Pakistan: DÉTENTE IS NEED OF THE HOUR

The stand off between the PPP Government and the Supreme Court had been postponed for three weeks asking the Prime Minister to nominate a person to write a letter to the Swiss authorities for reopening the closed corruption cases against Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and Mr. Asif Ali Zardari. The PPP stand is very clear that the PPP-led Government will never insult Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and President Asif Zardari and reopening of the corruption cases against them is out of question and only naïve people can think that the PPP leadership will ever oblige the Supreme Court and its Judges with fixed notions. PPP is a mass political party and the biggest in this country enjoying immense goodwill in the international community for decades and this should be taken into account while taking any decision against the PPP. Sensing danger, the PPP leaders are expressing their public anger and addressing the public opinion to protest against the PPP specific bias of the judiciary. Mass public opinion is within the reach of the PPP while the Judges of the superior courts lacked this advantage in case of confrontation. The PPP leaders at the lower ranks can play havoc with the image and prestige of the Supreme Court and its judges if they refer the matter to the broad masses in all parts of the country. The Judiciary should avoid this situation. It is natural that the PPP will fight back and will not give a walk over to the judiciary if it crossed all limits and bent upon to topple another PPP Government on the same issue. PPP and its leaders had complained that the Supreme Court had picked up the PPP specific cases just to put pressure on the party and it’s Government for political reasons. They complained that there was always an unholy alliance between the judiciary and the Army against the PPP and other democratic forces in the past as PPP is considered as a non-conformist party by the establishment and its leader—President Asif Ali Zardari—as an ‘unwanted’ personality. Even Shaheed Benazir Bhutto was declared as a security risk as the elected Prime Minister of Pakistan. The judiciary will have to clear this impression, right of wrong, to retain its good image among the people of Pakistan. There is no doubt that the judiciary played a dirty role in the past and joined the military dictators, despots and autocrats in trampling down the democratic rights of the people. The judiciary allowed Asif Ali Zardari to remain in jail for a decade on concocted charges and some of the top judges refused to hear the petitions of Zardari as it would have annoyed and offended the military dictators and civilian despots who wanted to keep Zardari behind the bar in his entire life. The Judiciary can not forward an example providing any relief to the political opponents of the despotic Governments in the past and the Baloch leaders remained in jail for decades without formal charges. The confrontation between the judiciary and the Executive is not in the interest of the people with the uncertain security situation around Pakistan. We hope that both sides will seriously review their respective positions and avoid any confrontation on the Swiss cases or other PPP specific cases. We have earlier suggested that the politically motivated corruption cases should be left for future elected Government to deal with when President Asif Ali Zardari becomes an ordinary citizen. Hearing of the cases should be adjourned till fresh elections are held and new Government is formed. The naïve leaders from Punjab should stop backing the unjust stand of the judiciary against the President of Pakistan allowing him to complete his constitutional tenure. It is in the interests of the people that there should be an instant détente in relations between the PPP and the judiciary otherwise the situation will take the country to a complete disaster.