Tag: Supreme court of Pakistan

Another farce by Justice Dramabaz

A meeting was held between the Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and the Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa in response to the letter of 6 Judges of the Islamabad High Court to the CJP and other senior Judges complaining of interference by the ISI and other intelligence agencies of Pakistan with fthe functioning of the judiciary. Thereafter the Pakistan Law Minister announced setting up of a commission to probe into the matter, headed by a retired Judge, Justice Tassaduq Jillani.
https://t.co/CtFk6rE3pY
https://www.dawn.com/news/1824028
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/27/judges-vs-spies-pakistans-jurists-accuse-intel-agency-isi-of-intimidation
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40295615
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/6-pak-hc-judges-in-letter-to-top-court-council-accuse-isi-of-intimidation/articleshow/108829702.cms
However, Justice Jillani has said he is not willing to head such a probe.
Now Qazi Faez Isa ( whom I call Justice Dramabaz ) has issued a suo motu notice and set up a bench of 7 Judges of the Supreme Court to deal with the matter.
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2461259/sc-takes-suo-motu-notice-on-judges-letter-

forms-larger-bench
In my opinion this is just another farce by Justice Dramabaz. Let me explain.
1. There is no reason to disbelieve what the 6 Judges of IHC said in their letter.
A fascist reign of terror was unleashed in Pakistan by the Pakistan army after the events of 9th May, 2023 ( which many say were stage managed ). About 14,000 people were arrested by the security forces on trumped up charges, their houses broken into, and they were beaten/tortured, and then incarcerated in jail in inhuman conditions, where they are still rotting. The people of Pakistan are living in terror, and the Pakistan media is largely muzzled.
It is in the nature of fascism, whether of the Hitler type in Nazi Germany, the Mussolini type in Italy, or the Pinochet type in Chile ( where tens of thousands of people simply ‘disappeared’ ) that the judiciary is silenced. The judiciary stands as a bulwark against state oppression, and is a protector of the rights of the people, and hence it cannot be left independent under fascist rule. So it has to be silenced, as has lagely been done in Pakistan, and some of the ways that was done were mentioned in para 6 of the letter of the 6 IHC judges.
2. So what can the bench of 7 Judges of the Pakistan Supreme Court constituted by the CJP possibly achieve ? If they find the allegations of the 6 IHC Judges to be correct, which they undoubtedly are, will they send the Director General and other senior officers of the ISI, on whose instructions this outrage was obviously committed, as well as those who carried out the order, to jail for contempt of court ? It is laughable even to think of the idea. It requires people with guts and a spine to do that, and these people do not have that
3. What, then, will this 7 member bench do ?
It will hold that the allegations of these 6 IHC Judges cannot be substantiated
And to ensure that, Justice Dramabaz has deliberately selected 7 Supreme Court judges who are his sidekicks and do his bidding, and are known to be pro-Pakistan establishment, to be on the bench, instead of constituting a Full Bench of all Judges of the Supreme Court, including upright and independent Judges like Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Shahid Waheed.
Justice Dramabaz will himself preside over this bench, and his actions have proved that he has become a servile toady of the Pakistan Establishment e.g. his flawed and dishonest judgmernt depriving Imran Khan’s PTI of its party symbol, and his other acts detailed below
Justice Katju to Justice Isa
https://indicanews.com/justice-markandey-katju-four-glaring-flaws-in-pakistan-supreme-court-judgment/
So this bench of 7 Supreme Court judges constituted by Justice Dramabaz will only be a farce, and its proceedings a melodrama, a burlesque, and an excercise in futility.
4. What then should be done ? I have mentioned the only correct course of action in 2 video interviews ( one very recent ) which I gave to a young Pakistani journalist, Sohrab Barkat, of siasat.pk

That course of action is for the Chief Justice of Pakistan to announce that he will close all courts in Pakistan unless and until the Pakistan Establishment ( meaning the army ) gives an assurance that there will be no interference with the independence of the judiciary, no threats or snooping on the judges, and judicial orders will be obeyed. There is no other way out.
But that is too much to expect from Justice Dramabaz

