Geo Pakistan

Memogate: CJ says there will be no 'take-overs'

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Friday remarked that there would be no 'take-overs' in the country in the presence of a watchful judiciary.

He said that those days were over when the people got verification and authentication for their unconstitutional steps from the courts.

Heading a nine-member larger bench over the memo issue, he told counsel for the petitioners during course of proceedings, that they had already passed a restraining order on November 3, 2007 and what happened afterwards, everybody knew.

People, including lawyers and political parties, were on the roads against the unconstitutional steps and even the democratically elected parliament did not endorse any of those steps, he said.

Referring to the events of 2007, the CJ said, "People were on the roads against unconstitutional steps, including the sitting Prime Minister (Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani), who himself was on the Constitution Avenue during that time."

"It is a great achievement that even commander of armed forces had submitted his statement before the court. Everyone shows trust in the courts to conduct a probe, including Chief of the Army Staff and Hussain Haqqani," he added.

He said now everyone had realized that institutions should be strengthened.

He told the counsel to be assured that they were sitting there and there would be no more take-overs through unconstitutional steps.

He said the judges were bound by their oath to protect and defend the Constitution.

"Only the Constitution will prevail in the country and nothing else," he added.

The bench in its order directed Attorney General for Pakistan (AG) Molvi Anwarul Haq to seek instructions from the Prime Minister over submission of a comprehensive statement regarding a press conference in which certain members of Parliament belonging to PPP had ridiculed judiciary.

The bench in its order said that the statement placed on record by the Attorney General was not acceptable.

The bench expressing its displeasure over the contents of statement observed that if this was the stance of the government, then how government offices premises were used by the private party members to ridicule judiciary.

The chief justice dictated the order after going through a statement by the AG and brought his attention to the stance taken on holding of the press conference.

He told the AG that the statement submitted on his behalf and carrying his signatures was evasive as it gave the impression that the press conference was held by PPP leaders alone.

He said that when it was an individual act, then how they were using government office to ridicule judiciary.

He said if it was the stance of PPP, then they were not expecting it.

The CJ quoted lines from the presidential reference sent to it by the President for revisiting of ZAB's murder trial, in which it was recognized and accepted that judiciary in Pakistan was independent and playing a pro-active role in cases of public importance.

He said that he believed it was not the stance of the Prime Minister.

Justice Jawwad S. Khawja said that if the party leaders held press conference then the same party was in the government which made the statement contradictory.

The bench on the request of AG adjourned hearing till December 27 as he was in the process of filing affidavits on part of ministries of interior, establishment, law and cabinet divisions and after the process he would be in position to argue the case.

On another constitutional petition moved by Shafqatullah, a Pakistani national living in Canada, the bench repeated notices to the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The petitioner had sent a letter to the apex Court raising his concern over the memo controversy.

During the course of proceedings over the maintainability of pleas over memo, Ishaq Dar, a PML-N legislator, counsel for Zafar Iqbal Jhagra, Abdul Qadir Baloch, former AJK prime minister Raja Muhammad Farooq, Ghaus Ali Shah former MNA, and others contended that their petitions were maintainable as they had raised a vital question of the country's sovereignty which attracted Articles 4, 9, 10, 10A of the constitution.

The Chief Justice during course of arguments by Ishaq Dar, a member of Parliamentary Committee on National Security, told him that he could not say that the Parliament was not functioning.

Dar said that it was his firm belief that the committee currently probing the memo case would not deliver.

Justice Mian Saqib Nisar told him that court assumed its jurisdiction under its constitutional provision but he could not say that it should assume jurisdiction as the parliament was not delivering.

Justice Jawwad S. Khawja also observed that the Court would not go by the presumptions and could not deliver verdicts on such things.

He said the difference between the media and the Court was that it did not give its opinion on media reports.

He also expressed his wonder over the hype created in media by saying that from today's reading of two newspapers an impression was created that the parliament and army were on war path.

"There is no question of clash. We have to see facts," he added. The CJ observed that they were sitting there with an open mind. (APP)