This is a guest column by Mr. Danyal Aziz [danyal_aziz47@yahoo.com]. Needless to say, it is a brillient piece.
If former President Pervez Musharraf is charged with treason, he will not be alone. So should be the politicians who supported him and the Supreme Court judges who endorsed his coup in the year 2000. Almost all of the top judges in Pakistan today fall into this category. This is why the Supreme Court did not even mention the 1999 coup and restricted itself to condemning Musharraf for his 2007 emergency rule. The incumbent Chief Justice of Pakistan was among the judges who endorsed Mr. Musharraf's coup. The Article 6 of the Constitution charges with treason not only violators like Musharraf but also the 'abettors' like the honorable judges who endorsed the violator. What a predicament.
By Danyal Aziz
Tuesday, 11 August 2009.
http://www.ahmedquraishi.com/
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan—Is Mr. Ansar Abbasi right about invoking Article 6 of the Constitution against former President Pervez Musharraf?
A dispassionate analysis of the said article of the Constitution proves that he is not right.
Article 6 states in clause 2 that "any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause 1 shall likewise be guilty of high treason".
Article 6 cannot be applied selectively on President Musharraf alone but will have to be applied equally on all those who 'abetted' him.
Musharraf abrogated the Constitution twice. First in October 1999. It was a coup against an elected prime minister. Very few judges objected to the takeover and a majority of the judges took oath under the PCO, Parliament was dissolved and remained suspended for more than three years (endorsed by the Supreme Court) until it was reinstated in November 2002. The second was in November 2007 when the so called emergency rule was imposed. Interestingly, this was not a coup. The move targeted the judiciary. The government and the Parliament remained intact and the emergency lasted for six weeks.
Once Mr. Musharraf is charged for treason, justice cannot be selectively applied only on the action of 3 November 2007 while ignoring the more serious action of October 1999. It will therefore be imperative to try Musharraf and his abettors both for October 1999 and November 2007.
Now comes the one million dollar question: Will Article 6 be applied on the abettors of the two arrogations?
The 'abettors' in the Article 6 include senior members of the present Supreme Court who abetted the coup in 1999. All members of the present Supreme Court of Pakistan had pledged their allegiance to Musharraf by taking the PCO oath in 2000.
The abettors of the coups led by generals Ayub, Yahya, and Zia ul Haq can be set aside because they and most of their abettors are no longer alive. But the 'abettors' of General Musharraf's coup are around. All of them will have to be charged for treason along with Gen. Musharraf. That is the only that across-the-board justice will be done.
Do Ansar Abbasi and Hamid Mir want to proceed with this mass trial?
My advice is this: Let's get out of the Musharraf-phobia and move on with life and the more important issues that the Nation is facing.
The writer is a Pakistani commentator who lives in Rawalpindi. He can be reached at danyal_aziz47@yahoo.com
ON PAKISTANI DEMOCRACY
Pakistan Needs Statesmen, Not Recycled Politicians
To Pakistan’s Prime Minister From An American: Step Up or Step Down
To Military: Empower The Middle Class To Save Pakistan
Pakistan’s Taxing Democracy
Time For A Pakistani Putin
Lawyers’ Iftikhar: A Messiah Or A Pawn?
Who’s Country Is It Anyway, Ours Or U.S. Think Tanks’?
A Military-Civil Intervention To Save Pakistan
Is Pakistan Doomed?
Triumph Of A Failed System, Can Kayani Do It?
Pakistan: Back To Square One, Again
A dispassionate analysis of the said article of the Constitution proves that he is not right.
Article 6 states in clause 2 that "any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause 1 shall likewise be guilty of high treason".
Article 6 cannot be applied selectively on President Musharraf alone but will have to be applied equally on all those who 'abetted' him.
Musharraf abrogated the Constitution twice. First in October 1999. It was a coup against an elected prime minister. Very few judges objected to the takeover and a majority of the judges took oath under the PCO, Parliament was dissolved and remained suspended for more than three years (endorsed by the Supreme Court) until it was reinstated in November 2002. The second was in November 2007 when the so called emergency rule was imposed. Interestingly, this was not a coup. The move targeted the judiciary. The government and the Parliament remained intact and the emergency lasted for six weeks.
Once Mr. Musharraf is charged for treason, justice cannot be selectively applied only on the action of 3 November 2007 while ignoring the more serious action of October 1999. It will therefore be imperative to try Musharraf and his abettors both for October 1999 and November 2007.
Now comes the one million dollar question: Will Article 6 be applied on the abettors of the two arrogations?
The 'abettors' in the Article 6 include senior members of the present Supreme Court who abetted the coup in 1999. All members of the present Supreme Court of Pakistan had pledged their allegiance to Musharraf by taking the PCO oath in 2000.
