Judiciary checks arbitrary exercise of power, says CJ

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said on Thursday that judiciary as an institution could never be independent unless individual judges remained impartial.

“The judges are pillars of the judicial institution and are expected to avoid such words, actions and situations that might make them appear prejudiced and disrespectful to the oath they are sworn to abide by,” the chief justice said while speaking at a full-court reference held to bid farewell to the retiring SC judge, Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui.

He said judiciary had never encroached upon the domains of the executive and legislature since both were independent in their spheres. “There can, however, be practical issues where the perspectives of judges can be of help to the executive and the legislature.”

The role of judiciary is not that of opposition to the other two organs of the state; it rather places a check on the arbitrary exercise of power by any institution or functionary of the executive. Otherwise, he said, the three organs had the same objectives of ensuring constitutional supremacy, rule of law, fair administration of justice and protection of people’s rights.

Justice Iftikhar, however, said judiciary had to be resolute in upholding the rule of law and the canons of justice in accordance with constitutional norms. He said Pakistan was at a crossroads because of natural calamities and internal and external threats. “At this juncture, we should fulfil individually and collectively responsibilities and obligations enshrined in the teachings of Islam, which are primary sources of the law of land.”

The chief justice paid tributes to Justice Shahid Siddiqui and acknowledged his service and contributions to the cause of justice.

He asked lawyers, clients and witnesses to refrain from unjust criticism of judges and judiciary, saying the bench, bar and litigant public were all part of the same judicial system. “They have to work in collaboration with one another in order to achieve the objectives of justice and establish peace and tranquillity in society.”

The chief justice said: “Establishing justice in society is not merely a voluntary endeavour. In Islam, justice among people is a divine attribute, which is considered as one of the most sacred and important obligations. The vision of Islamic society cannot be fulfilled if it was not based on justice, equality, tolerance and freedom.”

He said Pakistan being a democratic state was based on Islamic principles of social justice wherein the state was responsible to establish justice and eradicate all forms of oppression, transgression and tyranny.

Justice Shahid Siddiqui said the task of a judge was by no means easy. The balance of the civilised world is maintained by his independence, fearlessness and courage to apply law without fear or favour.

“It is impossible for a judge to please anybody at all. He has a duty to decide in accordance with the law. He has a duty to be fearless. He must be free from the influence of those who wield power. If a judge fails in his duty, there is nothing left to be
saved,” Justice Siddiqui said.

Ties with Pakistan vital to security, says US

WASHINGTON: Ties with Pakistan remained vital to US national security, the White House said on Friday as the State Department pledged to continue to work with Islamabad to defeat terrorism.

“The cooperation we have with Pakistan is extremely important in terms of our national security objectives, in terms of protecting Americans, in terms of taking the fight to Al Qaeda,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told a briefing in Washington.

“And that’s why we continue to work with the Pakistanis and try to build on that cooperation,” he added.

At the State Department, spokesperson Victoria Nuland underlined “an intense relationship on a number of issues, including on the counterterrorism docket.”

She also noted that US secretaries of state and defence and the CIA’s chief had all maintained contacts with their Pakistani counterparts while a special envoy was due in Islamabad for talks on all major issues.

“We are going to continue working on this issue of counterterrorism together because it is in both of our interests,” Ms Nuland said.
The statements followed recent media reports that increased cooperation between US and Pakistani intelligence agencies had
helped defuse the existing tensions between the two countries.

The ISI – although much-maligned in the US media – has been credited in these reports with arranging a meeting between US
officials and the Haqqani network.

ISI-CIA TIES: On Friday, the Director of US National Intelligence, James Clapper, told the Associated Press news agency that the ISI had quietly stepped up cooperation with the CIA, arresting some Al Qaeda suspects at their request and allowing US interrogators access to the detainees.

Pakistan has also stopped demanding the CIA suspend the covert drone strikes that have damaged Al Qaeda in Fata, another report said.

This cooperation “could mark a turning point in US-Pakistani relations,” observed Fox News while reporting the development.

“They are doing things to cooperate and be helpful,” said Mr Clapper. Other US officials told Fox News that both countries have made some progress in restoring the joint intelligence cooperation that used to be routine prior to the covert US raid that killed Osama bin Laden.After the raid Pakistan stopped joint operations with American intelligence officers, refused access to militant detainees and delayed visas for some US officials.

At the State Department, spokesperson Nuland, however, hinted that Pakistan had also allowed US officials to question bin Laden’s wives.

“We are working well with the Pakistanis on the aftermath of the bin Laden events,” she said but refused to “get into any specifics” of this cooperation. The US also appears to have softened its stance on Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani physician, who helped Americans trace bin Laden and is now in custody in Pakistan.

Washington wants him in the United States with his family. Pakistan not only turned down the request but a parliamentary committee indicated this week that he could be charged with treason.

The White House press secretary refused to condemn Pakistan when asked to comment on the committee’s decision.

“I’d refer you to the Pakistani government,” he said.

State Department’s Ms Nuland also refused to discuss this issue at a briefing where reporters asked half a dozen questions on the decision to try Dr. Afridi on treason charges.

“I’m not, from this podium, going to get into this set of issues at all,” she said. Instead, the White House and the State Department offered a general description of their ties to Pakistan.

