Jahangir's World Times First Comprehensive Magazine for students/teachers of competitive exams and general readers as well.
Now that the decision has been announced, the big question that perplexes the minds of most of our countrymen is who is going to give a practical shape to the noble desires and sincere intentions of the Supreme Court? Who will implement the road map given on the 156-page document? At this point, I can recall a play written by Ataul-Haq Qasmi. One of its characters was very fond of repeating a sentence ‘Kis Ko Keh Rahay Ho?’ (Whom are you talking to?) This short sentence has a whole world of meanings in it.
The 156-page decision of the suomoto case regarding the alarming law and order situation in Karachi, contains several points for discussion and contemplation. The most important thing is that those who were previously surrounded by all sorts of fears and apprehensions, have now heaved a sigh of immense relief and the freshness on their faces after hearing the court’s decision is similar to that of a condemned prisoner, whose death sentence is quite unexpectedly pardoned at the very last moment. All of them had entrenched themselves in the fortress of power before the opening of the Supreme Court Gate on Thursday morning, but quite interestingly, when the decision was announced, they were the first to welcome it with open arms and pay rich tributes to it. Apparently, the city of Karachi had become the battleground for three major political parties, each of which was describing itself as innocent and blaming the other for the uncontrollable cycle of violence, which had claimed dozens of lives. Quite interestingly, all the three parties were part of the same government and the same cabinet. Their partnership had been going on for more than three years during which violence and bloodshed in Karachi had continued intermittently. Members of land mafia and drug mafia, target killers, extortionists and terrorists were quite freely carrying out their obnoxious activities, making life intolerable for the common man. Amidst this horrifying blood bath, the three parties were busy in the consolidation of their hold on power.
In the month of August, when more than three hundred people were ruthlessly massacred in Karachi, the honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry took suomoto notice of the situation and set up a five-member bench of the Supreme Court, which started its proceedings in Karachi, in an attempt to know the causes and motives of the on-going violence and bloodshed in the city. The considerable amount of sensitive information provided to the court by the intelligence agencies and other sources, was quite sufficient to form a definite opinion about those who were behind target killing and other evils that had plagued the city. On September 16, upon the completion of the hearing, the court preserved its decision, which has now been announced.
I was one of those Pakistanis who had a strong desire that setting aside political and other considerations, the court should thoroughly analyze factors responsible for the break down of law and order in Karachi and if political parties have become the breeding grounds for criminal activities, the court should give a powerful, clear and categorical judgment for the permanent solution of this problem. The main reason for this desire was that the law-enforcing agencies had become quite ineffective and the administration itself seemed to have become a part of the criminal gangs. For the sad, depressed and sorrow stricken people of Karachi, the suomoto notice of the Chief Justice came as a ray of hope. It was a very heavy burden which the court had voluntarily taken upon itself. We were apprehensive that if instead of categorically pin pointing and punishing the real perpetrators of crimes and their protectors, the court adopted an evasive approach and gave more importance to some other considerations, it would come as a shocking blow for the much disappointed people of Karachi and would be a source of further encouragement for those who are actually responsible for the violence and bloodshed in the city.
