Friday, April 19, 2013

Pak Media Cheers as Vindictive Right-Wing Judges Pursue Musharraf

Islamabad High Court's Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, a former president of the Rawalpindi Bar which openly celebrated Gov Salman Taseer's murder in 2011, revoked Pervez Musharraf's bail that was properly granted earlier by Justice Mushir Alam, a Sindh High Court judge in Karachi.

Bail Criteria:

Any person accused of committing a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Therefore a person charged with a crime should not be denied freedom unless there is a good reason. It is routine for judges to grant bail when the flight risk is low. Unlike Judge Shaukat Siddiqui,  the Karachi judge used these criteria in agreeing to grant bail to Musharraf.

Who's Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui?

Why did Justice Shaukat Aziz decide to revoke Musharraf's bail? To try and understand what may have motivated him to do this, let's take a look at the judge's background:

1. In 2011 PakTribune  reported as follows:  "One of the candidates for the (Rawalpindi Bar) president slot, Shaukat Siddiqui, when contacted said he had an engagement in Supreme Court; therefore, he could not come to Rawalpindi. He said every lawyer wanted to become the attorney of Malik Mumtaz; therefore, they gathered at the anti-terrorism court."



 2. As an attorney in 2007, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui represented  and helped bail out Maulana Abdul Aziz who was charged in multiple cases in connection with the Lal Masjid standoff.

3. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui's appointment as Islamabad High Court judge was agreed to by President Zardari only after Supreme Court Justice Khilji Arif threatened to hold the President in contempt.

4. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui was awarded a ticket by MMA, a religious political parties alliance,  and contested for a National Assembly seat from Rawalpindi NA-54 in 2002 elections. Siddiqui lost but still managed to get 12,676 votes while PPP's Zamarrud Khan won with 31,491 votes.

Clearly, Justice Shaukat Siddiqui is a right-wing judge who is ideologically pre-disposed to act against Musharraf even in a routine bail extension hearing. In fact, key decisions of Pakistan's higher judiciary led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry continue to show strong bias in favor of Pakistan's right-wing politicians and media.

Musharraf's Alleged Sins: From Kargil and 1999 Coup to
 Lal Masjid Operation and Judges' Detention 

Hizb ut Tahrir Threat:

As Pakistan's right-wing judiciary continues to seek to dominate all other branches of government and exact revenge from people they dislike, they need to be aware of new emerging threats  against them from the ultra-right groups like Hizb ut Tahrir which completely reject constitutional democracy. These groups are actively campaigning in Pakistan to persuade people not to vote in the upcoming elections. Hizb ut Tahrir is organizing meetings, delivering lectures and distributing flyers with the following messages, according to a report in PakistanToday:

“Muslims have not been stung merely twice, but countless times by the current system in Pakistan. Each time new faces come through coup or election, the people curse the old faces. However, only after a while, the new faces appear even uglier and more despised than the older faces. The current system is incapable of looking after the affairs of the people and securing the rights that Allah guaranteed humankind, regardless of their race, language, gender or religion.”

“Pakistan's current system is a continuation of the British rule occupation that abolished Islamic rule in the Indian subcontinent in the first place. Even though the Muslims shed their pure blood to establish Pakistan in the name of Islam, it was the British Parliament that created Pakistan’s initial legislation under its Indian Independence Act of 1947.”

“It is democracy, designed by and inherited from the colonialist kufr that separates our ummah from Islam and its ruling system of khilafah, whether in Pakistan, Egypt or Turkey, Tunisia or Indonesia. The claim that yet more elections within this system would bring change of system is a lie made to secure this system from abolition.” 


“It is the Khilafah alone that ensures our education, foreign policy, economy, judiciary, consultation; accounting and removing of rulers are all according to Islam.”


 Hizb ut Tahrir is actively trying to recruit Pakistani military officers in its campaign to seize power and implement their pan-Islamic vision of a Khilafa led by its leader Sheikh Ata Abu Rishta.  Evidence of Hizb ut Tahrir's growing influence in Pakistani military became apparent when Brigadier General Ali Khan  and four other serving officers were court-martialed in 2012.  Hizb ut Tahrir sees opportunity in a country like Pakistan where the voter turn-out is among the lowest in the world and people are disillusioned with democracy which they believe has failed to deliver solutions to their basic problems like security,  jobs, electricity, gas and water.

Summary: 

Pakistan's higher judiciary, the politicians and the media  are entirely focused on their own narrow interests and settling of old scores with very little attention being paid to good governance. If they continue their business as usual and fail to help solve the people's real problems, it's quite probable that they will see the first-ever bloody coup in Pakistan's history with very negative long-term consequences for everyone in the country.

Here's video discussion about Musharraf's arrest and Hizb ut Tahrir's Campaign:



Musharraf's Arrest from WBT TV on Vimeo.


 Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Is Musharraf's High Treason Trial Justified?

Saving Pakistan's Education

Political Patronage Trumps Public Policy in Pakistan

Dr. Ata-ur-Rehman Defends Pakistan's Higher Education Reforms

Twelve Years Since Musharraf's Coup

Musharraf's Legacy

Pakistan's Economic Performance 2008-2010

Role of Politics in Pakistan Economy

India and Pakistan Compared in 2011

Musharraf's Coup Revived Pakistan's Economy

What If Musharraf Had Said No?

95 comments:

Ali P. said...

The said Judge may be linked to Sipah e Sahaba/ LJ

Shams said...

He would not be treated this way if he were a Punjabi or a Pathan. They hanged Bhutto because he was a Sindhi. They will hang Musharraf because he is an Urdu-speaker.

You will need to take your head out of your rear hole and realize that Punjabis have colonized Sindh

Suhail said...

Shams is absolutely correct in his observation that had Musharraf been a Punjabi or Pathan he would not be treated the same way.

In fact if Musharraf was a Punjabi, he would not have returned to Pakistan sensing danger to his person and lived elsewhere. A Pathan would have come back, if he had chosen to do so, and lived in the tribal area with no Pakistani authority touching him.

Hasan said...

Why did he return??? Altaf Hussain has shown himself to be more prudent!!

...and Zardari is expected to show that whenever the time comes for him!!

Riaz Haq said...

Hasan: "...and Zardari is expected to show that whenever the time comes for him!!"

Remember, Zardari too was imprisoned for years and persecuted by Nawaz Sharif with the help of judges who wouldn't bail him out.

Zardari was also tortured during NS's regime. His tongue was cut while in jail.

And Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was convicted of murder and ordered hanged by 4 judges...all from Punjab while all 3 non-Punjabi judges on the SC bench dissented with the Punjabi majority's verdict.

Rayaz said...

Ali P. you are absolutely right, yes they have or perhaps their root links stretches to a very conservative upstart society.

Najam said...

Now,it sounds nice to talk about rules for bail,being innocent till proven guilty etc.Were the girls reciting Quran proven guilty,?Were the sold and lifted from homes/offices citizens proven guilty?Was Prime Minister put in Attock Fort and chained to Air Craft proved guilty?.And to talk about Sindh High Court Chief Justice to grant bail to Commando.Justice Musher Alam is a friend.His son Ebrahim was class fellow of my youngest son at School.Both are now Hafiz Quran Mashallah.Justice Musher Alam was one of the two Judges of Sindh High Court ,who did not take oath on infamous PCO.He was sent home and was jobless for many years.But I always found him contended and happy at the will of Allah.Change the positions of Musharraf with Musheer and tell honestly ,had the Commando acted as the Judge did.

Justice Shaukat Siddiqui is yet another honest,humble and very highly rated judge.He can not be intimidated by goons like Commando and Raza Qasuri.I am not aware if he celebrated Salman Taseer death.But if he did than he should be rewarded for being a humble servant of Allah and having hatred with people openly adoring Prophet insulters.No one was willing to lead Taseer funeral prayers.The chances are that no one will also be willing to lead Commando funeral prayers.

Riaz Haq said...

Najam: "Justice Shaukat Siddiqui is yet another honest,humble and very highly rated judge.He can not be intimidated by goons like Commando and Raza Qasuri.I am not aware if he celebrated Salman Taseer death.But if he did than he should be rewarded for being a humble servant of Allah and having hatred with people openly adoring Prophet insulters...."

We have already seen the bitter fruits of democracy that has brought nothing but chaos and bloodshed in the streets of Pakistan.

Now, Pakistanis should be a lot more worried about al Qaeda loving, Taliban-supporting, Lal Masjid terrorist sympathizers like Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and Shaukat Siddiqui than about the commando.

And eventually, unless Pakistani judges, politicians and media come to their senses, the next military coup in Pakistan will be really bloody and bring to power Hizb ut Tahrir who will devastate Pakistan by sparking a nuclear war.

The HuT will not spare you and your favorite judges either by finding that you are not Muslim enough for their tast

Anonymous said...

Judge contested in election on MMA ticket

Riaz Haq said...

Anon: "Judge contested in election on MMA ticket"

GeoTV news anchor Mansoor Ali Khan is has tweeted it.

@MansoorGeoNews Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, who cancelled #Musharraf's bail, contested General Elections in 2002 on MMA ticket from NA-54 ...

Election 2002 website shows Shaukat Siddiqui got 12,676 votes and placed third in NA-54 Rawalpindi. The winner was PPP's Zamarrud Khan with 31,491 votes.

http://www.electionpakistani.com/ge2002/NA-54.htm

Rashid M said...

So Riaz - are you trying to tell us that the Najam High Horse is not so High????

That they are the Problem - not the solution????

Najam said...

Let's hear from the man who master minded 2002 Elections and Musharraf Referandum

ISLAMABAD: The main wheeler and dealer of the ISI during the 2002 elections, the then Maj-Gen Ehtesham Zamir, now retired, has come out of the closet and admitted his guilt of manipulating the 2002 elections, and has directly blamed Gen Musharraf for ordering so.

