CJ IFTIKHAR CHAUDHRY THE HERO

CHITRALIS FOR CJ RESTORATION

2008-05-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

CHITRAL,16 May 08: Almost all Chitralis want the judiciary of 02 November 2007 to be restored as it was without any crumpling in it. In a survey carried out by Chitral News, people from different walks of life expressed great regard for deposed Chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and wanted him to be reinstated with full honours.

Those asked for comments said Iftikhar Chaudhry took suo motto cognizance of social injustices ranging from apparently small matters like checking extravagance in marriage ceremonies which cause social disharmony, to matters of national importance like challenging the frittering away of national assets by the govt in shady privatisation deals, asking for whereabouts of disappeared persons, demanding supremacy of the constitution and the law, and many more such steps which judges before him had hitherto ignored as 'some body else's business'.

The chief Justice stood steadfast on his principles in the face of both the stick and the carrot, a trait alien to most Pakistani politicians today, they remarked. Chitralis known to be much interested in national politics and considered more enlightened than many in this regard, were of the unanimous opinion that absence of social justice is the main ailment that we suffer as a nation today -- (CN report)

Lawyers ready to protest

2008-05-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

Pakistan lawyers plan to hit the streets again to demand the government quickly reinstate judges ousted by President Pervez Musharraf.

"The leadership of Pakistan's Supreme Court Bar Association will meet on Saturday to finalise protest plans", Munir A Malik a lawyers' protest movement leader said.

Demonstrations will likely start with a nationwide convention of lawyers in Lahore and eventually move on to the Parliament building in Islamabad. He did not give a date for the protests.

"We are absolutely prepared," he said in Hong Kong but said the lawyers would tread carefully so the army would not use it as an excuse to intervene.

Malik's comments came after talks between the two main partners in Pakistan's six-week-old ruling coalition failed to reach an agreement on how to reinstate the judges Musharraf dismissed.

Lawyers launched a high-profile campaign last year when Musharraf first tried to oust Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who was later reinstated.

Chaudhry was later put under house arrest after Musharraf imposed emergency rule in November, when he also purged other judges.

Malik was arrested and fell ill in prison. Fellow activists claim he was poisoned.

Malik was in Hong Kong to receive an award from the Asian Human Rights Commission for him and his successor as president of the bar association, Aitzaz Ahsan. They were honored for their work with the lawyers' movement.

Courtesy Gulf Daily News.

A TRIBUTE TO ""CHIEF JUSTICE IFTIKHAR MUHAMMAD CHAUDHRY""

2008-04-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

IS ZAMEEN-E-WATAN PER BAHAR, IFTIKHAR.
IK WAQAR IFTIKHAR, IK WAQAR, IFTIKHAR.

APNAY AZM-O-AMAL MAIN CHATAAN KI TARAH
IK SAALAAR IFTIKHAR, IK SALAAR IFTIKHAR.

WO SADAAQAT, SHUJAAT, ADAALAT LIYE..
PUR YAQEEN, PUR AZAM, PUR WAQAR IFTIKHAR

MERAY RAB KI TARAF SAY SUKOON-O-ATAA..
HER DUKHI DIL KI HAI TOO PUKAAR, IFTIKHAR.

WO HAI ZALIM-O-AAMIR-O-JABIR SHIKAN
HAI NIDAR IFTIKHAR, HOSHIYAAR IFTIKHAR.

IS KHIZAAN-E-JABR MAIN HAI PEKAR-E-GUL
TOO HAI IS NAKHL-E-NO MAIN BAHAAR, IFTIKHAR.

SAR UTHA K HAI JEENA SIKHAYA HAMAIN..
KIYOON NA HO TUJH PAY JAAN YE NISAAR IFTIKHAR

DIL SAY POOCHHO YE KIS KA HAI NAGHMA SIRA..
IFTIKHAR, IFTIKHAR, IFTIKHAR, IFTIKHAR.

