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Sorry state of bar & bench

Instead of tardy governance, Pakistan’s current crises most probably stem from hypocrisy and selfishness at all levels. We often blame the politicians and the military as the major source of sociopolitical degeneration and economic decline. But who among the ruling elite are unblemished? Most appear to shelve morality and principles for personal interests. Defence and prosecution lawyers, for instance, often fix hearings through connivance to accommodate each other. This is what a prominent counsel admitted during the commercial break of a TV show we were both participating in. In front of the camera, he was defending the bar but off the camera, he retreated into the defensive, conceding that the black coats, too, were often responsible for prolonged litigation and encouraging crime and terrorism by taking up cases they shouldn’t — from a sociopolitical point of view. Similarly, another brilliant jurist stood on the Supreme Court floor to defend a property tycoon in 2011. After I repeatedly pressed him for an answer as to why he did so, all he said was, “I did so because the president had asked me to.” As if he possessed no conscience of his own! Is the bench also driven by similar considerations or does it go just by the black and white as enshrined in the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)? Scores of pending cases before the superior and subordinate courts relate to the granting of stay orders — regardless of the efficacy or legitimacy of the complaint. The Capital Development Authority (CDA), for example, is currently locked in at least 1,160 such cases that litigants filed after administrative actions by the CDA against encroachments, illegal structures or inappropriate use of buildings. A document the CDA submitted before the Supreme Court, for instance, says that some 2,262 houses in the capital are being used for “other than the actual purposes”. The CDA says that owners of these properties, including government agencies, have obstructed roads, streets and...

Sorry state of bar & bench

Instead of tardy governance, Pakistan’s current crises most probably stem from hypocrisy and selfishness at all levels. We often blame the politicians and the military as the major source of sociopolitical degeneration and economic decline. But who among the ruling elite are unblemished? Most appear to shelve morality and principles for personal interests. Defence and prosecution lawyers, for instance, often fix hearings through connivance to accommodate each other. This is what a prominent counsel admitted during the commercial break of a TV show we were both participating in. In front of the camera, he was defending the bar but off the camera, he retreated into the defensive, conceding that the black coats, too, were often responsible for prolonged litigation and encouraging crime and terrorism by taking up cases they shouldn’t — from a sociopolitical point of view. Similarly, another brilliant jurist stood on the Supreme Court floor to defend a property tycoon in 2011. After I repeatedly pressed him for an answer as to why he did so, all he said was, “I did so because the president had asked me to.” As if he possessed no conscience of his own! Is the bench also driven by similar considerations or does it go just by the black and white as enshrined in the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)? Scores of pending cases before the superior and subordinate courts relate to the granting of stay orders — regardless of the efficacy or legitimacy of the complaint. The Capital Development Authority (CDA), for example, is currently locked in at least 1,160 such cases that litigants filed after administrative actions by the CDA against encroachments, illegal structures or inappropriate use of buildings. A document the CDA submitted before the Supreme Court, for instance, says that some 2,262 houses in the capital are being used for “other than the actual purposes”. The CDA says that owners of these properties, including government agencies, have obstructed roads, streets and...

Peshawar attack survivors off to China for ‘mental healing’

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - A group of students and teachers who survived a Taliban massacre at a Pakistani school left Monday for a trip to China aimed at healing the mental scars of their ordeal. Heavily-armed militants stormed the Army Public School in the northwestern city of Peshawar in December, killing 150 people, most of them children, in Pakistan s bloodiest-ever terror attack. The carnage horrified the world and left many survivors badly traumatised. Now 10 students and two teachers who escaped the bloodshed have been sent on a 10-day trip to help them recover. "The basic aim of the visit is to divert the attention of the survivors," from the nightmare, a security official told AFP. An official at the Army Public School confirmed the visit and told AFP that "more survivors will be sent in coming days to other countries". Both the officials spoke on condition of anonymity. The officials said the decision was taken after psychiatrists suggested that survivors need long-term therapy and mental health counselling. The security official in Peshawar said the parents of children killed in the attack would be sent to on pilgrimage Saudi Arabia -- home to some of Islam s most holy sites -- in the coming days. Published on 02 February, 2015 at http://dunyanews.tv/

Peshawar attack survivors off to China for 'mental healing'

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - A group of students and teachers who survived a Taliban massacre at a Pakistani school left Monday for a trip to China aimed at healing the mental scars of their ordeal. Heavily-armed militants stormed the Army Public School in the northwestern city of Peshawar in December, killing 150 people, most of them children, in Pakistan s bloodiest-ever terror attack. The carnage horrified the world and left many survivors badly traumatised. Now 10 students and two teachers who escaped the bloodshed have been sent on a 10-day trip to help them recover. "The basic aim of the visit is to divert the attention of the survivors," from the nightmare, a security official told AFP. An official at the Army Public School confirmed the visit and told AFP that "more survivors will be sent in coming days to other countries". Both the officials spoke on condition of anonymity. The officials said the decision was taken after psychiatrists suggested that survivors need long-term therapy and mental health counselling. The security official in Peshawar said the parents of children killed in the attack would be sent to on pilgrimage Saudi Arabia -- home to some of Islam s most holy sites -- in the coming days. Published on 02 February, 2015 at http://dunyanews.tv/

