Sherry Rehman resigns ?

The Federal Minister for Information Sherry Rehman has supposedly resigned. Some say its in protest for banning Geo & Royal News, Some say its the outcome of the high level meeting in President House which is just ended.

It is being rumored that Zardari Camp, including Rehman Malik & Salman Taseer are going to resign.......... only time will tell

Is the P.M. going to rise to occassion?

It is being widely circulated in media reports that P.M. Yousuf Raza Gilani after successfully getting the Army, Foriegn actors, Civilian & Military beauraucracy and even N-League & Lawyers leaders on his side, is going to take a series of steps to implement the charter of Democracy & reinstatement of judges & Punjab Assembly.

What remains to be seen is that, the circulated news is based on proper facts or a mere wishful fragment of imagination of political pundits and analysts.

Though a couple of weeks ago, it seems that P.M. & President seemed to be playing the classical 'good-cop/bad-cop' game, but now it is more evident than ever, that P.M. is acting as an independent actor.

Will he rise to occassion? will he be able to deliever what it takes to pacify the situation and take the country out of the current Zardari & cohorts produced political turmoil ???????????

PPP old-school irked over Governor Rule & Opposition to Long March

While it is no secret that after assuming PPP leadership & becoming president Mr. Zardari has side-lined the former prominent members of BB erra and placed his assosciates on key positions i.e. Governor Punjab, Advisor on Interior Ministry and now the Chairman Senate.

This was supposed to have irked the former active and prominent members, but it has started to surface now, more than ever, that they are being irked and oppose the iron-fist tactics of Mr. Zardari.

Resignation of Mr. Razza Rabbani, Enver Baig, the vocal opposition and arrest orders of Naheed Khan & Fakhr, The oppostion of Makhdoom Amin Faheem and in-party sympathies of MNA's with him & most importantly indifferent stand of PM Yousuf Raza Gillni on mobile courts, his recent adresses in National Assemble expressing concerns over opposition of Long March are all indicators that for the first time in 40 year history of PPP, an internal pressure in building up against the party leadership.

PML-N & Nawaz Shareef's policy of targetting Zardari rather than PPP in general seems to have been carefully thought of, and is paying off. He provided the old-school members with a position to support the Lawyers movement and his stance on Punjab Govt. crisis, while at the same time starting an active public movement.

It still remians to be seen, however, how this will effect the events of 16th March. A miraclous executive order from PM, or involvement of resenting members of PPP in long march might still be a long-shot, but possibility is more than ever!

In the commando's footsteps?

By Kamran Shafi

REALLY, now! It is one thing to renege on repeated solemn, signed, public promises; it is quite another to use one’s powerful office to rub an honourable man’s face in the dirt.

Indeed, to trample so cruelly and thoughtlessly a most honourable and brave and courageous movement’s face into the ground.

I refer to Asif Zardari’s statement: “The way these ‘former’ judges are delivering speeches similar to that of politicians, I would advise the prime minister to give them a party ticket for the Senate elections to be held next year.

“I do not see even a minute judicial crisis except a few judges delivering political speeches … 42 out of 62 judges have taken new oath and now it’s a problem of only four, five people as many of them have already retired.” A newspaper added: “When asked whether these 4/5 judges also included Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, [President Zardari] said in a lighter tone that [Justice Iftikhar] was so popular that he might pose a threat to the government, as they had assumed the role of politicians and we would invite them to join politics and contest the Senate elections. He said the president has the power to lift the two-year ban before any judge or government servant contests polls.” I am not shocked, for anything might happen in a country where for the very first time the leader of the largest (so far anyway) political party has the gall to say that a political promise was just that, politics; that it was not the word of God.

What saddens, and greatly angers me, is that an honourable man, and from what I have seen and heard of him, a damn good judge, is being treated the way he is. Let me clarify here and now that I have only once attended My Lord Iftikhar Chaudhry’s court, on the day that he had suo motu remanded Mukhtaran Mai’s case to the Supreme Court after the Lahore High Court had released her rapists and their henchmen.

The way the judge, helped by his brother justices Bhagwandas and Syed Saeed Ashad, disposed of the seven or eight cases before Mukhtaran Mai’s was exemplary. Indeed, one of the lawyers who I have known for more years than I care to count told me that the judgment against his client was exactly right! Justice Chaudhry’s many achievements have been recounted in this column too many times before; suffice it to say that a man of his stature and standing does not deserve the ignominy being heaped upon him by none other than the highest in the land. Indeed, going to the extent of sarcastically saying that Iftikhar Chaudhry had become so popular that he “might pose a threat to the government” is a blow that reminds one of Musharraf calling My Lord Chaudhry “the scum of the earth”.

Not to be left behind, Attorney General Khosa — a fitting successor to the much disgraced Malik Qayyum who was actually forced by the Supreme Court to resign from judgeship of the Lahore High Court for conspiring with Saifur Rahman to award a heavy sentence to Benazir Bhutto — has invited My Lord Chaudhry to take a fresh oath and become a judge of the Supreme Court! Khosa has, once again, aired the New Pakistan Peoples Party’s line that whilst Musharraf’s actions of November 3, 2007 were de facto improper there is no way other than a constitutional amendment to put his actions right. And that there is no constitutional way of doing that other than a constitutional amendment. Then why don’t you move an amendment, Attorney General?

It is no use trying to talk to the purposely deaf. One can only shake one’s head in dismay at the way the mightiest (thus far, but certainly not for long) political force in the country is heading towards certain disaster.