AAO AASH, HUM BATA DAIN JAHAN KO, HAIN HUM
JAANISAAR-E-IFTIKHAR, JAANISAAR-E-IFTIKHAR.

^^by ME^^

BLACK FLAG WEEK .. FROM 9 TO 16 MARCH 2008

2008-03-09T04:30:00.001-07:00

Police Fired tear gas at Lawyers and Civil Society's Protest at Judges Colony

2008-03-04T01:02:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD: Police fired tear gas shells when lawyers and members of the civil society reached outside Judges Colony on Monday and tried to remove the barbed wires to reach the residence of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

The police fired tear gas at scores of demonstrating lawyers, who were demanding that President Pervez Musharraf reinstate Justice Iftikhar.

Helmeted police in riot gear fired several canisters at about 200 lawyers who were shouting slogans outside the residence of Justice Iftikhar. The protesters dispersed and then they regrouped and started chanting slogans against police. They headed towards Ministers' Colony but the police prevented them to do so. Many lawyers were seen coughing and bending over after being hit by clouds of acrid smoke. " alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173812788342859554" />

The protesters picked up the tear gas canisters and threw them back at policemen who retreated before regrouping. The lawyers had gathered outside the CJP residence after hearing unconfirmed television reports that the government had lifted the house-arrest restrictions on his wife and three children.

The lawyers became agitated when it became apparent that the reports were apparently incorrect.

"Free the children, Go Musharraf Go!" the lawyers shouted. They also demanded entry into the CJP house, which is surrounded by barbed wires.

The protestors also tried to attack the vehicle of Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Justice Malik Abdul Qayyum, who was on the way to his official residence situated at the Ministers' Colony.

Earlier, Interior Ministry's official met CJ Iftikhar and offered conditional release to him and said that his family members were free to move any where and children were allowed to go their academic institutes.

The Interior Ministry official told the CJP that he would be released if he agreed that he would not go to the Supreme Court.

According to the source, Justice Iftikhar said that he would not accept any condition and that he would visit the SC right after his release so that he could call his fellow judges to form a full-court bench to further proceed with Justice (r) Wajihuddin's petition upon which the Supreme Court would nullify the emergency rule, enforced by the then chief of army staff (COAS).

Later, the lawyers and civil society workers went to the Secretariat police station where they submitted an application to register a first information report (FIR) against the illegal detention of Justice Iftikhar and his family. The Secretariat police station received the application and told that it would consider it for FIR.

The application says that a criminal case be launched against President Pervez Musharraf, interior minister, interior secretary, chief commissioner, inspector general, deputy commissioner, senior superintendent of police and other officials of the Islamabad Administration for keeping Justice Iftikhar and his family under illegal and undeclared house detention.

Online adds: Caretaker government while deciding to suspend the detention orders of family members of deposed CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry and other deposed judges has allowed them to move freely.

Sources privy to Islamabad administration told the then chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other judges who had not taken oath under PCO were house arrested along with their family members following November 3 steps.

The caretaker government had released the detained lawyers and in the second phase the family members of house arrested judges had been allowed to move freely. They can go every where including schools, markets, colleges and other places and meet other people. However deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and other deposed judges will remain house arrested.

(courtesy The Post)

Aitzaz Ahsan could be set free any time

2008-03-02T00:46:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD: Punjab government has released the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Aitzaz Ahsan, the sources told Geo News

Punjab Home Department has withdrawn police deployed at the residence of Aitzaz Ahsan, the sources added.

Earlier, Punjab Home Secretary, Khusro Pervaiz said that the government of Punjab has decided to release Aitzaz Ahsan, following the completion of the first phase of transfer of power with the final results of elections now announced.

Aitzaz Ahsan could be set free any time, as the security cordon around his residence being withdrawn, he added.

(courtesy Geo News)

Chief Justice Of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry Predicted Victory.

2008-03-01T01:54:00.000-08:00

KARACHI: Suspended Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry predicted that “victory is in sight” and soon, the judges and judiciary would be restored to their pre-November 3 state.