April 2, 2024
Attempt to Silence the Media in Pakistan
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Unprecedented media suppression in Pakistan as journalist's critical interview is silenced amid a government crackdown. Concerns rise over threats to free speech and expression.
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A disquieting thing happened yesterday.
Three days back a Pakistani journalist Ali Hasnain Shah, who works as researcher/producer with Khabarhar Team of Aftab Iqbal, called me on whatsapp and said he wants to take my interview about the recent judgment of the Pakistan Supreme Court depriving Imran Khan’s PTI party of its symbol.
I immediately agreed, and shortly thereafter my interview of about 10-12 minutes wes recorded in which I criticised the judgment. I had written an article about it earlier too.
After the interview was recorded I asked Ali Hasnain Shah when will he send me a link so that I can post it on my fb page and twitter. He said it will be sent the next day, after it was edited.
I waited the next day, and messaged him a few times. He replied it was still being edited.
Yesterday morning ( i.e. 2 days after the recording ) I received his message that the editing was complete, and the video link will be sent to me between 9 and 10 a.m.
I waited till 10.30 a.m. and when the link did not come I messaged Ali Hasnain asking as to when was he sending it ? He gave no reply. I messaged again several times, but there was no response. I tried to call him on his whatsapp number, but he would not take my call.
In the evening I received a text message on whatsapp from him that in view of a government notification forming a JIT ( Joint Investigation Team ) to investigate ‘malicious criticism’ of Pakistan Supreme Judges and launch criminal prosecutions against the ‘offenders’, it had been decided not to air my interview, and the link would not be sent to me.

This government notification was evidently issued because there had been tremendous criticism of the Supreme Court judgment in the media and elsewhere. The notification is contained in the article below
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40284030
This notification, which threatened criminal prosecution of those who criticised Supreme Court Judges, evidently so scared and petrified the team to which Ali Hasnain belonged, that they decided to suppress my interview ( which I had given at their request ).
I responded to the text message of Ali Hasnain by saying that another Pakistani journalist had taken 2 interviews in which I criticised the 3 judges who had given the bat symbol judgment, so what was there to be frightened and terrified about ? I whatsapped these 2 interviews to him.

However, despite several more messages by me, and attempts to call him on whatsapp, there was no response from him and stony silence. I got only one message of only one word from Ali Hasnain ‘busy’.
So evidently at the behest of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and some of his colleagues, the Pakistan Government has decided to silence people who ‘maliciously’ criticise them.
There is already power in the Court to punish for contempt and send to jail those who maliciously criticise judges. So where was the need of this notification ?
Moreover, what is ‘malicious’ ? The word is vague, and susceptible to any number of meanings.
In a democracy the people are supreme, and have a right to criticise judges, who are only their servants (,like all state authorities ).
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/satyam-bruyat/contempt-law-threatens-freedom/
https://www.facebook.com/justicekatju/posts/the-case-against-arundhati-royi-have-carefully-perused-the-article-of-arundhati-/1100626633311215/
Evidently the media and people are being silenced in Pakistan
January 18, 2024
Justice Katju Commends Bushra Bibi, Praises Her Loyalty and Character Amid Allegations

I have the highest respect for former Prime Minister Imran Khan‘s wife Bushra bibi

But first I must make a confession. I had in the past ridiculed her on twitter etc by calling her ‘pinky peerni’, who does ‘jaadu tona’, and by saying that she has two djinns in a bottle which she takes out at midnight to feed meat to them, that she roasts live chicken at midnight to feed these djinns, that one cannot see her face in a mirror ( implying she is a vampire ), and similar poppycock.
Though all this was said as a joke, yet I am ashamed of saying such nonsense. I am guilty of throwing mud and casting aspersions on the character of a noble lady, which I should never have done, and I can never forgive myself for saying all this rubbish and baloney..
The media, which only seeks ‘mirch masaala‘, made all sorts of false and fantastic allegations to malign her, alleging that she was controlling her husband, and that he only does what she orders ( as her diary allegedly revealed ).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUdXVPVuL28&pp=ygUfYnVzaHJhIGJpYmkgY29udHJvbHMgaW1yYW4ga2hhbg%3D%3D

It was alleged that she practices ‘kaala jaadu’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnR3RbO9KXQ
It was alleged that she married Imran Khan before completing the perid of iddat following her divorce with her previous husband ( an allegation she denied in her interview by Nadeem Malik, to whom she said she married him 7 months after her divorce ).
Even allegations of corruption have been made against her

There were even allegations that she had deserted her husband and has left her home

I have carefully considered all these allegations, and I agree with senior advocate Sardar Latif Khosa that Bushra bibi is a very good woman, and all these allegations against her are false and figments of the imagination of some people, particularly mediapersons who only want to melodramatize and publish ‘mirch masaala’.

