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Pakistan: The long march of the lawyers restores the chief justice
Asian Human Rights Commission Statement - March 16, 2009
Clearly demonstrating the iron will of the people of Pakistan to return to the rule of law and reassert the independence of the judiciary the people took to the streets, lead by the great movement of the lawyers and ready for the long haul.
The announcement today by the prime minister to reinstate the deposed chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, comes as a clear concession by the government of Mr. Zadari to the will of the people. This reinstatement is clearly a historic victory for the people of Pakistan. This reinstatement is even a greater victory to the people than the resignation of the dictator, Pervez Musharraf. The Asian Human Rights Commission congratulates the people of the country and the lawyer's movement and offers its best wishes to Chief Justice Chaudhry who will now have a further opportunity to work towards the improvement of the rule of law, democracy and human rights.
The lesson from Pakistan is that the preservation of the rule of law and democracy is the only way to preserve national security. Military dictators and other conservative elements have tried to create anarchy and chaos under the pretext of fighting terrorism and safeguarding national security. In fact, the period of anarchy and chaos only enhanced corruption and the personal gains of a few at the risk of creating a virtual hell for the remainder of the population.
A situation similar to this has also taken place in neighboring countries and the rhetoric of national security has been used to undermine freedom of expression and association. Illegal arrest and detention under various pretexts have become the normal way of life in the south Asian region. Small cliques that act as the ruling regimes have enhanced their capacities for corruption while the rest of the population has been reduced to poverty as well as every form of the abuse of power. It is in this background that extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances have increased.
The emergence of regimes that have no respect for the law is the bewildering spectacle that has been appearing for a long time in the countries of the region. All those who stand for law and order are being treated as subversives and every attempt is made to dampen the courage of lawyers, journalists, intellectuals, civil society activists and all such public spirited persons.
It is in this context that the wisdom, courage and the boldness of the great movement of lawyers in Pakistan and the people who supported them needs to be placed. They were put in a do or die situation with either the tyranny of dictatorship and the humiliation of the police and military boot was on one side or a bold and daring struggle for the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary on the other. It goes to the credit of the leaders of the Lawyer's Movement, many courageous judges, including Chief Justice Chaudhry himself and millions of people in the country who chose to place their national interest first and make a sacrifice to preserve the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.
Naturally this is a moment of celebration and there is all the justification from the historical sense for such celebration. However, it should also be a moment for fresh resolve to complete the task so well begun, which is to face up to the restoration of the rule of law in the country. It is those who have faced the agony of anarchy and chaos that know the value of the rule of law. Therefore the people of Pakistan now have the opportunity to put the lessons they have learned in a bitter struggle against tyranny, corruption and abuse of power by way of creating the foundation for rule of law.
National security without rule of law is a great bluff. The people of Pakistan have been able to call this bluff. It should now become the heritage of the people not to allow the rule of law to be sacrificed in the name of national security or anything else. The people who were able to drag down a dictator like Musharraf and able to get the government to reckon that the promises to reinstate the judges, including the chief justice cannot be dishonoured, all by way of peaceful agitation, have all the resources they need to transform their country into a modern rule of law democracy where independent judges and not military regimes will be the arbiters of the human liberties of the people. The people of other countries in the region have a great lesson to learn from the people of Pakistan and in particular the Lawyer's movement of the country.
About AHRC
The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
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