchors on TV channels and newspaper article writers.

So this document that you have discussed is only for the small minority that I have mentioned above…………..to borrow another something…..

This constitution is by the elite for the elite and so on.

The judiciary is at least as corrupt as Zardari and Nawaz Shareef-( and their cronies)-.
CJ Iftikhar has proven that beyond any doubt………..but he is only one of them……………the entire judiciary is what I mean down to the magistrate.

Shop keepers were not allowed to be citizens in the cradle of democracy….Greece.

There is more than one reason for that as has become quite obvious in Pakistan.
So I come back again to my Pet PEVE.

What the hell is wrong with these guys?
Why don't they realize that they are going to die one day for sure and that the only way they can live for eternity is if they did GOOD DEEDS and rise to the highest possible level of leadership?
Is it because they do not study history ?

No..it is because they are rotten to start with .

Any rule of law must be made so that it will function and resonate with the common man.

In Pakistan, there is only one possibility…………and that is Islamic Law……….why because ever since the start of the Muslim invasion of Indian sub continent 1000 years ago……………Islamic Law was SHOVED down the throats of the population and by now they are only used to that law.
They know it, it is in their culture and everyday life.

Anyone who is serious must accept this 64,000 pound (Legal) Gorilla in the country.

Unread post Fri May 09, 2014 12:12 am
Shim,

You are absolutely right; the layman has nothing to do with the word constitution/Aeen. Even our students, teachers and other educated people understand it just vaguely. The groups you mention do have the word in their jargon and use it with full understanding but most of these either lack the capacity to analyze it or dare not open their mouths for the fear of facing the consequences of doing so. I completely agree to your analysis, but dare not to agree with your conclusion. Believe me I am not threatened by the implementation of Islamic laws in any possible way and yet I feel scared to death by just the idea of exposing my life and the lives of my dear ones in the ugly hands of these so called religious people. The pagans and ungodly societies offer me many kinds of freedoms and security and never interfere in my personal affairs, but these men with beards and name of their creator on their lips are not less than some kind of pest. Do you know the biggest problem is not Islam or Islamic laws but the people who are false unto their bone marrow. I can live with both ungodly/atheists and Momins/pious, but to have hypocrites in charge? Hell, no, I would rather die fighting them. I don’t see any chance of real Islam coming in power so I rather say Pass. On the other hand, I do expect the great souls on the verge of emergence, so I will certainly bow in Islam and follow these fellows and strive for the real peace in the world. Until then, Hell with JI, JUI, Taiban, hypocrites and other heartless bandits. As far as our discussion about the constitution is concerned, you are right that the document is just for the show case and to tell the world that we too are civilized, but the truth remains abhorrent.

Unread post Fri May 09, 2014 3:13 am
Shimatoree Senior Moderator

Res

The question is not what I want or what you want and for that matter what ANYONE else might wish for…that does not matter in the bigger scheme of things
……………….The question is what do the majority wants and what they are comfortable with.

Now I would probably agree with you about the role of the various Islamic political parties.

The dynamics in the political arena are what they are and I do not know how it is going to evolve and what directions things might go. In the history of the world, lots of times things have a habit of going in a direction which might not be what is expected.
The first world war and the second world wars are just two stark examples.
So whether the Taliban come to power will not be determined by wishes from any quarter………….it will be determined by how and where the political currents go. The communists came to power in 1917 in Russia not because everyone Russia thought they were the best solution………..the political dynamics determined that and most of those involved in the communist take over became possible because of the world War situation as it evolved.

It is unlikely that the TTP or any such outfit will take over so you do not have to plan any resistance.
I think things will just keep TRUDGING along……….slowly getting closer and closer to Disaster which is where we are headed……………….and things have to get much worse before a Robespierrie, a Marat, a Napoleon, A Lenin will show up.

Till then all you can do is lay around and wait because that is all you CAN do.

Unread post Fri May 09, 2014 11:45 am
Shim,

I agree with the correlations. Perhaps one is too insignificant to change the course of events and of history and yet the very hope and aspiration to bring about a change has made miracles happen in this world. As you said, I’ll patiently sit and wait for the savior to emerge and deliver us.

Unread post Fri May 09, 2014 4:28 pm
Shimatoree Senior Moderator

Res

Heroes are those who continue to suffer
in their soul,
in their heart,
in their spirit,
and in their mind, for their poor countrymen and their condition.

Unread post Thu May 15, 2014 10:11 am
Gentlemen,

I have enjoyed reading the wonderful exchange of ideas that Res' 'Holy Cow' series generated. Due to a chronic lack of time, I have found it hard to participate.

Res writes:

"It sounds funny that here I stand and plead the case of Musharraf, the man I really hate for the crimes he committed against our nation,but the principles of justice are more holy than my personal feelings."

I think this neatly sums up what I really think. I dislike Altaf Hussain and much of what he stands for but I cannot see the justice in denying him an ID card or a passport. The problem in Pakistan seems to be that what we want for ourselves is very different from what we want for others, if that makes sense.

Nawaz Sharif would very much like justice and fair play and would very much like to have Musharraf punished for the violation of Article 6 but it is manifestly obvious to me that he himself has done enough damage to Pakistan to deserve the same treatment; but would he ever see it like this? No.

What we do in Pakistan is rather bizzare; Nawaz Sharif and his 'Parliament' keeps legislating on this and that but all the while urinating on the existing laws and the Constitution of Pakistan. The latest Pakistan protection bill is the same; more legislation that is not and will not be implemented. The intelligent thing to do will be to look at existing laws and amend them to make them efficient and practical but to expect that is to expect pigs to fly.

The Constitution of Pakistan is a piece of paper and no more. It is a list of all things that we do not do; or a list of things that we set out to do but will not do because it will put pressure on us to live lawful and just lives. In a country where living a life of VIP life is admired and sought after, we have a document that talks about equality and justice. Pakistan's constitution is a perfect example of the bigotry and lies we live by.

In the good old days it was only the rich and infamous that indulged in a spot of law breaking but today everyone is at it. It is not a question of whether we want to live Constitutional lives but can we handle living a Constitutional and lawful life?

A Constitution that has allowed corrupt thieves to rule us points to the obvious flaw in our thinking; corruption and nepotism never begets merit and honesty. To consititutionalise piety and morality is the shortest road to self-deception; it allows bigots like Sharifs and Zardaris the unlawful carnal knowledge of a country that has forgotten how to bring about a revolution.
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