He predicted this while addressing members of the Sindh High Court Bar Association via telephone from his residence in Islamabad, where he has been detained since being removed under an executive order by President Pervez Musharraf. Justice Iftikhar sounded very optimistic of his triumph and restoration as the CJP.

“The power to rule and the highest offices are short lived, but, long live the traditions and principles set by an individual. Judgments, strictly as per law and constitution, are remembered even centuries after,” he said, adding that “victory is in sight”.

He praised the continuing struggle of the lawyers, judges of the superior courts, civil society and the media for the restoration of the judges and independence of the judiciary.

He demanded “accountability of those who endangered the solidarity of the country” for their individual gains and benefits. The supremacy of law and constitution, in Pakistan, are indispensable if this country is to survive progress and prosper,” he said.

He once again declared the actions taken on November 3 as “illegal and un-constitutional”. A seven-member full bench of the apex court had declared the proclamation of emergency illegal, and also passed an order of restraint urging all judges not to take oath under the PCO. The judges who took an oath under the PCO validated the actions of November 3, he said.

“This is all illegal and unconstitutional. Everything done and decided by these courts are illegal,” he maintained. “The Parliament alone is competent to change and amend laws. Once these powers are surrendered by the Parliament, it will bring disastrous implications for the country and the Nation,” he warned.

He also mentioned the loan obtained by the current chief justice of Pakistan under the Saiban Scheme as a grade-22 officer.

“The time is coming when the law and constitution will be supreme. Judges will be restored and will give justice to the common man,” he said.

Justice (retd) Rashid A. Razvi, president of the SHCBA, thanked Iftikhar Chaudhry for his speech and assured him of support, from all the lawyers of Sindh, for an independent judiciary.

(courtesy Daily Times)

Aitzaz Ahsan Announces a week-long protest.

2008-03-01T01:45:00.000-08:00

KARACHI: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Aitzaz Ahsan announced on Thursday that lawyers would observe a week-long protest from March 9-16 in support of the judiciary.

The SCBA president made the announcement over telephone while addressing a general body meeting of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA). The first day of the protest coincides with the completion of a full year of the judicial crisis that started on March 9, when former chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was suspended and President Pervez Musharraf sent a reference against him to the Supreme Judicial Council.

In his speech to the lawyers, Ahsan advised the president to quit and transfer power to representatives elected by the people. He also urged political parties to restore the pre-November 3 judiciary so that justice could be dispensed to the people of Pakistan. Ahsan said, “Political parties have shown their strength by securing a two-thirds majority in the parliament. They should now take steps for a free and independent judiciary. People voted them into power to acquire independence of all kinds, including independent of judiciary, free media and freedom of speech.”

(courtesy Daily Times)

Aitzaz Ahsan's detention may be Extended.

2008-03-01T01:35:00.000-08:00

LAHORE: The Punjab Home Department Friday said Supreme Court Bar Association President Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan cannot be released before March 3.

While talking to a private news channel, Punjab Home Secretary Khusro Pervaiz Khan said the government had issued orders of his detention for 30 days, which was ending on March 3.

However, sources said the government was likely to extend the detention orders of Aitzaz Ahsan till a new government is formed.

The Home Department has taken strict security measures outside the residence of Aitzaz. Barriers have been erected and the road leading to his house has been closed for traffic.

Imprisoned at home..!!!

2008-01-20T21:47:00.000-08:00

The judge's family has been locked in its house for more than 10 weeks.

The 8-year-old son is disabled and has difficulty walking.

His two teenage sisters are not allowed to go to school. Strangers often padlock the gates, and armed men roam the neighborhood.

"How mad they are," the 16-year-old daughter, Palwasha Iftikhar Chaudhry, wrote in an e-mail to a lawyer, referring to government officials who have kept the family detained.

The father, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, is the former chief justice of Pakistan, a man detained since a state of emergency was declared by President Pervez Musharraf on Nov. 3, still the object of the president's ire and watched constantly by police and the intelligence agencies.