Elsewhere now, and while some Indians are protesting the expense of $76m on sending a moon probe on an indigenouslymade Indian rocket that will reportedly do what no probe has done before (thank you, Star Trek), the Pakistan Navy is procuring a 35-year-old frigate from the US which will refurbished at a cost of (a further?) $54m! Talk of priorities! What do we need a 35-year-old frigate for, please? Who does the Pakistan Navy intend to frigate, specially in light of President Asif Ali Zardari’s ringing recent pronouncement that India has never been a threat to Pakistan? Another toy for the boys, what, such as the F-16s which are programmed not to leave Pakistan’s airspace and which will mean another $3bn down the tube?

And another thing. I have asked this question before, let me ask it again: who are the Pakistani agents for these two deals? Why is this a deep dark secret? And while we are at it, who is the agent for the two Saab early warning system aircraft which were procured two years ago (way before the rupee’s dive into oblivion, mark) for US$1.2bn, which was double their offer price in 1995?

And yet another thing. Why is the army going ahead with the new GHQ project in Islamabad the Beautiful at this time when the poor have neither food nor electricity nor potable drinking water? It has a very plush headquarters in Rawalpindi already; we are living in the Information Age where the headquarters of the three forces do not have to be in the same city for ‘coordination’. So why?

Finally, there is a great debate raging on whether the Commando will enter politics to try and resurrect his ‘golden era’ — I swear someone said this just yesterday! My answer is this: Musharraf can do what he wants but the man must be tried first in an open court of law for his sheer ineptness, and for setting this country alight with the fires of hate and malice and rancour.

Above all, since he was the allpowerful Commando-in-Chief, he must be asked why both the crime scenes where two deadly attacks on Benazir were made, the one in Karachi resulting in the death of over 150 poor innocents and the maiming of hundreds of others and the one in Rawalpindi resulting in her own tragic death and that of many others, were sanitised inside of minutes while every other bombing was cordoned off for days on end while forensics experts scoured the area for clues.

Let him answer the charges, then jump off a bridge if he must. ¦

The article was published in Dawn on October 28, 2008 (Tuesday).
'In the Commando's footsteps?'Dawn ePaper - Digital replica of Print Edition.

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South Punjab bars ‘out of bounds’ for Khosa, Naek

MULTAN, Oct 27: A lawyers’ convention has barred president of Pakistan, federal law minister and attorney general from entering all the barrooms in southern Punjab for allegedly taking a stance detrimental to the lawyers’ cause.

“The entry of each and every person who is against the lawyers’ movement for the restoration of deposed judges is banned, whether he is President Asif Ali Zardari, Law Minister Farooq A Naek and Attorney-General Latif Khan Khosa,” a resolution passed by participants of the convention attended by representatives of all bar councils of southern Punjab stated here on Monday.

The convention also rejected Pakistan Bar Council decision suspending the licenses of the Lahore High Court Bar’s Multan Bench President Mahmood Ashraf Khan and Secretary-General Rana Naveed Ahmad, removal of both office-bearers from their posts and nomination of acting president and secretary-general.

It warned some PBC members against using the bar against the lawyers’ cause while erasing the name of Attorney General Latif Khan Khosa from the “roll of honour” of high court bar due to his allegedy interference in the matters of bar and taking a stance detrimental to the lawyer’s cause.

Addressing the convention, LHC Justice Shahid Saddiqui (retired) said during the past 60 years, rulers had always suppressed the judiciary by sending the dissenting judges home in violation of the Constitution.

He said he felt proud that he did not take oath under PCO because it was the responsibility of judges to protect the Constitution.

Another retired judge of the LHC, Justice Jahangir Arshad, said now being a lawyer he would not appear before any PCO judge.

He demanded the Punjab government should initiate a trial against a former Sahiwal DPO who was allegedly responsible for the burn injuries caused to scores of lawyers when they were protesting against the suspension of the Constitution last year.

He said the PBC had suspended the licenses of seven members of Bahawalpur Bar who had launched a campaign to remove the bar president.

He said Athar Bokhari should restrict him for elections and should avoid to interfering in the matters of high court bar association.

President LHC’s Multan Bar Mahmood Ahraf Khan said appointment of acting bar president and secretary-general and suspension of lawyer’s licenses had brought a bad name to the PBC.

Later, the participants of convention held a rally from the high court building to SP Chowk. They chanted slogans against Latif Khosa, Farooq A Naek and Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar.

South Punjab bars ‘out of bounds’ for Khosa, Naek -DAWN - National; October 28, 2008

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The black coat movement

IN a stagnant society where moral values and traditions decline, where intellectuals fail to create new ideas in order to inspire the people, where political parties take no interest in mobilising the masses for a change in the system and where leaders, instead of resisting, are ready to compromise with the powers that be in order to retain their privileges and status, the emergence of a new movement with fresh ideas and a vision for change inspires the entire society to actively participate in the struggle.

Historically speaking, a socio-economic and political movement always makes a dynamic impact on society. It awakens the dormant forces and creates a new kind of consciousness of political and social issues. It initiates debates and discussions on the ongoing problems of society.

It generates new energy and vitality among different groups and individuals and prompts them to contribute their share in making a movement a success. In short, it provides new life and fresh blood to a decadent society.

Historians may also ask as to who should be responsible for such a movement — individuals or socio-economic and political forces? I think both factors help each other in creating and expanding a movement far and wide. Sometimes the social forces bide their time and wait for individuals to exploit the situation on the ground and lead the movement. Sometimes an individual initiates spontaneously a movement and the social forces then facilitate his work and make the movement popular.