Talking to The News, the head of the ISI’s political cell in 2002, admitted manipulating the last elections at the behest of President Musharraf and termed the defeat of the King’s party, the PML-Q, this time “a reaction of the unnatural dispensation (installed in 2002).”

Riaz Haq said...

Najam: "Let's hear from the man who master minded 2002 Elections and Musharraf Referandum"

So you think Musharraf favored PPP's Zamarrud Khan who won over MMA's Shaukat Siddiqui who placed third? And is that sufficient reason for "Justice" Shaukat Siddiqui to exact revenge on Musharraf?

Najam said...

No one is taking revenge from him.He is facing Allah's wrath and curse.

Riaz Haq said...

Najam: "No one is taking revenge from him.He is facing Allah's wrath and curse."

So you believe Shaukat Siddiqui of IHC and judges like him represent the will of Allah and those who disagree with them the will of Satan? How self-righteous!!!

Waseem said...

Love seeing Pakistan going thru the evolutionary process of cutting military down to it,s size, may be not by the best of people, but end justifies the means.

Riaz Haq said...

Waseem: "Love seeing Pakistan going thru the evolutionary process of cutting military down to it,s size, may be not by the best of people, but end justifies the means."

I hope I'm wrong but this could be paving the way for a really bloody coup led by Hizb ut Tahrir influenced officers like Brig Ali Khan and 5 other other Pak Army officers who were court martialled last year. Such officer will quickly dispense with democratic institutions like judiciary and parliament.

Waseem said...

Rightist extremists are working for that aim since very long, hence apprehensions in this regard will always be there.
Pak army take over is only possible from the top, the instituition has well formed in that aspect.
Stretegic reserves have recently turned against army and now biting it in the b...., so they have lost sympathy from within.

Riaz Haq said...

Waseem: "Pak army take over is only possible from the top, the instituition has well formed in that aspect."

Your argument that "Pak army take over is only possible from the top, the instituition has well formed in that aspect" has been true so far, although there have been attempts from lower level officers to bring about a coup in the past.

But the situation is now changing with groups like HuT with highly educated young ideologues using modern means of communications such as social media to actively recruit Pak Army officers--may of whom have grow up in the 80s under Zia's "pious" rule. And the fact that there's widespread disillusionment with democratic governments and military top brass is contributing to their zeal for "Sharia".

Let me quote from a recent HuT pamphlet as reported in PakistanToday:

“Muslims have not been stung merely twice, but countless times by the current system in Pakistan. Each time new faces come through coup or election, the people curse the old faces. However, only after a while, the new faces appear even uglier and more despised than the older faces. The current system is incapable of looking after the affairs of the people and securing the rights that Allah guaranteed humankind, regardless of their race, language, gender or religion.”

“Pakistan's current system is a continuation of the British rule occupation that abolished Islamic rule in the Indian subcontinent in the first place. Even though the Muslims shed their pure blood to establish Pakistan in the name of Islam, it was the British Parliament that created Pakistan’s initial legislation under its Indian Independence Act of 1947.”

“It is democracy, designed by and inherited from the colonialist kufr that separates our ummah from Islam and its ruling system of khilafah, whether in Pakistan, Egypt or Turkey, Tunisia or Indonesia. The claim that yet more elections within this system would bring change of system is a lie made to secure this system from abolition.”

“It is the Khilafah alone that ensures our education, foreign policy, economy, judiciary, consultation; accounting and removing of rulers are all according to Islam.”


http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/04/14/news/national/hizbut-tahrir-campaigns-against-democracy-polls/

Zia said...

Amazing how much judicial energy is spent in pakistan focused on politicians. I wish the Supreme Court would focus on the rights of that poor farmer who had his land taken, or the woman who got assaulted or the tax payer trying to get the electricity he paid for. When will the leaders put the people first - regardless of party, personality or branch of government.

Najam said...

This talk of Army Take over is childish. There is no chance of it either by Topless or by Bottomless.
I did not find anything objectionable in HUT Pamphlet.What wrong they have said.?On these pages we have seen similar arguments.particularly from friends supporting Tsunami Khan aka Budnami Khan..You also praised clown Qadri of Canada when he criticised the present system,present parlament,Many religious parties like Tanzeemi Islami of Dr Israr,Jamat Dawah of Hafiz Saeed do not take part in Elections terming it unIslamic.And I agree with them.
Zia's pious rule ended in 1988.Now we have seen the Enlightened Moderation of In Trouble Musharraf and Gilani/RentalAshraf for last 13 years .So no need to worry.

Riaz Haq said...

Najam: "This talk of Army Take over is childish....
I did not find anything objectionable in HUT Pamphlet.What wrong they have said.?"

If you believe "this talk of Army Take over is childish" and you also "did not find anything objectionable in HUT Pamphlet", then please explain to me how HuT will be able to bring about the change it seeks? They reject electoral democracy, so clearly they do not intend to seek power through elections. So what's the other way to grab power, if not through a military coup by Pak Army officers they are recruiting?

Shahid said...

The discussion is definitely enlightening and deep, for someone who has followed the politics of Pakistan cursorily. I would like to simplify, by disclosing a wish. I wish the agenda of the next election be just one-line. “How would you provide safety to all of your Citizens (including minorities – religious and intellectual) so they can pursue their lives freely?”

Zain said...

The Judge hearing President Musharraf s case is the cousin of the
..... guess
.... guess
yes you are right
THE CLERK OF LAAL MASJID ... so this is Justice for you.
As I said worst than a poor judicial system, is a bias or corrupt judicial system.

Anonymous said...

army coup in the offing!

If a peaceful transfer goes through then the long term power of the arm will be severely curtailed.Why would it want that?

Besides the political parties in pakistan are cartoonishly incompetent so its not like they will be strongly missed!

Mujtaba said...

Why the Judiciary headed by Mr Number #2(he is typical #2, born in Faisalabad, domicile from Quetta, educated from Jamshoro) is so pro active against Perwaiz Mushraaf , agreed Musharraf has done lots of wrong, when he is guilty of breaking the constitution, what transpired in 1999 must not be forgotten .Picture Tells all.



He and all those who took oath under PCO the first time around and gave him three years and right to amend the constitution as he likes are also guilty being an accomplice to the crime. This is an opportunity to account all of them ,even if some are retired, once a criminal remains a criminal unless serves the punishment ,my perspective on the trial which is going on .If Musharraf is to be hanged by the neck, these judges including their"surguna" must be hanged by their “short hairs and Balls” too, they deserve death much more the painful ways, then the justice will be served in Pakistan.


They are the one who in first instance collaborated in giving Musahrraf a chance to come to a situation of 2007. Wish that Happens


if Musharraf is tried only for the 2007 emergency the judges will be off the hook but if for the 1999 countercoup they will hang high if found guilty. Do they think that that way they can keep themselves out of the fire? Treason is treason: if something is treason in 1999 it remains treason in 2007. Treason cannot be legal when it suits you and a crime when it suits you. You cannot have it both ways.

Is it that the army’s countercoup and the first PCO were legal in 1999 because the judges who gave it legitimacy and took oaths under it saved their jobs while the 2007 emergency and the second PCO were illegal because most of the first PCO’s judges lost their jobs? The conclusion is inescapable

This the TIme to Account All

Saeed said...

V true. No 2 and his associates are hard core criminals and should be punished along with Mushraf , they turned against him only when their jobs were at risk other wise they were hum nawa and hum paila .

Suhail said...

While the top brass of judiciary and Army are vying for supremacy over the other, the religious extremists among them (right wing as Riaz prefers to call people like judge Shaukat Siddiqui, Hizbut Tehrir etc) are working in tandem towards their goal, which I think is setting up of a wahabi religious state in Pakistan.
While political parties like PPP, MQM, ANP etc are fighting against each other, religious parties (TTP, LeJ, JI, LeT, JD, PML etc) are working in tandem to their end.
While Sindhis, Punjabis, Mohajirs and Baloch are fighting for supremacy or independence, Pakhtoons with their cultural affinity with TTP are becoming stronger.
So if things continue as they are, Pakistan is moving towards a more centrally strong religious state with Pakhtoon domination.

Ras said...

Our memories are short but not that short particularly with respect to Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry:



Oath on PCO 1999



Inline image 1



1. In January 2000, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, then a serving judge on the Balochistan High Court (BHC), was one of the first judges to take the oath on the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) of the military dictator General Musharraf in violation of Pakistan’s constitution. This allowed him to be elevated to the Supreme Court to fill one of the vacancies left by the 11 judges who had resigned in protest at taking this oath.



Validation of the military coup



http://www.seamonitors.org/id124.html



2. On May 13, 2000, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was one of the 12 Supreme Court judges who validated the military coup of Gen Pervez Musharraf. They ruled that the removal of the elected government of Nawaz Sharif was legal on the basis of the ‘doctrine of necessity’.



Forced resignation of President Tarar

3. In June 2001, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was one of two judges who visited the President House to convince the then President Rafiq Tarrar to resign, and make way for Gen Pervez Musharraf to assume that office.



Validation of Musharraf Military Rule

4. On April 13, 2005 in the ‘Judgment on 17th Amendment and President’s Uniform Case’, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was one of five Supreme Court judges who dismissed all petitions challenging President Musharraf’s constitutional amendments.



In a wide ranging judgment they declared that the Legal Framework Order (LFO) instituted by General Musharraf after his suspension of the Constitution, the 17th Amendment which gave this constitutional backing, and the two offices bill which allowed Musharraf to retain his military uniform whilst being President were all legal.



Source: Dawn



Further brilliant achievements



Nepotism: Son’s Admission In FIA

Ansar Abbasi brought forth allegations against Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudhray for gross misconduct in 2002, accusing him for admitting his Son Dr. Arsalan to FIA undermining all merits. For details, see this post on ATP



Selective judgement on PCO judges



Constitution Petition Regarding PCO Judges:

The decision of the court in CONSTITUTION PETITION NO. 08 and 09 OF 2009 from 14 member bench headed by Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, summarily removed all justices of higher judiciary who were not part of it as on November 2, 2007. There removal was so ordered on ground that advice of de-jure Chief Justice of Supreme Pakistan was not obtained in these cases. In the same decision the court had held the de-jure Chief Justice between the period of November 3, 2007 and March 22, 2009 was Justice Chaudhry.



