ITTEFAQ NAMA

Meray aziz humwatno, I am planning a few days off the leash and sad to say, it can’t be in Bloved London. Why? Because Altaf bhai is there and coast is not clear, hain ji. He has been howling to me on phone, after consuming several liters of Rooh Afza. What I can do, hain ji? General Raheel and his buoys are determined to clean up the mass that MQM has made Karachi. Crime has to be separated from politics, they keep saying. I told Altaf Bhai, “please to wait until end of General Raheel’s term. As you know, army’s policies change with army chief. Look at nice time you had with Musharraf and Kayani. They looked the other way while you and your murderous thugs went on a decade-long killing spree and army chiefs before that too, except General Asif Nawaz.”
But Altaf is concerned about here and now. As you can see, my gormint is not supporting generals in clean up, except for Chory Nisar. Why? Because we know Punjab can be next. And if MQM declines in Karachi, Imran Khan will reap benefit. And finally, as Asif Zardari says, buds of feather must stuck together.

In meeting in PM’s House drawing room, which is size of Lahore Railway Station, I assembled my team and asked them what is to be done about Altaf Bhai and MQM. Everybody’s dental work was on display until I infarmed them that same to same can happen to us. OK, we are not mass murderers in Punjab but there is a profitable syndicate doing good business in various shapes and farms (here I got huge elbow in ribs from Shbaz Saab sitting beside me) ….
Then Shbaz Saab went into huge sulk and despite my several efforts to establish cordial relations, kept stony silence. I kept smiling at him and he kept looking at the peacocks and gazelles in the garden. “Why you are looking at the animals outside when I am inside, hain ji?” I asked. Still no response. Finally I sighed and said to bera, “Open the window. Let the airforce in.”

Courtesy TFT 

SENATE ELECTIONS, POLITICIANS & HORSE TRADING!

As the upcoming Senate elections draw near (to be held on February 5, 2015), the government’s struggle to prevent horse-trading, possibly through constitutional reform, as well as the arguments of political parties on how a policy shift (if any) is going to take place are becoming increasingly tenacious. The two committees formed by Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, consisting of top politicians and legal advisors, are in talks with the leaders of the main political parties and have already drafted the proposed 22nd amendment to the constitution. They proposed a shift from secret ballots to open ones in Article 226 and amending the language of Article 59 to state that senators are “chosen” indirectly and not elected. The suggested reforms included making the disqualification of Members of Parliament (MPs) in case of defection from or lack of allegiance to their political party applicable to the way they vote in the Senate elections as well. After disagreement from other parties, the Pakistan Muslim League N (PML-N) is considering an All Parties’ Conference (APC) to garner support for this amendment, as suggested by Asif Zardari.

Although Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf(PTI) Chairman Imran Khan supports this change, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the JamiatUlema-e-Islam F (JUI-F) have expressed their concerns. JUI-F chiefMaulanaFazlur Rehman has not committed to supporting the bill. He has voiced his reservations about a 22nd amendment when his concerns about the 21st amendment, which he believes singles out religious groups as the proponents of terror in Pakistan, have not been addressed. PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman has also opposed the shift to open ballots and Leader of the Opposition SyedKhursheed Shah has even suggested that the elections should be held by direct voting, allowing the people of the provinces to choose their representatives to prevent manipulation, monetary or other. Rehman and Shah both asserted that once the election schedule has been announced, it is completely unprecedented to change the existing electoral procedure. The PM’s committees’ drive to change the way the constitution terms senators as “elected” representatives to “chosen” ones attempts to rule out the possibility of direct elections.

At this point in the talks, it is not certain whether asserting the clarity of the indirect nature of the elections and switching to open ballots or changing the electoral policy to direct elections is the right direction for the Senate selection process to take. Since the elections are scheduled to be held next week, there is hardly sufficient time for all the parties to achieve a consensus regarding the best way in which to ensure transparency. The short timeline for any policy changes before the elections, which are set to be held on March 5, begs the question why the PML-N government is so adamant in pushing this hastily drafted constitutional amendment through. PML-N MPAs have shown resentment towards the party’s extremely centralised control and the fact that their opinions and concerns are not duly heard by the party leaders, particularly in Balochistan but also in Punjab. PTI representatives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwaon the other hand have formed a 14-member dissident group. This internal discord makes both parties susceptible to the manipulation of their estranged MPAs and explains the PML-N’s thrust to institute an electoral procedural shift and PTI’s uncharacteristic support of the ruling party. However, it will prove difficult for the PML-N leaders to gather enough support for their proposed constitutional amendment, whether they succeed in holding an APC or not, in just nine days before the elections. Nevertheless, these talks should be encouraged and if constitutional reform is to take place, it must broach the problems that have plagued the election process in the past and could cause concern in the future. The purpose of the Senate, with equal representation from each province, is to balance out the inordinate strength of Punjab. Therefore, reforms should be geared towards ensuring fair and transparent representation of the provinces in the Senate and further strengthening it in the long run. 

