Pak SC declares Sharif brothers eligible to contest elections

May 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 26 (ANI): Revoking the Lahore High Court’s verdict to disqualify former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif from contesting elections, the Pakistan Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday declared the Sharif brothers eligible for fighting elections.

The five-member SC bench headed by Justice Tassadaq Hussain Jilani, while hearing the review petitions filed by the Sharifs’ against their disqualification on the conviction in plane hijacking case and default case respectively ordered to lift the ban from them.

Earlier, the apex court had upheld the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) verdict in February after the two consistently refused to appear before the before the PCO judges and SC three-member bench, during hearing of the petitions.

Later, Shahbaz Sharif was removed from the post of Punjab chief minister and governors’ rule was imposed in the province.

Nawaz Sharif, had then called on a nation wide protest march against the verdict and to restore the judiciary including reinstating the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

On March 16, following the restoration of the deposed judges, Sharif brothers had filed review petitions in the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leaders have hailed the Supreme Court’s verdict.

The PML-N Secretary Information, Ahsan Iqbal said the Supreme Court’s verdict would lead to strengthening the democracy.

Iqbal blamed former President Pervez Musharraf for hatching a conspiracy against the Sharif brothers.

Another PML-N leader, Javed Hashmi termed the SC’s verdict as a victory of justice and truth.

“It is a day of jubilation for the entire nation, and the decision will put the country on the path of progress and prosperity.The judiciary has foiled the conspiracies hatched against the people,” The News quoted Hashmi, as saying. (ANI)

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Musharraf buys flat in UK, to be new neighbour of Tony Blair

May 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, May 25 (ANI): Pakistan’s former president General (retired) Pervez Musharraf has bought a flat in the Edgeware Road neighbourhood where former British premier Tony Blair lives and Interior Minister Rehman Malik possesses a house, sources have said.

Malik’s flat was the venue of the signing of the historic Charter of Democracy between the late Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.

But some of his close friends in London said that Musharraf is looking around to buy a flat in central London, preferably around Edgware Road area where most of the property is owned by Arabs and where a two-bed room flat costs around pounds 500,000 to pounds 700,000.

Others said that he was looking for a villa in Chelsea where the property was worth between two million pounds to five million pounds.

In London, Musharraf stays at the Richmond house of his old friend and long-standing bridge partner Brigadier Niaz, The Dawn reported.

Musharraf’s close friends also insist that he has no intention of settling down in the UK. But his detractors are convinced that he has no plans of going back home, at least until the retirement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

One of his old friends, a former air force officer, Zafar Iqbal, is said to have approached a number of well-informed persons to get an idea about the various possibilities in store for Musharraf on his return home.

Meanwhile, Musharraf has left for Prague where he is scheduled to deliver a lecture at a defence-related think tank on May 27.

Musharraf arrived in London early last month after having travelled to China and Saudi Arabia on what is being described by his friends as a post-retirement extended holiday. (ANI)

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Nawaz party not rejoining federal cabinet

April 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, April 13 (IANS) The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz of opposition leader Nawaz Sharif has all but rejected Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s invitation to rejoin the federal cabinet, saying it would, however, cooperate with the government.

‘We will cooperate with the government on all important issues but we do not want to join the government,’ PML-N spokesman Siddiqul Farooq told reporters here Monday.

‘However, a final decision on this will be taken by Nawaz Sharif,’ he added.

Dawn News channel quoted Ashfaq Sarwar, the special advisor to the punjab chief minister, as saying PML-N bosses were under pressure from the rank and file to stay out of the federal government.

On Sunday, Gilani had formally invited the PML-N to return to the government, saying the issues on which it had walked out last year had either been resolved or were in the process of being ironed out.

Gilani conveyed the invitation during a meeting here Sunday with Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab province and Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother.

Gilani’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the PML-N, along with two smaller outfits, had formed a coalition after their one-two finish at the February 2008 general elections.

The PML-N, however, walked out when PPP co-chair and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari reneged on two key pledges made in the charter of democracy governance agenda the two parties had agreed on before the elections.