I am convinced that she is a simple housewife, loyal to her husband. Of course it may be that on some occasions she may have given advice to Imran Khan, but which wife does not ? This not mean that she controls him. Her interview to the eminent journalist Nadeem Malik reveals her devotion to her husband, and her desire to serve the poor

I believe she is a pious lady and would not do wrong things, and that is why Imran Khan married her after meeting her in Baba Farid dargah. Imran Khan is a mature person who has seen the world, and would not have married her unless he found her a lady of high character. Imran Khan has said that
“the character of a person and the mind is much more important than the physical aspect, because in my experience that has the smallest shelf life ”, and he has referenced his respect for his wife based on her intellect and character.
Bushra has been described as an introvert who maintains a low profile, and prefers to stay at home rather than attending social functions and gatherings ( though she often visits hospitals, orphanages etc ), to which Imran Khan admittedly has no objections, as he said he is himself “past the age of socialising”. According to Khan, his two sons have met Bushra, while he has also had time to get to know Bushra’s children following their marriage. Bushra has also clarified that she is not present on social media and any accounts attributed to her are fake.
Even her previous husband said after their divorce in 2018 “I want to clearly state about my former wife, Bushra Bibi, that I have not seen a woman as pious as her in the world”
Bushra bibi has been loyally standing by her husband in his hour of trial, and has protected his honour. This is proved by the fact that when some guards at Attock jail asked her ( when she came to meet her husband ) to give them money and they would supply good food to Imran Khan, she refused, knowing that this would later be played up as an attempt of bribery.
I salute this noble woman. Shame on those seeking to assassinate her character

September 30, 2023
Former Indian Supreme Court Judge Urges Pakistan Supreme Court to Uphold Constitutional Rights in Open Letter

To CJP Qazi Faez Isa and his Companion Judges of the Pakistan Supreme Court
Islamabad
Dear Brothers/Sisters
I regret I have to write this strong letter to you, but I must.
You have all taken an oath to uphold the Pakistan Constitution, which has a right to life and liberty ( vide Article 9 ).
So it is your solemn duty to order release of Imran Khan ( also ordering that he not be arrested on his release on other charges ), as well as the 10,000 people arrested on concocted charges after the events of 9th May.
If you cannot do that please pack up, resign, and go home, as you are disloyal to your oath, and are consequently unfit to be judges.
It may be mentioned that even when an FIR is filed against a person, the police is not bound to arrest him/her. This is clear from section 157 of the Pakistan Criminal Procedure Code which states :
” Procedure where cognizable offence suspected: (1) If from information received or otherwise, an officer incharge of a police-station has reason to suspect the commission of an offence which he is empowered under Section 156 to investigate, he shall proceed in person to the spot, to investigate the facts and circumstance of the case, and, if necessary, to take measures for the discovery and arrest of the offender ”.