There were three groups of these removed justices.



Those who were elevated to higher courts and initially took oath on PCO.



Those who were elevated to higher courts after restoration of constitution, and were appointed by General Pervez Musharraf.



Those who were elevated to higher courts after restoration of constitution, and were appointed by Asif Ali Zardari.



This decision have resulted in situation where:



Newly appointed justices who never took any sort of oath on any PCO have been removed.

Sitting justices who took oath on PCO 2007 are still acting as justices, though their cases are to be sent to Supreme Judicial Council.



Sitting justices who accepted reappointed and took oath from Justice Dogar as still acting as justices of court with no action.



Justices who took oath on PCO of 1999 are still functioning as justices of higher judiciary.



Video report: Iftikhar Chaudhry taking oath under PCO – 30 June 2005

Riaz Haq said...

Here's an excerpt of a Tribune Express Op Ed by Prof Hasan Askari Rizvi on relentless pursuit of Musharraf:

As the Islamabad High Court has taken the initiative to nail down former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, most civilian political leaders are happy and blame him for Pakistan’s political ailments. The Senate passed a resolution on April 19 asking for initiation of legal proceedings against him on the charge of high treason that carries the death sentence. Some of the civilian leaders want Musharraf to be tried as a common criminal so as to show that everybody is equal before law.

It is interesting to note two ironies of history. First, Pakistan’s Supreme Court has never delegitimised a military ruler when he was in power. Yahya Khan was declared usurper in April 1972, four months after he was forced out of office. General Pervez Musharraf was declared to have acted in violation of the Constitution in November 2007 by imposing what he described as an emergency, in a Supreme Court judgment delivered July 2009, only 11 months after he lost power.

Second, whereas Musharraf who demonstrated the arrogance of power while in office is now down and under, the key issue is to maintain a distinction between justice and revenge on the part of the political forces who suffered during the Musharraf years. There is a long tradition in Pakistan for seeking ‘exemplary punishment’ or death sentence for former rulers. In all such cases, the argument is that it would establish the supremacy of law in Pakistan.

Now suddenly, this caretaker government is faced with the unexpected question of the arrest and trial of Pervez Musharraf. The Supreme Court wants the caretaker federal government to explain its position on initiating the trial of Pervez Musharraf on high treason under Article 6 of the constitution....Given Pakistan’s delicate civil-military relations, it is important that the political leaders and civilian state institutions ensure that overenthusiasm to pin down Musharraf does not turn into a propaganda drive against the military. Any strain in civil-military relations can be destabilising, especially when the military is doing election duties and fighting terrorism.


http://tribune.com.pk/story/538560/who-rules-pakistan/

Siraj said...

Pakistan lost 180 billion $ due to corruption in the last 5 years and many billions of corruption in Musharaf’s era of “enlightened moderation” but during this period of great loot and corruption one person achieved great prominence and he was no other than Iftekhar Muhammad Chaudhary. He kept everyone guessing and in the process held high the beacon of light and hope.



Pakistan’s history is replete with verdicts in favor of dictators. Justice Muneer was the first to invoke the doctrine of necessity as early as 1954. Choudhary Iftekhar was no exception. His academic back ground and career up to the chair of chief justice is quite ordinary, to say the least. But he gathered courage to stand up to the dictator and demonstrated guts which his predecessors lacked. The Judicial revolution brought by Chaudhary Iftekhar is irreversible and very welcome. When he steps down in Dec 2013, corrupt government/bureaucracy will breathe easy then.

Riaz Haq said...

Siraj: "But he gathered courage to stand up to the dictator and demonstrated guts which his predecessors lacked. The Judicial revolution brought by Chaudhary Iftekhar is irreversible and very welcome. When he steps down in Dec 2013, corrupt government/bureaucracy will breathe easy then."

Let he who's without cast the first stone...

Charity starts at home, and so should accountability. Iftikhar Chaudhry needs to look in the mirror and see the massive warts on his own face...like his own PCO oath in 1999, his nepotism, his son's corruption which has swept under the rug by stalling, and his sympathy for the terrorists hundreds of whom have been released by him and his crony judges to kill more innocent people.

Riaz Haq said...

Here's an AP report on Pak caretaker govt's decision not to charge Musharraf:

Pakistan's caretaker government told the Supreme Court on Monday it will not file treason charges against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf but will leave the decision on that to the winner of the upcoming election.

The petitions before the Supreme Court alleging Musharraf committed treason while in power constitute just one of several legal challenges he is facing following his recent return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile.

The former military strongman was placed under house arrest over the weekend in connection with a different case, which involves his decision to fire senior judges while in power.

Musharraf's detention was the latest in an array of setbacks he has faced since returning home last month with hopes of making a political comeback.

Lawyers have filed private petitions before the Supreme Court alleging Musharraf committed various treasonable offenses, including toppling a civilian government, suspending the constitution and declaring a state of emergency.

But according to Pakistan's constitution, the government is the only one with authority to file treason charges against Musharraf.

Attorney General Irfan Qadir submitted a statement to the Supreme Court on Monday, saying caretaker officials have decided not to file treason charges because it was not part of their mandate....


http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pakistan-government-charge-musharraf-19013204#.UXVPU5wbKXM

I. KAMAL said...

Excellent analysis as usual, Riaz Saheb. Musharraf had said that he expected justice from the courts. What justice? This is a judiciary which appointed a one-man commission to investigate serious corruption charges against the CJ's son, then ignored the recommendations of the commission and dismissed the whole case as a quarrel between two persons; which allowed a former ambassador with serious treason charges to leave the country overnight with a stroke of its pen when the naivest of naive Pakistanis knew that he would never return once allowed to leave; which failed to take timely notice and stop the head of a political party from being the president of the country against all norms of parliamentary democracy (which would be equivalent to the Queen of England taking leadership of the Labour or Conservative Party); which wasted 4years of the nation's time and money over a flimsy letter which, when delivered, was pronounced dead on arrival by the Swiss authorities; which allowed Returning Officers to reject one election candidate on the basis of allegations by men on the street, ignoring the universal law of "a man is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law", while loan defaulters, tax evaders and corrupt politicians, including a former prime minister whose arrest was ordered by the SC and happily ignored by the administration, are allowed to contest the elections; which picked up the courage to sentence another prime minister to all of 30 seconds for a serious contempt of court for which a poor man would have been imprisoned for 6 months. It looks like the toothless tiger has finally found its teeth, to bully and inhumanly treat an honest and sincere person like Parvez Musharraf who, as your economic analyses have repeatedly shown, is the nation's benefactor.

Anonymous said...

Musharraf must be thinking, Zia was right... He killed his enemies, didn't leave ZAB to fight back. If he would have let ZAB go to Libya, he would have come back to kill Zia.

Next time whoever gets the chance will kills his enemies.

Najam said...

We are lucky in the sense that in our life time, we have seen the people who thought them to be supreme dieing a miserable death.Shah Iran,Bhutto,Mujeeb etc etc.But nobody learns.Is'nt it a matter to ponder that Musharraf had to wait for 6 hours at Karachi Air Port,to come out ,exactly the time he made Justice Chaudry wait there.The difference was that Justice Chaudry wanted to come out of terminal,whereas the commando had to be pacified to do so after donning a bullet proof jacket.

Riaz Haq said...

Najam: "We are lucky in the sense that in our life time, we have seen the people who thought them to be supreme dieing a miserable death.Shah Iran,Bhutto,Mujeeb etc etc.But nobody learns"

The message being sent by these vindictive judges' actions is that the next time a military dictator takes over, he'll take a page from Zia's playbook and kill all his enemies while still in power....so no one is left to take revenge. Or, all of Pakistan will revert to being a tribal society where the cycle of revenge will continue leaving a lot more dead bodies in its wake.

Mahesh said...

Regardless of the personal negative issues surrounding the Justice C, this development of arresting Mush is a dangerous development that could derail the positive democratization events taking place in Pakistan today.

Certain elements in the Military may jump on this opportunity and seize power once again. That would be the end of the civilian process for good. The Military should be strong and efficient but not in civilian life. For the past 65 years the same cycle has been oft repeated.

From the Indian perspective, everyone is keeping their fingers crossed. On one hand democracy finally appears to be taking hold and yet on the other it seems very shaky indeed

Riaz Haq said...

Here's an excerpt of a Nation newspaper story on the lawyers and judges involved in Musharraf's cases:

On issue of Lal Mosque operation, Qureshi said the Judicial Commission on Lal Mosque had endorsed their viewpoint that 102 casualties occurred during the operation though family of Maulana Abdul Aziz, former chief cleric of the mosque, had been claiming hundred of deaths. “And among them, 11 were army officials who were killed with shots of sniper rifles and no one can do it without trained terrorists,” he said. He said people would also know how Nawab Akbar Bugti was killed.
Information Secretary APML, Asia Ishaq on the occasion said that Musharraf was being subjected with judicial terrorism and was a victim. “The credentials of IHC (Islamabad High Court) Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddique, who rejected bail of Musharraf, are extremely suspicious as he had been the counsel of Maulana Abdul Aziz and Rana Faqir, an accused of two suicide attacks on Musharraf. Moreover, Justice Siddique had also been a counsel in missing persons case in 2007 against Pakistan army,” she informed. He was also a contestant in NA-54 on Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) ticket and also represented different terrorists in cases and was made judge, she deplored. “We have the right to go to the Supreme Court,” she said, adding that ATC (anti-terrorism court) Judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi was the brother of Capt (Retd) Mansur Zaidi who was court-martialled by Musharraf.
Dr Amjad warned the lawyers, what he called them 111 brigade, to abstain from using tactics of violence against the workers of his party during former President’s appearance in different courts and especially on Tuesday during Musharraf’s appearance in a Rawalpindi court in connection with trial of Benazir Bhutto case. “We condemn action of lawyers and protest this,” he added. He said that lawyers wanted to make Musharraf vulnerable to security threats because former President Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) Ashraf Gujjar had filed an application before the court to send him to Adiala Jail. The lawyers are humiliating Musharraf and it is not the humiliation of a single person or former chief of army staff (COAS) but an institution as well....


http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/editors-picks/23-Apr-2013/no-revolt-likely-in-army-on-mush-issue

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=505723826155540

Sadiq Noyan said...

