| December 7, 2001 | Friday | Ramazan 21, 1422 |
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Tackling judicial misconduct
THE world in general and Afghanistan’s neighbours in particular must heave a sigh of relief over the agreement signed in Bonn on Wednesday. That all the four delegations managed to sink historic rivalries and petty quibbles in the larger national interest is a tribute to the delegates’ wisdom and realism. Foreign pressure and the prospects of a $10bn reconstruction programme, no doubt, must have played a part in inducing the delegates to clinch a deal, but a greater motivating factor must have been a stark awareness of what a failure of the talks would mean to Afghanistan and its people. Representing the country’s ethnic and cultural diversity, the delegates initialled an agreement that, if implemented faithfully, should lay the foundations of a new Afghanistan that will be at peace with itself and with its neighbours. More important, the accord gives an opportunity to the Afghan leaders to pull their country out of its primitive tribal mould and pave the way for the emergence of a democratic and egalitarian society.
For Pakistan, it is a matter of immense satisfaction that its western neighbour should have opted for peace, stability and progress after more than two decades of trauma and anarchy. No country was more seriously affected by the events in Afghanistan than Pakistan; conversely, no country stands to gain more from what one hopes will be a period of lasting peace and an enduring era of national reconciliation and reconstruction in Afghanistan. As President Pervez Musharraf told the federal cabinet, Pakistan welcomed any agreement that enjoyed the support of all Afghan groups and would provide all possible assistance and cooperation to the interim set-up in the task of national reconstruction.
The choice of Hamid Karzai as head of the 30-member interim cabinet is apt. Fluent in Urdu and English, Karzai should be able to communicate with Afghanistan’s friends and donors with greater felicity than many of his peers. Once an aide to King Zahir Shah and also one-time deputy foreign minister, this Durrani Pakhtoon has friends and property in Pakistan. In fact, he has spent more time in Quetta than in his native Kandahar. His American connections should also serve as an asset for an interim administration that would need plentiful doses of western and Japanese aid to launch the gigantic task of economic reconstruction and the rehabilitation of millions of refugees now languishing in Pakistan and other countries.
The distribution of cabinet posts may seem heavily tilted in favour of the Northern Alliance, which got the prize portfolios of foreign, defence and interior affairs. All three holders — Abdullah Abdullah, Mohammad Fahim and Younis Qanooni — are Tajik. That the other delegates have agreed to this arrangement speaks volumes for the spirit of goodwill and mutual accommodation that seems to have guided the 22 delegates in arriving at a consensus. Ethnicity-wise, however, the Pakhtoons have a plurality with 11 members, followed by eight Tajiks, five Hazaras and three Uzbeks. The other three come from smaller ethnic groups.
One hopes that the interim cabinet will succeed in its job and that all stages leading to the induction of an elected government will be crossed without any insurmountable problems. Zahir Shah, too, has been given a role in the sense that the former monarch has been authorized to call the Loya Jirga to appoint a transitional government for 18 months before a constitution is framed and elections are held. The agreement does not stipulate a date for election, but expects the election to be held no later than two years from the date on which the Jirga meets. Given the destruction wrought by over two decades of war, civil war and turbulence, holding an election is no easy task. Clearly, the country will need a semblance of governance, peace and normality before an election machinery starts working towards that end. The appointment of a woman as Karzai’s deputy should be widely welcomed, since the women are keen to play a more active role in Afghan society and in the country’s public life which the Taliban had totally denied them under their obscurantist dispensation. The whole world, specially Afghanistan’s neighbours, have welcomed the accord reached at Bonn and hopes nothing would be allowed to derail the country’s gradual advance towards the creation of a civil society wedded to democracy.
One hopes the interim government, led by Hamid Karzai, will be guided by the same spirit of compromise and reconciliation that provided the impulsion for the delegates at Bonn to sign the historic accord. An indication of Karzai’s conciliatory approach is his decision to declare a general amnesty. “Let there be no revenge and no vendetta,” he told Dawn in an interview. If all members of his interim cabinet are imbued with this spirit, there is no doubt Afghanistan should be able to move towards a better future. The Afghans should know that the whole world is watching them, and that, unlike the last time, they will not be abandoned once the fight against terrorism and its promoters and practitioners is over.
THE Lahore High Court administrative committee has taken disciplinary action against some members of the lower judiciary. One judicial officer has been compulsorily retired and final show cause notices of dismissal from service have been issued to 13 others, including ADSJs and civil judges. The committee, which has also approved some names for promotion, has relied upon adverse entries in their annual confidential reports in ordering disciplinary action. While precise charges against them have not been made, there must be substantial grounds to warrant the action taken. However, corruption, misconduct and inefficiency have been cited as causes in some cases. This has been the basis of similar action against many members of the lower judiciary in the past. The current move carries the process forward and reaffirms the LHC’s determination to cleanse the subordinate judiciary of elements who resort to corrupt practices and unprofessional conduct in the discharge of duties.
Lack of accountability has been the major cause of graft and other aberrant conduct among the lower judiciary. Acts of omission and commission on the part of the latter entail much hardship and suffering for the ordinary people who approach it for relief and redress of their grievances. Failure in providing justice to the people can cause a great deal of frustration and thus bring a bad name to the judiciary and lower its prestige. Moreover, the bulk of litigation takes place at the lower level and if on account of inefficiency and unprofessional conduct cases keep piling up, it would lead to a considerable backlog resulting in delays and defeating the goal of expeditious disposal of cases. In this context, weeding out undesirable elements from the lower judiciary is an important task.
An honest and upright judiciary committed to administering the law impartially and providing speedy justice to the aggrieved people can greatly enhance public confidence in this vital institution, besides serving as a check on errant public officials and as a vital safeguard for the people’s rights and interests. The disciplinary action taken by the Lahore High Court should serve as a warning to other members of the lower judiciary prone to dishonest practices and misuse of their authority. However, not only is it necessary to improve monitoring procedures, evaluate performance and punish wrongdoing, it is also important to improve working conditions as well as pay and other facilities for the lower judiciary so as to help eliminate deprivations and denials that often provide the grounds for lapses and improper conduct.