Pakistan is in the midst of a serious crisis

ON September 20, a convoy of twelve foreign diplomats, at the invitation of local traders from Swat Malam Jabba, was subjected to a terrorist attack. The Chamber of Commerce’s efforts to revive and promote terrorism in Swat suffered a setback. Had the terrorists succeeded in their evil plans, Pakistan would have faced international shame and condemnation on a scale unimaginable. The vehicle carrying the diplomats was saved from an IED explosion, while a police escort was hit by the roadside bomb, which was detonated remotely. One police officer died on the spot due to the severity of the explosion, while four officers were seriously injured. The diplomats survived the attack. This exposes serious security shortcomings of the KPK police and intelligence services, while at the same time negating the grounds for opposition of the provincial government, which opposes targeted operations.

There should be no misconceptions about the evil plans of terrorists who want to destroy the economy of Swat and drag it back to the stone age, ruled by despots, involved in mass murders and public hangings of several thousand people, without any form of justice. The peace and harmony of Swat, which was restored by the security forces, was destroyed when known criminals from across the border were allowed to return with their weapons in hand. To be honest, much of the responsibility lies with the PTI and others. The decisions made under their administration, along with those of others, have caused thousands of deaths among innocent civilians, displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and led to endless unrest that continues to torment the citizens of this country.

In such a situation, all three constitutional pillars, namely Parliament, Executive and Judiciary, were expected to focus on the real issues facing people while staying within their limited constitutional corridors, based on the principle of the “Trichotomy of Powers” ​​instead of engaging in gang wars. Political issues must be resolved in parliament, which has the power to legislate and amend the constitution. The main role of the judiciary is to provide justice to people without any delay. It would have served justice if our judiciary had chosen to emulate judges like Mr. Kayani, Cornelius, Nasir Aslam Zahid, Baghwandas etc., instead of people like Saqib Nisar, Bandiyal, Maulvi Mushtaq etc. The visible eagerness of the SCP’s involvement in political affairs and disputes, which receive widespread media attention, has made it controversial.

Since 2007, the judiciary has been subject to “lawsuits” by lawyers affiliated with chambers of powerful members of the legal community. Today, the judiciary is dominated by many such individuals. In this context, high-profile cases involving gross financial irregularities remain pending for decades, to the detriment of the poor victims of this abuse. The credibility and prestige of the judiciary have been eroded. It is a fact that powerful members of the land mafia manage to request extensions of the dates, knowing full well that their illegal occupation would be lifted as soon as a judge hears their case on the merits. Thousands of poor people have been deprived of their land and their livelihood by this evil nexus.

Pakistan is facing an environmental disaster due to the senseless destruction of fertile green meadows and trees, which are being replaced by concrete jungles, where all the black money is parked. Pakistan’s judiciary has a very poor record and has failed its 240 million citizens. Thousands of litigants die waiting decades for justice. The judiciary should be seen as apolitical and not favorable to any political party or dictator, nor should they be willing speakers at seminars organized by activists of any political party, in Pakistan or abroad, nor should they succumb to the temptation of attributing conspiracies etc. It is because of such political preferences that the SC has appointed ‘monitoring judges’ to influence the decisions of the lower judiciary. An SC judge, in his 43-page 2023 judgment, coined the concept of Master of Roster, to justify the constitution of a select group of like-minded judges to decide important constitutional matters, while many, senior to him, were kept in their chambers locked up. . When a conscientious SC judge dared to convict a senior uniformed officer for being complicit in facilitating the 2017 Faizabad Dharna, his brother judges pounced on him and since then, QFI has been the victim of a personally targeted smear campaign. The partisanship became so bitter that a referral was filed. Another judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui was also a victim of this targeted mockery. The judiciary can only interpret the Constitution as and when a situation requires them to do so, and under no circumstances can they rewrite any written clause of the Constitution.

Even the constitutional provision of “Full Justice” is related to the case regarding the petition filed before them. The Doctrine of Necessity has its origins in Pakistan, based on Judge Munir’s perception that it was necessary to save the system. He saved martial law from a dictator, but damaged Jinnah’s vision of a modern democratic welfare state. Judges must make rulings strictly based on existing laws and the Constitution. We have seen in our neighboring country India, where the Indian SC, in pursuit of their perception of ‘full justice’, has regularized the demolition of the Babri Mosque, to appease the populist aspirations of an angry mob of right-wing Hindu fundamentalists, in contrary to the Indian Constitution. Ghandi Jee’s India suffered irreparable damage.

Since then, Muslims, Christians and Dalits have been victims of mob lynching. The concept of ‘full justice’ should only be invoked in rare circumstances, such as extra-constitutional takeovers. Pakistan’s major national and provincial political parties must realize that Pakistan must come first, rather than their selfish pursuit of power. No one wins when Pakistan loses. They all exist because of Pakistan, not the other way around. Pakistan and its citizens have been wronged for far too long in this blind pursuit of power by men whom MAJ warned had no role in politics.

—The writer is a columnist based in Lahore.

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