One of these related to the reinstatement of sacked Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the other apex and high court judges then president Pervez Musharraf had dismissed after imposing an emergency Nov 3, 2007.

The other was the repeal of the 17th constitutional amendment Musharraf had pushed through in 2003 transferring key executive powers from the prime minister’s office to the presidency.

These include the power to appoint the service chiefs and the Supreme Court chief justice, as also to dismiss the federal and provincial governments, the lower house of parliament and the provincial legislatures.

The judges were restored last month after Nawaz Sharif led a high octane lawyers’ ‘long march’ to Islamabad that was also meant to protest a Supreme Court ruling barring, on corruption charges, him and Shahbaz Sharif from contesting elections or holding public office.

The verdict saw the younger Sharif losing his job as Punjab chief minister but he got it back after the federal government appealed the verdict and the Supreme Court stayed its order.

As for the 17th amendment, the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament has formed a committee to work out the modalities of repealing it.

Once that happens, the presidency will be left with only ceremonial powers.

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Pak Supreme court asked to book Musharraf on ECL

April 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Apr. 14 (ANI): The Supreme Court of Pakistan has been asked to place former President General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL) by booking him in a treason case for abrogating the Constitution and damaging the judiciary.

In his petition under the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court on fundamental rights, Advocate Fazal Ellahi Siddiqui has also requested to overturn the Court’s judgment validating the November 3, 2007 emergency rule.

He also accuses former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and 43 other judges of aiding and abetting the subversion of the Constitution by taking oath under the PCO courts.

It is third such petition that demands annulment of emergency rule following the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

Siddiqui’s petition holds Musharraf, Zardari, the army chief, former chief justice Dogar and Justice (retd) Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi as respondents.

“The Americans, like in Musharraf’s time, have also been given a free hand by President Zardari and fundamental rights of the people are being violated daily in tribal areas. A large number of people have suffered tremendous losses because of US drone attacks,” the Dawn quotes Siddiqui’s petition, as saying.

The petition said it had become a common phenomenon that the army intervened after every eight to 10 years, amended the Constitution to suit its needs and eventually to get its acts of omissions and commissions validated by the courts and parliament.

“The military commanders consider that the public will weep and wail for a few days, but after that they have to reconcile to the fait accompli,” the petition said. (ANI)

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Public flogging of Pakistani woman unacceptable: UN

April 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

UNITED NATIONS
: UN chief Ban Ki-moon has slammed as “unacceptable” the public flogging of a veiled woman in Pakistan’s North West Frontier
Province.

“This is just unacceptable,” he told a press conference in answer to a question about the case. “Respecting and upholding basic human rights
is universally accepted.”

On Monday, Pakistan’s top judge ordered government officials to submit a detailed report within 15 days over the flogging case, an incident that incensed the volatile Asian nation.

Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry gave the directive as eight judges opened a hearing into the case, apparently that of a 17-year-old girl who was caught on an amateur video being whipped face down on the ground.

The date of the flogging, the location and the details of the woman’s alleged crime have been confused but the footage showed two men pinning her down while a bearded man in a turban flogged her 34 times with a whip.

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Chaudhry not to attend Pakistan Day ceremony

March 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Mar.23 (ANI): The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, has said that he will not attend the award-distribution ceremony at the presidential palace here today.

According to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, Dr. Faqeer Hussain, Justice Chaudhry will not be able to attend the ceremony due to preparation of cases at home before resuming his office tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Jamaat-i-Islami chief Fazl-ur-Rehman has said Chaudhry would continue to remain a PCO judge if he does not take fresh oath. (ANI)

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Jamaat-e-Islami to file petition against Musharraf

March 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Karachi, Mar. 20 (ANI): Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami party has decided to file a petition against former Pakistan President General (r) Pervez Musharraf over the Lal-Masjid operation, and ongoing army operation in tribal areas of the country.

JeI leader Asadullah Bhutto told The Nation that the Central Shoora of party would decide the future course of action about to file the petition against Musharraf, and the party has not finalized its strategy so far.