"We are being treated as if we are militants, terrorists, extremists," said Palwasha Iftikhar Chaudhry in a rare telephone conversation from her house.

The judges' leafy enclave of 19 homes on a hill in Islamabad,

with a jogging track,

a children's park and a mosque,

remains locked off from the world -- security officers guarding the roads in and out.

Four former Supreme Court judges are still being held under a kind of neighborhood arrest: they can leave their homes but not their neighborhood.

Chaudhry and his family are being held under house arrest in their five-room home.

His daughter Palwasha, nicknamed "the commander" by lawyers helping the family on the outside, helps smuggle in mobile phones.

A phone number can usually only be used once or twice before the intelligence agencies somehow manage to scramble it, she said.

She said she has read one Harry Potter book more than 20 times since the crisis started, as she has had no other books.

As she spoke, her father's voice could be heard in the background, but he refused to come to the phone.

Palwasha said the call would be cut off immediately if he spoke.

Even so, the line went dead three times.

She said her father worried that the upcoming elections would be fraudulent without a neutral judiciary to help evaluate the fairness of the results.

"I just want to say to the international community, why aren't they being supportive of the chief justice and the other Supreme Court judges?" she asked. "They didn't do anything wrong."

2008-01-17T23:18:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year To the Nation

2007-12-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

O Allah, have mercy on us..Bless us and forgive our sins, we had committed in the past years.

O Allah, give us strengh for thanking you each and every day of this New Year..and to be true muslims.

O Allah, make this Year Peacefull and prosperous for us

Unite us and take us to the right path,

And keep us away from Sins, Losses, Illness and Pervaizs..

O Allah, please fulfill our prayers..

Aameen

Happy New Year

2007-12-30T05:37:00.000-08:00

Benazir Bhutto's expected assassin.

2007-12-30T05:30:00.000-08:00

Not Motivated By Politics.. by: Muneer A. Malik

2007-12-26T04:24:00.000-08:00

Not motivated by politics
By Muneer A. Malik
THE reference against the Chief Justice has placed government spokesmen in a tricky spot. Early on, they realised that a direct attack against the Chief Justice would be imprudent. It would contradict their stated position that the president had simply put certain material about the Chief Justice before the Supreme Judicial Council for assessment and determination, and that the government was entirely neutral in the matter. How then would the government go on the offensive?It was Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani, that fearless defender of downtrodden dictatorships, who arrived at an ingenious solution. Why not target the lawyers instead? After all, the whole fuss had been created by the bar associations (albeit fuelled by the media). If the legal community could somehow be discredited, the media would lose interest and the opposition parties would get distracted by other issues.

Unfortunately, the resultant government-generated propaganda aimed at discrediting the legal community has been blindly adopted by some in the ostensibly independent media. Even reputed columnists of this paper have chosen to attack the acts of the protesting advocates rather than the cause of these protests.

While devoting all its energy to the single-minded defence of the Chief Justice, the legal community neglected to explain its own actions to the public and left itself open to attack. This article aims at remedying that failure.The first charge against the bar associations is that they have unduly politicised an issue that should, more properly, be a subject of pure constitutional and judicial debate.

Let there be no doubt on this score; our struggle is political to the core.Our struggle is about the independence of the judiciary and the preservation of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. These are not arcane legal issues to be dryly debated in closed courtrooms. They are issues that affect the lives of every single Pakistani.

Every citizen has the right to expect that he will live his life in a system based on the rule of law and not the arbitrary whims of a military dictator. Every citizen has the right to expect that, when he approaches the courts for justice, he will be heard by truly independent and fearless judges and not timid bureaucrats who hold on to their offices at the pleasure of a capricious ruler.When the rulers of the day attempt to snatch away these basic fundamental rights, it is the right and duty of every conscientious citizen to speak out, loudly and clearly, against this outrage.