Peshawar attack survivors off to China for 'mental healing'

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - A group of students and teachers who survived a Taliban massacre at a Pakistani school left Monday for a trip to China aimed at healing the mental scars of their ordeal. Heavily-armed militants stormed the Army Public School in the northwestern city of Peshawar in December, killing 150 people, most of them children, in Pakistan s bloodiest-ever terror attack. The carnage horrified the world and left many survivors badly traumatised. Now 10 students and two teachers who escaped the bloodshed have been sent on a 10-day trip to help them recover. "The basic aim of the visit is to divert the attention of the survivors," from the nightmare, a security official told AFP. An official at the Army Public School confirmed the visit and told AFP that "more survivors will be sent in coming days to other countries". Both the officials spoke on condition of anonymity. The officials said the decision was taken after psychiatrists suggested that survivors need long-term therapy and mental health counselling. The security official in Peshawar said the parents of children killed in the attack would be sent to on pilgrimage Saudi Arabia -- home to some of Islam s most holy sites -- in the coming days. Published on 02 February, 2015 at http://dunyanews.tv/

Afghanistan at the Crossroads

Economically dependent on the foreign presence, Afghanistan will need to work hard to succeed on its own. NATO forces led by the U.S. completed their combat mission in Afghanistan on December 31, 2014 as planned. The new role for the U.S. will involve support and training within the framework of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) and the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Realizing the significance of BSA for his government, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was quick to ink the BSA and SOFA, doing so on his second day in office. Last year was both a difficult and eventful one for Afghanistan. Successful security and political transitions were the major developments. The country had started receiving economic shocks well before 2014, partly because of the uncertainty surrounding the political dynamics and partly due to the very real impacts of the dwindling financial resources resulting from the drawdown of international forces. According to the World Bank annual GDP growth dropped from around 12 percent in 2012 to around 3 percent in 2013, remaining at about that level in 2014. With a new government in place, and a recently announced cabinet set to be endorsed by the Parliament, there is a growing sense of optimism that the economy will gradually improve. Unemployment across the country has been held down by the large number of Afghans engaged in international aid operations. With foreign troops and aid workers leaving the country, an economic impact in inevitable. Yet the repercussions of the NATO pull-out are not all negative. It also means Afghan ownership of the development process and a first step towards efforts for self-reliance, provided that the new National Unity Government is able to fulfill expectations. For the past 12 years, Afghan economy has been virtually dependent on foreign aid. According to the Ministry of Finance, almost 100 percent of its development budget and 45 percent of its operating budget is externally financed, with the U.S. being...

Recipient of foreign funds: Tough hunt for Punjab to identify madrassas

ISLAMABAD: Civilian forces and intelligence agencies engaged in enrolling over 6,550 unregistered madrassas in Punjab are facing stiff resistance from hundreds of clerics who have refused to reveal their sources of funding. A senior officer, who is also a member of the committee overseeing the implementation of National Action Plan against terrorism in Punjab, says that the actual resistance is from politicians who don’t want to lose their vote bank by exposing the clerics receiving funds from abroad. “Unregistered Islamic seminaries are unwilling to register under the new form issued by the interior ministry, as they are bound to reveal their source of funding,” the official told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity. These madrassas are located in Jhang, Chiniot, Attock, Gujranwala, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Khushab, Rajanpur, Layyah, Dera Ghazi Khan and other districts of the province, he added. “Our initial surveillance suggested that in Punjab, more than 170 madrassas are directly funded by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.” Home Minister Punjab Col (retd) Shuja Khanzada admitted that madrassas were receiving funds from abroad. “Yes, there are some seminaries in Punjab are funded by brotherly Muslim countries. Identifying all such madrassa looks like a test case for us,” he told The Express Tribune. Khanzada’s confirmation came a week after the Punjab police informed the Senate that no madrassa in the province was receiving funds from abroad. The provincial government does not want any confrontation with representatives of around 14,768 registered madrasas, said the home minister, adding that the process of registering 6,550 unregistered seminaries would go ahead without any hurdle. “We have also arrested over 350 foreigners, including Afghans, mostly studying in madrasas,” he said. During surveillance over 10,000 illegal weapons were recovered from over 9,000 suspected militants, who were also booked by the law-enforcement agencies...

