Pakistan: Time to Rethink

EDITORIAL:DAILY TIMES

With the removal of PM Gilani retrospectively from office on June 19, the fate of dozens of orders passed and decisions made by him from April 26, when he was convicted for contempt of court, hung in the air. This constitutional vacuum had the potential to destabilize the democratic process already rocked by the unprecedented rift between the judiciary and the executive. The void was therefore hurriedly filled by the passing of the Validation Ordinance 2012 by President Zardari, with the insight to mitigate the destabilising factors as soon as possible. Providing legal cover to the Budget 2012-13 passed by Gilani’s government was the biggest challenge facing the government. Similarly the appointments and confirmation of some judges and protocols signed with foreign countries needed a legal shield to keep the wheels of the state moving. A petition has already been filed in the Supreme Court for declaring void all the acts by Gilani after his disqualification on April 26 and putting his name on the exit control list. The detailed judgment of the three-member bench that declared Yousuf Raza Gilani defunct is still awaitedj it may or may not protect all the legal acts of Mr Gilani between April 26 and June 19. However, given the charged political atmosphere, the ordinance was deemed urgent for the continuity of state business. Many believe that the statement issued by the Chief Justice on June 23 about parliament not being allowed to enact any law repugnant to the constitution, fundamental rights and Islamic provisions, geared up the government for the swift issuance of the Ordinance. Exercising extra caution, the Presidential Ordinance hence restrains the courts, including the Supreme Court, from accepting any challenge against it. Chances are that the forces bent on seeing the back of the government may still challenge the Ordinance, creating a new fissure in the political set up. The removal of Gilani was unprecedented given the role of the judiciary rather than parliament in sacking him. The controversial letter to the Swiss authorities seems to have acquired outsized importance against the grave issues afflicting the country. Now that the polity appears to be inching towards new elections, spanners in the works, whether coated in judicial activism or other approaches may derail democracy rather than allowing it a chance to survive. There is no gainsaying the fact that the government has performed poorly. Nevertheless, the politics of rift and stigmatization would further complicate the situation. Until now the PPP has remained unprovoked by the orders of the court in the case of Yousuf Raza Gilani and has amicably acceded to his removal. This time round, however, chances are that if Raja Pervez is implicated in the letter issue, the PPP would pursue the legal fight to the finish. This might open up a new saga of confrontation, harming the cause of the judiciary as well as democracy. No one doubts the importance of freeing the nation from the clutches of corruption and holding politicians accountable, but that should not be done at the cost of political stability carrying huge economic costs. Should the CJ revisit his statement that he issued on Saturday: “No one can claim supremacy over and above the law,” the political temperature would come down leaving some breathing space to think clearly. Widely seen as the last hope by many in the country to close the door to any extra-constitutional development, it is fervently believed that in the wake of any attempt to oust the present set up unconstitutionally, the CJ would always throw his support behind the constitution.