It is, of course, not surprising that the stooges of a military dictatorship view the word “political” as an insult: to be used to tarnish the image of any cause or movement that they oppose.

Non-democratic rulers loathe any references to politicians or to the masses they represent.The very existence of politicians reminds them of the ugly fact that their own power stems from the barrel of the gun and not the will of the people. But when I use the word “political” to describe our struggle, I do not refer to party-based electoral politics.

“Politics” is a word of Greek origin deriving from “polis” which means “city-state”. When Aristotle wrote of ‘ta politika’, he meant “affairs that concern the state and the citizens”.Is the summary removal of a Chief Justice by an army chief not a question that concerns the state and its citizens? We forget, too often, that the Constitution is not a legal document created by lawyers for lawyers. It was a document created by politicians on behalf of the people.

It is the embodiment of the people’s will as to how they wish to be governed.Questions relating to its preservation and supremacy fall squarely within the political domain. Thus if political parties also wish to register their protest against the desecration of the Constitution and the stifling of the judiciary’s independence, they are fully entitled to do so. Rather, if they claim to be democratic parties, they are obliged to do so.When undemocratic regimes wish to quell public resentment about an unpopular move and stifle all public debate on the issue, they adopt a time-honoured strategy.First, they label the issue as one of exceeding technical complexity that is not fit for public purview.

The public is informed that the issue is beyond their comprehension and hence they should abandon open debate on the matter in favour of a decision by “experts” behind closed doors. Then the functionaries of the regime hunker down and wait for the tide of public opinion to pass so they can continue with their destructive agenda unimpeded.Well, the instant issue is certainly not beyond the comprehension of the people of Pakistan. Every man on the street fully understands that a sitting Chief Justice was removed and then publicly humiliated on the president’s orders because he dared to make decisions that were popular with the masses but unpopular with the establishment. And every man on the street is competent enough to express his viewpoint on the matter.Implicit in these charges of “politicisation” is the suggestion that the legal community is acting on the anti-government agenda of some political parties.

The very idea is ridiculous. The bar associations are professional bodies comprising a large number of diverse individuals with a wide range of political opinions and persuasions.All bar associations in all four provinces are united in the current struggle. It would have been impossible for us to maintain this unity had we aligned ourselves with any particular political party. This unity is forged solely on the basis of a common commitment to the independence of the judiciary — irrespective of any other political beliefs.

This is not an abstract ideal. Unless the security of a judge’s tenure is guaranteed, he cannot be independent. When a judge is not independent, he becomes useless to the people. Once people lose confidence in the judiciary, when they perceive it as ineffectual, when they refuse to have their disputes adjudicated by the judiciary and seek to settle them by other means, the descent of the nation into chaos and anarchy becomes inevitable.One does not have to be an anti-government politician to be disturbed at this prospect and to speak out against it. Members of the bar have been the most vocal in their opposition to the government’s maltreatment of the Chief Justice because they are best placed to observe, day to day, its devastating effects.The most frequent litigation in our courts is brought by citizens aggrieved by the acts of the government and its agencies. If this regime’s move to remove the Chief Justice is successful, no judge in future will have the confidence to decide such cases solely on the basis of merit and free from all fear of the consequences.

Lawyers are also being criticised for the fact that they have not confined themselves to the issue of the removal of the Chief Justice but have gone on to comment on the illegitimacy of General Pervez Musharraf’s military regime. Only a fool (or an apologist for the current regime) could argue that these two issues are not inextricably linked.The sitting Chief Justice was summoned to the Army House and summarily removed by a uniformed general heading a military junta. Are we, then, supposed to criticise only the effect and not the cause?

No doubt, our immediate objective is the restoration of the Chief Justice so that the instant attempt to dominate the judiciary can be defeated. But, in the long-term, the judiciary can only be truly independent in a democratic dispensation, where the rule of law and the Constitution reigns supreme.We have all respect and reverence for those courageous heroes of the armed forces who risk their lives for the defence of the motherland. But we cannot extend this respect to those who misuse their power to trample upon the Constitution and democratic institutions.