There is a long term fight between two thoughts in Pakistan one that represents Taliban and extreme Islamic thoughts and the other who represents different sections of Islam and secular idealogies in Paksitan.


Sadiq Noyan

Salman said...

You quoted Aasma Jahangir,the one who went to Bandladesh to receive award from Hassina Wajid (Hassena hates Pakistan more than any other creature on earth ) and this Asma Jahangir in various forums spoke against Pak Army in Bangla desh and that made her a hero there.Earlier she went to India and did you not see her in safron coloured dress with af Hindu Nationlist leader .Again in India she spoke against Pak army and Pakistani Judiciary.When she was later asked to comment on these two acts,she said that she is living in a free Pakistan and has the right to do what she think is right.Shame on her.

Siraj said...

I will make no bones about it. This lady Asma is very controversial. She is not liked by many because of her negative statements and actions. Her ideas about Islam and how Muslims should live and behave is totally aligned with people like Pervez Musharraf. I don’t care much of what she says ---

Riaz Haq said...

Salman and Siraj:

Asma Jahangir is no friend of Musharraf. She defied Musharraf when cowardly CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry and company surrendered to the man in uniform.

She hates Musharraf more than the lynch mob of judges and lawyers in pursuit of Musharraf. But she wants to uphold the law which should be applauded.

I. KAMAL said...

Re. the report in the Nation,
it makes one’s heart bleed to see a brave soldier, who always led from the front and put his life on the line so many times to defend his country, being bullied and humiliated by black-coated blackguards who would s–-t in their pants if they were confronted by an enemy soldier face to face. The Pakistan Army needs to speak out against this atrocity. It is the one institution in the country which the people trust and respect. If it does not, it will not only loose that respect, but will also lose its own self-respect.

Suhail said...

Mullah aim is to take over the country and they consider elections as a means to that end and not an end in itself like the mainstream political parties. Disintegration of the country is not dependent on the upcoming elections as the main proponents in Sindh have joined hands with PML(N) and in Balochistan Akhtar Mengal is vying for the opportunity of becoming CM and making money in the process. Either of these things is not going to happen no matter who wins the elections. Likely happenings are:

1- PML(N) wins or leads a coalition: Taliban/ mullahs will strive to strengthen their position in Karachi by targeting MQM. Nawaz Sharif will target mohajirs/ MQM being a Punjabi nationalist. Sindhi nationalists will get ministries and positions to make money, and will be happy. As a result TTP/ mullah will become stronger in the next 5 years stint.
2- PPP wins or leads a coalition: Non-governance will continue as before and state institutions will continue to become weaker thereby creating more space for Taliban/ mullahs to operate.
3- PTI wins or leads a coalition: PTI in character is a liberal party, but Imran seems to be a man of bad judgment. Time will decide whether he takes on the mullah or goes along with the mullah. Significant to note that PTI (like PMLN) is aggressively electioneering with no threat from TTP, probably because TTP wants to keep the option of winning over Imran intact.

Hopewins said...

^^RH: "...Or, all of Pakistan will revert to being a tribal society where the cycle of revenge will continue leaving a lot more dead bodies in its wake.."
----

Revert?

Are you claiming that our society is NOT a tribal society currently?

Every visiting Western anthropolist has observed that Pakistan is a deeply tribal society with almost every institution being dominated by the biradari system.

Quote: "I am a Marwat. Imran Khan is a Niazi. His people are our allies and live across the river from us."

Quote: "I am a Arain. Zia-ul-Haq was one of us. The Janjua Rajputs are our rivals. They live in the Potohar plateau and dominate army recruitment. They can be identified by the usage of title "Raja", as in Raja Pervez Ashraf, the PM"

Are you now denying this?

Riaz Haq said...

A car filled with explosives was found near former president Pervez Musharraf’s farmhouse in Chak Shahzad on Tuesday, Express News reported.

Stringent security checks were carried out around the farmhouse after the car was found.

The explosives in the car were defused and the car was shifted to Shehzad Town Police Station. The car was a Suzuki Mehran bearing registration numbers QM-749.

Explosives found under the car’s seats were attached to two detonators.

The Adiala Jail staff took administrative control of the plush farmhouse after it was declared a sub-jail by the Islamabad chief commissioner at a request of the local police. The move saved the former president from the indignity and risk of going to prison.

Earlier, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan had threatened to use suicide bombers and snipers to kill Musharraf after his return to Pakistan. In a video message, the Taliban said that a special assault unit and a close combat team were also arranged for the task.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/539437/explosives-laden-car-found-near-musharrafs-farmhouse/

The lynch mob of vindictive right-wing judges are exposing Musharraf's life to great risk by confining him to one known location. Musharraf's blood will be on their hands if, God forbid, anything happened to Musharraf.

F. Butt said...

Let’s be blunt. If 10 million Sindhis could not save their man from the wrath of Punjabi judges in 1979, how can 6 million Muhajirs save their man from the Punjabi judges now.

Argus said...

Oh please, stop being so filmi dramatic. Gen Musharraf knew full well the risk to his life when he decided to return to Pakistan. He is a commando after all, he is not afraid of death I am sure.

Riaz Haq said...

Argus: "Gen Musharraf knew full well the risk to his life when he decided to return to Pakistan.."


He did not expect the lynch mob of the Rawalpindi Bar, the kind that celebrated the murder of Salman Taseer, including judges like Shaukat Siddiqui, a key defender of the terrorists, appointed by CJ Inftikhar Chaudhry to Islamabad HC.


Shams said...

The reason PML-N, PTI, and PML-Q have not seen TTP attacks and threats is because all of these three are Punjabis. All the three that have seen their senior members killed are non-Punjabi - MQM, ANP, and PPP.

Riaz Haq said...

Shams: "The reason PML-N, PTI, and PML-Q have not seen TTP attacks and threats is because all of these three are Punjabis. All the three that have seen their senior members killed are non-Punjabi - MQM, ANP, and PPP."

Liberal Punjabis like Salman Taseer are also threatened by terrorists.

Here's an interesting piece by Mohsin Hamid:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/22/opinion/pakistani-militants-the-enemies-of-peace-the-internal-enemies-of-pakistani-peace.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&

Hopewins said...

^^F. BUTT: "Let’s be blunt. If 10 million Sindhis could not save their man from the wrath of Punjabi judges in 1979, how can 6 million Muhajirs save their man from the Punjabi judges now"
----

Let us try to be accurate.

http://alturl.com/ppqxt
http://alturl.com/fxjbk
http://alturl.com/zr4qa

1) The Muhajirs are roughly 14 million or 7% of Pakistan's Population.

2) The Sindhis are roughly 30 million or 15% of Pakistan's Population.
----

As far as the "BUTTs, Dhars, Guls et cetera" of Pakistan goes, here are the SHOCKING demographics of Azad Kashmir....

http://alturl.com/3f85c

Where are the REAL "Kashmiris"? Are they getting lost amongst the Rajputs, Jats, Gujjars?

In addition, speaking of loyalty to Mother-tongue amongst the few ethnic-Kashmiris in our country:

1) Koshur speakers in Pakistan: 150,000 in 2013
2) Koshur speakers in India: 6,500,000 in 2013

http://alturl.com/kwzvk

I suggest all the BUTTs, Dhars, Guls et cetera STOP worrying about the Sindhis and Muhajirs and START worrying about their own position as REAL ethnic-Kashmiris in our country.

Hopewins said...

^^RH: "Liberal Punjabis like Salman Taseer are also threatened by terrorists"
----

LEVEL I: The "Tauheen-e-Rasool" killers are usually Barelvi (like Mumtaz Qadri).

LEVEL II: The "Tauheen-e-Sahaba" killers are usually Deobandi (like LeJ/Malik Ishaq).

LEVEL III: The "Tauheen-e-Wahadat" or "Shirk" killers are usually Ahle Hadith/Salafi (like Punjabi Taliban & TTP).

Salman Taseer was not seriously on the hit-list of Level II & Level III killers. He was killed by Level I fanatics.

Do you now UNDERSTAND why? Do you know WHY the Barelvi militants so are so INTENSELY focused on "Tauheen-e-Rasool" part of Shariah?

If you understand why, you will immediately see why the Barelvis are considered "Gumrah" by Deobandis and "Kaffir" by Ahle Hadith/Salafis-- and are themselves "wajib al qatl".

It is a web of relative heresies, all of which are punishable by DEATH.

Hopewins said...

Speaking of TRIBALISM in Pakistani society and of titular terms like "raja", "malik", "chaudhary" et cetera, here is an interesting article on this issue....

http://alturl.com/qoc9e

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a discussion on Musharraf's judicial witch hunt and the rowdy violent behavior of anti-Musharraf lawyers while the judges turn a blind eye to it:

http://www.zemtv.com/2013/04/23/kharra-sach-with-mubasher-lucman-musharrafs-arrest-and-the-otherside-of-picture-23rd-april-2013/

I. KAMAL said...

Re. Mubashir Luqman's Khara Sach. Excellent program, voices of truth and reason. The question is being asked: Why is there no general outcry from the public? This was answered years ago by Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Prppaganda Minister, who had stated: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." Since the last 7 years corrupt politicians and sections of the paid or prejudiced media have been repeatedly putting the blame for BB's murder, Bugti's death, the Lal Masjid incident, etc., etc., without rhyme or reason, on Musharraf - so much so that the public has been duped into believing it. As history has repeatedly shown us, the truth will eventually come out.

