| DAWN/The News International, KARACHI | 27 January 2000, Thursday, 19 Shawwal 1420 |
KARACHI: Stressing the need for unity among Sindhis and Mohajirs, chief of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Altaf Hussain has urged the Sindhis to come forward to rescue the land of Shah Latif from the clutches of establishment, which he claimed consisted of "Punjabis".
The Muttahida chief on Wednesday released the text of his open letter to Sindhi brethren in which he narrated the tale of how Sindh became a colony of 'Punjabi rulers'.
"Virtually this open letter is an epitome of verbalism but in fact it is the voice of my inner heart full of pathos and agony which I hope will not go unheard and unresponded. In all earnestness, it deserves careful and serious consideration by you all. Allow me to pose a question straightway. Have the common Sindhis of the province of Sindh got freedom after the creation of Pakistan? Before Independence, Sindh was a British colony and now it has virtually become a colony of 'Punjabi rulers'," he stated.
He stated that in the wake of British policy of 'divide and rule', the 'Punjabi establishment' created its own hegemony over Sindh by creating a deep rift and hatred between the Sindhis and Mohajirs.
"It is on record that Sindh is sustaining the burden of Pakistan for the last 52 years. It is generating 70% of the total Pakistan revenues but let me ask what Sindh is getting in return from the Punjabi establishment? The pace of development is equally dismal. It is rather irony of fate that against the sacrifices made by the province of Sindh, its people have been rewarded with poverty and adversity."
He said: "Shower of bullets and dead bodies they reaped as harvest of their labour. And top of it all they were dubbed as traitors. G M Syed, who greatly contributed and voted towards the success of the Pakistan Resolution was also proclaimed as a traitor by the Punjabi establishment for supporting Muslim League and put behind bars, where he languished till his death."
He said: "It is a fact that whenever Pakistan was confronted with a severe crisis the 'Punjabi establishment' used Sindh and its people for its rescue. After the fall of Dhaka, Pakistan was in complete disarray, surrender of 93,000 force before the Indian army had demoralised the armed forces. At that critical juncture, Z A Bhutto was used to serve the nefarious ends of the 'Punjabi Establishment'. And when the 'establishment' achieved its purpose through Bhutto, he was hanged and martial law was clamped.
He said: "To appease the disgruntled Sindhis, General Zia-ul-Haque enhanced the quota system for another 10 years. Similarly, Mohammad Khan Junejo another Sindhi prime minister too fell victim to the intrigues of the 'Punjabi Establishment'. During the tenure of Benazir government, thousands of Mohajirs were killed extra-judicially and the involved police officers were praised and rewarded with cash and promotions in order to appease the 'establishment'. When she began to delude herself that her salvation lies in such appeasement, her brother Murtaza Bhutto was murdered by the same police officials during her government, but Benazir could not initiate any action against the culprits just to save her own government. In the end, she too was removed."
He urged the Sindhis not to treat him as an alien. "I am not the enemy of Sindh and its people. But unfortunately, my statement was ridiculed by the so-called Sindhi leaders," he said.
MQM activists exonerated in firing caseKARACHI: Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADJ) East, Ghulam Qadir Leghari acquitted more than two dozen workers of Mohajir Qaumi Movement from a case of firing at a police party. Asim, Jameel Kazmi, Javed alias Murghi, Amir alias Hee and 19 other workers of MQM were tried by the court in a case registered by Sharea Faisal police. According to prosecution the accused attacked a police mobile with automatic weapons causing injuries to Constable Abdul Razzak and a pedestrian Sabir. The accused were, however, exonerated due to contradictory statements of the prosecution witnesses.
Man dies in CIA custodyISLAMABAD: Thirteen judges of the superior judiciary, including Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, ceased to hold office after they refused to take fresh oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), on Wednesday.
Mr Justice Irshad Hassan Khan became the new chief justice of Pakistan as the judges of the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court and four High Courts were administered oath under the PCO.
Six judges of the apex court, including the chief justice, refused to take fresh oath. The other seven judges who were not invited for the oath were two from the Lahore High Court (LHC), two from Peshawar High Court (PHC) and three from Sindh High Court (SHC).
Mr Justice Irshad Hassan Khan was administered oath by President Rafiq Tarar at Aiwan-e-Sadr. Six other judges of the Supreme Court and the entire fleet of judges of the Federal Shariat Court also took oath under the PCO. All the four judges of the Federal Shariat Court (FSC) were also administered oath.
Out of the existing strength of 102 judges of the entire superior judiciary, around 89 judges were administered the new oath on Wednesday. The ceremony was attended among others by Chief Executive General Pervaiz Musharraf, federal ministers, members of National Security Council and senior civil and military officials. Those who took new oath "will discharge their duties and perform their functions honestly and to the best of their abilities and faithfully in accordance with the Proclamation of Emergency of the October 14, 1999, the PCO No. 1 of 1999 as amended, this order and the law," the new oath says.
It adds: "That I will abide by the provisions of the Proclamation of Emergency of the 14th day of October, 1999, the Provisional Constitution Order No. 1 of 1999 as amended this Order and the Code of Conduct issued by the Supreme Judiciary Council."