Bhutto said has expressed satisfaction and happiness on the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and other judges, who had been deposed by Musharraf.

“The PCO judiciary has not been able to provide justice to the people, and it was the major reason why JeI did not make party’s policy to file the petition against Pervez Musharraf,” The Nation quoted him, as saying.

All sacked judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts, including Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, will resume their earlier positions from March 22. (ANI)

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Chief Justice Dogar may be appointed Pakistan’s new CEC

March 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Mar 17 (ANI): Pakistan’s new Chief Election Commissioner could be appointed after a notification about the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry is issued.

Sources indicated the possibility of present CJ Abdul Hameed Dogar being made the CEC after his retirement on March 21.

The office of the Chief Election Commissioner has fallen vacant with retirement of Qazi Mohammad Farooq.

However, a senior PML-N leader said that recent developments might force the government to avoid appointing a “highly controversial” person as CEC.

“The CEC has to be an impartial person with an impeccable reputation. A controversial CEC must not be replaced by another controversial person,” the Dawn quoted him, as saying.

Legal experts, however, say that Justice Dogar qualifies for the post. Under Article 213 of the Constitution, the president has the discretion to appoint the CEC.

The only qualification required for the post is to be a sitting or former judge of the apex court, or a high court judge qualified to be appointed as a Supreme Court judge.

Justice Dogar, if appointed, will be the second Chief Justice of Pakistan to become the CEC after retirement, the first being Justice Irshad Hassan Khan. (ANI)

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Zardari emerges weaker after agreeing to restore deposed CJ: NYT

March 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Mar.16 (ANI): Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s decision to restore deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, who was dismissed two years ago by then-President Pervez Musharraf, is being seen as a sign of weakness in certain circles in the country, the New York Times reports.

According to the paper, the former chief justice’s fate was a festering unresolved issue between Zardari and his arch rival and PML-Q chief Nawaz Sharif while the two men led a coalition government last year.

Zardari made what is generally considered a power grab on February 25 when introduced federal rule in Punjab.

Zardari, according to the NYT, was cornered after the federal government imposed Governor’s rule in Punjab province following a Supreme Court verdict that disqualified Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif (who was then the Chief Minister of Punjab) from contesting elections because of the criminal cases lodged against them.

The dismissal of a duly elected provincial government, coupled with a vibrant lawyers’ movement spurred an agitation against Zardari and the government led by Prime Minister Gilani that focused on ensuring Justice Chaudhry’s return to his seat of authority, besides other key issues.

According to the NYT, Sharif used Chaudhry, as a symbol of an independent judiciary, the centerpiece of his platform since his return to Pakistani politics from exile in late 2007.

Word of Chaudhry’s rehabilitation followed a momentous weekend in which the government had tried but failed to prevent a protest by Sharif and lawyers in Lahore.

After police placed him under house arrest on Sunday morning, Sharif and his entourage broke through the barricades at his home and drove to the center of Lahore, where a pitched battle took place between his supporters and the police.

But in apparent deference to Sharif, police melted away, and he proceeded from Lahore in a convoy of cars through the night along the 200-mile route to the capital.

During that trip, the prime minister appeared on television, and jubilant supporters of the chief justice rallied outside the home of Chaudhry in Islamabad.

Even before the formal announcement, Chaudhry was receiving elated lawyers and supporters at his house at 3 a.m.

Gilani said Chaudhry would take his seat on the Supreme Court on March 21, the day after the chief justice appointed by President Musharraf and favored by Zardari retired.

In his speech broadcast a few minutes before 6 a.m., the prime minister also lifted security restrictions imposed last Wednesday to try and deter protest by Sharif and his supporters.

Just before the prime minister spoke, Pakistani Television reported that roadblocks into the capital were being removed, a sign that Sharif and his supporters would apparently be welcome as victors, not protesters.

Sharif and Zardari fought over Chaudhry’s future until their coalition fell apart last September over what Sharif said was Zardari’s refusal to reinstate the chief justice.