If President Zardari has really decided to implement in letter and spirit the Supreme Court’s judgment about the restoration of peace in Karachi, it is indeed a great news for the whole nation, but at this point of our discussion, let us think for a while about the President’s role and powers about the implementation of the Court’s decision. According to our law and constitution, implementation of the Supreme Court’s decisions is the responsibility of the country’s Chief Executive, who is known as Prime Minister and whose name is Sayyed Yusuf Raza Gilani. The 156-page decision of the Court gives this responsibility to the provincial government of Sind and to the federal government. By declaring that the federal as well as provincial government has failed in protecting the life and property of citizens and maintaining law and order in Karachi, the Apex Court has awarded the medal of incompetence to two persons, both of whom belong to the Sayyed family. One of them is the Chief Executive of Sind, while the other is holding the same post in the federal government. Isn’t it a glaring discrepancy of our present democratic set up that Prime Minister Gilani was absent from the meeting which had been apparently called to discuss the implementation of the Supreme Court’s decision? When the country’s highest court has described P.M. Gilani’s government as a failed and incompetent government and when he is not even allowed to attend the meetings about court decisions, should he still continue to wait for any ‘no confidence motion’? MQM chief Altaf Husain has emphatically announced that he would foil all attempts to bring down the Gilani Government by means of no confidence motion. Even if he had not made this announcement, people were expecting the same from him. However, the question is, has any incumbent government ever been awarded a similar certificate by the Supreme Court in our country’s history? Another related question is, does the concept of the honour and respect of the people belonging to Sayyed family really has any relevance now? Is the post of Prime Minister so attractive as to put everything at stake for its sake? Only recently in Japan, a fifth person has been sworn in as Prime Minister in just one electoral term. When one of them was accused of something, instead of seeking constitutional immunity, he chose to go home. In the same way, when a minister in that country was only accused of corruption, he committed suicide. Does Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani never find spare time to go to some secluded corner and think for a while about the situation prevailing in the whole country, and especially in Karachi? He may not be directly involved in the deterioration of the law and order situation in Karachi, but as the country’s Chief Executive, should he not take the moral responsibility for the deaths of so many innocent people in Karachi? From the worldly as well as religious point of view, he is responsible for the situation. The court has condemned his government as a failed and incompetent government. Moreover, if he is not considered worth consulting in the meetings concerning court decisions and the proposed steps for their implementation, is he justified in wearing elegantly designed dresses and ties? In its decision, the Supreme Court has effectively diagnosed all the evils which are crippling the normal life in Karachi and has clearly explained the factors and motives behind the turbulent situation prevailing there. At the same time, it has suggested a practicable remedy for the improvement of the situation. However, the problem is that while thinking about the decision and its implications, our people are constantly haunted by the same question, ‘Whom are you talking to?’ When the Supreme Court itself has categorically stated that the present government is incompetent and unable to protect the life and property of citizens, can the same government be expected to act upon the directions and road map given in the 156-page decision for providing peace, protection and security to the people of Karachi? Does it have the capability to embark upon a sincere and practical plan for this purpose? Setting aside the question of capability, does it have the least touch of sincerity in its apparent willingness to honour the court’s decision?
Commenting on the role of police, the Supreme Court writes in paragraph 31 of its judgment, ‘It seems that the police, on which lies the primary responsibility of maintaining law and order, is in no mood to perform its duties. Most of the police officials are frightened, dishonest or totally incompetent with reference to the nature of their work. Perhaps, the reason is that the police is said to have played a very important role in the 1992 operation against MQm. But after the operation, 92 police officers and officials disappeared mysteriously and their whereabouts are still unknown. Nobody knows on whose behest and with whose backing, they were abducted and killed. The second reason is that the police has become too much politicized and a large number of police officials have been recruited on political basis.’
It is interesting to note that the responsibility of cleansing the police department, purging it of political interference and making it a highly professional, skilled and effective force, has been given by the Supreme Court to the same group whose permanent attitude and favourite slogan is Whom are you talking to? Perhaps, this is the constitutional requirement which the Court has fulfilled, because such heavy responsibilities can only be assigned to that government which enjoys a popular mandate and has full control over the entire administrative machinery. If it so desires, the government can make effective legislation because with the support of its allies, it enjoys a comfortable majority in the Federal and Provincial Assemblies. The court has drawn its attention towards this all-important duty. But the question is, what can be done if those who were supposed to alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of Karachi, are themselves responsible for further aggravating this pain? While life is becoming more and more miserable and intolerable for the citizens of Karachi, the three main partners of the provincial government are luxuriously dancing together in the corridors of power.
As mentioned earlier, according to the law and the constitution, the country’s Chief Executive (Prime Minister) is responsible for dealing with the situation. But on finding no role for himself to play in this whole process, he is only contented with making hollow childish statements. Similarly, the proper implementation of the 156-page decision of the Supreme Court has got no place in the priority list of President Zardari. I do not wish to be pessimistic, nor do I have any ill will or personal grudge against the government, but keeping in view the performance of this government eversince its coming to power more than three and a half years ago, I am sure that the recent meeting held in the President House was also convened to find out ways and means of mutilating the real spirit of the Supreme Court’s decision and making its words ineffective and meaningless. The seriousness of the PPP, MQm, ANP, Sind administration and federal government in this connection will become clear from their steps in the next few days. The Supreme Court has not permanently closed this file and soon, it will have to hear the voice coming from the shores of the Arabian Sea, saying, Whom are you talking to?The honourable Chief Justice must be prepared for it.
