Human Rights Commission South Asia

HOME     CONTACT US     RESOURCES & LINKS     ABOUT US     CONTRIBUTE

Maltreatment with deposed judges

It is becoming clearer with the passage of time that the sole objective of General Pervez Musharraf’s extra-constitutional act of 3rd November 2007 was to disable Pakistan’s judiciary that was fast becoming independent. Therefore, he removed all strong-headed judges rather unceremoniously to give a message to all institutions and individuals in Pakistan that the real power in the country laid in the hands of the Chief of the Army Staff. It was hoped that after he had been able to stuff the superior courts with his own judges and had also got a favourable verdict not only on the question of his eligibility but also on the legitimacy of his illegitimate action he would let the deposed judges live in peace. However, couple of recent statements of Interior Minister Lieutenant General (retired) Hamid Nawaz make it clear that General Pervez Musharraf’s wrath against the ‘defiant’ judges had not yet cooled down. In his first statement, the Interior Minister denied that the deposed judges were being held under house arrest which was contrary to facts. In his second statement, he reportedly directed the deposed judges to vacate their official residences situated in the Judges Enclave in Islamabad by 30th November 2007. This second statement provoked strong condemnation in the national press. On one hand, Pakistan Bar Council directed the lawyers to surround the Judges Enclave on 30th November so that the judges could not be evicted forcibly. On the other hand, Justice Rana Bhagwandas challenged the minister’s authority to force the eviction. According to him, the Judges Enclave was under the administrative control of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and neither the Interior Ministry nor any other department of the federal government had to do anything with the judges’ residences. If at all these residences were required to be vacated only the chief justice could order their eviction from the present occupiers. The bold statement of Justice Bhagwandas coupled with timely action of the Pakistan Bar Council forced the Interior Minister to change his stance. He was quoted as saying on Tuesday that he said what he said because he did not know that the administrative control of the judges’ residences rested with the chief justice. Besides, he thought that the government servants must vacate official residences within one month of leaving their jobs. Even if the minister’s statement may be treated as a bona-fide mistake the fact is that the matter fell under the jurisdiction of the Housing Ministry and not the Interior Ministry. Furthermore, it is a matter of common knowledge that all outgoing government servants, including judges of the superior courts, can stay in their government accommodations for a period of six months which can be further extended by the competent authority in suitable cases. It was because of this provision that Lieutenant General (retired) Hamid Nawaz himself retained his official residence for more than a year after his retirement. It is clear that whatever the interior minister did was not a bona-fide mistake but it was a part Musharraf regime’s agenda to continue with the harassment of the deposed judges. Although the minister has retracted from his statement, his act certainly aimed at winning favour with the President. By doing so, he not only brought himself under criticism but also maligned the caretaker government of Mian Muhammad Soomro. His statement has raised further doubts in the minds of independent observers that the caretaker government was not entirely neutral in the affairs of the state and it would be foolish to expect fair, free and transparent elections from this setup. Perhaps it would have been more appropriate for the minister to say sorry to the judges in private if he could not tender an apology in public. ‘Sorry’ is a small word but it can conquer enemies if it is said with a pure heart.