Sharif accused Zardari of refusing to reinstate Chaudhry because he feared Chaudhry would repeal an amnesty on corruption charges that had been granted to Zardari and his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

As chief justice, Chaudhry, a lawyer from Baluchistan, was an unusual maverick who was widely honored in the past year by universities and bar associations in the United States.

He had asked the Musharraf government to bring intelligence officials to his court to explain the disappearances of hundreds of Pakistanis believed held without charges since the American war on terrorism began in 2001.

Musharraf dismissed him on March 9, 2007, apparently because he believed that Chaudhry would prevent him from running for a third term. (ANI)

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Leaders, intellectuals welcome Pak Govt’s move to restore deposed chief justice

March 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Lahore/Islamabad/ Gujranwala, Mar.16 (ANI): Former Pakistan Prime Minister and chief of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), Nawaz Sharif, on Monday congratulated the whole nation over the reinstatement of the deposed judges.

Addressing a charged “Long March” rally in Gujranwala, Sharif termed the restoration of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as a big success and a prelude to positive change in Pakistan.

Praising Chaudhry for not bowing down to the dictator (Musharraf), Sharif said the decision to call off the “Long “March was made after consultations with Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chief Imran Khan and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Ali Ahmed Kurd.

Senior PML-N lawmaker Jehangir Tareen was quoted by the New York Times as saying that the events in Lahore showed the depths of resentment in Punjab against the national government, and had no decision been taken, it would proved dangerous to President Asif Ali Zardari and his government.

“This (Long March) showed the people resent the arbitrary action of the national government, and the fact that it has no respect for the mandate the people of Punjab gave to the P.M.L.-N,” Tareen said.

Eminent journalist and former Pakistani ambassador to the United States and Britain Maleeha Lodhi said: “This is uncharted territory, there’s great uncertainty, no one knows what is around the corner.”

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that the decision to reinstate Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as chief justice of Pakistan was taken after consultation with the leaders of coalition parties.

The Daily Times quoted him as telling a private TV channel that President Zardari had taken MQM chief Altaf Hussain, JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman and ANP President Asfandyar Wali into confidence about his decision.

When asked if any other leader was consulted, Babar said he was not aware of it.

PML-N leader Javed Hashmi was quoted by the same paper as saying that the decision to reinstate Chaudhry should be seen as a victory for the entire nation.

He told a private TV channel that not only was it a victory for the PPP, but also for Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, President Asif Ali Zardari and the entire nation.

He said all the political parties; lawyers and civil society activists deserved credit for the CJP’s reinstatement.

Chaudhry’s spokesman Athar Minallah, however, warned that it would be detrimental for democracy if the government tried to curtail Chaudhry’s term in office.

Talking to reporters after the prime minister announced Chaudhry’s reinstatement, Minallah said the lawyers would stage 10 more ‘Long Marches’ if they found the decision dishonest in any respect.

He said the country’s problems could not be resolved without the supremacy of law, demanding the doctrine of necessity be buried for good.

The reactions came after the Pakistani Government agreed early on Monday to reinstate the independent-minded former chief justice of the Supreme Court, a stunning concession to the opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who was heading toward the capital in a convoy threatening to stage a mass protest over the issue after he broke free from house arrest at his residence near here.

Earlier, police officers clashed with supporters of opposition parties on Sunday in Lahore, Pakistan.

The concession, broadcast on national television by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, came after a tumultuous weekend in Pakistani politics in which a dispute between President Asif Ali Zardari and Sharif had escalated into a major crisis that was destabilizing nuclear-armed Pakistan, already under pressure from a growing Islamic insurgency and severe economic troubles.

The decision to restore Chaudhry, came after calls to Zardari and Sharif, including from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, asking them to ease their differences.

The Obama administration’s special envoy to Pakistan, Richard C. Holbrooke, said the United States applauded “the statesmanlike act by President Zardari and hoped that it would help defuse a dangerous confrontation so that Pakistan, with the help of its many friends, can address the nation’s pressing and urgent needs.” (ANI)

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Pakistanis celebrate reinstatement of deposed Chief Justice Chaudhry, other judges

March 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Mar.16 (ANI): Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s announcement to restore the judges who were sacked by President Musharraf in 2007 to their respective positions, was greeted with both joy and celebration on Sunday night and Monday morning.

