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Wisdom of Asif Zardari and the Judicial Crisis

A lot has been made of the “deadlock” between the PML-N and the PPP. As Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif came out today for a press chat it was learnt that even this impression was misplaced. NS even said that ‘deadlock’ is too strong a word. And indeed it is. Actually there was a time when we used to wake up in the morning with the wishful thoughts that Musharraf would be gone within 24 hours, especially during the days of his strength. Nothing of the sort happened then. Now those allied with the presidency are committing the same mistake. Somehow it is assumed that the alliance will be destroy itself and Musharraf will regain his strength. This however is nothing but wishful thinking. He has lost his only source of strength and will growingly be viewed as a villain and finally fade away into oblivion. Remember that the allies have more than a few reasons to stay united for the term. More of this a bit later.
Let us not however imagine that the two leaders or the two parties did not have disagreements. While Nawaz Sharif continuously kept on stating that the coalition was bound to resolve the issue within 30 days, Zardari was opposed to the talk of any countdown. People however are misguided if they think that the PML-N has a more radical stance on the judicial crisis. In fact it is the PPP and Zardari whose thoughts if implemented would revolutionize the judicial system of the country and most probably the entire establishment. How? While the PMLN talks only of the restoration of pre-November 3 judges, it is the PPP’s version which can bring an end to the exploitation of the entire system. By introducing a comprehensive package the idea is to ensure that no judges can ever take oath or validate the military takeovers/dismissals of elected governments. That is the exact area where lies the actual problem. The most important means to do so is to strictly define the contours of the legal system both normatively as well as prudentially. Practically there are two aspects which are not fully understood. First the process of the induction of new judges. Since there is no rigid system available of the induction of judges as is the case in the Central Superior Services, a lot of politically motivated and biradery influenced inductions take place which later harm the entire system. By introducing a clear system and criterion for the judges’ induction this exploitation can be brought to an end. The second most important issue of a Chief Justice’s duration of service. Since there is no well defined limit a judge once made the CJ leaves the seat when he retires from the service. That means that if a junior judge is somehow made the CJ with fifteen years of service remaining he will stay in that position for fifteen years. Where else does it happen? We have always opposed Musharraf’s prolonged stay in uniform because it harms the institution of the army. If the CJ enjoys this power someday the Army Chief, a sitting Premier, President or even parliament may demand the same. Not only does this provision leaves room for the ambition among the junior and mid career judges but also readies them to take oath under the PCO. Should it be the case? Now if this duration is fixed to a total 5 years of service as the Chief Justice there is no doubt that Justice Iftikhar may have to take retirement within two years but it may also make the entire system far too durable. Again I believe that the five year duration is in sync with the democratic norms and the progress that successive generations bring. If the CJ manages to stay for another two years that may also sort out the entire problem as the country is most likely to have a new president before that deadline. Hence lesser political manipulation of the system.
We should bear in mind that the PPP has genuine reasons to be bitter about the judiciary. Why? Because since the British times when Zulfi Bhutto’s grandfather Mir Murtaza Bhutto was tried in the court never has the PPP leadership received any relief from the judiciary quite unlike the PML-N. Zulfi Bhutto was hanged by the country’s puppet courts and there is nothing the courts have done against the murder of Benazir Bhutto. In fact the courts restored NS’s deposed government but did nothing against the sacking of Benazir’s government. Yet the PPP has been more tolerant towards the courts than any other party.
As I was saying earlier there are uncountable reasons why the coalition will survive. The most important of the reasons is that the PPP under the leadership of Ms Bhutto and even under Zardari saved PML-N from committing political suicide by convincing it not to boycott the elections. In fact Pervaiz Elahi was barking mad that the PML-N had become a splinter group of the PPP. Actually this may also have the N-league quite a few advantage points for then those in Punjab who have traditionally voted against the PPP but were supportive of the party’s agenda owing to the recent experiences found it easy to vote for the N-league. Even the return of the Sharifs has something to do with BB’s return. It is all correct to assume that the two parties may have some difference of views, which is an essential part of coalition politics, it is wrong to think that the alliance would fall apart on this issue or that. For all practical purposes I see the problem being solved within next 48 hours. And please remember that the parliament is much superior to the judiciary because it is representative of the people.