Rizwan Ghani
PRESIDENT Arif Alvi’s reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa has been quashed and as a consequence President, Law Minister, accountability APM and law secretary should resign. PM is acting like Regan who used to tell America that what you know I know and that’s all we need to know. PM should have the moral courage to accept responsibility and resign rather than hide behind win-win mantra because he initiated the reference in the first place. The judgment is a conciliatory gesture in which the goal was to remind the executive that judiciary is independent. It been achieved in three ways: (a). trichotomy of power has been preserved. (b). an open ended warning has been given that in future such attempt will be taken as mala fide. (c). a considered act of building trust, tolerance and democracy. Court used purposivism (a 20th Century approach) by using goal rather than text of the constitution with an eye on ground realities and blocking politics. Suo motu is going to stay. The judgment has preserved court power to take action independently. The question of its use in future by prospective chief justices is but hedging against accountability. Government and opposition want suo motu gone for human rights and water tight NROs as it allows judiciary to reopen old cases or order investigation of new cases making clean chit from NAB irrelevant. The reference is executive’s another coup against democracy. The legal argument that president’s rubber stamp attitude resulted in reference is cover up for the power grab. It was executed shrewdly while keeping an eye on relationship between judiciary and establishment. Earlier the COAS case was referred to Parliament, mischievously.
Executive is accountable to democratic institutions and state in democracy. Biden’s statement that military will remove Trump if he refuses to leave is self explanatory. Corbyn said Johnson can be jailed. The local court said that Johnson could be jailed for disobeying its orders. Our politicians are avoiding accountability in the parliamentary form of democracy in which judiciary, executive and establishment are equal under the system of check and balance in trichotomy of power in which judiciary is superior due to its powers of judicial review. To make democracy work, powers of PM have to be curtailed. It clear from the reference that office of president has become puppet of PM after losing its power to sack CE. By making president as commander in chief and selecting CJP, executive is indirectly controlling establishment and judiciary. As a result, PM is not ready to be held accountable to judiciary and establishment. The powers of president to sack PM should be restored. The powers of PM should be returned to 30% as part of system of check and balance. Accordingly, undemocratic changes in the constitution should be scrapped so that democracy can deliver. It includes reintroducing 4-year terms, end of dynastic politics, lawmakers vote should be for Pakistan as per their constitutional oath. The continuation of these fraudulent changes in the constitution has weakened parliamentary system which has made governments immune to public accountability as witnessed after the devastating floods, mega corruption and perpetual price hike in the country. Now a handful of politicians are trying to destroy country’s democracy and its democratic institutions to escape accountability and fulfil their vested stakes.
The policy of accumulation of power has failed in the West. The UK shows that absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is record corruption, it is world money laundering centre, and battling extreme poverty at grassroots. The successive Tory governments have escaped public accountability due to lack of parliamentary system of check and balance which has been copy pasted in Pakistan under CoD through 18th Amendment. The opposition is now blaming PM for corruption, economy and price hike which is like pot calling the kettle black. Pakistan is suffering fallouts of plutocracy and Populism. The changes have turned our politicians into plutocrats who with their ill gotten wealth are part of global plutocracy with international connections revealed by their iqamas and documents produced in the courts. They oppose other institutions of the state because they are popular with public and block their anti-Pakistan plans. It has eroded public’s faith in democracy and it has voted for a populist leader to bring change but without resetting the parliamentary system, getting rid of corrupt politicians and ending corruption its not going to bring desired results. The country is at a fork on the road of democracy and time has come to adopt functional democracy which is accountable to public after coming into power and continues to deliver during its entire term. The establishment has confirmed its support for government, rule of law and democracy. The judiciary has also given a chance to the executive in Justice Isa judgment to protect and promote democracy. Now it is duty of politicians both from govt and opposition to come together to revive the economy, create jobs and end corruption as part of their democratic obligation to their voters and uphold national interest.
—The writer is senior political analyst based in Islamabad.
