Long March 11 June | Pakistan JUDGES’ ISSUE

ISLAMABAD: More than 110 MNAs of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) want immediate restoration of the deposed judges and would join the lawyersí long march on June 10, The News has learnt.

“We have been on the roads, with lawyers, media and the civil society since March 09, 2007, seeking the restoration of the deposed judges. More than 80 percent of my colleagues are eager to join the long march if the party leadership does not stop them officially,” said a PPP MNA on condition of anonymity. ìWe feel threatened by the incumbent judiciary and have no faith in them as they have taken oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) introduced by a dictator, who himself has admitted that his steps of November 03, 2007 were unconstitutional.î

He added that those judges who had provided indemnity to the
unconstitutional acts of an autocrat could not provide justice to the people of the country. He said the steps taken on November 03 were not only called unconstitutional by the dictator himself but who had also reversed his decision by lifting the emergency rule a month later. ìHow can one seek justice from those judges who termed such an illegal act as justified?î he argued.

Another PPP MNA told this scribe that the party MNAs were provided copies of the PPP-proposed constitutional package at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday evening only.

“Most of the MNAs felt humiliated as the media had already provided details of the package,î she said. ìEven the leaders of the allied parties of the PPP had got the copies of the package while the elected people of the party were provided the copies a week later.”

She added: ìSome legislators also voiced their reservations on the package, arguing that the package should not be linked with the judges’ restoration.î The MNA said Syed Zafar Ali Shah, an MNA from interior Sindh, even suggested to the prime minister at the meeting held on Thursday night that the judges should be restored forthwith while the package should follow their restoration as both were not inter-linked. ìMost of the MNAs in their speeches later followed the pattern set by the veteran politician, who is known for taking an independent stance in the party circles,” said the MNA.

Some other MNAs also regretted that the PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari or the prime minister had not sought suggestions over the package from the PPP legislators who had been supporting the lawyersí community throughout their struggle since March 9, 2007.

Background interviews with some other PPP MNAs revealed that the party feels trapped due to the challenge posed by the lawyers’ community in the wake of the Long March call on June 10 while some legislators believe that though their party had taken over the affairs of the country yet “democracy has not been restored”.

Some MNAs even think that deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry would not create problems for the PPP Co-chairman. “We don’t feel threatened by the deposed judges but are afraid of the incumbent judges who are still loyal to the PCO under which they took oath. These judges are not loyal to the Constitution but to the autocrat who is still holding the fort as the president of the country,” said another MNA.

When contacted, PPP MNA Syed Zafar Ali Shah confirmed that he had conveyed his reservations to the prime minister over the linking of the constitutional package with the judgesí restoration.

“Yes, I suggested to the prime minister that the package and the restoration should not be linked with each other. Rather, the judges should be restored immediately while the package should follow it,” he added.

When this scribe argued with the MNA that deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and his colleagues had also taken oath under the PCO, the veteran politician replied, “Yes, they had taken oath under the PCO. But you saw that they later fought for the Constitution. And if you hold them responsible for making the mistake, where those leaders would stand who joined the previous dictators but later defied them and became the beacon of light for the democratic process,” he argued without mentioning PPP founding chairman Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who had joined General Ayub but later defied him and became a popular figure.