“We have an important relationship with Pakistan. We have had enormous successes through our cooperation with Pakistan,” Mr Carney said. “We have also made clear that we have issues with Pakistan at times, and that it is a complicated relationship.”

Ms Nuland completely rejected the assertion that the US was running a campaign against Pakistan.

“We are trying to make the case to the Pakistani people as well as to Pakistani leaders that only working together are we going to defeat this threat (of terrorism) to both of us.”The US, she said, was also trying to publicise the civilian assistance it was giving to strengthen the Pakistani democracy, education system and the economy.

“That is also one of the best deterrents to extremism, when quality of life is being raised for everyone,” she said. When an Indian journalist suggested that most Pakistani hated the US, Ms Nuland urged him to help improve the US image.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/09/ties-with-pakistan-vital-to-security-says-us.html

The IK factor By Cyril Almeida

IT looks and sounds almost biblical. Pestilence has descended on Lahore, swaths of the country have plunged into darkness, life as we know it may be coming to an end soon.

Thank God for the politicians and comic relief.

Less ‘après moi, le déluge’ — after me, the deluge — and more ‘nous sommes le déluge’ — we are the deluge — our pols are up in arms again.

They are shaking fists, bumping bellies, raging and pontificating. The PML-N wants the PPP gone, the PPP is mocking the N-League, the political waters are churning again.

And the man who may have triggered it all, Imran Khan, is serenely going about his business, heaping scorn on all sides and surging ahead in popularity.

To understand Pakistani politics, you have to keep two things in mind.

One, little of what any politician has to say publicly has anything to do with what’s really on his mind.

Two, some laws of politics are immutable.

Start with the second proposition. You don’t lose an election to poor performance, you lose an election to another candidate.

Despite the rains in Sindh and dengue in Lahore, those areas are bastions of the PPP and the PML-N respectively and it’s hard to see them being meaningfully challenged there by other parties or candidates.

So you can scratch that as a serious electoral concern.

Now to the first proposition. You’ve heard the PML-N verbally pummel the PPP and you’ve seen the Shujaat faction of the PML-Q momentarily try and put some distance between itself and the PPP.

To hear the PPP’s rivals/ allies tell it, they are simply fed up with the PPP’s misgovernance and just want things to get better.

If you believe any of that, you might also want to peer out the nearest window to see if you can spot a flying pig.

The N-League is the same party that hasn’t been able to control a mosquito in Lahore and the PML-Q, well, the years 2002-08 should be enough to tell you everything about their good governance model.

So why is the N-League in particular so agitated suddenly?

If you google ‘Gujranwala, Sept 25, PTI’, you may get part of the answer.

That pesky fool Imran Khan seems to be attracting voters in Punjab, particularly urban but also rural.

The build-up has been happening away from the headlines of the mainstream Punjab-based media because it is either in the pocket of the Sharifs or loathe to antagonise the powerful N-League which is known to be vindictive and tough in its dealings with the media.

To be sure, IK and his PTI jalopy aren’t quite a juggernaut yet, but they have been quietly picking up steam. And on Sept 25, they roared into Liaquat Bagh in a jalsa that would have set the alarms ringing in the PML-N camp.

The hawks in the N-League have long been chafing against the more pacifist policy of their boss, but earlier weren’t able to convince Nawaz otherwise.

Now, with a new party, the PTI, arriving in the N-League’s backyard and making many of the noises the PML-N hawks think they should be making themselves to hold on to their constituencies, the hawks appear to have finally goaded their boss into action.

So the pummelling of the PPP has begun, to keep the N-League voter onside and away from the wiles of the PTI seductionists.

Why the roundabout route of attacking the PPP to keep the N-League voters from breaking for the PTI?

Because a direct attack on the PTI would both boost the profile of Imran Khan’s bunch of do-gooders and signal that the N-League feels threatened. In politics, the perception of weakness can become reality if exposed too early. And it’s a time-honoured strategy of politics to bash the incumbents to boost one’s own electability.

Frankly, until the arrival of the interloper Imran Khan, the next elections were looking quite dreary.

Electoral gridlock in much of the country — PPP dominating in interior Sindh; MQM in Karachi; KP split between the ANP, PPP and JUI-F; urban and central Punjab dominated by the PML-N — had left the big players eyeing another coalition government in which the fate of south Punjab would likely decide who would lead at the centre.

Punjab and its various regions were supposed to be the stage for an overall three-way contest between the PML-N, the Q-League and the PPP, with Imran Khan and his PTI playing the role of the spoiler in a first-past-the-post system. Votes matter little unless they translate into seats and the big boys were supposed to have had a lock on the seats.

But the plucky outsider with the demagogic populism seems to have tapped into a vein of unhappiness with the status quo that everyone knew was there but doubted whether it could be channelled politically by a new force.

Even now, whether Imran Khan knows how to translate a crowd at a campaign rally into votes at the ballot box remains to be seen. The pundits, though, are slowly becoming believers. Between KP and Punjab, there is talk of him picking up anywhere between a dozen and 30-plus seats.

A victory for democracy and the believers in transition, then? Not if politics means coming up with meaningful solutions to serious problems. IK has about as much of a clue on how to steer Pakistan out of crisis as AZ, NS, the judiciary or the army.Still, it is fun to see the big boys get hot under their collar a bit.

The writer is a member of staff.

cyril.a@gmail.com

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/07/the-ik-factor.html