The use of the word ” if necessary ” at the end of this provision implies that the police should not arrest someone unless it is necessary. The police can question the accused at his home or place of work, without arresting him/her. But it is evident that the police arrested these 10,000 persons who are in jail without even considering whether it was necessary to arrest them.
In Joginder Kumar vs. State of U.P. (AIR 1994 S.C. 1349), the Indian Supreme Court observed:
“No arrest can be made because it is lawful for the police officer to do so. The existence of the power to arrest is one thing. The justification for the exercise of it is quite another. The police officer must be able to justify the arrest, apart from his power to do so.
Arrest and detention in police lock-up of a person can cause incalculable harm to the reputation and self-esteem of a person. No arrest can be made in a routine manner on a mere allegation of commission of an offence made against a person. It would be prudent for a police officer, in the interest of protection of the constitutional rights of a citizen, and perhaps in his own interest, to ensure that no arrest should be made without a reasonable satisfaction reached after some investigation as to the genuineness and bona fides of a complaint and a reasonable belief both as to the person’s complicity and even so as to the need to effect arrest.
Denying a person of his liberty is a serious matter. The recommendations of the Police Commission merely reflect the constitutional concomitants of the fundamental right to personal liberty and freedom. A person is not liable to arrest merely on the suspicion of complicity in an offence. There must be some reasonable justification in the opinion of the officer effecting the arrest that such arrest is necessary and justified. Except in heinous offences, an arrest must be avoided if a police officer issues notice to person to attend the Station House and not to leave the Station without permission would do.”
The last sentence is important, though usually ignored by policemen. In the same judgment, the Indian Supreme Court has observed that the power to arrest is a major source of corruption for the police, and that according to the Third Report of the National Police Commission, about 60 per cent of arrests in India are either unnecessary or unjustified. The same must be the position in Pakistan
To make an illegal arrest is a crime (wrongful restraint and wrongful confinement) punishable under sections 341 and 342 I.P.C.
A wrongful arrest is violative of Article 9 of the Pakistan Constitution, which guarantees life and liberty to all persons. In Deepak Bajaj vs. State of Maharashtra ( 2008 ) the Indian Supreme Court observed:
“The purpose of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution ( which is akin to Article 9 in the Pakistan Constitution ) is to safeguard the liberty of the citizen, which is a precious right not to be lightly transgressed by anyone. The imperative necessity to protect those precious rights is a lesson taught by all history and all human experience. Our founding fathers had lived through bitter years of the freedom struggle and seen an alien government trample upon the human rights of our citizens. It is for this reason that they introduced Article 21 in the Constitution “.
In Ghani vs. Jones (1970)1 Q.B. 693 (709) Lord Denning observed:
“A man’s liberty of movement is regarded so highly by the law of England that it is not to be hindered or prevented except on the surest ground”
The above observation has been quoted with approval by the Indian Supreme Court in Govt. of Andhra Pradesh vs. P. Laxmi Devi J.T. 2008 (2) SC 639 (vide para 90).
Apart from the above, in State of Rajasthan vs Balchand, 1977 the Indian Supreme Court held that bail, not jail, is the normal rule, unless the accused is charged with a heinous offence or is likely to abscond or tamper with the evidence
https://main.sci.gov.in/jonew/judis/5235.pdf
This rule has been consistently followed thereafter e.g. in Dataram vs State of UP, 2018
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/122663958/
In Satender Kumar Antil vs CBI the Indian Supreme Court observed :
” Any imprisonment before conviction has a substantial punitive content ”. This is because criminal trials in India ( and in Pakistan ) usually take a long time to conclude, often years, and if the accused is ultimately found innocent who will restore him/her the time spent in jail ?
In England, when a case is filed in the High Court relating to individual liberty ( habeas corpus or bail ), the Judge sets aside the files of all other cases and takes up that case on priority basis.
So it is your solemn duty to take up the cases of Imran Khan and the other 10,000 persons in prison, and order their release, failing which you will be branded as the modern Judge Jeffreys and traitors to your own institution
Justice Markandey Katju
Former Judge,
Indian Supreme Court
26.9.2023
91-9821181334

September 26, 2023
Why do Pakistanis need electricity, gas, and oil ?

I can’t understand why Pakistanis are protesting against exorbitant electricity bills and rise in gas and oil charges ?

After all, Pakistan is an Islamic State, and people living in Madina ki Riyaasat lived without electricity. I cannot imagine the Prophet leading a demonstration of people demanding electricity. So why cannot Pakistanis live using oil lamps in the night, as Arabs did at the time of the Prophet.?
As for rise in gas prices, again I cannot understand what Pakistanis have to complain about.? Were there cooking cylinders at the time of the Prophet, or did people cook food using wood ( or maybe camel dung ) ? Why can’t Pakistanis do the same ( except that instead of camel dung they can use donkey dung, as it is reported that the donkey population has increased exponentially in Pakistan ).
https://www.geo.tv/latest/491950-donkey-population-on-the-rise-in-pakistan
Why should Pakistanis use cars,trucks and buses, which require petrol or diesel, for transportation ? Why do they need diesel or electric trains ? They should use camels, as people used at the time of the Prophet.
The camels will also supply milk for drinking,and this should replace cow milk ( as cow is a Hindu animal, and therefore cow milk is haraam, and is only meant for kaafirs ).
Camel dung can be used for cooking, and camel urine can be used as a medicine, as was done for centuries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_urine#:~:text=Urine%20from%20camels%20has%20been,traditional%20medicine%20lacks%20scientific%20evidence.
And following the example of their great Qaid-e-Azam, Pakistanis should start eating pork, drinking wine ( or was it Scotch whiskey which he partook before dinner ? ), and stop saying namaaz ( which Jinnah never did all his life )

