August 09, 2007	Thursday	Rajab 24, 1428

LAHORE, Aug 8: Three former law ministers and a former Supreme Court Bar president say there is no justification for the declaration of a state of emergency in the country under the prevailing circumstances, some of them apprehending that the step will trigger a new crisis.

Those who opposed such a move included Abid Hassan Minto, Aitaza Ahsan, S M Zafar and Dr Khalid Ranjha.

Former Supreme Court Bar president Abid Hasan Minto said there was no justification for the imposition of emergency rule in the country in the prevailing situation and if the powers that be decided to go for it, the step would prove counter-productive.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, a former law and interior minister, who also defended Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry in presidential reference against him, said the situation did not warrant the imposition of emergency.

Ruling PML Senator S M Zafar also saw no justification for such a step.

Another PML Senator Dr Khalid Ranjha, who is also a former law minister, said the government would make no political gains by declaring a state of emergency.

Minto said while talking to this correspondent that under the Constitution, a state of emergency could be declared only if there was a constitutional crisis, a state of civil disturbances, an imminent threat of foreign aggression or a financial crisis facing the country.

He said as none of these conditions existed, there would be no justification for the move.

Minto was of the view that President Perevez Musharraf wanted to seek re-election from the present assemblies without drawing any negative reaction from the superior judiciary. He said a state of emergency could not be declared for such personal political motive.

He warned that the general would be pushing the country into a new crisis by going for such a step as the judiciary, the lawyers and civil society would strongly react against it.

Dr Khalid Rajnha said there was no situation in the country that could justify such a drastic step. “And the government cannot make any political gains by going for such a step”.

After such an initiative, he said, the only thing the government was expected to do was to extend the term of the present assemblies.

About the implications of the step, he said: “If you suspend fundamental rights, then Article 184 (3) would become inoperative, as a result of which the Supreme Court would not be able to take suo motu notices of various issues.

“I think that this step cannot be taken if the courts are not taken on board”, concluded the former law minister.

Senator S M Zafar said various events relating to suicide bombings and the situation in Wana and Wazirstan were being handled by the government agencies. The judicial crisis was also over as were the peaceful processions of lawyers.

“I don’t see any special circumstance or change in situation which can warrant the imposition of emergency”.

He said it was the `election of elections’ and there was no need for an emergency.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan said the government might be thinking of the emergency rule because of the petition filed by former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif, due to be taken up by the Supreme Court on Thursday (today).

He said preventing one person from returning to the country would be no justification for suspending the rights of the entire nation.

Khakwani: Ishaq Khakwani, Minister of State for IT and Telecom, has termed the next few weeks crucial for the political future of the country as during the period the superior judiciary will decide petitions about the eligibility of Gen Musharraf to contest the presidential election for another term and the general has to decide whether to accept the verdict or go for some extra-constitutional step.

The president’s camp was worried about the judgments that might come as a result of the various petitions filed or to be filed against the candidature of Gen Musharraf, he said while talking to this correspondent on Wednesday.

All questions regarding the presidential election were supposed to be decided by Sept 15, the minister said, adding that the time was too short and the matter too intricate to be decided in haste.

Enormous responsibility, Khakwani said, lay with the superior judiciary to adjudicate on a matter and on Gen Musharraf, whose future would be decided.

The minister said in case the general’s reaction to any future court decision was within the confines of the law, he would refer the matter to parliament to make law or enact a constitutional amendment to set aside the restriction, if any, imposed on him by the court. To be able to do this, he said, the president would need a helping hand from the opposition, for which he would have to pay a political price.

He said if Gen Musharraf managed to secure the required numbers from within the parliament, which he was in a position to do, the matter could be resolved amicably. “In case Gen Musharraf were to adopt democratic norm and contest a fair election in which the opposition were to take part, irrespective of the result, he would achieve for himself a stature which would make us all proud”.

But if Gen Musharraf did not take the constitutional way and sadly opted for the unconstitutional option ( martial law, dissolution of federal and state assemblies, clamping down on the courts and stopping their interventions in state matters) then the ramifications would be many and mind-boggling.

Explaining the point, the minister said martial law could not be imposed against one’s own government, even if it was dysfunctional.

He said the justification for imposition of martial law had to appeal not only to the people of Pakistan but also to the international community.

“Mere imposition of a bar on an individual by the judiciary is not enough reason to bundle up the whole system. It would lower the moral standing of the president who always stood for the interest of Pakistan first”.

He said no matter what justification was offered, people would term the president’s intentions as misconceived and selfish.

“In these circumstances, the first casualty of the martial law would be Gen Musharraf himself”.

Khakwani hoped that under these circumstances, Gen Musharraf would take the course which was in national interest and let posterity judge him well in comparison to the past rulers of Pakistan.