Riaz Haq said...

I.Kamal: "The question is being asked: Why is there no general outcry from the public? This was answered years ago by Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Prppaganda Minister, who had stated: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

I think it's because of highly bigoted right-wing TV anchors on channels like Geo! Jhoot Bol Kay Geo!

Riaz Haq said...

While Chaudhry's court is busy settling scores with its "enemies", the cases backlog is rising to unprecedented levels---20,000 cases in Supreme Court and 1.5 million cases in the country's various courts. Each day, the chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court confronts a stack of blue folders stuffed with desperate pleas from residents claiming that corrupt police, inept prosecutors or moribund lower courts have failed them.

Mujtaba said...

In 2010, 69% of those surveyed reported that they or someone in their household was subjected to an act of corruption when interacting with the judicial system. Of 339 affirmative respondents asked to identify the actors involved in corruption, 119 said court employees, 84 said a public prosecutor, 50 said a witness, 44 said a judge, 29 said an opponent lawyer, 16 said magistrates, and 12 said others.

http://www.transparency.org.pk/documents/csr.pdf

I. KAMAL said...

Riaz Haq: "While Chaudhry's court is busy settling scores with its "enemies", the cases backlog is rising to unprecedented levels---20,000 cases in Supreme Court and 1.5 million cases in the country's various courts."

How comic, then, that an "hon'ble" judge should have said that a claim for two marlas of land was as important to him as Musharraf's case. The request by Musharraf's counsel for his client to visit his 90+ ailing mother was denied, whereas a former ambassador was allowed to leave on the flimsiest of flimsy grounds. Perhaps Musharraf's counsel should have made the request through Malik Riaz and his erstwhile friend. Money talks.

Riaz Haq said...

Can the elections be free and fair when secular liberal left parties (ANP, MQM, PPP) are facing violent attacks and unable to campaign while right-wing parties (PML N, PTI, JI, JUI) are campaigning freely, particularly in the battleground province of Punjab? Is it a conspiracy to ensure right-wing victory in Elections 2013? Why are MQM and PML Q being called "Pro-Musharraf" by rabid right media people like Hamid Mir and Ansar Abbasi for demanding fair trial? Is the concept of fair trial completely alien to the right-wing media, judges and politicians in Pakistan?

I. KAMAL said...

Musharraf's fundamental human rights are being denied. When he returned to Pakistan, the CJ "invited" members of the public to come and loadge cases against him, something unheard of in world legal history. Musharraf's meetings with his lawyers at the Islamabad high Court are usually being restricted to 0-15 minutes. He is being treated like a common criminal. The notorious FIA has been given his "physical" remand over a trumped up case. There are many right-wing extremists in Pakistan in all-sections of the populace, including the law enforcement agencies, who hate Musharraf for his secular views. He has that harassed look on his face. He is in great danger of being physically and mentally tortured. It is about time Amnesty International and world human rights organizations took notice and put a stop to this brutality.

Hopewins said...

^^RH: "...Or, all of Pakistan will revert to being a tribal society where the cycle of revenge will continue leaving a lot more dead bodies in its wake.."
----

Speaking of tribal societies, here is the BBC on the strong influence of 'Clan Politics' in England today..

http://alturl.com/gs9x8

Riaz Haq said...

Here's an FT report on Pak Army officers' unease over Musharraf's treatment:

Pakistani military officers have complained about the way the armed forces are being treated by politicians and the media ahead of the May 11 general election, stoking fears of renewed military interference in politics after five years of civilian rule.

“Obviously, there is unease among them [army officers],” said Mushahid Hussain Sayed, who chairs the Senate defence committee. “They see the army being maligned or attacked.” He was commenting on a meeting he had in Islamabad on Friday with 75 mid-career army officers from the Command and Staff College in the western city of Quetta.

According to one serving army general, army officers are unhappy, among other issues, about the treatment of Pervez Musharraf, the former army chief and military dictator who returned from exile to contest the polls but was arrested on charges of treason and other offences.

Officers were particularly irked by images on Pakistani television news channels showing lawyers beating some of Mr Musharraf’s supporters while shouting insults against the man who ran Pakistan for nearly a decade until 2008.

“This treatment has triggered tensions,” the general said. “People are worried about this situation spinning too much out of control.”

Public criticism of politicians and civilian institutions by army officers has been rare in recent years, but the complaints aired at the meeting between the officers and Mr Sayed have been extensively reported by the Pakistani media.

Mehmood Durrani, a retired Major General and former national security adviser, said there was a belief that “the army has become everyone’s favourite whipping boy. When anything goes terribly wrong in Pakistan, it’s because of the army.”

Mr Sayed, the senator, said officers thought the sacrifices they were making in fighting al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the regions bordering Afghanistan were not sufficiently appreciated. “The feeling is that while middle ranking officers are fighting on the front lines, the institution is getting attacked,” he said.

On Monday, eight people were reported killed in Peshawar by a suicide bomber. Human Rights Watch, the international pressure group, meanwhile urged the Pakistani military to provide security for the election in a “non-partisan manner” following numerous Taliban attacks on democratic politicians.

For the moment, analysts say, there are no signs of the army preparing to seize power under General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, the chief of staff who has consistently favoured keeping the army out of politics. But the mood could change if army officers believe Mr Musharraf is being badly treated.

“One of the telling indications of things to come will be Musharraf’s trial. If the army concludes that he will not get a fair trial, they will make their resentment known further,” says Hasan Askari Rizvi, an analyst and author of a book on the Pakistan army.

“The army can react by communicating messages discretely to judges and politicians and they can launch a media campaign by leaking information on key politicians to journalists.”

Pro-democracy activists, however, want Mr Musharraf put on trial on a range of charges. He is accused of involvement in both the killing of a prominent tribal leader from Baluchistan province and the arrests of judges and protesting lawyers during his time in power.

The army has ruled Pakistan for almost half its life as an independent state since 1947.


http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0167cd10-b0bb-11e2-80f9-00144feabdc0.html

Riaz Haq said...

Here's an excerpt of Myra McDonald's Reuters' blog post on Pak elections:

The TTP have been remarkably clever; they have sown fresh tensions in the country between Punjab and elsewhere. They have shown themselves able to attack almost at will with a single-minded determination to influence Pakistan’s elections. The TTP spokesman was even quoted by Pakistan’s Express Tribune as citing European philosophers, when he said elections were contrary to Pakistan’s Islamic values. “The two are contrary to each other because Islamic laws and values come from Allah Almighty, while the secular doctrine comes from Rousseau, Kant and Bentham.” They are not just angry tribesmen riled up by drones. They have a plan. And Pakistan, no matter how many nameless children among the dead, does not.

http://blogs.reuters.com/pakistan/2013/04/30/pakistans-brutal-elections/

Riaz Haq said...

Here are excerpts of COAS Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani on Martyrs Day today as reported by News Tribe:

.... The conduct of General Elections is not an end per se, but is surely an important means towards delivering us from our present sufferings. To bring an end to our tribulations, it is also imperative to foster a profound understanding of our national ethos and aspirations. The General Elections will provide us the foundation. To build on this foundation, we would have to find answers to many questions; war against terrorism being one of these questions.

The menace of terrorism and extremism has claimed thousands of lives, including those of the Army, Rangers, FC, Police, Frontier Constabulary, Levies and innocent people of Pakistan. If we include the injured and affected family members of the martyrs, the numbers increase manifold. Our external enemies are busy in igniting the flames of this fire. However, despite all this bloodshed, certain quarters still want to remain embroiled in the debate concerning the causes of this war and who imposed it on us. While this may be important in itself but the fact of the matter is that today it is Pakistan and its valiant people who are a target of this war and are suffering tremendously. I would like to ask all those who raise such questions that if a small faction wants to enforce its distorted ideology over the entire Nation by taking up arms and for this purpose defies the Constitution of Pakistan and the democratic process and considers all forms of bloodshed justified, then, does the fight against this enemy of the state constitute someone else’s war? Even in the history of the best evolved democratic states, treason or seditious uprisings against the state have never been tolerated and in such struggles their armed forces have had unflinching support of the masses; questions about the ownership of such wars have never been raised. We cannot afford to confuse our soldiers and weaken their resolve with such misgivings. Every drop of blood, shed in the national cause, is sacred and no one can better understand its value than the families who are present here today; because their dear ones have already made the ultimate sacrifice. We must not hurt the sentiments of these saviours of the Nation through our words and deeds.

We sincerely desire that all those who have strayed and have picked up arms against the Nation, return to the national fold. However, this is only possible once they unconditionally submit to the State, its Constitution and the Rule of Law. There is no room for doubts when it comes to dealing with rebellion against the state. Towards this end, while truly acknowledging the national aspirations and value of our martyr’s blood, we as a Nation need to forge consensus towards evolving a clear policy through mutual consultations. Considering this war against terrorism as the war of the armed forces alone can lead to chaos and disarray that we cannot afford...

http://www.thenewstribe.com/2013/04/30/pakistan-army-chief-general-ashfaq-pervez-kayani-speech-on-the-eve-of-yaum-e-shuhadda-2013/

Riaz Haq said...

Here's Daily Times on a pro-democracy fatwa by a Pakistani cleric:

Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, a secular and liberal scholar of Islam, using his influence as chairman All Pakistan Ulema Council (APUC), has issued a Fatwa (edict) through a consensus among 27 different religious organisations in Pakistan on the ‘right’ to vote. He has been hailed internationally for this effort. In the 40-page booklet philosophising the importance of democracy and elections, he has proved ‘voting’ to be a compulsory act enjoined by Islam on the Muslims, both man and woman. In other words, he has backed democracy and rejected militarism or dictatorship. However, he does believe that Pervez Musharraf has been a good dictator, who should have been given an opportunity to prove his innocence either by allowing him to contest the polls or putting a neutral judiciary overlooking his cases.

