Buoyed by unprecedented success against the top members of the executive branch, the men in robes are now boldly taking on Pakistani military's top brass--both past and present.
Earlier this year, Pakistan Supreme Court removed a democratically elected prime minister who had the support of two-thirds majority in Pakistan's parliament. The top judges then forced the current prime minister to write a letter to Swiss authorities to re-open corruption cases against several members of the ruling party as well as the head of state President sif Ali Zardari himself.
More recently, the Islamabad High Court judges have accepted a petition from a member of the Rawalpindi Bar Association challenging the three year extension granted in 2010 to Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaque Parvez Kayani by former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. In addition, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has ordered the government to act against a former Chief of Army staff (COAS) General Aslam Baig and a former Director of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt. General Asad Durrani in what is now known as the Asghar Khan case.
All of these events appear to be part of a huge power play by the top judges to assert themselves in competition with other institutions of government. In fact, Justice Chaudhry has stated a very ambitious agenda when he said that he sees his court as the “final arbiter and protector of Constitution”, and he seems to be in a hurry to get there. This statement by the Chief Justice was a pointed rejection of General Kayani's earlier statement that said: “No individual or institution has the monopoly to decide what is right or wrong in defining the ultimate national interest.”
Rawalpindi Bar Association has jumped in the middle of this power struggle with a strong resolution attacking General Kayani personally by raising questions about his brother's work as a military contractor. While smaller than Karachi and Lahore Bars, the Rawalpindi Bar is believed to be close to senior judges. It is suspected to have far right connections with radical organizations like Hizb-ut-Tahrir which has been actively seeking to recruit sympathizers and supporters in Pakistani military.
It's not uncommon for various institutions to seek greater power in a transition period before a healthy and workable balance is achieved. Almost every democracy has seen such an evolution.
The great danger here is that, if any one institution overplays its hand, there could be uncontrolled chaos and a power vacuum. Such power vacuum could then be exploited by militant groups which would not hesitate to seize power and put an abrupt end to the whole democratic experiment in Pakistan. Such a development will elicit a strong response from the international community including the US and China. And it will almost certainly scuttle any hope of democracy in Pakistan for a very long time.
Let's hope good sense prevails to help maintain gradual but sustainable progress toward a democratic order in which all institutions can learn to co-exist and serve the best interest of the people of Pakistan.
Haq's Musings: Confident Pak Judiciary Challenges Military's Top Brass
Here's a video clip of a discussion I recently joined on this subject:
Earlier this year, Pakistan Supreme Court removed a democratically elected prime minister who had the support of two-thirds majority in Pakistan's parliament. The top judges then forced the current prime minister to write a letter to Swiss authorities to re-open corruption cases against several members of the ruling party as well as the head of state President sif Ali Zardari himself.
More recently, the Islamabad High Court judges have accepted a petition from a member of the Rawalpindi Bar Association challenging the three year extension granted in 2010 to Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaque Parvez Kayani by former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. In addition, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has ordered the government to act against a former Chief of Army staff (COAS) General Aslam Baig and a former Director of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt. General Asad Durrani in what is now known as the Asghar Khan case.
All of these events appear to be part of a huge power play by the top judges to assert themselves in competition with other institutions of government. In fact, Justice Chaudhry has stated a very ambitious agenda when he said that he sees his court as the “final arbiter and protector of Constitution”, and he seems to be in a hurry to get there. This statement by the Chief Justice was a pointed rejection of General Kayani's earlier statement that said: “No individual or institution has the monopoly to decide what is right or wrong in defining the ultimate national interest.”
Rawalpindi Bar Association has jumped in the middle of this power struggle with a strong resolution attacking General Kayani personally by raising questions about his brother's work as a military contractor. While smaller than Karachi and Lahore Bars, the Rawalpindi Bar is believed to be close to senior judges. It is suspected to have far right connections with radical organizations like Hizb-ut-Tahrir which has been actively seeking to recruit sympathizers and supporters in Pakistani military.
It's not uncommon for various institutions to seek greater power in a transition period before a healthy and workable balance is achieved. Almost every democracy has seen such an evolution.
The great danger here is that, if any one institution overplays its hand, there could be uncontrolled chaos and a power vacuum. Such power vacuum could then be exploited by militant groups which would not hesitate to seize power and put an abrupt end to the whole democratic experiment in Pakistan. Such a development will elicit a strong response from the international community including the US and China. And it will almost certainly scuttle any hope of democracy in Pakistan for a very long time.
Let's hope good sense prevails to help maintain gradual but sustainable progress toward a democratic order in which all institutions can learn to co-exist and serve the best interest of the people of Pakistan.
Haq's Musings: Confident Pak Judiciary Challenges Military's Top Brass
Here's a video clip of a discussion I recently joined on this subject:
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