Keeping in view this historian’s perspective, when we study the lawyers’ movement in Pakistan, we easily reach the conclusion that though the defiance by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was spontaneous, the spark soon turned into a flame enveloping the entire society. The reason is obvious. People had suffered under eight long years of dictatorship. They were suffocated and were enduring much hardship. Public anger against the dictatorship was pent up as there was no avenue of expressing it.

President Pervez Musharraf’s arrogance was at its height. He had refused to let the exiled leaders return to Pakistan. He had planned to extend his dictatorial powers with the help of his cronies. There was no political party which was capable of launching a movement against the regime. There was no opposition to challenge the general’s authority. There were no intellectuals to inspire people to struggle against an oppressive regime. Poverty, unemployment, disparity between the rich and poor were haunting the masses.

On the other hand, the government was touting its miracle of overall successes in every aspect of life.

But Musharraf was safe as there was no threat to his authority and he successfully overran his opponents, never expecting that anybody would ever defy him. But the movement led by Iftikhar Chaudhry unleashed an indomitable force against the military regime.

Soon enough the black coat movement became a popular expression of the people’s expectations that had reached a new high. As a result of the movement, all the exiled leaders were able to return home. Elections were held and popular votes changed the structure of the government.

As soon as political parties came to power and formed a government, a change occurred in their thinking too. A change, unfortunately, for the worse! First, they started by discrediting the black coat movement as the catalyst of this political change. The PPP led the campaign by announcing that it won the majority of seats not because of the struggle for the restoration of the judiciary but on the slogan of roti, kapra aur makan.

Then the PPP started denigrating the whole movement by saying that the lawyers were struggling for the jobs of the judges and not for any higher purpose i.e. not for an independent judiciary.

It is sad that the political parties, instead of recognising the sacrifices, the tribulations, the sufferings of the legal profession for the cause of an independent judiciary, launched a campaign against the judges and created hurdles in their restoration.

History tells us that it is not necessary that a movement should succeed and achieve its object. It could be crushed by strong authoritarian forces not only physically but also intellectually through publicity and propaganda. It could be divided by the creation of different groups and it could be corrupted financially. It has happened before that a dissident movement, once broken and crushed, disappeared from the scene leaving behind a negative image created by the ruling classes in order to mislead the people.

But times are changing. We are living in a democratic and global world. There exist alternative media that can keep the popular image of a movement alive despite negative propaganda from a hostile regime.

It is a strange phenomenon that the black coat movement in Pakistan is refusing to surrender despite all the difficulties it is facing and its vigour and vitality appears to be undiminished.It will not be far-fetched to believe that this movement may succeed in forcing the political leaders to mend their ways.

It will be in the interest too of the politicians themselves if they share the struggle for an independent judiciary in Pakistan.

DAWN - Editorial; June 08, 2008

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The flea of inanity and the ‘PPP-Q’

By Saira Minto

IN ‘A plea for sanity’ (May 28), Murtaza Razvi focused on trashing the lawyers’ movement by indicating that it lacks vision and is isolated, a movement that was being carried on “in [a] vacuum … from day one”. He also alleged that lawyers and their representatives were acting with a “tunnel vision” without any assurance of light at the end and that their one-point agenda of restoration of the judiciary was making them miss “the only window of opportunity”, that is an agreement with Mr Zardari.

One can admire the writer’s boldness in loyally advocating participation in pro-establishment mainstream Pakistani politics and the brazenness with which the PPP is promoted as the only saviour of the current imbroglio. The PPP? A party that has always jumped at the slightest opportunity to strike deals with the establishment and which may just be renamed ‘PPP-Q’ in due course!

The lawyers confronted Musharraf and his establishment when it attempted to remove the chief justice in March 2007 by force, coercion and several manipulative devices including the pretence to act under Article 209 of the constitution. The lawyers, the public and the media thwarted that attempt by exposing it and by supporting the Supreme Court to provide it with the confidence needed to stand up to Musharraf. Political parties (especially mainstream) supported it marginally and cautiously.

The lawyers’ community is representative of a wide-ranging socio-cultural spectrum of Pakistani society and within itself it adheres to democratic norms. Estimated to be 100,000 in number and spread all over the country from grassroots tehsils and subdivisions to provincial and federal metropolises, the lawyers do not belong to any one political persuasion. They are a diverse lot.

What brings them together is their profession which is dependent on the existence of an independent judiciary and the prevalence of a system of governance based on the constitution. Their bar associations and councils are professional bodies duly elected from top to bottom. They act in unison whenever there is a threat to the constitution, to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. This is not the first time that they have done so.

In the time of Ziaul Haq, leading lawyers suffered harassment and long terms of imprisonment for raising their voices. The political parties did not unite with the lawyers even then but taking their cue from them established their own Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) in Feb 1981. After the lawyers had held their conventions in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Rawalpindi and resorted to street protests, the MRD undertook an anti-martial law campaign independently. The two movements were separate but complemented each other in working for the same objective.

Today, when the lawyers’ movement, aided by the people’s approval, the media and the real judges, has already pushed back the establishment a few steps, the political parties, especially the ‘PPP-Q’, only seem to want to enter into deals and bargains with the junta purely for personal benefits, shamelessly disregarding their commitment given in the Charter of Democracy.

Musharraf’s Nov 2007 martial law (aka emergency) which was imposed against the backdrop of the lawyers’ movement should have been a time to consolidate political forces, speed up agitation against the regime and wrap up matters effectively and finally. Nothing of the sort, however, was forthcoming from the mainstream parties, and it was again the lawyers supported by civil society and the media who agitated against the president and his coteries. The complicity of the ‘PPP-Q’ was the most glaring when the party failed to launch a movement against this group even after Ms Bhutto’s ghastly murder.