The abettors of the coups led by generals Ayub, Yahya, and Zia ul Haq can be set aside because they and most of their abettors are no longer alive. But the 'abettors' of General Musharraf's coup are around. All of them will have to be charged for treason along with Gen. Musharraf. That is the only that across-the-board justice will be done.
Do Ansar Abbasi and Hamid Mir want to proceed with this mass trial?
My advice is this: Let's get out of the Musharraf-phobia and move on with life and the more important issues that the Nation is facing.
The writer is a Pakistani commentator who lives in Rawalpindi. He can be reached at danyal_aziz47@yahoo.com
ON PAKISTANI DEMOCRACY
Pakistan Needs Statesmen, Not Recycled Politicians
To Pakistan’s Prime Minister From An American: Step Up or Step Down
To Military: Empower The Middle Class To Save Pakistan
Pakistan’s Taxing Democracy
Time For A Pakistani Putin
Lawyers’ Iftikhar: A Messiah Or A Pawn?
Who’s Country Is It Anyway, Ours Or U.S. Think Tanks’?
A Military-Civil Intervention To Save Pakistan
Is Pakistan Doomed?
Triumph Of A Failed System, Can Kayani Do It?
Pakistan: Back To Square One, Again
Now a days Mr Nawaz Sharif and his party is quite vocal against Ex President of Pakistan for doing UNCONSTITUTIONAL acts and demanding a trial under article 6 for Ex President Musharraf for violating the constitution of Pakistan
ReplyDeleteNawaz Sharif and his party is now holding the torch of Free Judiciary even though Nawaz and his party attacked the Supreme court of Pakistan.
I really feel pitty for Nawaz and his party as they are the one who should be hanged for taking UNCONSTITUTIONAL decisions.
In 1998 Nawaz Sharif then Prime Minister of Pakistan made Military Courts in Sindh Province in the name of controlling Law and Order situation but the real motives were to crush MQM the Second Largest Political Party of Sindh and Third Largest of Pakistan for not supporting the 15th Amendment that makes Mr Nawaz Sharif Ameer ul Momineen.
On 17th of Feburary 1999 a Bench of NON PCO JUDGES comprises of
Chief Justice Ajmal Mian,
Justice Saiduzzaman Siddiqui,
Justice Irshad Hasan Khan,
Justice Raja Afrasiab Khan,
Justice Mohammad Bashir Jehangiri,
Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid,
Justice Munawar Ahmed Mirza,
Justice Mamoon Kazi and
Justice Abdur Rehman Khan.
Unanimously declared the setting up of military courts
for the trial of civilians as unconstitutional and without lawful
authority.
The Honorable Bench give the following Decision.
“We are of the view that Ordinance No XII of 1998 as amended up-to-
date in so far as it allows the establishment of military courts
for trial of civilian charged with the offences mentioned in
Section 6 and the schedule to the above ordinance are declared
Unconstitutional, without lawful authority and of no legal effect,”
According to this judgment by the 9 member NON PCO Bench, it is crystal clear that the then Prime Minister (Nawaz Sharif) and President Rafiq Tarar did conduct an Unconstitutional Act, which is declared by the Supreme Court of Pakistan as Unconstitutional and Un Lawful.( It is worth noting that Nawaz Sharif is asking for Musharraf Trial as Supreme Court of Pakistan termed 3 Nov 2007 Actions Un Constitutional and Illegal, the same Supreme Court cited on 17 Feb 1999).
So if Mr Nawaz Sharif asked the Government to try Musharraf under article 6 for doing Unconstitutional and Un Lawful Act then Mr Nawaz Sharif Did the same in 1998 and the Supreme Court comprises of NON PCO Judges gave the same Verdict against Him as well, then He Should be Try under article 6 and should be hang for doing un constitutional Act as well.
Now it is the duty of Civil Society and Lawyers Community and People of Pakistan to ask for the trial of Mr Nawaz Sharif, then Prime Minister who advised the then President Rafiq Tarar to issue an ordinance for setting up Military Courts, which was termed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan as Un Constitutional and Unlawful, Under article 6 for doing an UNCONSTITUTIONAL ACT.
Lets see the so called Civil Society and Lawyers would comes out and ask for Mr Nawaz trial under Article 6 or not.
This post is a big Question Mark on the people who wants trial of Musharraf under Article 6 for doing Unconstitutional Act but not asking trial of Mr Nawaz Sharif for the same.
by Mr. Khalid Farooqi
his blog is
http://khaledfaroqi.wordpress.com/2009/08/15/nawaz-sharif-trial-article-6/