Sixty-two-year-old Chief Justice Siddiqui, who refused to take the oath, said, "I have no regrets about my decision. There is no question of my taking the oath. That was absolutely clear to everybody."
The Tuesday midnight move was seen by many as a repeat to what the last military ruler, General Ziaul Haq, did in early 1980s. At that time few of the judges also refused to take oath.
"Whatever has happened is in the interest of the country," said Chief Executive General Pervaiz Musharraf, who attended the swearing-in ceremony for the new chief justice of Pakistan and other judges at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.
He, however, reserved further comments, though Law Minister and Attorney General Aziz A Munshi said, "Things have happened as situation warranted." He added, "It is their own choice." He was asked about the judges who did not take oath.
By and large, the lawyer community believed that this move has created a "sharp division" in the superior judiciary.
Pakistan Muslim League, which is likely to face the music the most, described this decision as the "blackest spot" in the country's judicial history. "Now the country has put under real martial law," said top PML leader Raja Zafarul Haq. The seven Supreme Court judges who took oath under the PCO were Mr Justice Irshad Hassan Khan (Chief Justice), Mr Justice Bashir Jehangiri, Mr Justice Abdur Rehman Khan, Mr Justice Shaikh Riaz Ahmed, Mr Justice Munir A Shaikh, Mr Justice Shaikh Ejaz Nisar, and Mr Justice Ch Mohammad Arif.
The judges who refused were Chief Justice Mr Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui (who was due to retire on Nov 11, 2000), Mr Justice Mamoon Kazi (retiring date Dec 29, 2000), Mr Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid (Feb 2, 2000), Mr Justice Khalilur Rehman (April 24, 2001), Mr Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed (November 2003), and Mr Justice Kamal Mansoor Alam (April 2002).
New appointments in the superior judiciary are expected to take place shortly.
Reacting to the oath-taking, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed said, "The country seems to have plunged into a more complicated constitutional crisis."
The swearing-in ceremonies were held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr and the respective governor houses in the provinces.
In Punjab, 41 out of total 43 judges of the Lahore High Court were administered the oath. Only two judges -- Mr Justice Ehsanul Haq Ch and Mr Justice Najamul Hassan Kazmi -- did not take oath.
Twenty-four judges and Chief Justice of the LHC Mr Justice Rashid Aziz Khan took oath at the Governor House, while 11 judges in Multan and five in Rawalpindi were administered oath.
In Sindh, three High Court judges -- Mr Justice Dr Ghous Muhammad, Mr Justice Rasheed Ahmed Razvi and Mr Justice Mushtaq Ahmed Memon -- were not invited to take fresh oath under Provisional Constitutional Order (POC) in Karachi on Wednesday.
The remaining 22 judges, including Chief Justice Mr Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, took fresh oath in two ceremonies held at the Sindh Governor House and the SHC Committee Room.
The official announcement regarding fresh oath of the judges of superior judiciary, including Federal Shariat Court, was made on Tuesday night. Due to this late-night announcement, three judges -- Mr Justice Rana Bhagwandas, Mr Justice Ghulam Nabi Soomro and Mr Justice Musheer Alam -- who were holding sittings at Sukkur and Hyderabad circuit benches could not attend the oath-taking ceremony at Governor House. They, however, were later administered fresh oath by the chief justice in the SHC building.
Mr Justice Dr Ghous Muhammad, Mr Justice Rasheed Ahmed Razvi and Mr Justice Mushtaq Ahmed Memon held sitting at the principal seat of SHC in Karachi on Wednesday, but they discharged the respective boards when they were told that they were not being invited to take fresh oath under the PCO.
Mr Justice Rasheed Ahmed Razvi and Mr Justice Dr Ghous Muhammad left for their homes soon after discharging their boards while Mr Justice Mushtaq Ahmed Memon stayed in his chamber till late in the afternoon.
Earlier, Chief Justice Mr Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui and 18 other judges were invited to Sindh Governor House to take oath under PCO. Governor Sindh Air Marshal (retd) Azeem Ahmed Dauodpota administered the oath to Chief Justice Mr Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui. After taking fresh oath, Mr Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui administered oath to 18 judges at Governor House in a simple but impressive ceremony.
The judges who took oath at Governor House included Mr Justice Syed Deedar Hussain Shah, Mr Justice Amanullah Abassi, Mr Justice Hamid Ali Mirza, Mr Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Mr Justice Sayyed Saeed Ash'had, Mr Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed, Mr Justice Abdul Ghani Shaikh, Mr Justice Mohammad Roshan Essani, Mr Justice Shamim Ahmed Sarwana, Mr Justice Zahid Kurban Alvi, Mr Justice Shabbir Ahmed, Mr Justice Ata-ur-Rehman, Mr Justice Ghulam Rabbani, Mr Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmani, Mr Justice Anwer Zaheer Jamali, Mr Justice SA Rabbani, Mr Justice M Ashraf Laghari and Mr Justice Wahid Bux Brohi.
Mr Justice Rana Bhagwandas, Mr Justice Ghulam Nabi Soomro and Mr Justice Musheer Alam were administered oath at the SHC building in the afternoon by Chief Justice Mr Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui.
