Pitfalls of Emergency
Shahid Cheema

U.WHILE the “state of emergency” is not good for any political dispensation, the country has been at a dangerous juncture where proclamation of emergency became absolutely necessary in the best interest of the country to address the institutional breakdown and constitutional imbalance. Good governance demands complete harmony among judiciary, legislative and executive. The system allows each of the three pillars to cheek and control the powers of others and to prevent any one pillar from becoming too powerful. At the same time, cooperation of all three branches is necessary for the development, execution and Administration of public policy in the country. This is how good governance can be ensured. President Musharraf’s leadership is threatened by an increasingly defiant court by some judges of “working at cross purposes with the executive”. As the imposition of emergency may harm the democratic forces, therefore, extensive consultations were carried out before reaching such an unpleasant decision.
Ever since the reinstatement of suspended Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, the Judiciary has increasingly turned against the Government and impeded normal functioning of the Administration. The Supreme Court assumed as the main check on executive and legislative branches of the political system. The judges of the Supreme Court virtually had placed themselves above the law. The Judiciary mistreated senior official especially of law enforcing agencies that caused demoralization and a paralysis in the Administration. Senior officials of the Administration were hesitant in taking decisions to avoid becoming target of judicial activism. The Supreme Court had initiated nearly 100 suo moto actions and there were other hundreds of petitions before the court. This had nearly paralyzed the Administration to operate effectively.
The “Presidential reference” against the former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was a constitutional obligation of the President. The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) should have been taking action as required under the constitution, but the reference was dismissed by a bench of the 13-member Superior Court. In doing so, the constitutional body namely the Supreme Judicial Council was undermined and the constitutional requirement with regard to the reference violated. The Superior Court also interfered in the jurisdiction of the executive and brought the process of privatization to standstill by citing the Steel Mill Judgment (SMJ). The procedure adopted for privatization of the Steel Mill was correct and found impeccable after due consultations with eminent economists. The former Chief Justice had discussed the matter with the President along with financial and legal experts and appeared satisfied. However, the judgment was to the contrary and was a setback to our economic growth which was propelled by a policy based on privatization in addition to liberalization and deregulation.
A policy to fight extremism requires the full support of the people, and any action that alienates the people and political forces of Pakistan will further aggravate terrorism and extremism in the country and slide the country into anarchism. The Lal Masjid case where the court ordered on investigation in the “Operation Silence”, some of the police officers were suspended. The court reinstated supporters of the former clerics to administer the mosque and ordered reconstruction of Jamia Hafsa and revival of Jamia Farida (Madrassah in E-7). Such judgments undermined government’s efforts against extremists and encouraged militants. The rising Islamic extremists had forced the Government to take emergency measures that included replacing the nation’s Chief Judge Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. According to the latest estimates, 61 terrorists have been freed on order from the court held by intelligence agencies. Extremists are openly roaming, and no one knows whether any of these freed men were behind recent bomb attacks of Oct. 18 on Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto killing 145 people. The extremism has even spread to Islamabad, and the extremists are taking the writ of the government in their own hands, and even worse they are imposing their obsolete ideas on moderates.
The Judiciary was responsible for the environment of uncertainty and anxiety created by the court decision to pend the notification of President Musharraf’s election by the parliament. The court decision was contrary to an act of the parliament and the provincial assemblies that had elected President Musharraf with 57% majority vote. The resulting “suspended animation” aggravated the uncertainty and institutional paralyses in the country.
An evident sign of entanglement was witnessed between the provincial authorities and the security forces. However, with the appointment of the new Chief Minister in NWFP, an efficient working relationship has been established and the Government is now acting forcefully to root out the menace of terrorism from the tribal belt. Earlier, the political interests of the MMA government were at variance with the obligation of firm action against extremists. The armed forces could only be deployed in support of the civil Administration; however, MMA Government was reluctant in taking decision. For example, the two Division moved in the frontier were not requisitioned by the provincial government of MMA for deployment and operations.
According to the doctrine of democracy, the interests of the society are best served when their activities are least interfered with by Government. However the’ extent of Government intervention needed depends entirely upon the political situation in which a state finds itself. The imposition of “emergency state” in a democratic setup like Pakistan includes relative presence of state control and regulation of the individual’s activities for the benefit of its members. The political and socio-economic conditions prevailing in some of the developed countries are quite different from our situation and the standard of civil liberties and human rights can not be applied there. Some people argue that democracy is not suited to the sensibilities of the people in Pakistan. Others say that education and economic development are prerequisites for the establishment of a democratic polity. Irrespective of the power of these views, one needs to explore the meaning of democracy for a country like Pakistan. Our transformation would have to be gradual and responsive to our culture and environment. The West should understand that Pakistan is at a developmental stage where democratic system in true letter and spirit can not be fully implemented. It is beyond doubt that the country is passing through a critical political turmoil. The emergency was declared to regulate anti-Pakistan activities of few judges who virtually incapacitated the Administration to operate its anti-terrorists policies. It is a limited type of emergency and the political activities will continue with parliamentary election to be held before February 15, 2008. The environment of political reconciliation and good governance will also continue to effectively address the challenges that Pakistan faces so as to ensure political stability and economic growth.



