following a hearing in Islamabad in April this year.
~
Unrelenting pressure on government from judiciary,opposition parties
Always on the boil, the melting pot of conspiracy theories that is
Pakistan is now boiling over. Suspicionthat "hidden hands" were at
work in ousting Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani from office — reportedly voiced
by none other than the former Prime Minister at a closed-door meeting
— has given way to fears thatthe democratically elected government is
being encircled. When an arrest warrant was issued againstMakhdoom
Shahabuddin, the first choice for replacing Mr. Gilani, coup talk
returned to Pakistan full steam.
Many found the timing of the warrant suspect. The case had been
pending for sometime. To add to this, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) —
which is investigating this case — isheaded by a serving Army officer.
For a country all toofamiliar with military takeovers under one
pretext or the other, it wasenough to set alarm bells ringing.
Television anchorperson, Farrukh Pitafi, reflected the exasperation of
many when he tweeted: " Bhai , takeover kar lo (you might as well take
over)".
The ingredients were all there, raising the spectre ofthe 1990s when
politicianssparred often enough and so bitterly that it was easy to
play one against the other, the revolving door change of governments
ending with Pervez Musharraf's takeover that lasted a decade.
Despite the iconic aura it has gained since 2007 and the harsh words
it has used against the military ina couple of cases, the superior
judiciary's past has not been forgotten. Every military intervention
was validated by the judiciary and the present pantheon includes
judges who had validated Gen. Musharraf's coup. That has only added to
the apprehensions of a nation several times bitten.
The Dawn's editorial articulated these fears about the arrest warrant:
"Given the uncanny timing of yesterday's developments, we cannot rule
out the possibility thatthere are forces working behind the scenes to
prevent Pakistan's fledgling democracy from weathering the current
crisis."
Since the new PM-designate, Raja Pervez Ashraf, also has a fair
shareof cases against him, the joke in town was that efforts were on
to dig up dirt onQamar Zaman Kaira, the "cover candidate" introduced
into the fray by the Pakistan People's Party(PPP).
In any case, no one expectsthe new premier to have an easy run. As the
search for candidates for premiership was on, the bottom line was that
only those willing to be disqualified for five years need apply. It is
amply clear that the PPP is determined not to write tothe Swiss
authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
Among the first tasks awaiting the new man in would be the Supreme
Court order asking that theletter be sent. Or go the Gilani way.
Halo fades
But the PPP too is determined to hang in for the remainder of its
term, which ends in March 2013, despite calls from political opponents
to call it quits. Ironically, the man who selects the new Prime
Minister is the same personas the court's real target in the
government-judiciary standoff – President Zardari. So, expect more of
the same in coming months The two have beeneyeball to eyeball since
thePresident dragged his feet over the reinstatement of Justice
Chaudhry from 2008 to 2009. Mr. Gilani got caught in the crossfire, as
the judiciary stood tall over an inefficient government bogged downby
controversies.
Some of the halo around the judiciary – that harks back to the
lawyers' movement for the reinstatement of judges removed by Gen.
Musharraf— has faded in recent weeks with the Chief Justice's son,
Arsalan Chaudhry, being accused oftaking millions from a property
tycoon for influencing cases. More than the accusations, the manner in
which the Court handled that case has dented its image.
Writing in The News , lawyer Babar Sattar said the judiciary had
"squandered a vital opportunity to salvage its reputation as a neutral
arbiter of the law" with its judgment in the case.
The court's decision to disqualify Mr. Gilani has also drawn its fair
share of criticism, not out of any love or appreciation for thePPP-led
dispensation but because of what it portends for Pakistan's fledgling
democracy.
Expressing disappointment, The Dawn editorial said: "Legally there
might have been a case against the Prime Minister, but it was best
forthe supreme judiciary not to have waded so deep into such obviously
political waters."
Questioning the decision toask the Election Commission to notify Mr.
Gilani's disqualification instead of just referring thematter to it,
The Dawn noted: "By doing so, it has both disrupted an existing
democratic set-up and set a worrying precedent for the future."
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