Fasih Bokhari takes over as NAB chief

ISLAMABAD: Former chief of Pakistan Navy, Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari, was formally notified as chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Sunday despite objections raised by the opposition PML-N that the legal process required by the Constitution had not been followed in his nomination for the post.

The new chairman assumed charge of his office late in the night, sources told this correspondent.

With the appointment of Admiral Bokhari to the post which had been lying vacant since the removal of Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah in March this year, the premier accountability organisation of the country became functional again after three months of inaction.

A notification of the law ministry signed by the president said: “The president of Islamic Republic of Pakistan has been pleased to appoint Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari as Chairman National Accountability Bureau in terms of section 6(b) of National Accountability Ordinance 1999, with immediate effect.”

But the PML-N rejected the decision and indicated that it might challenge the appointment in the Supreme Court.

“We believe that the government has taken the decision in haste as President Zardari did not give a satisfactory reply to a letter written by the Leader of Opposition, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, after thorough consultations with opposition party’s legal team,” said PML-N spokesman Mushahidullah.

The notification was issued after former law minister Babar Awan had met President Asif Zardari, the sources said.

Mr Bokhari is the fifth NAB chairman belonging to the armed forces. Earlier, NAB chiefs from the military were Lt-Gen Amjad Hussain, Lt-Gen Khalid Maqbool, Lt-Gen Munir Hafiez and Lt-Gen (retd) Shahid Aziz.

The two civilian heads of the bureau are Navaid Ahsan and Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah.

Under the NAB Ordinance, the government is required to hold consultation with the Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly for the appointment.

President Zardari had sent a letter to Chaudhry Nisar on Oct 9 seeking his consent for the appointment. Chaudhry Nisar replied on Friday, raising objections to the appointment on technical grounds.

He asked the government to prepare a list of possible candidates for the office of NAB chairman and hold ‘meaningful’ consultations with the opposition.

“Mr President, if the objective of the entire exercise is to select a nominee with impeccable reputation, integrity and credibility and unquestionable impartiality, there is no reason whatsoever for hesitation on the part of the government to engage with the opposition in a thorough, concrete and meaningful consultation.”

When contacted, President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the president had appointed Admiral (retd) Bokhari as NAB chairman on the advice of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Responding to a question about the opposition’s response, he said: “President Zardari, in his reply to the Leader of Opposition, had addressed all objections raised by Chaudhry Nisar and now the issuance of notification was a mere formality.”

President Zardari in his reply to the Leader of Opposition on Saturday said: “The sense of various judgments of superior courts is that the consultation shall be meaningful and for this purpose there is no necessity of sending a panel of nominees.

“Therefore, meaningful consultation can be done even on a single person and for that purpose you are taken on board quite candidly. Sending of a panel for consultation does not have any legal cover as well, there being no legal requirement as such. I have consulted the Leader of the House in the National Assembly on the subject who has concurred to the proposal.”

Admiral Bokhari is a retired four-star naval officer who served as Chief of Naval Staff from 1997 to 1999.

Admiral Bokhari is a graduate from the French Naval War College and served on several high posts during his tenure at the Pakistan Navy.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/17/fasih-bokhari-takes-over-as-nab-chief.html

Draft of new visa accord with India finalised

NEW DELHI: The Joint Working Group of Pakistan and India finalised a draft of a new visa agreement after examining modalities for streamlining visa procedures at a two-day meeting that concluded here on Friday.

The agreement is meant to ease travel between the two countries, said a joint statement issued after the second meeting of the working group.

The finalised draft of the agreement will be submitted to the two governments for approval for signing of the accord at an early date.

The meeting was a follow-up to the deliberations of the JWG’s first meeting held in Islamabad on June 2-3. It took place in pursuance of the decision taken during the India-Pakistan home/interior secretary-level talks held in New Delhi on March 28-29.

Anil Goswami, additional secretary (foreigners), ministry of home affairs, led the Indian delegation and Nasar Hayat, additional secretary, ministry of interior, headed the Pakistani team at the meeting.

“The discussions were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. The two sides finalised the draft text of the agreement which will be submitted to the respective governments for obtaining necessary approval in order to sign the agreement at an early date,” the Indian side was quoted as saying by Times of India in a statement.—APP

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/15/draft-of-new-visa-accord-with-india-finalised.html

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.

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