Elections now
CALLS have grown louder for an election date to be announced, following the return of Nawaz Sharif. Despite the clear constitutional provision that mandates elections to be held within 90 days, matters remain at a standstill following the Aug 9 Assembly dissolution. What has muddied the waters is the previous government’s approval of the 2023 census, and the ECP’s subsequent announcement of a delimitation schedule, which has effectively ruled out polls this year. Amid this delay — which prompted the PPP chairman to say “elections delayed are elections denied” — a debate over who gets to decide the poll date has erupted. Opinion was divided during a recent Supreme Court hearing on timely polls, with some naming the president and others the ECP. Both have dilly-dallied. The president wrote to the ECP suggesting a Nov 9 cut-off date and asking it to consult the superior judiciary. On the other hand, the election watchdog has refused to commit to a date, citing ‘technical’ reasons, but assured parties that the polls will be held no later than late January. Worse, where political parties should have put up a united front, they themselves are divided on the issue, with the PPP and PTI using every opportunity to demand a definitive date, the PML-N seen as not being vocal enough, and the JUI-F seeing January as complicating the exercise due to the winter chill. The lack of a ‘level playing field’, however, has been a consistent complaint. All the while, the caretaker prime minister has asserted that the mandate rests with the ECP and has expressed hope that after delimitations, polls will be held in January — more than two months after the lapse of the 90-day period. Most recently, he said the ECP will likely announce a date ‘soon’ and brushed aside concerns that a ‘level playing field’ was not being provided.
With the president distancing himself, and the chief election commissioner insisting that the ECP alone has the power to announce elections, what is the delay? In 2018, the ECP announced the election schedule before the assemblies’ tenure ended. This time, while it has busied itself with the delimitation exercise, it would do well to remember that it has a constitutional duty to announce an election date. Vague time frames won’t do. The time to announce a date is now.
Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2023
Military courts
WITH a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously ruling that all civilians accused of involvement in “events arising from and out of” May 9 and 10 be tried by criminal courts instead of under the Army Act, the state would be better off honouring the verdict instead of finding new ways to work around it.
The superior judiciary has taken a rather dim view of the security forces’ decision to court-martial civilians, whose crimes involved rioting and vandalisation of state property — including military infrastructure.
This measure had seemed quite excessive even when it was first announced, but has now been deemed unlawful as well.
Not only that, the majority of the bench has held that the provisions of the Army Act which allowed for it to be applied to civilians, in certain cases, are ultra vires the Constitution, and, therefore, without any legal effect. Thus, a solid legal line has been drawn between the civilian and military domains.
Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan has said that the federal government will appeal the decision under the recently validated Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023. Before proceeding, the government should be asked: to what end?
Separately, some experts believe that the cases being tried under military courts will now end up in special courts instead of ordinary courts because the accused may be charged with violating the Official Secrets Act. This will ensure that proceedings remain opaque and the accused are tried under charges much more serious than their alleged crimes appear to be.
Again: why, and to what end? There is no question that some overzealous individuals took political agitation against the arrest of their leader much too far, crossing lines that should never have been crossed.
But does this mean they ought to be treated on a par with actual traitors, enemy combatants, and foreign spies? Do the convictions being sought really fit their crimes?
There are laws aplenty to deal with those involved in rioting and vandalism; there is no need for an intervention by elements outside the civilian domain. If any wrong has been committed against any state institution, the matter should be taken to the country’s judiciary for redress.
The massive imbalance of power between ordinary citizens and the establishment would have worsened if the latter was allowed to sit in judgement over the former. It is encouraging to see the Supreme Court take a firm stance on the matter.
One hopes that the cases of those who have been languishing behind bars for the last many months will be resolved by the civil courts soon.
Meanwhile, bigger issues need our attention, the most important one being what is to be done regarding those who have made a mockery of the Constitution over the past few months.
Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2023
Appalling performance
THE spotlight is on skipper Babar Azam and his decision-making skills. These are now desperate times for Pakistan at the World Cup. The ship is sinking, along with the hopes of the cricket-crazy nation. Pakistan had never lost a One-Day International to Afghanistan. But now they have, that too at cricket’s showpiece event, with their opponents enjoying an eight-wicket victory in Chennai. There are doubts that matters will get better. Babar pinned his hopes on cricket’s unpredictable nature for a turnaround. But the problem is that the current team has become very predictable. Pakistan have seen three consecutive defeats — the match against Afghanistan will hurt the most. At the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, they were in cruise control mode, toying with Pakistan’s much-vaunted bowling attack at will and meeting a 283-run target with no discomfort. Pakistan’s spinners again proved ineffective. In the last three games, Pakistan have picked up just one wicket from spin. The pacers aren’t faring any better, being whacked across the field by the Afghan batters and are showing little fight to counter the onslaught.
But the biggest question revolves around Babar’s captaincy. It is argued that he isn’t aggressive with his field placings to help his bowlers get the needed breakthroughs. There has been some conservatism in his captaincy at a time when other teams have become adventurous. Concerns have also been raised over the current team management and it is being asked why it has been unable to prevent bad performances. Critics say that in the match against Afghanistan, Pakistan settled for a total of around 280 on a wicket where the par-score was over 300. How Pakistan emerge from this — and quickly, with South Africa up next on Friday — remains to be seen but they are in familiar territory. Not only must they win all their remaining matches, they also need other results to go their way if they are to make it to the semis.
Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2023