The question is that is it appropriate or for that matter ‘democratic’ for a religious organisation or body to represent the ‘will’ of the people through law-making. If they were to define laws, independently, than how the role of parliament, and the entire judicial system is explained in a constitutional democracy that Pakistan claims to embrace. Unless subordinated to parliament, an edict unequivocally is an attempt to add power to the militants already at war with the state. The edict issued by the APUC, broadly speaking, is being viewed as a legal position to facilitate polling in the face of the militants’ resistance to elections. That explains the power the religious organisations hold in the national polity and indicates the direction to which the country is headed.

Being a constitutional democracy where parliament is held supreme and constitution is taken as a contract between the people and state any resolution, law or policy should flow from the parliament represented by the people of Pakistan. Especially in the presence of Pakistan Ideological Council, of which now Maulana Tahir is one of the 20th member the issue of voting as considered un-Islamic by the militants could have been debated, vetted and declared legal and Islamic by this able body. The effort of the APUC to give a befitting response to the militants’ propaganda against the right to vote, especially for women and generally for Muslims, is appreciable, however, it can best be taken as a recommendation and not as a verdict. But the way the edict is issued through elaborative conferences in nearly every large city of Pakistan, followed by celebrations, including the media hype, smacks some deliberate attempt to add volume to the militants’ narrative of Islam.


http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013%5C05%5C03%5Cstory_3-5-2013_pg3_5

Riaz Haq said...

This same Peshawar HC judge Dost Mohammad who barred Musharraf for life from seeking public office had earlier said all of Musharraf's actions had been approved by parliament when it passed the 17th amendment.

http://paktribune.com/news/SC-parliament-had-approved-Musharrafs-acts-PHC-CJ-259046.html

Riaz Haq said...

Here's an excerpt from an ET Op Ed by Ejaz Haider on TTP's motives:

The TTP knows it cannot capture political power directly. It is also too early for it to expect, despite the denominational conservatism of an average Pakistani, to have him or her reject the idea of elections or democracy. The average Pakistani may do abominable things on certain issues of religion, including murder, but is not unidimensional.
So, if elections cannot be prevented at this stage in the game, what’s the best alternative? It is to ensure that those parties whose presence in the socioeconomic and political life of Pakistan is threatening to the Taliban ideology must be pushed to the sidelines.
The strategy then becomes twofold. On the one hand, the TTP will use terror tactics to instill fear in the parties that it wants out of the game, and on the other, despite its opposition to the institutional mechanisms that define Pakistan today, support those political elements that it thinks will be more amenable to negotiating with it. Within this, there is a third minor strand too — parties like the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jama’at (ASWJ), which are primarily the political face of terrorist groups affiliated with the TTP.
These parties, more like groupings, link up with the right-of-centre and right-wing parties to capture enough political space to become useful in pushing for legislation that is regressive. Of course, there are local compulsions that both restrict and facilitate their operations, but that is in the nature of the game which, as noted earlier, is far from linear.
The TTP has one thing going in its favour — the fear factor. It knows that the state, despite multiple operations, has not been able to either make it irrelevant or dislocate it from the context that strengthens it. It has also played on the great confusion that runs through Pakistani society: is this our war? While it is possible to criticise American policies in the region and yet be anti-Taliban, this being a desirable course of action in fact, the problem is that the Pakistanis, for the most part, have chosen to lull themselves into thinking that with the Americans gone from here, the TTP will automatically demobilise and accept the writ of the state.
This is certainly the view of Imran Khan and has filtered down to his party leaders and supporters. One could perhaps laugh it off for its naiveté if the consequences of this linearity weren’t so threatening. Be that as it may, the TTP knows that this confusion plays to its advantage. At the minimum, it has precluded the state from developing a proper response to the TTP threat. Military operations in general and counterterrorism strategies in specific cannot be fully successful without a public buy-in, and the public’s acceptance of what the state must do is heavily contingent upon a clear understanding of the threat.
Of course, there is the matter of how successful the state has been. There is, for instance, the example of the ANP choosing to talk to the Taliban. The ANP did this because it realised that it is alone and the state cannot secure it. To that extent, the ANP’s reluctant decision to call an All Party Conference to this end is not the same thing as when the Jamiat Ulema-e Islam (Fazl) calls for one.


http://tribune.com.pk/story/542543/ttp-strategy-and-our-naivete/

Riaz Haq said...

Here's a Telegraph story of Pak tx collector fired by judges for "simply too successful in forcing people to pay more taxes":

In a country where almost no-one pays income tax, including more than two thirds of MPs, it only took seven months for Ali Arshad Hakeem to become a hated man.

As Pakistan's newly minted chief taxman, he built a database designed to monitor the spending habits of millions of people, and work out how much tax they owed.

At the click of a mouse, he could call up details of the elite's holiday habits, electricity bills and bank accounts, complete with photos addresses and vehicle details.

This quiet, technocratic revolution came to a juddering halt last month, when Mr Hakeem was suspended by judges over allegations that his appointment breached government rules that demand each job be filled from a shortlist of three.

In Pakistan's murky world of political appointments and patronage systems, few believe that was the real reason. Instead, his supporters say he was simply too successful in forcing people to pay more taxes. In other words, he was too good at doing his job.

A recent report by Pakistan's Centre for Investigative Reporting revealed that President Asif Ali Zardari and Rehman Malik, interior minister until mid-March when the government stepped down ahead of next week's elections, were among those politicians who paid nothing.

It made gloomy reading for anyone wondering whether there was any will inside Pakistan to reform. "The problem starts at the top," the report stated. "Those who make revenue policies, run the government and collect taxes, have not been able to set good examples for others."

Two of Mr Hakeem's key appointments have since transferred, moving them away from jobs where he said they would have helped bring more than £1.3 billion into government coffers.

"It's gone. And I'm not going to do it again," Mr Hakeem, 49, told The Sunday Telegraph - his relaxed demeanour and easy smile belying the bitterness he feels.

Much of his work has been undone in the short time since he was forced out, he said, and he had no appetite to take on the courts or challenge his suspension. His wife and children had already suffered enough stress.

"I hate it. I worked 20 hours a day. I've taken so much hatred for this, everyone is my enemy and out to get me - and then they sack me. Angry is not even the word," he said.

The decision to oust him will worry international donors who have kept pressure on Pakistan to shake up its anaemic tax system. They fear that without economic growth and an expanding revenue, the country's growing population could tip what is a fragile state into a failed state.

Pakistan is officially classed as a middle income country. It has the resources to build more than 100 nuclear warheads yet depends on handouts to keep its power stations, schools and hospitals running.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/10037380/Pakistan-elections-how-the-tax-man-was-forced-out-for-being-too-good-at-his-job.html

Riaz Haq said...

Tahir ul Qadri's Questions: Why is Musharraf the only one disqualified to run for elections? Why not the sectarian terrorists, tax dodgers, loan defaulters, electricity thieves, fake degree holders?

Hasnain said...

1-Fake Degree Holders list has been published on ECP's website
http://ecp.gov.pk/misc/listoffakedegreeholders.pdf
2-Parliamentarians whose degrees were considered genuine
Election Commission of Pakistan
3- NAB,SBP and FBR reports of contesting candidates
A-General Candidates
Election Commission of Pakistan
B-Reserved and Minorities
Election Commission of Pakistan

I hope next time you'll do some research before musing

Riaz Haq said...

Hasnain: "I hope next time you'll do some research before musing"

Publishing lists? Is that enough?

Let me give me you a few examples of who is considered "qualified" by ECP and Pakistan's bigoted judges:

1. Jamshed Dasti lied about his degree and he is now a "qualified" candidate in Punjab.

2. A number of LeJ's sectarian killers are candidates under the banner of ASWJ in Punjab.

3. A man charged with murder and currently in jail is a candidate in Lyari.

I could go on and on.

Argus said...

What is the point of that post? The ECP is an independent body that governs elections, while Gen Musharraf is being tried by regular courts that cover civil and criminal law. These are two entirely different systems.

Riaz Haq said...

Argus:" The ECP is an independent body that governs elections, while Gen Musharraf is being tried by regular courts that cover civil and criminal law. These are two entirely different systems."

It was the bigoted activist judges who decided on these issues, not the EC commissioners. These biased judges see it fit for any one with clear violations of article 62 and 63 to seek election while Musharraf is banned for life because he dared to challenge their corruption in 2007.

Argus said...

That is the process laid down in the law, which was followed. While I understand why you have your personal opinions, in this case, you thoughts are increasingly lop-sided.

I agree with you that the judges are not being totally impartial, but they are the only legal remedy available, and the Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter, right or wrong.

That authority must be respected.

Riaz Haq said...

Argus: "I agree with you that the judges are not being totally impartial, but they are the only legal remedy available, and the Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter, right or wrong."

If the judges are not impartial, then there can be no fair trial guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan. So any trial of Musharraf by these partial judges would be a violation of the constitution.

Argus said...

This is an age old problem Sir: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

You are correct that a farcical trial would be wrong, but we will need to go through the trial with the courts we have, not the courts we wish we had, to paraphrase Mr. Rumsfeld.

Riaz Haq said...

Argus: "You are correct that a farcical trial would be wrong, but we will need to go through the trial with the courts we have, not the courts we wish we had, to paraphrase Mr. Rumsfeld."

Justice Saeed us Zaman Siddiqui, a man of principle who refused to take PCO oath in 1999, has suggested South Africa style Truth and Reconciliation to resolve this situation where almost everyone involved shares responsibility for the events surrounding military coups and their legitimization.

Argus said...

That is a very good proposal indeed and should be considered for implementation by the next Parliament.