The Feb 18 elections were held under grave circumstances. The election result is now widely acknowledged to be the people’s pronouncement against Musharraf, the establishment and the emergency/martial law. While all elected representatives agreed that the Nov 3 actions were unconstitutional and that Musharraf’s continuation in power would hamper the transition to democracy, the new Assembly delayed asserting its sovereign authority to overturn the acts of Nov 3 which could have been done by restoring the judiciary to its Nov 2 position.

The drafting and development of ‘constitutional packages’ were offered as justification for the delay and even now a partial and limited restoration is being proposed — while paying lip service to the formulations in the Bhurban Declaration and the independence of the judiciary.

It is strange, indeed, in this scenario for any serious and mature commentator to propose that the lawyers, civil society and the media simply shut up and fall in line with those who have not only once again reneged on their word but are also looking for excuses to hang on to the remains of a dictatorship for their own benefit and protection.

The lawyers’ approach has been focused and to call their integrity in pursuing it ‘tunnel vision’ qualifies as either an inane and ignorant joke or cruelty or both. Lawyers have not only acted wisely but exactly according to Jinnah’s principles of unity, faith and discipline. They have kept themselves away from political manipulators and self-seekers — something that helps them stay united and strong.

It should also be pointed out, for the record, that it is wholly incorrect that the lawyers’ movement is restricted to Punjab. The huge number of people that turned out for Chief Justice Chaudhry on his visit to Peshawar on May 31 is sufficient to refute that baseless assertion.

All over the world, movements are led by trade unions under one red flag, unpolluted by political vested interests. Lawyers are doing something similar in that sense through the common bond of their profession. Their movement is neither isolated nor apolitical. It is a movement of professionals who are themselves the mainstream and their politics comprises a campaign for true democracy, not hobnobbing with the establishment. To a lot of people, there seems to be a more real and brighter light at the end of this tunnel than there is at the end of the one that the ‘PPP-Q’ wishes to drag this country through.

The long march of June 10 is well timed. If they happen, and hopefully they will, both Musharraf’s exit and the restoration of judiciary will be events that will come about as a result of the lawyers’ movement, and not because of this or that ‘constitutional package’ and the mass deception that accompanies it.

DAWN - Editorial; June 06, 2008

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New article in PPP amendment bill

The PPP’s constitution amendment package inserts a new article after Article 270AA in the Constitution.

The proposed new article reads as follows: “270AAA Validation of Ordinances etc: (I) The Islamabad High Court (Establishment) Order, 2007 (P.O.No. 7 of 2007) and the Ordinances, except those specified in the Sixth Schedule, made between the 12th day of July, 2007 and the 15th day of December, 2007 (both days inclusive) and actions taken there under shall be deemed to have been validly made and taken by the competent authority notwithstanding the expiry of period of four months specified in Article 89 and notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution shall not be called in question in any court or forum on any ground whatsoever.

“(II). The Islamabad High Court (Establishment ) Order, 2007 (P.O No. 7 of 2007) and the Ordinances, except those specified in the Sixth Schedule, in force between the 12th day of July, 2007 and the 15th day of December, 2007 (both days inclusive) shall continue in force until altered, repealed or amended by the appropriate legislature.

New article in PPP amendment bill -DAWN - Top Stories; June 02, 2008


'Long live PPP' who is running musharraf's govt. on his wills and is betraying the ppl of pakistan... It makes evident tht PPP is not sincere in restoring the pre nov 3 2007 judiciary... lets see how PML-N plays its cards now... will they leave the coalition n join the ppl on june 10??? lets hope!

One can now easily hate PPP for obvious reasons

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PPP on 'Save Mush Harm Pakistan' mission

Selective indemnity proposed in expanded PPP package

By Syed Irfan Raza

Pakistan people’s Party’s constitution amendment package contains insertion of Article 270AAA to give indemnity to certain actions of President Pervez Musharraf, including ordinances issued between July 12 and Dec 15 last year, but is vague on the issue of proclamation of emergency and Provisional Constitution Order (PCO).

The package, containing about 80 amendments, if approved, will make drastic changes in the Constitution to restore the sovereignty of parliament and curtail the powers of the president.

But perhaps the most significant of all the measures suggested is an amendment to reinstate all the judges who were sacked under the emergency order and to reinstate them to the position that existed on Nov 2, 2007.

The package suggests amendments regarding reinstatement of the superior court judges, a new form for members of the armed forces, validity of general elections of 2008, renaming of the NWFP and changes to the article dealing with high treason.

A copy of the package was handed over to Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Mian Mohmmad Nawaz Sharif by Law Minister Farooq Naek in Lahore on Sunday.

Analysts said the indemnity to be provided in the proposed package to President Musharraf would pave way for him to step down because most of his actions that had become controversial would get constitutional cover and, therefore, might not be challenged in a court.

The latest version of the Constitution contains new articles 270AAA, 270B and 270C providing indemnity to the acts of the president, including the sacking of about 60 judges, under his controversial decision to proclaim emergency. The 17th Amendment had introduced Article 270AA validating earlier acts of the president.

My Comment: Shame on PPP acts... it is not goin to help pakistan in any way. How can they add this indemnity to such an act in their package??? they certainly are not sincere in restoring teh judges... r they nuts????

The insertion of Article 270AAA (point 73) might have been included in the package at a later stage because it has not been reported in the media.