In an address to the nation, Gilani said that sacked Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and other judges who had been sacked two years ago would assume charge of their respective offices from March 21 after the retirement of present incumbent Chief Justice Hamid Dogar.

Hundreds gathered outside Chaudhry’s Islamabad residence on Monday after the government agreed to reinstate him. Officials said the move was to defuse a political crisis and end a street agitation that was threatening to turn into violent confrontation.

Chaudhry became a cause celebre after being dismissed in late 2007 by then-president and army chief General Pervez Musharraf.

A government official was quoted by a foreign agency as saying that Chaudhry would be restored and that there would also be a constitutional package.

President Asif Ali Zardari, who was elected by parliament six months ago, had feared the judge could wage a vendetta against Musharraf that could also threaten his own position.

His retreat on the issue would raise inevitable question marks over his future, while it will enhance the reputation of his chief rival, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Several hundred jubilant lawyers and activists at Chaudhry’s residence danced and chanted “Long live the chief justice”.

Chaudhry refused to vacate his residence after his dismissal when Musharraf declared emergency rule in a desperate move to extend his presidency for another term.

The political crisis gripping Pakistan has alarmed the United States and Britain, which fear any slide into chaos would help the Taliban and al Qaeda become stronger in Pakistan. (ANI with inputs)

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Pak Government continues with security crackdown as ‘Long March’ gets underway

March 12, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Lahore/Karachi/Quetta, Mar.12 (ANI): The Pakistan Government continued with its security crackdown on opposition leaders and activists for the second consecutive day Thursday, even as the proposed “Long March” got underway in various provincial capitals.

Police said that close 100 more leaders and activists had been taken into custody on charges of disturbing the peace and compromising law and order.

In Baloch capital Quetta, political workers and lawyers gathered defiantly for the proposed “Long March”. Shouting slogans and waving party flags, they boarded cars or organised sit-down protests. Pictures of sacked Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and leaders of various legal organisations dotted the skyline and accompanying vehicles.

Agencies quoted Ali Ahmed Kurd, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, as saying: “I want to make it clear that we have been peaceful for the last two years and we are peaceful at the moment but our way should not be blocked.”

The so-called “Long March” to press for an independent judiciary could destabilise the year-old government of President Asif Ali Zardari at a time when key US ally Pakistan faces severe problems from Islamist militants and a sinking economy.

In Karachi, Pakistani lawyers and opposition parties were heading for a showdown with the government which has banned rallies and detained hundreds of activists.

Paramilitary soldiers and police surrounded the High Court where lawyers were assembling, witnesses said.

‘Our buses are not being allowed in so we intend to walk,’ Munir A. Malik, a former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association and a protest organiser.

The protesters are expected to converge on Islamabad on Monday to demand the reinstatement of Chaudhry, who was dismissed by former president and army chief Pervez Musharraf in 2007.

The protest organisers plan a sit-in outside parliament, although the government has said the rally will not be allowed in the city centre.

Zardari has refused to reinstate the judge. Analysts say he fears Chaudhry could nullify an amnesty Musharraf granted Zardari and his late wife Benazir Bhutto.

His main rival, opposition leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has thrown his weight behind the lawyers, putting him into open confrontation with Zardari.

Sharif, who is also infuriated by a Supreme Court ruling which barred him and his brother from office, and which he blamed on Zardari, called the protest a defining moment for Pakistan.

The government has threatened to prosecute Sharif for sedition if violence erupts during the “Long March”.

If the crisis becomes acute, the military, which has ruled for more than half the country’s 61 years of history, may have no choice but to step in.

Top US and British diplomats have been meeting all sides in recent days in an effort to work out a compromise.

The United States called for restraint and urged all sides to avoid violence and respect the rule of law, a US embassy spokesman said.

Worry about political turmoil has weighed on financial markets in recent days but the the main stock index opened higher and the rupee was flat.(ANI)

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