Courtesy Daily Times

GOODBYE NASIM HASSAN SHAH (Justice)

The inspiring man, with a height of 56 inches only, overcame his handicap by becoming the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He worked in this capacity from April 17, 1993, to April 14, 1994.He possessed a brilliant academic career, having doctorate of law (with distinction) from Paris University. He had a successful legal practice when he was appointed as a high court judge at the age of 39. He retired as the chief justice of Pakistan at the age of 65, the longest tenure of a judge in the history of the subcontinent. He was Nasim Hassan Shah- the former Chief Justice who passed away on Tuesday (4th February, 2015) in Lahore after a prolonged illness.

Justice Nasim Hassan Shah was born to Syed Mohsin Shah in Lahore on April 15, 1929. He also served as the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman. He was 86 and is survived by three daughters and a widow.

Judges and senior lawyers of the country expressed sorrow and grief over his demise and called him a role model for all the people who fail to actively perform in the society owing to some complexes.

According to Wikipedia Encyclopedia, perhaps the only time in Pakistans' Judicial History a petition against a Former Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan was filed, seeking registration of a case against him on charges of abetting in the "murder" of former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. A division bench comprising Justices Sheikh Abdur Rashid and Bilal Khan held that the petition hardly qualified for processing because the judge of a bench could not be proceeded against in a case which had already been decided.

 

The members of the bench felt that petitioner Mian Mohammad Hanif Tahir of the People's Lawyers Forum(PLF) was hardly prepared to address legal aspects of the case and questions arising out of the petition. Instead, he was agitating legal points in a political manner.One member of the bench remarked; In a situation where the judgment of a case was effective for citation as a reference, an ambiguous statement of one of the members of a panel of judges hearing the case, could in no way prejudice the decision after two decades. If such things were allowed to happen, the whole judicial system would collapse.

The PLF leader Hanif Tahir had quoted the former chief justice as saying in two of his press interviews that the Supreme Court judgment in the appeal of the late Bhutto against his death sentence awarded by the Lahore High Court, was a wrong decision and it was a fit case for lesser punishment.

The petitioner submitted that Mr Shah was part of the 7-member bench of the Supreme Court which upheld the death penalty. He contended that comments of the former chief justice amounted to a confessional statement and that he had shown no such sentiments while agreeing with the majority opinion of apex court's bench which confirmed the execution of Mr Bhutto.

When the proceedings began, the petitioner requested the court that a larger bench be constituted to hear the case which was of paramount importance. Rejecting the request, the court informed Mr Tahir tFIRs were usually heard by a single bench. It was because of the nature of case that the chief justice had constituted a division bench.

hat petitions seeking registration of

Later, the petitioner requested for time to collect evidence and sought an adjournment. The court refused to do so and directed him to argue his case as he should have gathered evidence before coming to the court.

The petitioner started with quotes from the interview of Mr Shah. The court asked him if such quotes, taken from a television interview, carried any legal significance. When the petitioner submitted that the text of interview was a "public document", the court asked the lawyer to define the legality of public documents and remarked that points raised in the petition were based on hearsay.

As for petitioner's contention that Mr Shah had made a confessional statement in his interview, the court directed him to examine the relevant law to know what a confessional statement was and if it carried a legal weight if given on a non-judicial or extrajudicial forum. He must also differentiate between a press statement and a legal statement recorded in a court of law. The bench of the Lahore High Court on 12 February 2004 dismissed in limina.

 

On 25 February 2010, President Asif Ali Zardari said in Quetta: "I believe former Justice Naseem Hassan Shah as the murderer of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto."

Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Azam Nazir Tarar said Dr Shah was a great man who overcame his disability and earned a good career. He was a role model for others, Azam Nazir said.

Activism Penal Chairman Azhar Siddique said that Dr Nasim Hasan Shah was one of the legends of legal fraternity. He always worked for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution. Azhar Siddique, however, said Dr Shah’s decision in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s case was against the norms of justice, adding the deceased himself had admitted negation of right to free trial in that case, which had become part of the Constitution through Article 10-A of the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

PETROLEUM CRISIS LINGERS ON ....

PETROLEUM CRISIS

Does the suspension of four bureaucrats enough?