Earlier, the media had been told that the package contained 62 amendments but the draft given to the PML-N chief has about 80 points.

It may be mentioned here that President Musharraf had already inserted an article in the Constitution and its clause-I validates the proclamation of the state of emergency on Nov 3, 2007.

However, the Article 270AAA proposed in the package does not mention specifically the proclamation of emergency and the National Reconciliation Ordinance.

Selective indemnity proposed in expanded PPP package -DAWN - Top Stories; June 02, 2008

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Aitzaz blasts Asif, says most graft charges justified

By Masood Haider

NEW YORK, June 1: Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, President of Supreme Court Bar Association and a leader of Pakistan People’s Party, has severely criticised his party’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari for dragging his feet on restoration of the judiciary because he “doesn’t want independent judges”.

In a highly volatile and extensive interview with the New York Times magazine (Ahsan was on the cover of the magazine), he said that most charges of corruption against Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr Asif Ali Zardari were justified. It may be mentioned that Barrister Ahsan was the minister of interior in the first government of Benazir Bhutto.

The author of the article, James Traub, writes: “I asked him (Mr Ahsan) how many of the allegations of corruption he believed were justified. “Most of them,” Mr Ahsan said, after a moment’s reflection. “The type of expenses that she had and he has are not from sources of income that can be lawfully explained and accounted for.”

In the interview which was conducted over a week, James Traub said that Mr Ahsan recognised that the PPP was itself a feudal and only marginally democratic body led by a figure accused of corruption and violence.

Mr Ahsan, who defended both Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr Zardari in 14 cases, told Times that the charges of “corruption against both” and in Mr Zardari’s case also of “kidnapping, ransom and murder”, were justified.

“Ahsan”, said the interviewer, “is almost recklessly outspoken about PPP leaders, even though they are his own political patrons. He speaks admiringly of Benazir Bhutto’s courage and steadfastness but also points out with disdain that she viewed herself as the PPP’s ‘life chairperson’. And he does not bother to conceal his dim view of Zardari.”

Besides, the Times article said, Mr Ahsan believed that in the aftermath of the Lahore incident, wherein he saved former federal minister Sher Afghan from the wrath of the people ‘that he is more famous in the country than at any other time’.

“And I have become much more famous.” The thought tickled both his vanity and his sense of irony. “I’m being treated,” he said, “like the policeman who’s rescued the cat from the tree”.

On Mr Ahsan’s decision not to contest polls, Traub said: “I spoke to Mr Ahsan by phone a few days later. He had decided not to contest a by-election slated for this summer. He had decisively chosen movement politics over party politics, and perhaps he was happiest there. Mr Zardari and the PPP seemed to have increasingly thrown in their lot with Mr Musharraf, appointing allies of the president to key posts. Mr Ahsan wasn’t worried that a new round of protests, this time directed in part at his own party, would divide the country.

“There’s enormous popular support for my position,” he said. And he was, as ever, blithe in the face of confrontation. “I’m comfortable,” he reported from his home in Lahore. “I have no problem.”

On the issues of judges and confrontation between Mr Zardari and Mr Ahsan, Traub relates: “On the morning flight from Karachi to Sukkur, a city in the southern province of Sindh where the Pakistan People’s Party high command was going for an annual pilgrimage to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s grave site — now that of his daughter as well —Ahsan was approached by Farooq Naek, the law minister and a party leader. Naek, according to Ahsan, asked him to mute his harsh criticism of Zardari and the party. Zardari had reached an agreement with Nawaz Sharif to reinstate the judges within 30 days of the formation of the new government, and Naik implored Ahsan to show some faith and trust. Ahsan agreed to act as if he accepted their bona fides, though he didn’t altogether.

He says he believed that Zardari feared that Chaudhry and other apolitical judges might restore some of the cases against him that had been summarily dismissed. Ahsan seemed quite blithe about these concerns.

When I asked if he worried that the lawyers could be blamed for splitting the fragile coalition, he said, “if the party doesn’t act, it will force a debate inside the party, and that would be a good thing.” That night he pushed Zardari hard at the party’s conclave near the Bhutto family grave site; Zardari pushed back, insisting, according to Raja Adil Bashir, a party official, that the lawyers “should not try to threaten the government.”

Aitzaz blasts Asif, says most graft charges justified -DAWN - Top Stories; June 02, 2008

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Nepal dethrones king, asks him to vacate palace - Will we ever do so? NO??

A constituent assembly in Nepal on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of abolishing the Himalayan nation’s 240-year-old Hindu monarchy and declaring a republic.

In a historic vote that caps a peace deal between Maoist rebels and mainstream parties, politicians ordered unpopular King Gyanendra to step down and for his palace to be turned into a museum.

“The sacrifice of thousands of Nepalese has been honoured today by us getting rid of the monarchy,” Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told AFP.

“The Nepalese people have been freed from centuries of feudal tradition, and the doors have now opened for a radical social and economic transformation,” he said.

Nepal dethrones king, asks him to vacate palace -DAWN - Top Stories; May 29, 2008

zardari saab seekhein kuch... parliament nay kitni bahaduri se yeh decision liya... despite the following fact:

He (The king) still enjoys some support from Hindu hardliners and powerful elements in the armed forces and ruling elite, who argue the royals, are a crucial symbol of the neutrality of a country wedged between Asian giants India and China.

see if the ppl n their representatives r sincere n united, such support cannot do much... so take a stand, throw this stuborn ruler out of the govt....
The Maoists have told Gyanendra and his son Crown Prince Paras — loathed for his reported playboy lifestyle — to bow out gracefully and adapt to life as a “common citizen” or else face “strong punishment.”

musharraf saab... kuch sochein aap bhi...

on terrorism: the article says:
The United States also continues to list the former rebels as a foreign “terrorist” organisation.

and they have now been proved to be ppl fighting for their rights (or against the monarchy)... so anyone who is called terrorist by US should not be considered a terrorist... lets revise our definiion of a terrorist and war on terror... lets understand what do ppl in tribal areas want? wht does america want from them n us? wht shld we stand against?

