Under pressure
THE instability that has wreaked havoc on the legislature and executive for the greater part of the past year now threatens to consume the judiciary as well. One of the ugliest political feuds of our modern history has seen the Constitution twisted and manipulated by both government and opposition to suit their competing claims on power.
Now, within a year after passing two momentous judgements — one that overturned the PTI deputy speaker’s ruling on the vote of no-confidence, and another that seemingly ‘rewrote’ Article 63-A of the Constitution — the Supreme Court is once again the centre of attention over its suo motu proceedings on the question of whether elections for dissolved assemblies can be put off for more than 90 days.
However, many believe it is time for the Supreme Court to look farther beyond. The court is being asked to set matters straight by reviewing its past judgements that have paved the path to the current political crisis. These include the Panamagate ruling, the disqualification of lawmakers like PTI’s Jahangir Tareen on weak pretexts, and so on.
The demands come as patience on both sides of the political divide has run out. The PTI has threatened to trigger social upheaval if the question of elections is not resolved, while the PML-N is publicly attacking the integrity of sitting judges and accusing them of prejudice. Recently leaked audios allegedly involving one of the sitting Supreme Court justices are being used by various public figures to impeach the apex court’s integrity in the court of public opinion. It is in this context that the composition of the nine-member bench of the apex court-appointed to hear the suo motu case has been challenged by the PDM and the Pakistan Bar Council.
There is weight to the question of why certain senior judges — including the senior puisne judge — have been excluded from a bench which is deciding on a matter of such grave national import.
There is also the question of judicial propriety: should a judge allegedly involved in a political scandal be sitting on the bench? These are questions that the chief justice must address with great urgency. He must also contemplate why several key stakeholders are so unhappy with the judiciary, and what he may do within his powers to put to rest their concerns.
There is a very real danger that the judiciary may continue to be dragged deeper into controversy, given the stakes for the political parties. At the same time, this could be an opportunity for the judiciary to extricate itself from the many crises that have been plaguing the country. A judicial debate, involving the full court, over the major judgements passed in the past five years may open the doors for some reconciliation and closure.
Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2023
Cricket quarrel
THE dispute between the caretaker Punjab government and the Pakistan Cricket Board over who should foot the security bill for the T20 league matches in Lahore and Rawalpindi may deprive cricket enthusiasts in the province of the entertainment that the Pakistan Super League has to offer. The PCB has already threatened to move all scheduled matches to Karachi unless the government withdraws its demand of Rs450m from the board for making security arrangements for the matches. Punjab’s Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has rightly stated that his caretaker set-up in the province does not have the authority to undertake such a huge expense. The cabinet too has voted against spending such a big amount from taxpayers’ money to provide security cover for what is a commercial franchised league. The PCB, on the other hand, says it was the government’s duty to make security arrangements, whatever the cost. It also fears that if it makes the payment for the cost of the security as demanded by the provincial government it would set a precedent and Sindh may also demand the same for the matches in Karachi. Also, it says there’s no guarantee that the Punjab government would not come up with similar demands during future international bilateral series. Hence, the stand-off between the two sides, despite back-and-forth discussions and meetings during the last two days.
One is constrained to see that it is the government’s argument that stands out, especially at a time when the federation and provinces are required to save every penny they can to meet fiscal targets for securing the IMF loan deal. During the last fiscal year, the provincial government had spent Rs2.2bn on security arrangements for PSL and other international bilateral series. Around a quarter of that amount was spent on the league alone. That is a huge cost, much of which was expended on the arrangement of security lights, towers and wires, generators and fuel, transportation of security personnel, etc. The PSL being a commercial league, with PCB earning substantial profits from it, it is only fair that the latter picks up the security bill, instead of putting pressure on the government by threatening to shift the matches to Karachi. The league is built upon the core concept of ‘home and away’ and the PCB cannot deprive Pakistan’s cricket buffs of the ‘home cities’ of the teams of ‘cricketainment’.
Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2023
Ukraine anniversary
A YEAR after the Russian military rumbled into Ukraine, the conflict is locked in a stalemate, with neither side willing to back down, and the threat of escalation ever-present. In effect the war has pitted Russia against the Nato-EU combine, the latter framing the conflict as a battle of democracy versus fascism. Things are a little more complex than that. While the invasion — dubbed a special military operation by Moscow — is patently unjustifiable, Russia and the West had been baiting each other for years, and Ukraine was the spark that brought hostilities into the open. Both sides have contributed to the crisis; Russia by invading a sovereign state, and the US-led West by expanding Nato virtually up to the Russian frontier, fuelling Moscow’s fears that it was being encircled.
At present, there appear next to no signs that both sides are willing to compromise, and seem determined to fight this war to the finish. Commenting on German tanks reaching Ukraine via Poland, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow was ready to take the battle “to the borders of Poland”. At the other end, America’s top diplomat Antony Blinken dismissed China’s plan for a ceasefire in the UN, saying it will give Russia a chance to consolidate its position. In previous remarks, Russian President Vladimir Putin has summoned the ghosts of World War II, recalling that German tanks were once again headed east — a chilling allusion to the brutal Battle of Stalingrad. Certainly, if both sides continue on the current trajectory, a conflict of global proportions cannot be ruled out. However, apart from the direct combatants — Russia and the West — there is little appetite for getting dragged into the war. At the recent UN General Assembly meeting to discuss the war, 32 states, including Pakistan, abstained on a resolution censuring Russia. Logic demands the war be wound up, but as the history of international relations shows, rational actors can behave entirely irrationally.
Published in Dawn, February 26th, 202