Amidst lingering petroleum crisis in many parts of the country, including Punjab and the federal capital, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took stern notice of the issue as soon as he landed at the Lahore airport from abroad on Saturday (Jan 17) and suspended four top bureaucrats for failing to deal with the crisis.

Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, however, managed to survive the crisis for being a close political associate of the premier amidst demands of his sacking for lack of planning and oversight.

Taking notice of acute shortage of petrol in different parts of the country, Nawaz Sharif convened an urgent meeting of top officials at the Lahore airport on his return home after a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia. The four suspended officers responsible for the crisis include Petroleum Secretary Abid Saeed, Additional Petroleum Secretary Naeem Malik, Oil DG CM Azam, and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) Managing Director Amjad Janjua. The prime minister also directed provincial governments to check black-marketing of petrol. It was decided to expedite the supply and delivery of petrol.

 

As if the misery brought on by the severe gas and electricity crises was not enough, citizens of the country are now in the grip of a massive petrol shortage, probably of the likes we have never seen before. The state-owned Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has run out of oil because it has not been paid upwards of Rs 200 billion that it is owed, making it limp and unable to purchase the necessary petrol needed to sustain the economy and the everyday workings of the people. This comes in the wake of the global drop in oil prices whereby the amenity-starved public in Pakistan was daring to breathe a sigh of relief. With the unprecedented drop in prices, consumer demand went up, especially after the availability of CNG became little more than a pipedream. But how could the powers that be let that happen? Staying true to its incompetent self, the government turned a deaf ear to the cries and pleas of the higher ups in the PSO demanding payment of dues to clear credit and purchase more fuel.

 

The circular debt issue sees the government refusing to pay the core companies that need to be paid the most and before all other concerns. These folks in power choose to pursue other avenues, other causes to ‘serve’ the public such as the Metro Bus Project and the Yellow Cab Scheme but they do not think about facilitating the people on basic provisions. How can the government justify turning a blind eye to fuel, the very essence of a thriving, working nation? Heads need to start rolling now. How can ministers responsible for this debacle be allowed to continue in this manner when an entire people has to queue for hours on end outside petrol pumps to be given rationed petrol to send their children to school, go to work and transport goods? There will soon be a riot at these pumps — in Lahore only 10 percent are operational — with people’s anger reaching flammable levels. The sheer mismanagement and idiocy of the current regime makes the energy-deprived years of the PPP seem like a term in paradise with people at least obtaining petrol to keep their motors running. The Nawaz Sharif government has employed nothing but ostriches who have buried their heads so far into the sand that they cannot hear the plight of the masses. They need to be unceremoniously sacked and bills need to be paid. There are no two ways about it. 

 

The petrol crisis has become substantially worse in the fifth day of its acute shortage. There are queues upon queues of cars and motorcycles, numbering more than 500 at a time, lined up outside the measly few petrol pumps that are open and rationing their stock. The people are losing patience and the frustration they are feeling could erupt any minute. Some petrol pumps are remaining shut because they are too scared of any potential violence and rioting if they open for business. The situation is escalating from bad to worse very quickly and if something is not done soon, the government will have a very large, very decisive problem on its hands, one that would make the August 14 onwards protests pale in comparison.

As usual, there is no one to blame but the government itself for creating this crisis. Pakistan State Oil (PSO) is helpless in the face of bills being unpaid and no credit left to its name to beg for or borrow any more fuel. A bare minimum of Rs 100 billion is required to improve the situation and that too will take a few weeks to purchase and transport stocks, replenishing the system. So far, the payment has not been made. The country’s depletion of CNG led consumers to switch to petrol, increasing demand and adding the pressure. Couple that with the substantial dip in global oil prices, with people readily using petrol for all their transport needs, and the demand supply chain simply could not cope. Many oil marketing companies were also caught slacking, not keeping the mandatory two weeks stock of reserves to help mitigate such an issue. It was a recipe for complete and utter disaster, and the government has been caught sleeping, ignoring the enormity of the issue. Does the government have a plan of action? According to the petroleum ministry, the petrol crisis might improve in another week’s time whilst other reports suggest that there really is no time frame because nothing can be done without the government moving to fix all default payments. The people will no longer listen to false promises or empty rhetoric. What is needed is a solution, a plan to eliminate all these debilitating shortages of which the petrol crisis is just one. There is no electricity for most of the day, no gas and now no petrol. We are now being told that because of the oil shortage, the power crisis will worsen. How long does the government think it has before the masses, deprived of every amenity imaginable, turn violent on the streets? 

