October 18, 2003	Saturday	Sha'aban 21, 1424

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LAHORE, Oct 17: PPP Federal Council secretary-general Khalid Kharal has alleged that the government has failed to give the country the good governance it had promised, and the “punishment” awarded to four police officials for performing their duties had pulverized all claims about the rule of law in the capital of the country’s biggest province.

Talking to reporters at his office on Friday, he said such an action would demoralize the law enforcers and discourage them from taking any action against influential people, no matter how grave the situation.

The government has asked the Model Town division SP and ASP to report to the CPO and suspended the SHO of Ghalib Market police station from service for stopping the car of a major general’s family using tinted glass, banned in the province. A constable has been booked.

Mr Kharal said everybody was equal before the law and the police officials would have failed in their duty if they had not stopped the car with tinted glass. He said nobody had the licence to flout the law, no matter he was a civilian or a military officer or how high raking.

The PPP leader said the action taken in this case could be conceivable in conquered countries where occupying power had greater rights than the subjugated people. But this was simply not tolerable in a country like Pakistan, where the rulers were crying hoarse day in and day out that democracy had been restored and people were enjoying all their rights.

Mr Kharal said the military oligarchy should not take undue advantage of the situation nor treat a set of people differently from the others.

He said the judicial system was also not working properly because of which aggrieved people did not know how to get justice.

He cited some examples where judges had refused to continue the hearing of some cases after they had recorded evidence of both sides.

He was of the view that if steps were not taken to set the things right, a revolution was bound to take place in the country.

He recalled that similar situations had led to revolutions in other countries and Pakistan was no exception.

S. M. ZAFAR: Human Rights Society of Pakistan chairman S. M. Zafar has viewed with great concern the action against the police constable who he said should have been rewarded for upholding the supremacy of law.

In a press statement here on Friday, he said: “Such an action mitigates against the rule of law and the HRSP considers it a gross violation of the fundamental principle of the supremacy of law.”

Mr Zafar, who is also a PML-Q Senator, said: “The executive order by which exemption has been allowed to two categories of citizens who may keep the windows of their cars blackened is discriminatory and there seems to be no objective criteria to keep the officers of the armed forces and the members of judiciary exempt from the operation of general law.”

The HRSP chief hoped that the relevant government authorities and parliamentarians would rectify the violation.