September 15, 2003	Monday	Rajab 17, 1424

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RIYADH, Sept 14: Pakistan Bar Council President Hamid Khan has claimed that after the promulgation of the Provisional Constitutional Order, the then Chief Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqi was kept under house arrest until justice Irshad Hassan Khan took the oath as the new chief justice of Pakistan.

He was speaking at a seminar organized by the Pakistan Cultural Group here on Saturday.

Hamid Khan, along with National Accountability Bureau Chairman Munir Hafeez and columnist Irfanullah Siddiqi, was invited by the group to present papers on the issue of governance in the backdrop of three-year army rule. Pakistan ambassador admiral Abdul Aziz Mirza also attended the seminar.

During the seminar, which generated lively debate on the issue, the speakers presented two different versions. NAB chief Munir Hafiz presented a rosy picture of Pakistan, saying the country had come out of the gloom it was faced with when the military assumed power on Oct 12, 1999.

Quoting figures, he said stability at the macroeconomic level had been a great achievement of the Musharraf government. He stated that efforts were now being made to ensure that the impact of the stability also reached the common man.

Speaking about the NAB performance, he said the bureau had so far recovered Rs170 billion from the plunderers and looters of national exchequer. The amount also included the money obtained through plea-bargains.

He said Rs4.5 billion would be distributed among the victims of the cooperative scam. Similarly, he announced that those affected by the Alliance Motors and the EOBI money scams would start getting their money back.

Pakistan Bar Council President Hamid Khan explained the reasons for the lawyers’ opposition to the Legal Framework Order. He charged that when hearing in the case against Gen Musharraf’s takeover was about to begin major changes were made in the judiciary so as to make it “pliable”.

The case was thus allowed to be heard only when the required make-up of the bench was achieved, he alleged. The bench then went out of its way to give a three-year timeframe to the military government and even the authority to amend the Constitution.

He said how could the court allow someone to amend the Constitution when it itself had no authority to do the same. He said at the time of last general elections, the LFO was not even a part of the Constitution. Sections of the LFO came into force on Nov 15. Hence, it was wrong to say that the election were held under the LFO, he added.

Hamid Khan also alleged that pre-poll rigging was done in the October elections. The district and sessions judges who were sidelined by the then Lahore High Court Chief Justice Falak Sher on account of their involvement in financial irregularities, were posted at the main districts of Punjab where they were to act as the district returning officers. Because of their precarious situation these judges were in no position to refuse the administration’s demands.

“They proved their worth during the elections and results in some of the politically sensitive constituencies were altered with their help, as was desired by the people at the helm,” he claimed.

He was of the view that the institutions of NAB and ISI were used to form the “King’s party”. Decision to award election tickets of the PML-Q was made at the Governor’s House and not at the PML-Q offices, he claimed.

Hamid Khan also cited several reasons for the opposition of the bar to the LFO. He said no government employee could contest elections for any public office before two years after retirement.

Secondly, there was no provision for the election of the president through referendum under the Constitution, he added.

He also claimed that Article 58-2(B) had destabilized the political system. He said the judiciary could not be made subservient to the whims of the rulers.

He concluded by saying that the military rule had always proved disastrous for the country and there was an immediate need to establish civilian rule.

Columnist Irfanullah Siddiqi discussed the achievements and the failures of the military government in the light of the seven points Gen Musharraf had stated as his objectives during his Oct 12, 1999 speech.

Referring to a UNDP report, he said over the last four years, Pakistan’s ranking in the human development index had come down to 144 from 139 in 1999. The per capita income in 1999 was $520 per annum, which in October 2002 was $422. He said the per capita income had gone up again but was still below the $500 mark.

Quoting figures, he said the actual expense on education in 1999 was 2.4 per cent of the GDP, which had gone down to 1.7 per cent by October 2002. Fifty per cent less enrolments were made at the end of the army rule as compared to what it was in October 1999.

Domestic debt has risen to Rs1,850 billion as compared to Rs1,453 billion in 1999. He said over Rs21 billion were written off during the three-year army rule as compared to Rs9.7 billion during the 1986-96 decade.

Summing up his speech, he said one could not term the above picture rosy.

Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan envoy Admiral Abdul Aziz Mirza said that in a seminar like this speakers should point out both the positive and the negative aspects of the government.