The second charge laid against the legal fraternity is that their boycott of court proceedings on days that the Supreme Judicial Council conducted its hearings caused great inconvenience to litigants.The members of the bar are fully cognisant of the plight faced by ordinary litigants when their cases do not proceed on the scheduled day. We are the ones who deal directly with them and can best appreciate their distress.

However, what critics ignore is that the litigant is not there simply to have his day in court. He is there because he wants justice; and only independent judges can provide justice.The wife of a missing person needs to know that the judge hearing the case is capable and willing to stand up to the government and take on the intelligence agencies and get her husband released. If the bar gives up its struggle and the government succeeds in its attempt to dominate the judiciary, such judges will be a thing of the past.In the meanwhile, sacrifices are being made all around — not least by members of the bar; many of whom have given up or cut back on monetarily rewarding law practices to single-mindedly devote themselves to the struggle for the independence of the judiciary.

The boycott of court proceedings serves a dual purpose: firstly, it sends a clear message to the government that the entire legal fraternity will strongly resist any attempt by the executive to interfere with the judicial organ of state. Secondly, it reminds judges that the entire judicial edifice and its workings are founded upon the guarantee of their independence. Once that independence is lost, you might as well close down the courts.

Also, what the mouthpieces for the government intentionally fail to point out is that the leading cause of judicial delays remains the appalling shortage of judges. A judge of the Sindh High Court can typically expect to deal with at least 40 to 50 cases a day. The position is similar throughout the country. How is he expected to master the voluminous facts and complex points of law and deliver judgments in all the cases within the space of four to five hours?By way of comparison, a judge sitting in the high court of England hears a maximum of one to two cases in a day. Despite repeated requests from the bar over the last several years, the government has refused to raise the sanctioned strength of judges.

The reason is clear; the government does not want to make its own life difficult by raising the level of judicial scrutiny in the country.What is more, as a direct result of the government’s ulterior motives, most of the courts in the country are operating far below their sanctioned strength. For example, the Sindh High Court currently has only 21 judges whereas its sanctioned strength is 28. But there is no hope of appointment of new judges in the near future.Our Constitution mandates that superior court judges can only be appointed in consultation with the Chief Justice.

In the famous case of Al-Jehad Trust (also known as the “Judges case”) it was settled that this function cannot be performed by an Acting Chief Justice. By restraining the Chief Justice from performing his functions, General Musharraf has personally guaranteed the prolonged misery of litigants.Until the Chief Justice is allowed to resume his functions, no new judges can be appointed and the superior courts will continue to be woefully undermanned. It is not out of place to mention here that, in the last judicial year alone, the Supreme Court, under Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry’s stewardship, decided a total of 23,353 cases thus reducing the number of cases pending adjudication from 38,139 to 14,786.This was hailed as a “landmark achievement” and the Full Court of the Supreme Court unanimously termed it as a “clear manifestation of the commitment and resolve of the Hon’ble Judges under the able leadership of the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan”. Law Minister Wasi Zafar and his cohorts who now support the reference against the Chief Justice would do well to remember this fact before shedding crocodile tears in purported sympathy for the plight of litigants.The third charge against us is brought by our own.

Those poor souls who have become government mouthpieces for 30 pieces of silver or for the lure of high offices are unhappy that the bar associations and councils have cancelled their memberships. The legal profession is not a trade; it is a calling. When joining this profession, one makes a commitment to uphold the rule of law and the cause of justice.I can only remind my errant learned friends of their professional duty by quoting from the ‘Canons of Professional Conduct and Etiquette’ that every advocate promises to observe:“Whereas the Rule of Law is an essential feature of a civilised society and a pre-condition for realising the ideal of justice…“… And whereas (there is to be) a community of Advocates… dedicated to the task of upholding the Rule of Law and defending at all times, without fear or favour, the rights of the citizen;“And whereas by their efforts Advocates are expected to contribute significantly towards the creation and maintenance of conditions in which a government established by law can function fruitfully so as to assure the realisation of political, economic and social justice by all citizens;

