The verdict

The burden falls on the government, again

The verdict delivered by the Supreme Court ordering the initiation of criminal proceedings against a former COAS and a former DG ISI for carrying out illegal orders given by former President Ghulam Ishaq Khan is both unprecedented and historic. Gen (retd) Alsam Beg had not only acted in violation of the constitution but had defended himself on the ground that he had taken oath under the Army Act instead of the 1973 Constitution and was therefore not debarred from taking part in politics while in uniform. Lt Gen (retd) Assad Durrani had owned the distribution of ISI funds among IJI politicians on the plea that he had only carried out the orders of his superiors. The verdict sets down clearly that the constitution is binding on all citizens, be they in civilian dress or military uniform. Further that an officer is obliged only to carry out orders which are legal. The verdict will serve as a much needed warning to officials, civil as well as military, that they must not act, under any condition, on the illegal orders of their superiors. And if they still do so, they will have to face the punishment. Hopefully those used to issuing illegal orders with a sense of impunity will henceforth think twice before issuing such directives. The court has also decreed the closing down of any political cell whether in ISI or Presidency.
While the court declared that the 1990 elections were rigged, it stopped short of taking any action against the beneficiaries of the stolen elections other than ordering the recovery of the money from them and depositing it in the national exchequer. This is hardly a punishment. One had hoped that the court would at least determine whether those who acted hand in glove with the ISI in the rigging were still to be considered righteous, honest and “ameen”.
One wonders why the court did not declare that the sentenced army officers had lost their ranks, pensions and privileges forthwith for acting against the constitution. It has instead put the entire burden of prosecuting them on the government which is scared of doing anything that might in any way displease the army. No serious attempt was made therefore by the interior ministry to bring back Musharraf to face trial in the Bugti murder case.
Despite FIA defining itself as a law enforcement agency with unusual “integrity, professional competence, and impartiality”, it has failed to inspire sufficient confidence in its performance. Hopefully the apex court would devise other ways to get its orders implemented if the Agency is seen to be delaying the implementation of the directives. This being a test case, many in the country would wait anxiously for a satisfactory conclusion.