Pakistan court stands by democracy
By Syed Fazl-e-Haider
KARACHI - Pakistan's top court has burst the balloon of conspiracy theories about a possible delay to a general election and derailment of the democratic process that gripped the country following the dramatic appearance of a Pakistani-Canadian cleric, Tahirul Qadri, on the country's political scene in December last year.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the petition by Qadri, the founder and head of the Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) political party, seeking the reconstitution of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on the basis that four of its
members were not appointed in accordance with the law.
The court ruled that a foreign citizen would not be allowed to challenge constitutional institutions and wind up the political set-up of the country by taking part in politics. On the other hand, Qadri called the court's decision political rather than constitutional, and accused the court of insulting him by calling him a foreigner.
After harsh questioning by the court about Qadri's allegiance, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry dismissed his petition, saying that he could not convince the bench on his eligibility to file the case. The court noted that Qadri has also failed to prove his bona fides.
"This is our country and we are here to protect the Constitution and institutions," The News reported Chaudhry as saying. "You are not an ordinary person but a Sheikhul Islam [a superior authority in the issues of Islam] offering great services for the promotion of education as well as religious harmony by giving lectures in 90 countries. But at the same time if you show allegiance to the British queen, being a foreign citizen, how can you challenge the constitutional institutions of the country."
Qadri rejected the court's ruling and accused Chaudhry of taking his oath from former dictator General Pervez Musharraf under a provisional constitutional order (PCO) - an extra-constitutional order that suspends either wholly or partially the Constitution of Pakistan.
"Hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis residing abroad remit money back home to make up for people's salaries here," Qadri told the reporters outside the court. "Somebody should tell me how taking an oath from Queen Elizabeth [Canada's head of state] is different from taking an oath from Musharraf."
A rowdy scene was witnessed during the hearing when Qadri lost his temper, according to Daily Times. He showed a picture in which Chief Justice Chaudhry was shown taking the oath from former president Musharraf on June 30, 2005. He asked the Chief Justice that since he had taken his oath from a dictator how could he be loyal to democracy. He asked if there is any difference between oaths taken from a dictator and from Queen Elizabeth. Qadri's remarks infuriated the judges but the court exercised restraint.
Last week, the court accepted for hearing the petition from Qadri regarding reconstitution of the Election Commission and appointment of a new chief election commissioner, just a month before the planned dissolution of assemblies in the run-up to the general elections. Legal experts in the country feared that elections might be postponed after the Supreme Court accepted the petition for hearing. Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, a renowned lawyer, told the local media that it was not possible to constitutionally remove any member of the ECP in its present form or to constitute the commission anew.
Political observers believe that Qadri's case should have been discussed and decided on merit as the case was dismissed on the ground that he was the dual national. Such dismissal opens the door to another petition which may be filed by a Pakistani seeking reconstitution of the ECP.
The country's mainstream political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) repeatedly warned that a conspiracy was being hatched by certain forces to delay elections and interrupt the democratic process at a time when a democratic government for the first time in the country is going to complete its five-year constitutional tenure.
Some political observers believe that by dismissing Qadri's petition, the judiciary has sent a strong message to certain forces that are believed to be behind the Qadri that no one will be allowed to interrupt the democratic process.
Qadri had demanded that the judiciary and military should be included as stakeholders while forming an interim set up ahead of elections. Some political observers believe that by dismissing the petition, the court has rejected the speculation that Qadri enjoys any support from the judiciary.
Last month, Qadri led a protest march of thousands of his followers on Islamabad and threatened to occupy the parliament. His sit-in outside the parliament house raised alarm bells about military intervention and postponement of general elections. He however called off the four-day long protest march after the a team of government officials on the directive of President Asif Ali Zardari held talks with him and accepted his demands for electoral reforms by signing a vote accord.
Qadri had supported a military coup led by former president general Pervez Musharraf in 1999. He returned home in December from Canada to lead a call for electoral reforms.
Qadri was backed by the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf party of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), which are widely seen as pro-establishment parties.
The Dawn newspaper commented:
Dr Qadri's agenda remains unclear, so perhaps that logic doesn't fully apply in his case. But Imran Khan's agenda is much easier to speculate on. He is on the cusp of breaking through as a significant politician whose party can make a dent at the polls... But it is hard to square that sentiment with his demand for a new Election Commission of Pakistan so late in the game, especially when several top legal minds consider the current ECP to be constitutional and when there is no clear constitutional mechanism for disbanding it and creating a new one.
The process for appointing the ECP that is now in place as a result of the 18th Amendment is the most inclusive the country has ever had. So even if those jumping on Dr Qadri's disband-the-ECP bandwagon - including the PML-Q, even as it works out its election strategy with the PPP - think the current commission isn't perfect, they should ask themselves if it is biased enough for them to risk delaying a democratic transition... Much will also depend on the Supreme Court's choices. As it responds to Dr Qadri's petition asking for the commission to be scrapped, the SC [Supreme Court] would do well to keep in mind the critical juncture the country stands at today.
The court's dismissal of Qadri's petition reflects that the judiciary is fully determined to protect the country's democracy, and it has repeatedly said that it would not allow any delay in the upcoming general election.
There is no denying the fact that the powerful and popular judiciary has emerged as the only competent institution to fight the corruption scandals stretching into the highest sanctums of power in the country. The culture of kickbacks and corruption flourished and reached a peak under the present government, led by the increasingly unpopular President Asif Ali Zardari.
Whether it be state-owned companies, tendering or bidding processes or even spot-fixing in sports, serious corruption scandals and financial scams have regularly come to surface under Zardari's government. Successive surveys of Transparency International of Pakistan (TIP) have reported the present government as one of the most corrupt in the world.
Last year, the Supreme Court's verdict in the "Asghar Khan case" exposed the unconstitutional and illegal involvement of the army and intelligence agencies in politics. The criticism of army generals by the media and talk of their trial for corruption forced army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kiani to issue a warning to the critics against undermining institutions and behaving as the sole arbiters of the national interest.
Chief Justice Chaudhry had responded to the Kiani's statement and reportedly said, "Gone are the days when stability and security of the country was defined in terms of number of missiles and tanks as a manifestation of hard power available at the disposal of the state."
Syed Fazl-e-Haider (http://www.syedfazlehaider.com) is a development analyst in Pakistan. He is the author of many books, including The Economic Development of Balochistan (2004). He can be contacted at sfazlehaider05@yahoo.com.
(Copyright 2013 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