August 27, 2023
Undeclared martial law prevails in Pakistan By Justice Katju

”Tha shor maut se bacho bacho talwaar chali talwaar hali ”
The above line from Hindi poet Shyam Narain Pandey’s epic poem ‘Haldighati’ succinctly expresses the situation prevailing in Pakistan today, where there is an atmosphere of fear, consternation, and presentiment.
After former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s arrest on 9th May by the Pakistan Rangers, there have been protests in many cities in Pakistan by PTI supporters. These included attacks on army GHQ, Corps Commander’s residence, and military installations, as many people believed it was the army which ordered the arrest.
It is very likely that indeed it was the army which ordered the arrest.
However, the attack on army buildings and installations has provoked a strong reaction from the Pakistan army whose media wing, the ISPR, declared it as a “black chapter” in Pakistan’s history, and warned of strong action against the culprits and those behind them.
Without naming Imran Khan’s PTI, the ISPR has clearly pointed to it and its leaders as those responsible for the violence.
Consequently there has been a crackdown on the PTI, many of whose top leaders and workers have been arrested or are absconding.
The PTI leaders have called for a countrywide protest against Imran Khan’s arrest
However, after some initial response to this call, the protests have mostly died down, since the army has taken out its sword. As was said ” Sach achcha, par sach ke liye koi aur mare to aur achcha ”. Everyone values his neck.

I submit :
(1) The PTI, and its leaders, including Imran Khan are finished politically forever.
The PTI was created in 1996 by Imran Khan, who worked assiduously to build it up for over 2 decades before it came to power in 2018. Now in a few months he has destroyed it by foolishly taking on the Pakistan army, which is the real power in Pakistan.
(2) Undeclared martial law has now been imposed in Pakistan, and is likely to continue for quite some time.
The real reason for Imran Khan’s arrest was obvious : of late he had given some intemperate statements severely critical of some senior officers in the Pakistan army.
There is a dictum ‘power grows out of the barrel of a gun’, and in Pakistan the gun is with the army. So the real power in Pakistan is with the its army, which has ruled Pakistan, overtly or covertly, almost throughout its history.
Speaking against it in public is extremely dangerous, and that is what has really led to Imran Khan’s arrest, not alleged corruption.I submit this arrest will not be confined to Imran Khan alone, but will immediately send several harsh messages throughout Pakistan :
1. If Pakistanis want to remain healthy, they must never openly criticise the Pak army, otherwise they may be beaten up or end up in jail, like Imran Khan, or suffer worse consequences. This is despite the fact that the Pakistan army has looted Pakistan
When Roman general Pompey the Great went to Sicily, the people of Sicily objected to his jurisdiction on the ground that it was against an ancient law of Rome. To which Pompey replied ” Dont quote the laws to us, we carry swords ”.So laws matter little when there is martial law, declared or undeclared
2. Arrest of Imran Khan has sent a clear message from the Pakistan army to the Chief Justice of Pakistan & other judges to pipe down. Despite their earlier bravado, Justice Bandial & his companion judges will soon forget drawing contempt charges against those who defied their 4th April order ( that elections to the Punjab Assembly must be held on 14th May ), citing Justice Munir’s ‘doctrine of necessity’.
All judges in Pakistan ( and civil servants ) will soon get the message that obeying the army’s orders blindly is the only way to remain safe and healthy.
3. Many PTI members will soon quit the party, or duck for cover. Aspirants for membership must have now forgetten about it, realising that it may get them into trouble.
4. Imran Khan’s arrest has sent a strong message to mediahouses and mediapersons who were supporting him to pipe down, or face the consequences
5. And it has also sent a clear message to supporters of Imran Khan not to come out in protest on the streets in large numbers, otherwise a ‘whiff of grapeshot’ may be used to disperse them, as was done by Napoleon’s troops on the Paris mob in October 1795 on Vendemiare
Facebook, twitter, and youtube are reportedly shut down in Pakistan.There will of course be a Prime Minister and civilian govt in Pakistan, but this will be just a fig leaf. Undeclared martial law has been imposed in the country.

May 11, 2023