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Mush could face treason charges: Legal experts
Sri Lanka embarks on moral policing
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Abortion Pill Usage
Militant accused of killing Pearl held
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Mush could face treason charges: Legal experts
With countrywide jubilation on the Supreme Court judgment on Emergency and dismissal of judges continuing, analysts have engaged in intense debate on political and legal implications of the landmark ruling. The judgment leads to a massive overhaul of country’s superior judiciary after nearly 110 judges — almost double the sixty judges sacked by Musharraf in November 2007 that have been declared illegal. This has been the widely hailed feature of the verdict raising hopes that a genuinely independent and clean judiciary would emerge with fresh appointments made on merit under watchful eyes of the media and the civil society. On the political plane its impact on former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf and President Asif Zardari has attracted the most attention and evoked heated debate among analysts. Musharraf's imposition of Emergency has been declared illegal and subversive of the constitution, which amounts to treason for which the constitution provides death penalty. In its earlier observations during the arguments, the court made it clear that it would not undertake the task of prosecuting or punishing Musharraf and left it to the parliament to take any step. The demand for Musharraf’s trial on treason and other charges, however, has been given impetus by the judgment. “The logical conclusion is that Musharraf may be put in the dock on charges of treason and sedition,” says Ahsan Iqbal, information secretary of the Opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, eminent jurist, who led the lawyers’ movement, said he is convinced that Musharraf would now never return to Pakistan for fear of being prosecuted on a litany of charges. President Asif Zardari’s fate is linked to the future of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) promulgated by Musharraf a day before presidential election in October 2007. The NRO pardoned Zardari, Benazir Bhutto and scores of other politicians and bureaucrats facing corruption charges. In addition, it led to release of nearly four thousand MQM activists charged with heinous crimes including murder, kidnapping, terrorism and extortion. The court has left it to the parliament to approve or reject all ordinances, including the NRO within 120 days failing which these would lapse. While the constitutional validity of the NRO is already subject of a petition in the court likely to come up for hearing next month, few believe that the parliament would endorse it because it contravenes many constitutional provisions. However, legal experts say such a development would have no legal or political effect on President Zardari. He enjoys immunity from being prosecuted. He was bailed out in all cases by 2004 and has also been acquitted by court after the promulgation of NRO. The court has assiduously avoided what Chief Justice described as “rocking the boat and disrupting the system.” It endorsed the 2008 elections and the oath of office administered by Justice Dogar whose elevation as chief justice has been declared unconstitutional. The judgment extended full support to present democratic order and appreciated the parliament for not validating Musharraf's emergency and the PCO. “The judgment very intelligently avoided triggering any institutional conflict,” says prominent politician Kabir Wasti. “It has also given a positive message to the international donors that the judiciary is alive and the parliamentary democracy faces no threat of being destabilised,” he added.
May stay away from Pak: Report
London, August 1 He is reportedly on a luxury
cruise at present. According to a report in The Guardian, lawyers danced on the steps of the Supreme Court in Islamabad after a 14-judge bench ruled that Musharraf acted illegally when he suspended the constitution and imposed a six-week period of emergency rule on November 3, 2007. The court ruling was delivered by chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who was removed by Musharraf in March 2007 sparking protests which ultimately led to the General’s downfall. The court did not say whether Musharraf should be tried for treason but the trenchant ruling left him legally exposed to a prosecution, the report said. However, analysts said that was unlikely, at least for now, because any move would have to be initiated by the government, which is keen to avoid confrontation with the powerful military. The report quoted Talat Masood, a retired general and former Musharraf confidante, saying it was unlikely he would return to Pakistan soon. “He will stay away and the army will advise him to stay away,” he said. “I hear he’s on a luxury cruise. I think that might be extended for some time.”
— PTI
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Sri Lanka embarks on moral policing
The Sri Lanka government has began a crackdown on all that it considers detrimental to the country’s cultural norms and values. The steps include banning movies and advertisements showing overdose of sex, drug and alcohol use, blocking pornographic websites, besides imposing ban on use of mobile phones in schools by both students and teachers.
The ban on the use of mobile phones came after a student of a private school in Colombo committed suicide after her phone was confiscated. This was followed by an announcement that the government would block pornographic websites, particularly those having local content. There was also an announcement that new laws would be introduced to censor films, advertisements and other media showing use of drugs or overdose of sex. “These contents are corrupting the minds of our youth. We will streamline it for now and hope to suspend the laws in future,” a cultural ministry official said. The government’s sudden rush of “moral policing” has not pleased everyone. Film actors, directors, producers and members of opposition parties have expressed concern over banning movies saying adults should be allowed to watch what they prefer. Several independently run websites have also criticised the move saying the government is heading towards a “nanny state”, while some have even called it the “Talibanisation” of Sri Lankan society.
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Abortion Pill Usage
London, August 1 The Vatican, which has battled in the United Nations and other forums to halt acceptance of the abortion pill, reacted with dismay to the decision to approve limited use of the Mifepristone that has been available in much of the rest of Europe since the 1990s. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pope’s thinktank on bioethical issues, the Pontifical Academy for Life, said: “The fact of taking a pill may be less traumatic for a woman, but it does not change the substance. It is still abortion.” He underlined that the consequences for a Catholic - automatic excommunication - were “the same as those for surgical abortion”, the Guardian newspaper reported today. Elio Sgreccia, another top official from the Academy for Life, said women taking the pill or doctors administering it incurred automatic excommunication under church law, according to media reports. — PTI
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Militant accused of killing Pearl held
Islamabad, August 1 The militant is believed by the police to be closely linked to Al-Qaida and Taliban groups and their commanders. Pearl was abducted from Karachi in 2002 while doing a story on militant funding. His remains were later found in a grave on the outskirts of the port city. Shakir is also linked to several terrorist strikes, including the suicide bombing of the Marriott Hotel last year and an attack in Rawalpindi.
— PTI
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