AMID allegations of all the king’s men in the judiciary in Trump’s cases, a new Supreme Court bench will take up the IHC Judges’ letters case in Pakistan. Chief Justice Isa is on record stating that he received no complaint of meddling in the judiciary since becoming CJP. The meticulous attention to detail demonstrated by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) and the Attorney General (AG) in the last hearing, signalled zero tolerance for politics in the judiciary. The dissenting note of Justice Yahya is clear: protect or perish. To protect democracy, the judiciary has to put its house in order, including separating the wheat from the chaff.
The IHC case is smoke and mirrors to get an NRO for Imran, whereas like America, Pakistan is trying to protect democracy from wannabe dictators demanding loyalty to individuals instead of the constitution. The timing of the six judges’ letter, the petitions and calls for reforms are part of a populist political sleaze strategy. Politics surrounding May 9, Jan 6 and former PM Liz Truss exposes the sleaze of blaming the “Deep State” for a power deal. Trump said that he would demolish the deep state (What Trump’s war on the ‘Deep State’ could mean: ‘An army of suck-ups’, 27 Apr 2024, CNN). Truss claims she fell victim to the UK’s ‘establishment (Britain’s ‘deep state’ thwarted my plans, Liz Truss tells US far-right summit, 22 Feb 2024, The Guardian).
Accordingly, PTI is demanding to engage with the military establishment only. The unconstitutional and undemocratic demand has already been called out (PTI seeking establishment’s help to return to power, claims Rana Sanaullah, 27 Apr 2024). The timing of the Audio tape case in IHC is part of the strategy following unprecedented punishment to civil servants with judicial powers. In America, Justice Thomas’ wife faced the law based on recordings of her text messages, emails and audio tapes without questioning their source (House votes to reapprove law allowing warrantless surveillance of US citizens, 12 Apr 2024, The Guardian).
Failing democracy is the judiciary’s paradox in Pakistan, America and the UK. Trump is free after Jan 6 with hundreds of rioters in jail, including planners with 22 years prison sentences. The Supreme Court’s five male justices are fully in the tank for Trump (‘All the king’s men’: Supreme Court ‘openly colluding’ with Trump on immunity, 26 Apr 2024, MSNBC). The judiciary has failed to bring Imran and his allies to book for May 9. The UK Supreme Court ruled Johnson’s suspension of parliament unlawful, but he walked away without any punishment. It shows the judiciary is serving wannabe dictators instead of democracy.
America’s war to save democracy after Jan 6 is helping Pakistan to defeat dictatorship after May 9. If the President is above the law in America, he is a king. It will subvert the constitution and turn democracy into a dictatorship which no judiciary can allow (This Whole King Trump Thing Is Getting Awfully Literal, 26 Apr 2024, The New York Times). Like May 9, the indictment of Meadows, Giuliani and other Trump associates in the Arizona 2020 election subversion case shows the Jan 6 plot goes to the top (Lawrence: Trump is ‘Unindicted Co-conspirator 1’ in Arizona ‘fake electors’ indictment 24 Apr 2024, MSNBC).
Trump’s bid for immunity from prosecution, including staging a military coup or assassination of his opponents, is an absurd farce (‘Exposed’: Republican SCOTUS justices doing ‘everything in their power to protect Trump’ MSNBC). Liz Cheney urged the Supreme Court to stop aiding Donald Trump’s delay tactics. The justices are giving Trump special treatment as witnessed in Pakistan as well (Why Is Trump Getting Special Treatment from the Supreme Court? 29 Feb 2024, Politico). The US Supreme Court has hijacked American democracy (11 July 2023, The Guardian).
Trump’s Hush money Trial has exposed the use of fake news to undermine democracy through election interference while claiming the 2020 Presidential elections were stolen and enacted Jan 6. Fake news targeted opponents (Andrew Weissmann: ‘Ground zero of fake news’: Trump campaign’s role spreading false stories exposed MSNBC). Trump used the “Catch and kill” strategy to buy damaging stories against him, which he kept denying (‘Stunning’: Testimony in hush money trial reveals how National Enquirer worked with Trump campaign, MSNBC).
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) endorsed America’s human rights report for political reasons, diverging from Pakistan’s Foreign Office stance of rejecting it as unfair and biased. Meanwhile, President Biden’s legislative efforts aim to shield civil servants from potential repercussions under Trump’s Administration. However, Republicans are committed to reversing these measures by consolidating power and dismantling critical government departments. To bolster democracy, Biden must engage with an independent press, in contrast to leaders like Trump, Imran Khan and Narendra Modi avoiding such scrutiny. In the United States, the judiciary is increasingly asserting its authority, notably by combating conspiracy theories linked to the January 6 events with stern punishments. In Pakistan, all eyes are on the Supreme Court, which is seen as crucial in safeguarding democracy and the nation’s democratic institutions.
—The writer is senior political analyst based in Islamabad.
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