“…No client, corporate or individual, however powerful nor any cause, civil or political, however important, is entitled to receive, nor should any Advocate render any service or advice involving disloyalty to the law whose ministers they are, or disrespect the judicial officer, which they are bound to uphold… nor indulge in deception or betrayal of the public. When rendering any such improper service or advice the Advocate invites and merits stern and just condemnation.” (emphasis added).”When they chose to turn their backs on the legal fraternity and abandon all pretences of serving the rule of law and upholding the judiciary, our erstwhile friends made a conscious choice. Now they cannot expect to have their cake and eat it too. But should this handful of misguided individuals realise the enormity of their blunder and the consequences of their greed, and resolve to abide by the ‘Canons of Professional Etiquette’, we shall have no hesitation, once again, in enfolding them in our embrace.Finally, there are those cynics and nay-sayers who dismiss our efforts as futile and akin to creating a storm in a teacup.

First, let us objectively examine what our efforts, in the court rooms and outside, have already achieved. We have secured the release of the Chief Justice from his virtual house arrest and enforced isolation. The government has been compelled to backtrack and essentially apologise for its maltreatment of the Chief Justice.

After unlawfully removing the Chief Justice, the government had sought to install Justice Javed Iqbal as Acting Chief Justice in his stead. The president had attempted to have his decision to remove the Chief Justice hastily rubber-stamped by the Supreme Judicial Council in the absence of the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Rana Bhagwandas. Those attempts have failed.We have procured the reconstitution of the Supreme Council to include Justice Rana Bhagwandas. Public opinion has been mobilised. The media is up in arms. The government’s actions have drawn strong criticism by the international community, not least by the International Commission of Jurists. For once, the bar and the bench are united. And now, the Supreme Court has been pleased to stay the proceedings before the Supreme Judicial Council.These are no mean achievements. This “storm in a teacup” has already ensured that, in future, only the most foolhardy of governments would dare to lay a hand on the judiciary’s independence. No doubt, the struggle ahead remains long and arduous. It shall require further efforts and sacrifices and the full cooperation of other forces in civil society.

But the longest journey starts with a single step.

The writer was the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association when he created this article.

Hum Wo Log..!

2007-12-24T21:25:00.000-08:00

Hum wo log...
We the People..
who love to stay in our air-conditioned bedrooms
when summer comes..
no matter what to the man in scorchy heat..
no matter what to the one struggling for us..
no matter what to the person bleeding on the road..
no matter what to the girl being bet by others..
and love to stay in heated rooms
when winter showers its cold..
We, the people..
love to forget our history
love to put our heroes at the back
love to leave the hands of the needy one..
love to surrender for the happiness of a day..
We, the people..
still sitting infront of our TV sets..
still sitting infront of our PC..
giving suggestions, ideas...... in panicsome voice.. do this.. don't do this..!
not leaving our seats..
because We, the people.. love the seats..
love to stay at a safe and sound point..
stay far from the rising shores..
stay far away from the storms of the time..
we the people love to sacrifise others
for our cause
for our Next day..
in waiting for a Bright day
we love to let the burden on others' shoulder to lighten a candle..
in waiting for a sun to shine
we let others to come and fight with darkness..
we love to let the problems to get a height..
we the people..
still letting others..
to sacrifise the positions.. peace.. happiness.. comfort..
while desiring for all the aforesaid..
how can we get what we desire while sitting infront of our PC..?
how can we achieve what we wish while waiting in our heated rooms..?
how can we obtain what we love to while staying in warm blankets..?

"Agar tum na utt'hay to wo tumhari jaga kisi or Qaum ko lay aaega.." (Al-Quran)

Eid Mubarak With no Stopages to our Movement for Freedom of Judiciary and True Democracy.