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‘Hidden forces’ out to throttle democracy: Asif

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said that ‘hidden forces’ are out to impose martial law and any movement against the government may snuff out democracy.

Talking to representatives of the Punjab and NWFP chapters of the People’s Lawyers Forum (PLF) here on Wednesday, Mr Zardari said the PPP wanted not only to reinstate the deposed judges but also to introduce constitutional reforms to ensure that all state institutions worked in accordance with their roles defined in the Constitution.

‘Hidden forces’ out to throttle democracy: Asif -DAWN - Top Stories; May 29, 2008

ur own fault asif... kyun latka rahay ho 1 maamlay ko... is ki wajah se baaki sab cheezein ignore ho rahi hain... poor policy by PPP... jo kaam kerna hai karo aur aglay ki taraf dekho... yeh cautious approach wali policy bhi agar martial law ki taraf lay ja rahi hai to why use cautious approach??? y not do it instantly as PML-N suggests... abhi bhi time hai zardari saab... judge bahal karein, mulk mein se uncertainty khatam karein... zabardasti judges k haamiyon ko bura saabit kernay ki koshish na karein... ya phir seedhi tarah keh dein k hum bahal nahi ker rahay judges ko, jao kerlo jo kerna hai...

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Constitutional package fails to impress lawyers

The proposed 18th amendment to the Constitution has apparently failed to address the core issue of restoring the superior judiciary to its Nov 2 (2007) position, Bar representatives said here on Monday....

...

The lawyers and the people at large, the representatives said, were confident that the new democratic government would undo the provisional constitution order (PCO) of Nov 3, 2007, and restore the judiciary. The hopes were belied as the new rulers started dancing to the tunes of dictatorship. However, the lawyers would frustrate all moves to oust the deposed judges and retain those who took oath under the PCO, they vowed.

The representatives expressed their concern at US interference in a purely internal issue like the reinstatement of judges. “The people of Pakistan are in a position to decide for themselves as evident from their vote against dictatorship in the Feb 18 polls.” They appealed to lawyers and civil society to observe a ‘black day’ on the arrival of US envoy Negroponte in Islamabad.

KARACHI: Constitutional package fails to impress lawyers -DAWN - Local; May 27, 2008

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مذاکرات ختم، تفصیلات کا اعلان کل، نواز مطمئن

پیپلز پارٹی اور مسلم لیگ (ن) کے درمیان عدالتی بحران کے حل کے لیے دبئی میں طویل مذاکرات ختم ہوگئے ہیں جس میں فریقین نے کہا ہے کہ ججوں کی بحالی کے معاملے پر اتفاق ہوگیا ہے۔

جمعرات کو مذاکرات کے ایک اور تفصیلی راؤنڈ کے بعد میاں نواز شریف نے صحافیوں کو بتایا کہ ’میں بات چیت سے مطمئن ہوں اور ججوں کی بحالی پر اتفاق ہوگیا ہے۔
‘

BBC

Lawyers for unconditional reinstatement of judges

Lawyers will not accept any constitutional package and amendment that affects reinstatement of the deposed judges including deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

If any steps are taken against the Murree Declaration, the lawyers will relaunch their movement, said Supreme Court Bar Association member Sheikh Ahsanuddin here on Friday.

He said conspiracies were being hatched against the Murree Declaration, whereby the coalition partners had made a commitment to have the deposed judges reinstated within 30 days of the formation of a new government.

The conspiracy is aimed to sabotage the plan of the new government about the reinstatement of all the deposed judges, he added.

The deposed judges are a beacon for the people and nothing short of their unconditional and complete restoration would satisfy them, he said.

He said lawyers’ struggle was aimed at strengthening national institutions including parliament and the judiciary. He paid tribute to the deposed judges for not bowing before the rulers.

Agencies adds: Lawyers have said they will announce their future strategy if deposed judges were not reinstated within the period as promised under the Murree Declaration.

“Lawyers community supports the decision of Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, president Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), giving a timeframe to the government for reinstatement of the deposed judges,” this was stated by Sardar Asmatullah Niazi, president Rawalpindi High Court Bar Association, and Athar Minallah, member Pakistan Bar Council, while talking to journalists outside the residence of the deposed chief justice in Islamabad on Friday.

They said lawyers would not create any problem or difficulty for the government during these 30 days.

Lawyers for unconditional reinstatement of judges -DAWN - National; April 05, 2008

lawyers clearly oppose the method being adopted by PPP... so do I... n so should everyone of us... unconditional reinstatement would make future vioators think that their orders can be reversed, they r not the ultimate power... adopting any other means for reinstatement would strengthen their belief that they own the country n can do whtever they want to do with it, nobody wiil b able to challenge their decision

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Aitzaz, Zardari stick to their positions on judges

There was "no agreement, no disagreement" on the issue of restoration of deposed judges in the Thursday night meeting of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Aitzaz Ahsan with PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari.

