IRONICALLY, the vicious cycle of tension among state institutions is not coming to an end despite greater realization that it was harming the country. Hardly an issue that creates ripples in this regard dies down, some other controversy erupts denting prospects of forging national unity and solidarity. The latest example is the verdict delivered by the Special Court in Musharraf high treason case and the reaction it has evoked. Difference of opinion among institutions is nothing new but it is, perhaps, for the first time that these have not remained subtle and become talk of tea houses and drawing rooms.
The judgement, awarding death sentence to the former President on account of suspension of the Constitution, received mixed response but a paragraph in the detailed verdict embittered the atmosphere further. The rider, which is not part of the court order, says “we direct the law enforcement agencies to strive their level best to apprehend the fugitive/convict and to ensure that the punishment is inflicted as per law and if found dead, his corpse be dragged to the D-Chowk, Islamabad and be hanged for three days”. Reacting sharply, Director-General ISPR Major-General Asif Ghafoor described the language as beyond humanity, religion, civilization and values. He said Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who had an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday, conveyed to him the sentiments of officers and jawans. Speaking at a hurriedly called press conference, spokespersons of the Government went to the extent of labelling the Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth as ‘insane’ and ‘mentally unfit’, announcing that the Government would file a reference in the Supreme Judicial Council against the judge and that he be stopped from performing his duties. A campaign against the judge has also been launched on the social media for pronouncing a harsher judgement and calling into question his other verdicts. Saner elements in the legal community believe that it would be inappropriate to file a reference against a judge on the basis of his remarks or judgement. However, this is a legal and constitutional course to which the Government is entitled and it may opt this course of action. But legal experts say there was absolutely no justification to pass scathing remarks for a judge. Both the language of paragraph-66 of the detailed judgement and unbecoming remarks against the judge should have been avoided for the sake of decency and their overall impact on the national harmony and solidarity. Instead of resorting to verbal attacks, legal flaws in the case and the verdict should be highlighted during appeal stage. We should also appreciate that all institutions are serving the country in their own way and stray incidents should not be allowed to damage their overall prestige and reputation. No one can deny the fact that the armed forces have been rendering unprecedented sacrifices for the cause of the nation and nothing should be done to demoralize them. Similarly, judiciary and parliament have also been trying to deliver despite various odds and challenges. In this backdrop, one would endorse the proposal recently floated by Federal Minister for Science and Technology Barrister Fawad Chaudhry for a dialogue among “the government, the armed forces, the opposition and the judiciary” to decide once for all about their “limitations”. He rightly pointed out that if all these four institutions keep on fighting, we will end up in a chaos. According to him, the time had come that all the institutions should sit together and talk about their limitations as the “lust for power” was weakening the country as well as Parliament. He said unfortunately Parliament that should have been the most powerful and supreme institution was becoming the most weakened institution of the country. It may be mentioned that the outgoing Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Asif Saeed Khosa too had, a few weeks back, called for an inter-institutional dialogue, which was welcomed by the Government. Similar proposal was also mooted by the then Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani but no practical steps were taken for the purpose. As tremors continue to jolt the national scene every now and then because of apparent tension and distrust among institutions, there is need for urgently initiating such a dialogue for the sake of smooth functioning of the system. Everyone wants all institutions to function while remaining strictly within the bounds of the Constitution but infringements continue which do not augur well for the country.
