What is happening in Pakistan?
Dr A Q Khan
Monday, September 03, 2012
Random thoughts
Hardly any other leader has such a group of hardcore of loyalists as Mr Asif Ali Zardari has. His political expertise is obvious from the fact that he has all the opposition leaders toeing his line (openly or secretly).
Former prime minister Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, his erstwhile ally, has been turned into a non-entity and his political future is in the balance. The MQM, ANP and JUI are all his supporters. Imran Khan is beating a lonely drum, but with what result remains to be seen. The MQM is the only party which has its voters under full control. In one of my earlier columns I had mentioned that Mr Zardari would be well-suited to become professor of political sciences at Harvard to teach present and future politicians the art of survival.
We have seen instances of his charming and controlling his opponents and PPP stalwarts many times. My friend and senior PPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim was very shabbily treated; first openly promised premiership and then unceremoniously dumped. We have seen the disappointing performance of our respected lawyer, Barrister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan.
First he was a persona non grata; shunned at all party meetings and given no position. His desire to become somebody has cost him all the respect he used to have. We have seen how Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was removed, sent packing from the Prime Minister’s House and banned from holding any public office for five years. The intoxication of having ruled for four-and-a-half years has, however, not yet worn off and he can still be seen full of confidence. The new prime minister, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, is in a hot spot.
The Supreme Court has, rather surprisingly, given him until September 18 to write the letter to the Swiss court or face the consequences. It does not require that much time, but the Supreme Court has all along shown great tolerance and leniency. The matter will not end with the ouster of the new prime minister. Mr Zardari has many tricks up his sleeve. A lot of water still has to flow under the bridge.
Mr Zardari’s magic wand reminds me of the wand of Tanaka Baba of Mansehra. He was handicapped and could hardly read or write. He had a small stick with which he sometimes tapped the head and shoulder of visitors. His son used to say that, whoever was touched by that stick would become immortal, lucky person. Mian Nawaz Sharif and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto both went to seek his blessings and we have seen the results thereof.
I would like to comment on the fact that the new prime minister did appear in the Supreme Court as per its order, was heard and, surprisingly, given respite until the September 18. He had already been given three weeks before being required to appear on the August 27 so as to enable him to celebrate Independence Day and Eid-ul-Fitr. Gilani tried his best to mislead him into refusing to appear before the Supreme Court, which would have led to his immediate removal.
He was giving all kinds of unsolicited advice. Perhaps he did not want to be the only prime minister that had been removed. The prime minister wisely avoided unnecessarily provocative statements, assumed a humble posture and saved the day. It seems that he might not be a stooge prime minister and just might write that letter after all. However, being a “jiyala,” he went to the Supreme Court in a big procession and raised his fingers in a sign of victory. He pleaded that the country was in a very precarious position, and that he needed time to understand the intricacies of legal and constitutional matters.
I am sure the honourable judges were well aware that this was only to gain time and they generously gave him another three weeks to find a way out. Very wisely, the PM did not listen to the advice given by the attorney general. He said that he would consult the PPP allies in order to find an amicable solution.
The point here is that, in legal matters, there is no such thing as an amicable, mutually agreed upon or conciliatory solution. The law is clear and its course needs to be followed. The biggest joke was that of the ever smiling Mr Khurshid Shah shouting “Long live an independent judiciary.” It was thoughtful of the new prime minister to say that he did not want to go down in history as being a violator of the law or judicial orders (or be disqualified for five years).
As a layman, I believe that the best and quickest solution would be to withdraw the letter written by former Justice Abdul Qayyum, specifically mentioning that Mr Zardari, being the president at this time, is exempted from any legal proceedings against him, both within the country and abroad. This could save Raja Pervaiz Ashraf from humiliation and disgrace and would at the same time be in compliance with court orders.
Some thoughts here on our eminent, honourable lawyer, Barrister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan. After his Garhi Khuda Bux elevation, a Senate seat and a few other perks, he seems to have become a totally different person. Rules and laws are now being presented in a manner that suits Mr Zardari. He says that writing that letter is no big problem, or wrong, but not writing it is no crime either. I am at a loss to understand the logic behind this.
How can it not be a crime when there is an unambiguous court order to do so? Are we to believe that it is all right to throw a court order into the dustbin and not consider it a crime? Even more perplexing is his remark that the court, the honourable judges and the bench may have been wrong, which means that he, Aitzaz Ahsan, the Socrates or Aristotle of Pakistan, could not be wrong.
Stung by his remarks, one of the judges of the Supreme Court was moved to quip that it looked like everyone else knew the laws and the Constitution, excepting the judges of the Supreme Court. What an apt comment! The problem with all jiyalas is that they want to eat their cake and have it too. They can no longer differentiate between the “rahbar” (leader) and the “rahzan” (thief).
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-9 ... n-Pakistan