Riaz Haq said...

From Economist on Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Aziz:

IN THE summer of 2007, things were not looking good for Maulana Abdul Aziz, an extremist cleric who had just failed in his attempt to impose strict sharia law on Pakistan’s capital by force.

His Red Mosque and madrassa complex, a stone’s throw from government buildings in Islamabad, was stormed by security forces on the orders of then-president, Pervez Musharraf. Dozens of people died during the siege. Mr Aziz was caught trying to escape dressed in a burqa.

In this section
Riding the wave
Returning with a vengeance
Back on track?
Time to deal
A ferry sinks
The game of the river
A tricky rebalancing act
Reprints
Seven years later it is Mr Musharraf who is on trial for high treason while Mr Aziz is a free man, basking in media attention and busily rebuilding his religious powerbase. “We receive donations from people all over the world”, he says, gazing out at a group of workmen building another marble edifice that will house more seminary students and teachers. “They are inspired by the sacrifice of the martyrs who died protecting the mosque.”

He has his freedom thanks to the government’s tolerance of radical Islamists in national affairs. In February Mr Aziz was among five people nominated by the Pakistani Taliban to represent its interests in peace talks with the government. Although he soon dropped out of the process, the question of how much the country should adjust its constitution to suit its militant tormentors became a routine topic on talk shows.

Mr Aziz says he is not part of the “armed struggle”, but he argues that violence is justified in order to establish God’s laws. He is revered by terrorists for whom the Red Mosque affair was a defining moment. One militant group—Ghazi Force—is named after Mr Aziz’s brother, Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who was killed during the siege.

Some suspect the group may have been behind the suicide attack in Islamabad on March 3rd. Among the 11 dead was a liberal-minded judge who outraged extremists last year when he rejected a petition for Mr Musharraf to be tried for ordering the raid on the Red Mosque in 2007.

Zahid Hussain, a commentator, says the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has lost its appetite for controlling illegal madrassa construction in Islamabad. He says there are now thousands of madrassa students in the city. No wonder Mr Aziz feels the tide of history is flowing in his direction. In 2007, we were on the defensive, he says. “Now things have turned 180 degrees and it is the secular forces who are hiding.”

http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21601047-seven-years-after-red-mosque-affair-renowned-extremist-re-emerges-returning-vengeance

Riaz Haq said...

Here's an AFP report on Lal Masjid's Maulana Aziz naming his madrassa library after Osama Bin Laden:

A religious school for women in the Pakistani capital Islamabad has renamed its library in honour of slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The seminary is run by controversial hardline cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, the imam of the city's Red Mosque, once notorious as a hideout for hardliners with alleged militant links.

The mosque was the scene of a week-long military siege against radicals in 2007 which left more than 100 people dead and unleashed a wave of Islamist attacks across Pakistan.

Now the Jamia Hafsa seminary connected to it has named its small library, stocking Islamic texts, in honour of bin Laden, who masterminded the 9/11 attacks in the United States.


- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-asia/story/osama-bin-laden-library-pakistan-religious-school-20140417

Riaz Haq said...

Here's an interesting piece from Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) on Pakistani media:

Pakistan’s raucous and increasingly lethal media sector is exerting a powerful effect on decision-making in the country, even though journalists themselves are divided on whether their influence is positive or negative. That’s the key finding of a survey of more than 350 Pakistani journalists, policymakers, and academics. ..... More than two-thirds of policymakers surveyed said the media has a “significant” effect on their decision-making and 94 percent said they “always” or “sometimes” take media reaction into account before making a decision. That group includes current and former government officials and analysts at policy think tanks and civil society organizations. Those policymakers actually have a more positive view of the media than journalists themselves. More journalists and academics believe the media makes societal divisions worse than say media helps heal those divisions; it’s exactly the reverse among policymakers. Likewise, far more policymakers than journalists and academics believe the impact of private TV has been positive. Pakistani foreign and domestic policies are inextricably linked, shaped by a complex web of political, military, and sectarian factors. Media is one element in that equation. Just over half the journalists defined as “significant” the media’s impact on relations with the U.S. and with India, Pakistan’s key rival for power in South Asia; policymakers and academics agreed with the journalists regarding the U.S., but slightly more than half the policymakers and academics said the media’s influence was “minimal” or “none” when it came to relations with India. All three groups surveyed are united in overwhelmingly believing the media has played a “significant” role in exposing corruption, though a sizable minority of journalists were more cynical, seeing their role as “insignificant.” Pakistan is locked in a virtual civil war with Islamist militants, both home-grown and from Afghanistan. Even on this complicated issue, more than one-third of those surveyed from each group believes the media has a “significant” impact on relations with the militants, who recently issued a fatwa against the media, which it declared to be a “party” to “this war on Islam.” The willingness of Pakistani journalists to speak truth to power has consistently proven lethal. In the four years since TV deregulation sparked an explosion of private television channels, there have been almost twice as many deaths as the previous decade, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the most infamous of which was the 2011 torture and murder of investigative reporter Saleem Shahzad, who, like Hamid Mir, claimed he had been threatened by Pakistan’s ISI military intelligence wing, but who also had just published a book on the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Yet the complex calculation involved in determining what kinds of stories could prove fatal and which push the envelope just short of that point is reflected in the responses to the question, “Can journalists report sensitive stories without fear of reprisals?” Almost 30 percent of journalists responded “yes,” double the percentage of policymakers and academics who thought that was the case, and another 30 percent of journalists said they could “sometimes” tackle such stories. Pakistan is a nation of contradictions, not least when it comes to the news industry. Nothing better sums up those contradictions than the response to the question: “Should government officials mislead the media if they think it is in the national interest?” At a time when Pakistani journalists are dying in the pursuit of truth, the response seemed to turn reality on its head: More policymakers than journalists said “no,” the government should not have that right.

http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/media_policy_and_conflict_in_p.php

Riaz Haq said...

Here's NY Times on the rise of Lal Masjid cleric and fall of Musharraf:

..The chief cleric of the Red Mosque, Maulana Abdul Aziz, has inserted himself into the argument with a typically showy gesture: the inauguration of a new library named after the slain founder of Al Qaeda.

“If Pakistan truly has freedom of expression, then we should be able to express our love for our heroes,” said Mr. Aziz, a willowy, bespectacled man with a wiry gray beard, in a room with the sign “Martyr Osama bin Laden Library” on the door. “And we love Osama bin Laden.”

-----
Today, Mr. Aziz delivers thunderous Friday sermons from the lavishly refurbished Red Mosque, a stone’s throw from the Parliament building. And he oversees a network of madrasas that teach 5,000 students.

Only seven years ago, the mosque was in the throes of a pitched battle against the authorities. Mr. Aziz tried to escape the siege under the cover of a burqa, a purse clutched in his gloved hands, but was captured and paraded by the intelligence services on national television, still wearing the black cloak.

-----

Malik Riaz Hussain, a sympathetic property tycoon, provided a temporary home for hundreds of madrasa students and spent at least $150,000 on refurbishing the bullet-pocked mosque. He attributed his generosity to pragmatism rather than to religious conviction.

“I have huge interests in Islamabad and Rawalpindi,” the businessman, who has close ties to the military, told The New York Times in a 2010 interview. “Bad law and order is bad for my business.”

The city provided land worth millions of dollars in central Islamabad for the rebuilding of Jamia Hafsa, a women’s madrasa that was bulldozed after the 2007 siege. The madrasa, whose construction is not complete, is home to the Osama bin Laden library.

Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story
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But it is the courts that have been most indulgent toward Mr. Aziz and his followers. Over the past year, judges have dismissed all of the 27 criminal charges against Mr. Aziz, who at times has used the courtroom as a pulpit to call for the imposition of Shariah law.

Instead, the court’s attention has mostly focused on Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former military ruler. A judicial inquest determined that General Musharraf, not Mr. Aziz, was responsible for the deaths during the siege of the Red Mosque, even though armed jihadis from banned militant groups had joined the students inside...
--------
At Jamia Hafsa, Mr. Aziz has named a dispensary after Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman who is serving an 86-year prison term in the United States on charges of attempting to kill an American soldier and an F.B.I. official in Afghanistan.

-----

The Red Mosque has also staged a comeback on the Internet: Its Facebook page is named after the 313 Brigade, a fearsome band of armed female students that conducted raids on suspected brothels and video stores in Islamabad in 2007, in the months before the siege.

A return to such vigilantism is unlikely, said Cyril Almeida, a columnist with Dawn, an English-language newspaper in Pakistan. But he warned that the mosque’s enhanced profile posed other dangers. “The more they gain visibility on the national stage, the more the myth of militants fighting the good fight against an illegitimate state gains in strength,” he said. “And that makes the narrative war more difficult for the state to win."...


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/07/world/asia/paying-homage-to-bin-laden-mosque-re-emerges-as-bastion-of-militancy.html?_r=1

Adnan said...

THE guy shown in pic kissing MQ is not Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui.. He is a young lawyer practicing in IBA.

Riaz Haq said...

‪#‎Lalmasjid‬ mullah Aziz refuses to condemn ‪#‎PeshawarAttack‬. Protest-Vigil outside #LalMasjid to spill over


http://tribune.com.pk/story/809008/vigil-for-peshawar-attack-victims-outside-lal-masjid-threatens-to-spill-over/

Z Z Hashmi said...

This is article is at best uninformed and at worst a pack of lies. The person kissing Qadri in the picture is not Justice Siddiqui, he is some other lawyer.

Secondly, Justice Khilji did not threaten anyone. There may be disagreements about the interpretation of the law in the Presidential Reference he gave his opinion on, but it is preposterous to think that contempt could even be issued against a sitting President who has immunity under the Constitution.