TERRORISM A LA MODE

    Terrorism has many faces. The sooner we recognise this, the sooner all the recent hoopla about crushing terrorism in the wake of the Peshawar barbarity will assume concrete, comprehensive and effective shape. The attack by baton-wielding fanatics on a peaceful candle-lit vigil to commemorate the fourth death anniversary of murdered Governor Salmaan Taseer at Liberty Chowk, Lahore, must surely be counted amongst the long chain of terrorist or terrorist-inspired attacks over the years. The attackers did not even spare the media covering the vigil, subjecting them, as the video footage shows, to pushing, shoving, kicking over their equipment, letting the media personnel feel the sharp lash of their batons, etc. The police on duty remained bystanders, allowing these fanatics to take the law into their own hands. When after the attack, the SP police in charge of the area was asked on television why this was so, he lied through his teeth that no police were deployed at the site of the incident and that the police had only responded to a distress call after the event. Anyone familiar with any manifestation at Liberty Chowk over the years knows that no matter how big or small the protest, police are always deployed there.

    Eyewitnesses confirm police were on the spot but did nothing to stop the violent attack on peaceful demonstrators. Although the protestors have registered a report at the local police station, the chances of action being taken against the offending maulvis, all of whose faces were caught by the cameras, are slim, to say the least. Nor is it likely that the police who did not perform their duty to uphold the law, protect the right of the protestors to peacefully express themselves, and prevent such an untoward incident will even be punished. For one, the police deployed there probably share the mindset of Salmaan Taseer’s cowardly coldblooded killer Mumtaz Qadri, who too was a policeman of the special security detail of the late Governor when he riddled him with bullets from behind as he left an Islamabad restaurant. Second, who does not know the penchant and tricks of the police when one of their own has broken or fallen foul of the law they are supposed to defend? No, we are not hopeful of an outcome that upholds the law, the rights of the protestors to peaceful assembly, or the fundamental principles of a democratic society. We now look to the Punjab government of Shahbaz Sharif to see what if any action it takes on the matter. If it does nothing, or muddies the water to get the attackers and the police guilty of dereliction of duty off the hook, not only will it blacken its face, it will encourage the revival of the accusations against it of being soft on terrorism and terrorists.

    Salmaan Taseer did not do anything to deserve the fate he suffered. He bravely stood up for a poor illiterate Christian woman falsely accused of blasphemy and, in one more miscarriage of justice under these controversial laws, Aasia bibi was sentenced to death, a verdict shamefully upheld by the Lahore High Court. The inherent problem in blasphemy cases is the tendency of the courts to rely on hearsay and less than credible witnesses’ word against that of the accused. In a trailer of what many fear will happen when the military courts being touted as the panacea to terrorism start operating, blasphemy accused are subconsciously or even explicitly presumed guilty even before they come to trial, that is if they have not been killed first by vigilante mobs, as happened to the Christian couple in Kot Radha Kishan who were tortured and then thrown into a brick kiln. The fact that the woman was five months pregnant did not sway the beasts who carried out this murder. There too the police did nothing to prevent the crime. Clearly, Aasia bibi and the Christian couple in question were considered children of a lesser God.

    The tragedy of Salmaan Taseer’s assassination was compounded by his abandonment by his own party, the PPP, and all other forces in our insane society. Had that not been so, had the courage to confront obscurantist maulvis who exploit religion for their vested interests, including defending the blasphemy laws as if they had descended straight from heaven, been on display four years ago, perhaps Pakistan would not have suffered many other tragedies since. Even now, after the Peshawar massacre of schoolchildren, it may not be too late to salvage this bruised and wounded society. But for that, terrorism in any shape or form, including the intolerance, violence and violation of the law and democratic right of peaceful assembly and protest on display in Liberty Chowk must be dealt with severely and crushed. Courtesy DT

SPECIAL COURTS FOR 'A SPECIAL COUNTRY’

Concerns about the Special Courts (SCs) to be set up under military presiding officers continue to be voiced from diverse quarters. Co-chairperson of the PPP Asif Ali Zardari, in his speech at the seventh death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto in Garhi Khuda Baksh, expressed his apprehension regarding the misuse of the SCs against politicians like himself and Nawaz Sharif, who could find themselves s behind bars if such a development occurred. The constitutional amendment under preparation for bringing in the SCs should not, he warned, become a ‘black’ law, based on the experience of previous such steps in the past. He categorically rejected the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban binary. He reminded his audience that if the massacre of PPP’s jiyalas in Karachi in 2007 on Benazir’s return had been taken seriously, subsequent tragic incidents including Peshawar could have been avoided. 

