DESPITE the fact that the name of Asif Zardari is being tipped as the next president of the country, according to political quarters it is strongly desired that the next president should be from a smaller province, and the National Assembly should not forestall the wishes of the people.
I feel that a matured politician who has retired from his party and is of high integrity and honesty, commanding respect of the nation, has to be considered for this slot. Balochistan and Frontier provinces have remained neglected and sidetracked for a long time and it`s time now that the two should be taken on board to appease their people. A conspicuous feature of the president is that he represents the entire federation and has to be unbiased.
Alternatively, it is also under consideration that a retired supreme court judge could be installed in the presidency. It is opined that former supreme court judges Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim and Nasir Aslam Zahid are most competent as they are held in high esteem due to their impeccable integrity. They hold an unblemished track record. They are apolitical persons and have no axe to grind.
Nasir Aslam Zahid joined the Sindh High Court in 1982 and remained its chief justice from 1992 to 1994. When he was on the bench, he granted relief to many, many litigants who were prey to servitude and hardship by government agencies.
Law-enforcement agencies were aggrieved by his verdicts which led to his transfer to the Shariat Court for two years. He was not taken back to the Sindh High Court as chief justice but consigned to the Supreme Court. After his retirement he was engrossed in social problems of the people and devoted to judicial education. At present he is working to aid children and women languishing in jails. He feels pain at the people`s afflictions.
Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, a former judge of the Supreme Court, remained on the bench of the Sindh High Court and the Supreme Court for almost 10 years. During his tenure as judge of the Sindh High Court he granted relief to Benazir Bhutto during the rule of Gen Ziaul Haq.
He was not short of granting relief to various persons against law-enforcement agencies. He too was transferred to the Supreme Court and preferred to resign as he would not take the oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) of Ziaul Haq.
He was made governor of Sindh by Benazir Bhutto which he reluctantly accepted as it was a complete deviation from his profession. He was appointed attorney-general of Pakistan. It is said that he had a clash with Sharifuddin Pirzada who had bypassed Mr Ebrahim`s appearance in the Supreme Court.
On matter of principle he resigned. When Farooq Leghari was president, he was made law minister. Elections were on the way but he resigned sensing a foul play being in the offing.
He did not feel complacent in such a situation and preferred to relinquish his post. He argued the case of Nawaz Sharif before the Supreme Court for his return from abroad and was successful.
It is for the politicians to decide the candidate for presidency keeping in view the aspirations of the people.
SAIFUDDIN E. CONTRACTOR
Karachi