The two stuck to their respective stand on the question of sacked superior court judges, an informed PPP leader told The News. Aitzaz Ahsan wants instant reinstatement of the deposed justices, saying the talk of amending the Constitution to restore them, amounts to accepting as legitimate unconstitutional actions taken by the then chief of the Army staff (Pervez Musharraf) on Nov 3 last. It would open a Pandora's box for the future, he believes.

Instead of restoration of these judges, Zardari wants to cautiously move for the "independence of the judiciary". He is not inclined to reinstating the deposed judges. However, lawyers, supporting deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, say it would not be possible for the new PPP-led government to keep him and other judges under house arrest and they have to be freed immediately.

"Once the top judge is released he will be addressing bar associations all over Pakistan and will be visiting different cities in processions," a senior lawyer, aligned with the SCBA and the PPP, told this correspondent.

He admitted that this would throw up a grave challenge to the new government, which would face street trouble from day one. He conceded that this would also lead to an intense clash between the government and the lawyers' community.

In the Punjab, the provincial government to be led by the PML-N would not be opposed to the lawyers' movement and would, in fact, encourage it because of this party's unambiguous stand on deposed judges' restoration.

Another lawyer said the attitude of the federal, Sindh and NWFP governments to the lawyers' renewed movement would be different because these would not be backing it in any way. He said pressure would be kept on the PPP government to restore the judges but it would be given some time, enabling it to act in the right direction without much delay.

As far as Aitzaz Ahsan is concerned, lawyers said, it would be difficult for Zardari to tolerate him in the party if he continued to embarrass and put pressure on the PPP through his powerful street campaign.

Lawyers associated with the PPP apprehend that their party would further damage itself if it stood by its non-committal policy on the issue of restoration of judges. They feel that Nawaz Sharif, who came out with a better showing in the Feb 18 elections compared to the PPP, would further gain ground because of his stand on deposed justices.

They said had the PPP matched, if not surpassed the stance taken by Nawaz Sharif on the judges issue, combined with the massive sympathy wave in the wake of assassination of Benazir Bhutto, it would have convincingly won the elections.

Aitzaz, Zardari stick to their positions on judges

zardari is not willing to restore the judges the way ppl want... the constitutional package would assert tht whtever mush did on november 3 is justified... do we want this? atleast I dont.... i want mush to b an example for potential violators n breakers of constitution... a true -ve example so that ppl stop playin with the constitution... n the country progresses in the right direction... but for now it seems that the parliament is also gonna compromise under the logic of 'doctorine of necessity'... among all the major parties I believe only PML-N is respectin the mandate it got... reason for which could be any but its stance is very clear n brave unlike the stance of PPP... see the following for details on the constitutional package n aitzaz's response

To diffuse the judicial crisis, Mr. Zardari has offered the Chief Justice Iftikar Chaudhry the position of Governor of Baluchistan. Instead of humiliating Mr. Musharraf and the Army, he has also asked the president to create a resolution on restoring the judges. Mr. Zarzari is planning to ask parliament to accept the dismissal of all the judges and then reappoint them under a fresh mandate. This may prclude Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry from the position of the Chief Justice. more...

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The word Scrutiny invites bars’ ire -DAWN - National; April 05, 2008

LAHORE, April 4: Reacting to the reports about judges’ scrutiny after their restoration, the bar associations have warned parliament of ‘consequences’ in case it links revival of the pre-emergency judiciary to any constitutional package.

At a joint press conference on Friday, the Lahore High Court Bar Association and the Supreme Court Bar Association said they would resist any deviation from the Murree Declaration which sought restoration of the deposed judiciary to what it was on Nov 2.

LHCBA President Anwar Kamal, Lahore Bar Association head Manzoor Qadir, Supreme Court Bar Association Secretary Chaudhry Amin Javed and Vice-President Ghulam Nabi Bhatti and Lahore Tax Bar Association president Mohsin Nadeem were among the participants. Former SCBA chief Hamid Khan also was present at the press conference held on the high court bar premises.

The LHCBA president said lawyers would not accept any step of parliament intending to sabotage the restoration of all the deposed judges. Any attempt to curtail the tenure of the chief justice of Pakistan or provincial chief justices would also be frustrated, he said.

....

LBA President Manzoor Qadir said the political parties, now in the government, had won a heavy mandate because of the issue of the judges’ restoration. The lawyers now felt that they were not only trying to wriggle out of the declaration, but also betraying their mandate too, he added.

“Let me make it clear that the lawyers will not allow parliament to cast aside its word on the restoration of the judges,” he said. He criticised Federal Law Minister Farooq H Naik for stating that “Musharraf is a national asset”. He said such a statement not only hurt the lawyers, but also lacerated the feelings of the people who had rejected a dictator through the ballot.

Hamid Khan said the lawyers were aware of the conspiracies originating from the presidency to sabotage the process of revival of the pre-emergency judiciary. He added that the restoration of the judges and the constitutional or the so-called reform package were two separate issues which could not be tied to each other. He asked Mr Naik to make public all the steps being taken for the restoration of the judiciary.

Mr Khan said he saw no justification for President Musharraf to stay in the office because he had lost the day his party (PML-Q) faced a humiliating defeat. Parliament, he said, would have to consult the bar associations before introducing any ‘constitutional package’, otherwise, it would have no value.

