Pakistan: A CONTROVERSIAL VERDICT

A Supreme Court Bench found the Prime Minister of Pakistan guilty for not writing a letter to the Swiss authorities requesting to reopen the cases against the President of Pakistan before a Swiss Magistrate. The Prime Minister claimed that the President of Pakistan is enjoying immunity against any legal proceedings not only in Pakistan but also the world over. The Supreme Court Bench did not agree with this contention and found the Prime Minister guilty of contempt of court. He was given the sentence till rising of the court. The first reaction came from the Attorney General of Pakistan who claimed that the conviction was illegal and unconstitutional and there is no law of contempt of court. There is a strong opinion among various sections of the society that the Supreme Court verdict had created a serious situation which may drift away from the normal course in destabilizing the country and its political and constitutional order. Ordinary people and mainly supporters of the PPP will consider it a serious move to dislodge the elected Government of PPP using the superior judiciary. Their contention is substantiated with the judicial activism for the past many years targeting the PPP and its Government sparing all others. The verdict among tens of millions of Pakistanis is unpopular and biased regardless of its legal and constitutional status. To them, it had brought the prestige of the Superior judiciary to the lowest level. In Balochistan, the belief is very strong that the superior courts and superior judiciary had always remained part and parcel of the Pakistani establishment serving the interests of the Establishment and not the people for the past many decades. The people of Balochistan had never enjoyed any relief from Government action and the superior judiciary remained unconcerned or endorsed the actions against the people. The fresh Supreme Court verdict is in line with the same old pro-establishment policies which is said to be an attempt to put more and more pressure on the PPP-led Coalition Government for political reasons. Relatives of missing persons in Balochistan had picked up more than 400 bullet riddled and mutilated bodies from the public places and the Supreme Court had not picked up a single case to protect life of Pakistani citizens from the hands of State functionaries, one of the relatives remarked. The prime constitutional right of any citizen of Pakistan is protection of his life from the hands of more powerful people or functionaries and the Supreme Court had failed to protect this prime right of hundreds of people in Balochistan. They argued that the Supreme Court had picked up PPP-specific cases for hearing for political reasons and using the forum to demolish the image of chosen representatives of the people not through the court verdict but as a result of remarks passed during the regular proceedings. The corporate media, another strong wing of the Establishment, had highlighted the court remarks against the Government off and on with a political motive, some observers reached by telephone said. In any case, the establishment had been disappointed as it failed to dislodge the representative democracy in the present political climate and surrounding security environment around Pakistan and the Prime Minister will retain power by filing an appeal against the Supreme Court verdict. It also failed to mobilized mass public opinion against the Government using its usual proxies in politics—the Tehrik-i-Insaf, the DCP and other religious and fascist outfits. Finally, the US presence in the region had brought a qualitative change in the security and political environment in the whole region. Earlier, leaders used to play a role in seeking concessions from the US and its controlled international donor and finance institutions. Now the US is itself present in the region and it will take decision on the spot making all political leaders irrelevant. It seems that the dispute with the United States can be settled only through give and take and not through unilateral generous military and economic aid. The Jihadi elements and their allies in the establishments are incapable to influence to secure US aid for Pakistan taking the country out of the present economic mess.