2007-12-24T08:12:00.000-08:00

Jaanisaar of CJ {Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry} wishes you and the people of Pakistan Eid Mubarik. On this occasion, our hearts go out to those judges who sacrificed their careers for the people of Pakistan by saying no to Musharraf; we salute the lawyers for providing hope to our nation and the students and civil society for their courage in facing the regime's brutal repression. We vow to not rest until our hero judges are restored. We urge the society at large to ready themselves for sacrifice and participate wholeheartedly in the movement for an independent judiciary. If we remain united and persistent in our movement, there is no question that we have the intelligence, creativity and numbers to defeat the establishment hands down. Lets promise, this Eid, to not give up until the judges are restored.

"Dark clouds surround us on all sides for the moment but we are not daunted, for I am sure, if we show the same spirit of sacrifice as was shown by Ibrahim, God would rend the clouds and shower on us His blessing as He did on Ibrahim" -- M. A. Jinnah (Eid-ul-Azha message, 24 Oct 1947

Why is Free Judiciary Most Important..?

2007-12-23T21:36:00.000-08:00

Emergency has been decleared..!
Its Martial Law..!
Why is it for?
Are we entering in an era of war?
Answers were not be found easily as it was a dark evening of 3rd November.
I was told by an Indian Channel about imposition of Emergency or Martial Law, whatever, in Pakistan.
Friends of mine started sending SMS to ask several question been raised in their minds. And i was unable to answer them "Why has Emergency been Imposed?
"Sawat Valley was not such a critical issue on 3 November 2007, neither before to make the Govt think about imposing Emergency. If sucide attacks were the matter, then this emergency would better have been imposed during Lal Masjid's incident.What was the head-ache then..?
I ceased my thoughts and tried to find out, which institute has been suffered most after Emergency.. then got a simple answer "Judiciary and Non PCO judges.Was this the matter?What was the Judges doing in court? Planning for sucide attacks..?Conspiring against Govt..?trying to dislodge the govt...?Answer was still in NO.But the matter itched me the very moment was that the Presidency of Musharraf was being attacked and challenged by some petitioners and govt was smelling something fishy about the result. To avoid any problem, swept the Supreme Court judges by imposing Emergency and by forcing them to take fresh oath under Evil PCO.This is the whole story basically why emergency was imposed in Pakistan.Several people asked me why the Free judges most needed in this country? Why was the Govt scared of Free and fair judges and juridictions.i told them a story which i read while going through an article Named "Jungle," which was an eye-witnessed story of a person been edited and published by a columnist.
The story told that in Jinnah Super Market, Islamabad, some girls after coming out of a shop been teased by 2 boys in a car. One of the girl went to the car and slapped the boy who teased a moment ago.The very next moment, all the boys got off from car and started beating those girls. The incident been watched by more than 40 people around but nobody came for help. Even the eye-witness rushed to call 15 but didn't take a step forward to cease those dirty hands beating girls on the road in Islamic Republic of Pakistan's Capital, Islamabad. When the boys bet them alot, sat in car and rushed away. Police came after 30 minutes and took statements of people at shops and shopkeepers. The next moment, The Convoy of Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Shoukat Aziz crossed that point and that police van left out.When the columnist asked that eyewitness why didn't he take any step, he replied to have 5 daughters and what would happen if he help the girls on the roads and been beaten by the boys.The columnist in the end decribes the Western culture where Woman is not a symbol of Honor, but still they respect her in their limits just because of their Judiciary system which is free enough to summon a Prime Minister or Prince's son.This is why Freedom of Judiciary is the Most important goal Judges and lawyers are struggling for.How can our leaders, Prime Ministers, President or Chief Ministers digest if summons are sent to them for some reasons..?How would the feelings be of our President if he is summonned by the court for any wrong?This is not what our Govt wishes for..they want their own freedom, not the freedom of the Judiciary.Please spread the idea of freedom of Judiciary in our society.Please help them and join them if you want a safe and sound environment.

"Utt'ho wagarna Hashar hoga phir kabhi...!!"