Words to the wise
One occasion that might pacify the pro-democracy detractors of the current judiciary. The chief justice called it like he saw it in his address to a visiting delegation of the military staff college, Quetta. Urging the army officers to stay away from politics, he reminded them that it was the military that had weakened democracy in the country. What prompted the candour with which the chief justice spoke to these up and coming officers was, he said, his conversations with some very senior military officers who did not comprehend the implications of the oath taken by the troops.
But its not just the chief justices observations and its not just the odd member of the senior military leadership that has a callous attitude towards the democratic process. A similar attitude is found at every level in the armed forces. Chat them up and one gets the same, identical world view: that politicians are inherently corrupt and incapable; that democracy is a lofty ideal that the west might indulge in but not countries like Pakistan that are not ready for it. It was appropriate that the chief justice chose to quote Nobel laureate Amyrtya Sen when he said, a country does not have to be deemed fit for democracy; rather, it has to become fit through democracy.
But there is much by way of atonement that the judiciary had to take care of. The legal cover to all the military rulers the last instance being the one that the current chief justice helped facilitate himself comes to mind immediately. But if, as the chief justice said, the military needs to step back and respect the constitutionally prescribed role of all the institutions, then perhaps he can begin this bit of charity at home. There has been a lot of criticism on the perceived interference of the courts into what are undeniably the realms of the executive. Just to name a few, this includes matters financial, like price-fixing and administrative HR issues, like postings and transfers within the civil bureaucracy. Even within judicial affairs, there is a feeling that the courts arent being fair to the political class; if they can sit on the Asghar Khan petition for decades, but the NRO case can be followed up on promptly, there is surely more than what meets the eye.
A good start. But it will take more than a rousing speech.