Thirdly, the assertion that Chief Justice Chaudhry is right-wing is the most ridiculous part of this article. In his very first judgement as Chief Justice (the Hisba Bill case), he held that Muslims cannot practice their religion in a way such that other religious groups' religious freedoms are impinged. In another decision he enjoined upon the government to pass legislation against acid violence. In yet another decision, he held that the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution must be guaranteed to eunuchs as well. If anything, CJ Chaudhry was a revolutionary.

It is indeed saddening that this sorry excuse for an article is gaining so much traction on the social media because of the misinforming cover photo.

Hubba said...

Pathetic and worst condition of our Country.these mullahs have become our Nation's feudal lords they will decide who has the right to live in Islamic state of Pakistan and who is muslim according to their PURELY ISLAMIC FATWAS.these ppl are insanely ill minded beasts which Bhutto and Zia had gifted to our nation.that day will be the happiest day for Pakistan and for the whole Nation when all these brûtal beast mullahs will be hanged to death.I hope this will happen soon.so no one will tag you as muslim or non muslim for their own interest.

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistani security agencies have reportedly warned the government that the resurgence of Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, who is believed to have links with militant groups and is known for his anti-government rhetoric, poses a security threat to the law and order situation in the capital city of Islamabad.
A report entitled, "Activities of Maulana Abdul Aziz," forwarded to the interior ministry by the country's primary intelligence agency, accused the "Lal Masjid mafia" of having links to militant groups and land grabbers. It also claimed that Aziz was reorganising the Ghazi Force militant group, spawned by his followers after the Lal Masjid Operation, reported the Dawn.




http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/lal-masjid-mafia-abdul-aziz-s-rise-poses-security-threat-to-islamabad-warns-pak-intelligence-agency-115010500192_1.html

Riaz Haq said...

US Civil Rights leader Jesse Jackson to #Pakistan: Let #Musharraf go. You cant move forward while looking backward.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/899678/jesse-jackson-comes-to-musharrafs-aid/ …

Prominent US politician Jesse Jackson plunged headlong into the murky waters of Pakistani politics on Sunday when he appealed to the authorities to strike the former military ruler’s name off the exit-control list (ECL).

Rev Jackson has also written to US President Barack Obama in this regard.

In an exclusive interview to Express News, Rev Jackson said it was in the interest of Pakistan to let Musharraf leave the country. “I shall visit Pakistan to continue to support Musharraf.”

Jackson has been a longstanding campaigner for human rights and received many international awards. He had also campaigned with US civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr against racism.

In his letter to Obama, the human rights activist has reminded the president that Musharraf had helped the US after 9/11 and that it was now America’s turn to return the favour.

Jackson told Express News that Musharraf was a time-tested ally of the US. He hoped that the Pakistani government would allow the former president to leave the country for receiving medical treatment. He attributed his support for Musharraf to a human rights concern.

“Musharraf has contributed to congenial relations between Pakistan and the US,” said Jackson. “Releasing prisoners always opens up doors of dialogue and we should always prefer reconciliation over confrontation. This way we can finish tension.”

Acknowledging the former president’s international standing, Jackson said it was in the interest of Pakistan to let him go abroad for medical attention. “This will help the prevalent situation move towards improvement.”

Regarding his expectations about the issue, the former US senator said he would appeal directly to the Pakistani government. “I want to visit Pakistan to discuss the matter with the relevant ministers and religious leaders.”

On the subject of US-Pakistan ties, he said: “We have strong relations with Pakistan and they have always been so. We want peace. We want peace between Pakistan and India, within Pakistan and between Pakistan and the US.”

He said the US sees Pakistan as the axis of global peace and security. “We think Pakistan is important for peace in the world.”

Though Jackson has yet to receive a response from Obama, he seeks to insist on getting feedback from the president on his letter. “President Obama wants peace and he also wants justice. We should cooperate for peace and avoid confrontation.”

The former senator hoped that Musharraf would not be harmed and that he would be allowed to leave Pakistan on medical grounds. “We should have the ability to look forward rather than being stuck in the past. We should be able to forgive and move forward.”

Jackson said: “We cannot move forward while looking backward. Nelson Mandela was mistreated in South Africa, but he preferred to foster hope for the future rather than keep remembering the pains of the past.”

The US politician holds a similar point of view. “Following Mandela’s wisdom, hope should be preferred over fear.” (TRANSLATED BY ARSHAD SHAHEEN)

Riaz Haq said...

If social media can be used to recruit terrorists, it can also be used to stop them.

In testimony before a Senate panel last week, FBI Director James Comey stated that ISIS has over 21,000 English-speaking followers on Twitter and that this form of “crowdsourcing terrorism” is living proof that social media works. Unfortunately, it appears that this type of internet-based recruiting of “Lone Wolf” terrorists has worked yet again as manifested by yesterday’s attack at two military facilities in Chattanooga which left four dead and three others injured. One news source reported that prior to the shooting the suspect posted on his blog Islamic rhetoric referring to “separate the inhabitants of Paradise from the inhabitants of Hellfire.”

Well, if social media can work for ISIS in recruiting these self-radicalized terrorists or individual lone wolf attackers, it can also work against them. As concerned citizens and guardians of our communities we the people can mobilize to report posts from potential lone wolf attackers who seek to injure and kill others. A familiar mantra from law enforcement over the years has been to stay vigilant in our fight against crime. Today, staying vigilant online is just as important—and, as demonstrated by a recent case in Canada— can result in saving lives.

This past February, a Geneva, Illinois woman was arrested in Canada for a shooting plot after leaving a trail on social media, including a post prior to her arrest that said “Let’s go commit mass homicide.” Lindsay Souvannarath posted disturbing pictures advocating race hatred, an allegiance to Hitler and Nazi beliefs, bizarre photos of herself and others, and what appeared to be a fascination with mass killers and their handiwork, especially the Columbine High School shooters and their tools of murder. Police received a tip about a couple planning a Valentine’s Day massacre at a mall in Halifax, Canada, and she was arrested by Canadian police on charges of conspiracy to commit mass murder. Her partner in this thwarted crime committed suicide before authorities could take him into custody.

As responsible citizens who care about our communities, we need to assist law enforcement in serving as their on-line “eyes and ears” when we see threatening posts. Maybe even more importantly when we see posts and also have personal knowledge of potential offenders securing or practicing with weapons or making threats against specific individuals or groups we can “connect the dots” and provide that information to local, state or federal authorities. If you are online and read a post that includes terrorist-related chatter, threats and postings regarding weapons and mass murder, or information on upcoming or planned attacks, don’t assume that someone else will report it. Take personal responsibility and call your local police or federal authorities. If terrorist organizations or lone wolf attackers believe social media works for them, let’s show them it can also work against them.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/07/17/chattanooga-shootings-america-lets-use-social-media-to-stop-terrorist-attacks.html

Riaz Haq said...

Justice Shaukat challenges SJC’s rejection of open trial in SC

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/235207-Justice-Shaukat-challenges-SJCs-rejection-of-open-trial-in-SC

Facing the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) proceedings for alleged misconduct, Islambad High Court (IHC) judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui has challenged the decision of SJC. The SJC had refused Siddiqui’s plea to have an open trial instead of in-camera proceedings.

Petitioner Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, with the help of Makhdoom Ali Khan, Advocate, and Hamid Khan, Advocate, has filed a constitutional petition in the apex court under Article 184 (3), making the SJC and the Federation respondents. In his petition, the judge has requested that he should have an open trial instead of in camera trial.

The petitioner had made the same request to the Supreme Judicial Council but that was rejected on May 18th. When former president of Supreme Court Bar Association, Asma Jhangir, was asked to give her views about this matter, she said that even though there was no room for open trial of any judge inthe SJC, but Justice Shaukat was still pleading for an open trial. What’s wrong with an open trial in SJC particularly if the petitioner is asking for it? Asma asked saying that was the reason for her advocacy of the petitioner's request.

On the other hand, Hafiz S A Rahman Advocate said that in the past all the proceedings of the SJC were held behind closed doors. He said historically there never has been an open trial. However, he emphasised that the petitioner had taken the services of some of the best lawyers of the country and after analysing all aspects of this situation the lawyers have advised to use Article 184 (3). Barrister Gohar Ali Khan was also of the opinion that there was no mention of open trial in the rules and regulations of Supreme Judicial Council.

Riaz Haq said...

Alleged misconduct: Reference filed against Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1278975/alleged-misconduct-reference-filed-justice-siddiqui/

A member of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) Syed Javed Akbar, through his counsel Riaz Hanif Rahi, filed the reference before the SJC accusing the incumbent judge of “misconduct”.

Justice Siddiqui had made an unexpected appearance at the IHCBA General Body Meeting (GBM) on November 10 and sought permission from the lawyers’ representatives to address the bar. The organisers allowed him to address the meeting, but only in his capacity as a former president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association, Rawalpindi Division.
In his address, Justice Siddiqui said that the complainant had done his job after filing a reference before the SJC against the Islamabad High Court’s Chief Justice, Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi. However, he suggested that instead of demanding an ‘immediate’ resignation, the lawyers should wait for the SJC’s final decision.

In the reference filed on Thursday, the petitioner maintained that the judge was on judicial duty at the time he ‘interfered in the affairs of the bar’ and it was expected that he would preserve the dignity of his court and not involve himself in a public controversy.

A legion of Islamabad lawyers had called the GBM wherein they reiterated their demand for the resignation of IHC’s top judge.

In the reference, the petitioner has requested that an inquiry may be conducted in light of the allegations and report be sent
to the President of Pakistan for removal of the judge.

Riaz Haq said...

From Pakistan's legal profession that attacked a hospital and rationalized it, here comes another masterpiece:

“We direct the Law Enforcement Agencies to strive their level best to apprehend the fugitive/convict (Musharraf) to ensure that the punishment is inflicted as per law and if found dead, his corpse be dragged to the D-Chowk, Islamabad, Pakistan and be hanged for 03 days"

https://www.brecorder.com/2019/12/19/554697/court-announces-detailed-verdict-in-high-treason-case-against-musharraf/