March 16, 2009 was the date on which Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry stood restored as the Chief Justice of Pakistan, for a second time. And much like the first occasion, when the commando-general was forced to take him back by a Supreme Court verdict, this time round too he was beholden to none for another stint. The threat of a long march and a nod from certain quarters or headquarters that put the CJ back in office also made clear another aspect: there was no love lost between the restored CJ and President Asif Ali Zardari.
We were soon to find out the ramifications in the almost continuous bickering between the two vital organs of the state that followed.
Since then there might have been quiet weeks, when there was no wrangling between the upper echelons of the PPP government and the superior judiciary, but these have been few and far between.
The duelling indeed has been quite relentless, with the judiciary determined on probing cases of massive corruption against the high and mighty, and in the process desiring that its choice of bureaucrats and investigators prevail over that of the government. The Supreme Court obviously deemed it necessary to expose and take the cases to their logical conclusion by handing out convictions while the executive considered it an invasion of its turf.
The government for its part has been singularly evasive, and while parroting it is not defying the Supreme Court orders, its actions have been more significant than its words. Procrastinations and transfer of concerned officials have been its methodology to avoid even the most minor of attempts at accountability.
Since the NRO case, repealed by the SC in December 2009, none has been more disparaging for the government than the NICL and the Hajj scam of 2010. The scions of the two major political families, that of the prime minister and the Chaudhrys, are rumoured to be involved and the evidence is said to be overwhelming.
The government has been fudging all moves by the court, but for reasons too obvious its resistance is most fierce here. Saving the junior Gilani and Elahi from long stays as guests of the government and the accruing loss of face with the next elections not that far in the future, is the motivation. Hence, the change of the investigators who were asking uncomfortable questions and making deep probes with the ones who would be pliant and obliging.
But the judges, led by their chief, too won’t have any of it, they wouldn’t let go – remaining steadfast in their quest to make their orders followed by an unmoved government.
Prior to this latest inflammation that came with the prime minister making the establishment secretary Sohail Ahmed an OSD for following the court’s orders, the government had avoided the various jabs by the judiciary with some unseemly feints. But with this action, the confrontation reached another level, and there was a hint of invoking Article 190 (through which the Supreme Court has the constitutional cover to seek the army’s intervention to implement its orders).
Whichever way the crisis veers, the PPP will have to do some deep soul-searching and reassess its actions. Democracy is not just having an elected government in office, but, as the adage goes, a way of life. It also requires openness as opposed to opaqueness that is inherent in a dictatorship, accountability and uniform application of law. And by subverting the due process in cases where there has so obviously been corruption on a very large scale, the PPP government is not only providing ammunition to an opposition that is in disarray but also exposing itself to the scorn and opprobrium of the mainstream liberal element and the working classes that have been its traditional bastions.
Presenting the two scions (potential future leaders) to a fair trial and purging the corrupt will only bring benefits to the PPP’s cause and be good for its credentials.
That said, while the higher judiciary’s taking the high moral ground in terms of protecting the constitution now and in the future (by terming a putsch treasonable before hand) and going after the plunderers of national wealth, is most welcome, it would be appropriate if it is seen to be even-handed in its zeal in the dispensation of justice. Many cases of wrongdoing, to the extent of creating alliances by using dubious money and engineering election results have been lying before it unheard for the 10 years and longer. But apparently since these involve the top brass and the agencies, they remain unattended. Air Marshal (Retd) Asghar Khan’s petition is a case in point.
Then there is the no less important issue of prompt dispensing of justice in the lower courts. That is where the corruption is rampant, justice walks with leaden feet, and that is where the people are suffering across the board – or the Bench. One wishes that the champions of justice – both on the bench and at the bar – indeed in the media too, tackle this matter with the same fervour they are displaying elsewhere.
The writer is Sports and Magazines Editor, Pakistan Today.