Women plight in Indian Held Kashmir...!
Ummara Shafqat

THE Kashmiri population living in Indian occupied Kashmir have been both witness to and victim of violence, involving a number of groups with different aims over the past few decades. The period of violence considered was defined by the local population as starting in 1989, continuing till today. Ever since 89, militancy in Jammu and Kashmir has changed many a colour, both in its content and complexity. However, one aspect that has continued unabated and unchanged over the past one decade is the exploitation of women in J&K by the militants/mercenaries. Women there suffer in both differing and complex forms. They suffer directly by being subject to rape, molestation and torture.
The chief of the Dukhtaran-e-millat Aasiya Andrabi called for a total boycott of the army operation Sadbhavna. Operation Sadbhavna or the “Operation Goodwill” launched by the army is aimed at promoting military-public relations. Addressing a press conference, Aasiya said that families should desist from sending their wards to schools, computer centres and tailoring centres run by the army. She asked the parents not to let their daughters adorn functions held by the government or the army. As on the one hand, the army gives an impression of providing free education to girls under Operation Sudbhavna, and on the other hand, it indulges in sexual exploitation of the girls as a tactic of war. Sexual violence is a common strategy used to terrify and intimidate people in conflict, but in Kashmir it is an issue that is not openly discussed. A study done by Medicins Sans Frontiers revealed that Kashmiri women are among the worst sufferers of sexual violence in the world. It further mentions that since the beginning of the armed struggle in Kashmir in 1989, sexual violence has been routinely perpetrated on Kashmiri women. Interestingly, the figure is much higher than that of Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka and Chechnya. Many of the cases of rape and molestation abound in Kashmir go unreported because of the fear of social stigma, and of reprisal by state agencies. And even in those cases where the victims manage to transcend these fears and report the matter to the police, they achieve little or no justice. More often, police refuses to lodge an FIR against the troops. Even in reported cases the justice is much delayed.
Talking about Sabeena sex racket, whose investigations were revealed to the press, has shook the whole valley for the past few weeks. The racket which suffered last year after a CD showing lurid details of some accused with girls (one of them a minor) appeared locally, setting off a wave of protest in the local residents. According to the reports politicians, police, BSF and top businessmen are involved in this sex scandal. Girls have been lured in the names of job and then subjected to rape and intimidation. The names of the girls involved have been revealed but not of those in power. This has satisfied none. The high court bench observed that the investigating agency had not interrogated some persons “visibly” involved in the racket, while most of the accused have been freed on bails. The high court has asked the CBI to submit against the local court a report regarding evidence on record against several high profile persons including 2 former ministers, Mr. Raman Motto and Mr. Ghulam Ahmad Mir, a senior IAS officer, Mr. Iqbal Khanday and a DIG border security force, Mr. K. C. Padhi. It is learnt that if the Chief Judicial magistrate, Srinagar, finds the evidence strong enough, it could spell trouble for a few of legislators and officers, including Transport Minister Mr. Hakeem Mohammad Yaseen, former Ministers Mr. Ghulam Hassan Khan of the POP and Mr. Yogesh Sawhney of the Congress, besides many of the police officers. Protests from all quarters has shaken the administration. The political parties in power, political parties without power, separatists, social groups, citizens and lawyers all are demanding answers from the government. A senior counsel has said, “It’s not prostitution. If there is involvement of police, bureaucrats and politicians then you have to look at the issue in different angle. It might be deeper conspiracy to humiliate us as a nation.”
This concept stands fortified by a report of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which says that women are raped in order to humiliate, frighten and defeat the enemy group to which they belong. Complex and combined emotions of hatred, superiority, vengeance for real or imagined wrongs and national pride are provoked and deliberately manipulated in armed conflict. In the past few years, rapes along with murders, torture, custodial deaths and enforced disappearance have witnessed an upsurge, but the response of the state in addressing these atrocities doesn’t promise hope for justice. The official figures of these atrocities are far too less than the reported ones. The factual human rights situation in Kashmir has always been rendered invisible by the national security concerns of the government and the state centric approach of the Indian media. It is being constantly projected in the mainstream media that the situation in Kashmir has improved, but the ever-increasing rate of human rights violations in the valley tells us a different story. There is no way that the state can even pretend these days that it is a safe heaven for fair sex. Evidently, women have come under tremendous pressure in the present millennium. People continue to suffer while the much hyped slogan of Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh proclaiming “zero tolerance” towards human rights abuse stares him hard in the face!
Rape is a grave crime as its consequences extend beyond its actual commission, often lasting for the rest of the life of the women. The Geneva Convention related to The Protection of Civilian Persons in the Time of War, 1949 and additional protocols of 1977 provide that women shall especially be protecte9 against humiliating and degrading treatment; rape, enforced prostitution or any form of indecent assault. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights in Situation of Armed Conflict states that violation of human rights of women in situations of armed conflict are the violation of the fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law. The fact that rape has been systematically committed against Kashmiri women and that justice has not been delivered in these cases makes rape in Kashmir eligible for an appropriate humanitarian response at the international level.