The word Scrutiny invites bars’ ire -DAWN - National; April 05, 2008

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Detained Judges Released. Well Done PM

گرفتار ججوں کی رہائی: نئے وزیرِاعظم کا پہلا ’حکم‘

یوسف رضا گیلانی نے اپنے پہلے مختصر خطاب میں گرفتار ججوں کی فوری رہائی کا ’حکم‘ دیا ہے لیکن کہا ہے کہ جج اپنے مسائل احتجاج کی بجائے پارلیمان کے اندر حل کرائیں۔ انہوں نے یہ بھی کہا ہے کہ ان کی حکومت بینظیر بھٹو کے قتل کی تحقیقات اقوامِ متحدہ سے کروانے اور ذوالفقار علی بھٹو کے عدالتی قتل پر معافی کے لیے پارلیمان میں قرارداد پیش کرے گی۔

More on BBC Urdu

Excerpts from BBC

New Pakistani PM Yusuf Raza Gillani has said he will order the release of all judges detained under emergency rule, minutes after being elected by MPs.

President Pervez Musharraf in November sacked dozens of judges as the Supreme Court was set to rule on whether his re-election was legal.

Former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was among those still held.

...

Mr Gillani made two key pledges in his speech following his election.

The first was to demand "the immediate release of all the arrested judges", sparking cheers from most of the gathered MPs.

Police have already removed barbed wire from outside Mr Chaudhry's home in Islamabad, where he has been under house arrest.

Mr Chaudhry later appeared on his balcony to wave to hundreds of supporters. It was his first public appearance for four months.

He thanked his "fellow judges and the entire nation".

Iftikhar Chaudhry made his first public appearance for four months

"I have no words to express my gratitude to the way you have struggled... to reach this day," he said.

It is not clear exactly how many judges are held or when they might be freed.

However, correspondents say the PM should have the power to free those such as Mr Chaudhry who were held under executive rather than court orders.

Mr Gillani's second pledge was to seek a resolution calling for a UN investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

...

The PPP, which was led by Benazir Bhutto until her assassination in December, emerged as the biggest party in the February elections.

It is now headed by her widower, Asif Ali Zardari.

On Monday he was quoted in The News newspaper as saying that Mr Gillani would serve a full five-year term as prime minister.

Blow to Musharraf

Pakistani parties to share power

Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari were winners in February's elections
The leaders of the two parties that won Pakistan's elections have signed an agreement on a coalition government.

February's parliamentary elections delivered a crushing defeat to parties loyal to President Pervez Musharraf.

Mr Musharraf has urged the incoming government to leave politics aside and concentrate on good governance.

(hehe mush asks political parties to leave politics lolz... he is mad another proof... he can do politics in army uniform n the parties with mandate should not :D)

Mr Sharif has consistently called for the president to step down in the wake of the elections, which were regarded as a key step in Pakistan's transition from military to civilian rule.

The BBC's Barbara Plett, in Islamabad, says the deal will be seen as a further blow to Mr Musharraf who will face a parliament dominated by his adversaries.

Two issues had dominated the talks: The PML(N) party's insistence that judges sacked by Mr Musharraf in November be reinstated, and the PPP's desire for Mr Sharif's party to formally sign up to the cabinet.

Mr Zardari and Mr Sharif told a news conference that both matters had been settled.
All the sacked judges will be reinstated via a parliamentary resolution passed within 30 days of forming a new government.

That appears to mean that the chief justice will get back his job, in defiance of Mr Musharraf's strong objections, our correspondent says.

In return Nawaz Sharif has agreed that his party will join the cabinet - even though he does not recognise the president's right to rule.

Full Story

PML-N is respecting the mandate it got from people...

PPP, PML-N ‘poles apart’ on judges issue -As expected from PPP :(

Source: Dawn

By Ashraf Mumtaz

LAHORE, March 5: The PPP and the PML-N remain “poles apart” on the issue of reinstatement of the deposed judges of superior courts and ties with President Pervez Musharraf, notwithstanding their resolve to form a coalition, with the Awami National Party as their third partner.

“We are poles apart. The PML-N just wants that all existing judges should be sent home and those deposed on Nov 3 should be reinstated,” said a PPP leader who attended talks between the two sides.

Sources close to Mian Nawaz Sharif and privy to the discussions held by the two sides on Tuesday night said that the PPP team had asked the PML-N to soften its stand on the question of judges and not to make it priority item on its agenda.

“Nothing is common (between the two sides) and nothing is likely to be common,” said the source, indicating that the two sides would continue their deliberations in an attempt to find some common ground for cooperation.

PPP leader Asif Zardari and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif are expected to meet in Islamabad on Friday to discuss matters concerning formation of the government.

The PML-N sources said their party could not afford to change its stance on the deposed judges and President Musharraf.

A PPP leader said that President Musharraf was under no obligation to seek a confidence vote from the new parliament. “There is no such provision in the Constitution. However, if he wants to show his following in the new house there is no harm in taking such an initiative,” the leader said, adding that the PPP was not calling on the president to prove that he enjoyed majority’s support.

“Let the new system take off. We want all matters in accordance with the Constitution. If the president stays non-partisan and doesn’t convert the Presidency into a hub of political conspiracies, we will have no problem working with him.”

Some reports say that the PML-N wants Musharraf to either step down or take confidence vote from the new assemblies.

The PML-Q has not lost hope that it would be able to form a government with the PPP because of the latter’s differences with the PML-N.

PML-Q sources say that knowing well that they were hated by the PPP the Chaudhrys have given Hamid Nasir Chattha a mandate to try to persuade the PPP leaders to agree to forming a coalition with them.

Mr Chattha had been close to Benazir Bhutto when the PPP and the then PML-Junejo were coalition partners during 1993-96.

One source said that Chaudhry Shujaat Husain may step down as party chief to pave the way for Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the PML-Q’s new parliamentary party leader in the National assembly. Once he quits, some other office-bearers may also follow suit.

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