While there is weight in this argument, it should not be forgotten that of the seven years since the tragic event in Karachi, the PPP was in power for five years. However, that government failed to either do much about the spread of terrorism itself or persuade the security establishment to do the same. In fact, the COAS at that time, General Kayani, after the military offensives in Swat and South Waziristan, dragged his feet over the necessary tackling of the terrorist safe havens in North Waziristan despite the fact that he had sufficient time to do this after he received an extension in his tenure to six years. Asif Zardari also tried to allay the apprehensions regarding his differences with son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whose absence was keenly felt by the young workers of the party at the commemoration, which saw declining numbers this year as a reflection of the internal crisis of the PPP. Asif Zardari also attempted to scotch rumours of a falling out with Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the head of the PPP-Parliamentarians, asserting that Makhdoom would never betray the party and there were no cracks amongst the leadership. Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah wanted Benazir Bhutto’s trial to be conducted by the SCs, which he said were accepted with a heavy heart while accepting the exigencies of the present situation.

Meanwhile MQM’s Farooq Sattar in a press conference in Karachi also added his voice to the concerns swirling around the SCs. He emphasised sticking to the sunset clause of two years for the SCs, and argued that local governments, citizens’ vigilance, community policing systems were necessary in the fight against terrorism. The SCs, he said, were only a temporary solution and that parliament should ensure the effective functioning of the so far moribund National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), He said his party only agreed to the setting up of the SCs after strong assurances from the government that their functioning would be restricted to terrorism-related cases. Farooq Sattar offered all the manpower of MQM to ensure the security of schools in the aftermath of the Peshawar massacre, pointing to the fears of school managements, parents and children in this regard. Lawyers in Karachi too expressed themselves in favour of strengthening the existing criminal justice system as the long term solution to the terrorist challenge, regarding the SCs as a temporary measure.

The Peshawar tragedy and the steps announced by the government in its wake have not gone unnoticed worldwide. While the massacre has been widely condemned amidst a show of sympathy and solidarity with the victims and the people of Pakistan, concerns regarding the lifting of the moratorium on executions continue to reverberate. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif to urge a halt to executions. However, the PM argued that extraordinary situations required extraordinary steps while reassuring the Secretary General that legal norms would be respected while dealing with all terrorist cases. The PM consulted his legal aides on Saturday regarding options for setting up the SCs and asked that all parties be taken along in the constitutional amendment and other steps. He also emphasised that legal protection be provided to members of the armed forces in the context of anti-terrorist operations and sectarian terrorists be included in the ambit of the strategy. The PM has set up an umbrella monitoring committee and under it 15 sub-committees with time frames for finalising their recommendations. While the government seems to be getting up to speed on the National Action Plan, no one should labour under the illusion that this will be a short war. Staying the course therefore is of utmost importance. DT

MERE AZIZ HUMWATNO!

I am changed man, meray aziz humwatno, after tragic Peshawar incident. I have resolved that we are now going to definitely take on the terrorists and destroy them. Definitely. Definitely maybe. Inshallah. Perhaps pukka. You will see, by God’s will and sort of firm resolve of political and military leadership of fractured state of Pakistan. Slightly firm resolve. Or should I say, almost firm resolve, hain ji? There is no doubt that these Taliban are barbarians. They are a criminal network. They are behind kidnapping of people also. Sometimes they keep people as ostriches until ransom is paid. Where they keep them, we hear from escapees, are like consternation camps of Nazis where they kept Jews.

This mindset has destroyed peace of our land. We are all brothers and sisters. On occayion of Christmas, I gave such a nice, sweet speech about all of us being same to same. I said even mosques are like churches and other places of worship. Only difference is that roof of mosque is doomed, unlike church which has poking roof. I have been saying these sweet things so that no pogroms against Christians take place during Christmas holidays. Afsos (sorrow) that total of holidays is only two, sadly. Total is when you add up all the numbers and the remainder is the animal that pulls Santa Claus on his sleigh.

For Christmas, American ambassador asked us to see Nativity Play at embassy. In the play, His Excellency played the main prat. British High Commissioner had a minor prat and I told him that next year he must have the main prat because Britishers are batter actors than Americans. All diplomats present spoke of time of reckoning for Pakistan. They said it was now or never. To show off my knowledge I said, “what a pity we don’t have a Joan of Arc. She was great lady who was burned as a steak.”

The Danish ambassador started laughing, “Well, what do you know!” he exclaimed and laughed and laughed. “Excuse me, Excellency”, I said, “I know a lot. The Danish are from Denmark. The Norwegians are from Norway. And the Lapdancers are from Lapland.”

Courtesy TFT