Pakistan : Consequences of blasphemy laws

The entire colony is infested with trash. A dirty pool from water-logging has expanded all along the street, up to the open space. There are ‘thappiyas’ (cow dung cakes) on the walls, pasted firmly, with the fingerprints clearly visible, indicating a job done by bare hands, an old practice noticeable across all of Punjab. Upon reaching the location of the incident, at Dargahi Christian colony, Rana Town, Sheikhupura, I am unable to find the family. I am informed by some neighbors that Alishba and her family have relocated to Lahore, fearing for their safety, in the wake of threats and pressures to drop charges against those who attacked her. There are about 35 Christian and 10 Muslims homes in the locality of Rana Town, Dargahi. Alishba is not the only Pakistani Christian who happens to have been accused of committing blasphemy, and as such facing a sword dangling above her head in the form of the Blasphemy law that has come to characterize the woes and grief of virtually all minorities in Pakistan. According to the annual ranking of Peoples under Threat produced by Minority Rights Group International (MRG), Pakistan has consistently been one of the top 10 countries where ‘large-scale violence’ is the greatest. "She is sitting with her four children on a charpoy, weeping, deeply shaken and fearing for her and her family’s safety" When I finally manage to locate her she is found sitting with her four children on a charpoy, weeping, deeply shaken and fearing for her and her family’s safety, as she narrates the details of the incident to me. The experience has left Alishba profoundly traumatized and there is very little that she can do about it. Her haplessness is disturbing. “I lived in the Dargahi Christian Colony and worked as a domestic help in several houses, also doing beautician work on a regular basis. Like any other day, on the afternoon of 19th November 2014, I was on my way home after picking up my children from school when I heard Mahjabeen and Rani Begum...

Jury out on military courts

The Supreme Court has struck down military courts in the past, but it has not struck down a constitutional amendment in four decades. On January 6, in a state of national grief catalyzed by a strong nudge from the military, the 21st Constitutional Amendment and an amendment to the Army Act were unanimously passed in the Parliament, thus providing legal cover for the military courts. Precipitated by the Army Public School attack in Peshawar, the formation of military courts has emerged as a divisive and controversial subject. Existing court judgments, specifically Mehram Ali versus the federation (PLD 1998 sc 1445) and the Liaquat Hussain Case (PLD 1999 SC 504) have declared the military courts unconstitutional, as no parallel legal system can be constructed that bypasses the operation of the existing courts. The formation of the military courts is a tacit acceptance of two key facts. First, that the civil court system in Pakistan is ineffective and inefficient. The data supports this argument. Between 1990 and 2009, there has been a 74% acquittal rate in terrorism related cases, resulting in three out of every four suspects walking free. The average lifespan of a case in the civil courts is approximately 16 years, whereas well over three million (3,000,000) cases are pending in front of the judiciary. Second, the civilian government cannot uphold the tenants of the constitution, supremely the idea of providing security to citizens and access to justice without military facilitation. While the government has constructed a need-of-the-hour narrative, the military’s near pathological detestation of democratic egalitarianism in the past lead many to label this as a soft coup. Analysts also believe that in today’s climate, it would be impossible to stage a proper coup if one can achieve the same results by manipulating the political milieu surreptitiously. A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, took up identical petitions...

Al-Qaeda’s Women Wing Emerges ; Ominous Signs?

ISLAMABAD: Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), led by commander Asim Umar, has launched the women’s wing of the international terrorist outfit led by Afinda Binte Ayesha who will seek guidance from Umaima Hassan Ahmed Muhammad Hassan, one of the wives of al-Qaeda chief, Dr Ayman Al Zawahiri. Named as the “Al-Qaeda Shaheen Force”, the women’s wing of the terror outfit would operate from the Pak-Afghan tribal belt and organise a squad of female suicide bombers on the pattern of Nigerian militant group, Boko Haram, which has created havoc in the country by using female suicide bombers to target military installations and security forces. The women wing of the AQIS plans to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan by using its veiled female suicide bombers who [by taking advantage of their gender] may try to target some sensitive installations, including airports. The Pakistani Taliban had also used female suicide bombers several times in the past to eliminate their targets, including the late Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Qazi Hussain Ahmed. He had a narrow escape on November 19, 2012 when a female bomber exploded herself as his convoy passed through the Haleemzai Tehsil in Mohmand Agency in a failed bid to kill the Jamaat Ameer who had invited the wrath of the Taliban because of his April 2012 interview wherein he described the Afghan Taliban’s resistance against the Allied Forces in Afghanistan as “true Jihad” and that of the Pakistani Taliban in Pakistan as “un-Islamic” because they were killing innocent civilians. The female suicide bomber was identified as Umme Usman, an Uzbek national belonging to the TTP and al-Qaeda linked terrorist group — the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) — which used to operate from North Waziristan. Lal Masjid prayer leader Maulana Abdul Aziz had also warned on February 10, 2014 that Pakistani Taliban had 500 female suicide bombers in Waziristan and other tribal areas who were ready to act. As things stand, hardly a week has...