The office-bearers and members of Sindh High Court Bar Association and Sindh Bar Council were not invited to attend the oath-taking ceremonies at Governor House and SHC.
Later Chief Justice Mr Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui congratulated the judges who took fresh oath.
In Quetta, Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court (BHC) Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and four other High Court judges took a fresh oath under Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) on Wednesday.
Balochistan Governor Justice (retd) Amirul Mulk Mengal administered the oath. The oath-taking ceremony was held at the Governor House here. The BHC judges who took oath under the PCO included BHC Chief Justice Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Mr Justice Javed Iqbal, Mr Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Mr Justice Amanullah Khan and Mr Justice Fazlur Rehman.
Prominent amongst the guests who witnessed the oath-taking ceremony were Corps Commander Quetta Lieutenant General Mushtaq Hussain, Advocate General Balochistan Ashraf Tanoli, President BHC Bar Association Hadi Shakil Ahmed, provincial ministers and other senior military and civil officials. In the NWFP, Governor Lt-Gen (retd) Muhammad Shafiq administered oath to Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court Mr Justice Mian Muhammad Ajmal, who later administered oath to 9 other judges.
No Sindh representation in SCKARACHI: The five judges representing Sindh in the Supreme Court of Pakistan who refused to take oath under the new PCO include former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Justice Saeeduz Zaman Siddique and Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, Justice Wajeeuddin Ahmed, Justice Kamal Manzoor Alam and Justice Mammon Qazi. With their refusal to take oath Sindh province has no representation now in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
MQM opposes fresh oathISLAMABAD: The military government, headed by Chief Executive General Pervaiz Musharraf, has skillfully warded off a bid to force imposition of martial law, The News Intelligence Network (NIN) has learnt reliably.
Well-placed sources close to the military government have disclosed that the sudden move to ask the judges to take fresh oath of allegiance under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) was, in fact, aimed at preempting a bid to plunge the country into chaos.
"A Lahore-based trio had planned a conspiracy to force the Chief Executive into formally imposing martial law, thereby causing his government to lose face in the international community," a source told NIN, requesting he not be named.
"The objective of the conspiracy was to thwart attempts by the government to arrange a stopover in Pakistan by US President Bill Clinton, which would lent credibility to the military regime in Pakistan," the source elaborated.
A visit by Clinton to India has been confirmed by the United States government while his proposed trip to Pakistan has been put into doubt by the recent hijacking of an Indian airliner, blamed on Islamabad by New Delhi.
According to the source, the trio behind the conspiracy comprised Justice Khalilur Rehman Khan of the Supreme Court, who refused to take fresh oath on Wednesday, the Lahore-based editor of a pro-Nawaz Sharif Urdu daily and a top bureaucrat close to deposed Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif. A close associate of Justice Khalilur Rehman Khan, however, strongly denied Justice Khalil was linked to any such move or had any knowledge of it.
"Intelligence sources discovered that fabulous sums of money were involved in the conspiracy which was to be implemented in the next few days through a Supreme Court decision in the case challenging the military coup," the source told The News.
He further disclosed that one of the government officers residences in GOR-I, Lahore, was being used as a 'safe venue' to hatch the conspiracy. "We have learnt that Mian Muhammad Sharif, the father of Nawaz and Shahbaz, was in constant touch with Justice Khalilur Rehman in planning a verdict to declare the October 12 counter-coup unlawful," the source said.
"This verdict was to force the authorities into stepping in to control the consequences by formally declaring martial law," he maintained. "Such an eventuality would have created immense difficulties for the government at home as well as abroad."
Thus, the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), under which the judges of the superior judiciary took fresh oath Wednesday morning, was made mandatory to prevent such a possibility. The PCO bars any judge, court or tribunal from issuing or making any judgement, decree, writ, order or process whatsoever against the Chief Executive or any authority designated by him, thereby eliminating any chance of the military government being declared illegal.
"The authorities quickly moved to save Pakistan from a martial law by asking the judges to take oath of allegiance, thereby preempting any conspiracy that could have forced an adverse situation," the source explained.
The government ploy worked, he said, pointing out that many judges, including Justice Khalilur Rehman, bowed out from the judiciary, thereby putting an end of any possibility of the conspiracy from succeeding.
It may be mentioned here that several identical petitions, including those filed by Pakistan Muslim League leaders Syed Zafar Ali Shah and Ilahi Shah Bakhsh Soomro, challenging the military action of October 12 are currently being heard.
The Supreme Court was due to hear the case on a regular basis next week on whether the military government that seized power last year is legitimate or otherwise. The government issued instructions late Tuesday night that Supreme and High Court judges should take fresh oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) to preempt the intrigues by the vested interests.
Wednesday's dramatic events came as lawyers for Nawaz Sharif demanded an immediate adjournment at the opening of his trial in an Anti-Terrorism Court in Karachi for hijacking, attempted murder and terrorism.They argued that the case involving the military government's legitimacy should be resolved first.
Nawaz Sharif and some of his closest aides are accused of plotting to prevent a plane carrying General Pervaiz Musharraf from landing in Karachi on October 12, prompting the military to step in.