APROPOS the editorial ‘CJP Nisar’s legacy (Jan 18). As a member of the three-member committee constituted by the Academic Staff Association of the then University of Islamabad (now Quaid-i-Azam university) to review the University of Islamabad Ordinance, and modify wherever necessary and suggest new Statutes (1972), we had encountered two very interesting questions. One; what is a university and second what is a law for? Of course I am not going to delve upon these two interesting questions but I must say I had learnt a lot while pondering these two questions.

I have come to the conclusion that there have always been two schools of thought about the law, the first one: laws are for the people, the second: people are for laws. I believe CJP Nisar belonged to the first school of thought.

Of course the people, institutions, etc belonging to the second school of thought would like to ruthlessly crush those who belong to the first school of thought.

I, belonging to the first school of thought, admire CJP Nisar’s effort to make people conscious that laws are for people. I am totally against the saying: my law right or wrong, the slogan of second school of thought.

I hope the new CJP will continue with the philosophy of the first school of thought: laws are for people.

Prof Mahboob Mohammad

Karachi

(2)

APROPOS the editorial ‘CJP Nisar’s legacy’ (Jan 18). In my view Justice Nisar went on the populist binge after the Supreme Court gave a weak and unpopular verdict disqualifying Nawaz Sharif.

On the one side Nawaz Sharif had launched a popular tirade against the judgment at political meetings and his party was also following its leader. On the other side Justice Nisar deemed it fit to go on a populist grandstand by overextending Article 184 (3) and transgressing the line between the powers of the executive and the judiciary drawn by the Constitution to restore the public acceptance of the Supreme Court.

Thus his populism should be seen as an unsuccessful strategy and that it was in reaction to the popular movement led by Nawaz Sharif against a controversial judgment given against him.

Babar Ayaz

Karachi

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2019