A good man is hard to find
Valerie Sartor

LIKE most expats my life in China has been both stimulating and frustrating. To be fifty and read no better than a Chinese preschooler, to suffer indignities with my digestive system and to periodically fall prey to homesickness-all these woes and more magically lifted recently when a misfortune befell me. After a long weekend in Inner Mongolia, my boyfriend and I returned by train to Beijing. Tired and befuddled but still happy to be back, we scrambled on a bus and headed back to my workplace. The bus was standing room only. Pushing and shoving ahead of my companion, I exited first, warning him, “Make sure your wallet is safe.” He nodded, gave the thumbs up and then we hunkered down the street to a coffee shop near my workplace. “I’ll buy two lattes, we need a wakeup,” I said, reaching inside my shirt for money. Gone. No wallet. No passport, no bankcard, and 4,000 yuan in Chinese cash: completely gone. Instantly my friend took off running, scanning the street, but came back panting, checking my face for signs of tears. “It’s useless,” I told him flatly, trying to remain impassive. “Let’s go to my office immediately; I must freeze my bank card and find a Xerox of my passport. Getting a new visa and passport is going to be a huge pain; I’ll lose work days as well as money.”
We went up to the sixth floor of my building; I reported the theft to my boss. Mr. Chen looked overworked as usual and now I was causing him more trouble. “It’s okay, we have to get to finance and let them know or you’ll lose everything,” he said wearily. “So you had a good time other than this, I hope?” I nodded halfheartedly, already forgetting my weekend bliss. “Get your passport copy,” the boss ordered a few minutes later as we stood listening to the financial officer talking to the bank. I walked over to my desk. People tried not to stare. It was supposed to be my extra day off, and yet here I was, exuding sadness. As I sat down, the phone rang. “Are you Ma Lili? A foreigner? Lost wallet?” boomed a frank male voice. “Yes,” I replied, dazed. “I am policeman Gao. Report to the corner, we have a van waiting to pick you up and take you to the station. Mr. Liu Yumin has turned in a wallet that we think is yours.”

(The Daily Mail-Beijing Review Articles Exchange Item)