KARACHI: Struggle for restoration of constitution stressed
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, March 21: Speakers at a function here on Friday stressed that civil society organizations, professional bodies and conscientious citizens would have to join hands and launch a long struggle for restoration of the constitution and the rule of law in the country.
They were speaking at the function organized by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan to present the HRCP Dorab Patel Award for Rule of Law to Hamid Khan, the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association. The award has been instituted to mark the long struggle of the late Justice Dorab Patel for the restoration of the rule of law and supremacy of constitution in the country.
Former chief justice of Pakistan Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui said rulers in the country, including those in uniform, never cherished a strong and independent judiciary and, time and again, steps were taken that weakened this prime institution.
He said the role of the superior judiciary had also not been very healthy as they had given controversial decisions which legitimized the executive actions that were even against the constitution.
He said in addition to having people of high integrity in the judiciary, support form the lawyers community and the public in general was also necessary to strengthen the institution of judiciary so that it could become independent.
Recipient of the award, Hamid Khan, said the role of the judiciary had become controversial and its credibility had been on the decline over the past 25 years.
He said powers of the chief justices to form benches to hear cases should be reviewed as these powers had been misused to ensure favourable judgments.
He said the military alone could not do much harm as whenever it seized power, it always found people in the judiciary who legitimized their extra- constitutional act, due to which the country had to experience military rule so many times.
He said the lawyers community has taken a united stand and has decided to find answer to the issue as to what to do when the military takes over power and the judiciary gives legitimacy to its actions.
Mr Khan said lawyers alone could not bring about this change, but all conscientious people and civil society organizations and professional bodies would have to join hands and launch a joint struggle for the rule of law.
HRCP chief Afrasiab Khattak said the lawyers’ struggle had proved that the country was a not a graveyard of constitutions and that the rulers in uniform should go back to the barracks where they belonged rather than meddle with political affairs.
HRCP member Asma Jehangir said though the military had been accusing politicians of corruption, the Hamood-ur-Rehman Report had exposed the integrity of certain individuals. She said even the worst of civilian governments were better than the best of military dictatorships.
Former Sindh governor and former Supreme Court judge Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim said when someone asked the Father of the Nation what kind of constitution he would give to Pakistan, the Quaid-i-Azam said making a constitution was not an individual’s job, but it was the responsibility of the constituent assembly and the house would formulate a constitution.
He said when Gen Pervez Musharraf took over power, the attorney-general responding to a court query, in a case challenging his takeover, had submitted that the Election Commission needed two years to update the electoral rolls so that elections could be organized. The court on its own gave three years to Gen Musharraf and even gave power to the chief executive to amend the constitution.
The president of the Sindh High Court Bar Association, Munir Malik, HRCP secretary-general Hina Jillani, I. A. Rehman and others also spoke. Later, Asma Jehangir gave away the award — comprising a trophy and Rs100,000 — to Hamid Khan.
