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Special to the tribune
No intention to sack Kayani, Pasha: Govt
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US shuts down popular file sharing website
This image shows a page of Megapuload.com, one of the largest file-sharing websites shut down by the US.
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Special to the tribune On Thursday, the Supreme Court proceedings ended with one clear message to all those who have been worried or panicked about dramatic consequences following its January 16 order instructing Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to come and explain why he should not be charged with contempt of court.
The message is that neither side will make any rash or populist move and a genuine judicial process operating within constitutional parameters is at work, in which the government will plead its case primarily on legal grounds. Starting from February 1, the hearings will focus on the NGO judgment and the question of the presidential immunity, while the issue of charging Gilani with contempt of court will become secondary. The Prime Minister, who walked in with Aitzaz Ahsan as his lawyer, has signaled to the apex court that from now on the government will not be evasive or confrontationalist in dealing with the SC or its orders. However, this does not rule out the continuing trend of the Opposition parties to announce alignment with the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice. With Babar
Awan, not in either a ministerial slot or a high-profile legal slot, the PPP may be signalling some departure from its earlier policy of showing blatant public disrespect to the court. The PPP has the option of resorting to legal avenues for seeking redress against what it may believe is court’s partisan attitude. Meanwhile, in pleading his innocence before the court, the Prime Minister himself made four important points. One, the PPP remains committed to upholding the constitution and acknowledges its supremacy. Two, through recall of successive PPP leaders’ personal appearance in the court and their past adherence to court orders, he argued that PPP’s respect for the judiciary is an established fact. Three, the President of Pakistan enjoys, within Pakistan, immunity under article 248 and outside enjoys immunity under the Vienna Convention. Finally, the Prime Minister said that the entire Parliament supported the immunity of the President since in the 18th Amendment, in which 103 articles were amended, there was an all-party consensus to not amend that clause. The Prime Minister’s submission and presence prompted Justice Khosa to observe that this was a great day for rule of law in the history of Pakistan “irrespective of the outcome of the case. Indeed while the Prime Minister is not ‘home safe’ on the issue of contempt of court, his lawyer will be obliged by the court to respond to why should the court change its view that the government has been dragging its feet on the implementation of the NRO judgment and overlook what the court claims have been government summaries prepared for the “non-implementation of the NRO judgment.” On this matter Aitzaz Ahsan has already responded by saying that he will submit a detailed response to what orders were passed and how the government responded. The public perception also is that, leaving aside the letter to the Swiss authorities, the government has not fully implemented the NRO judgment. The second issue of the President’s indemnity will now be argued in court. The PM has been exempted from further appearances while Aitzaz Ahsan will argue why his client “acted in good faith” and by not writing the letter upheld the Cconstitution of Pakistan, which provides indemnity to the President against all criminal proceedings. While we all await the Supreme Court hearings, there is an important and related issue on which the Chief Justice should in his own wisdom and his commitment to upholding the dignity of the Supreme Court, pass an immediate order. All gatherings, protests or celebrations, sloganeering or collective show of force etc by lawyers must be ruled illegal with immediate effect. Irrespective of which political party or which judge such a gathering supports, it undermines the institutional dignity of the SC. On Thursday, there were some PPP-supporting lawyers and many more who were busy raising pro-CJ and anti-President and anti-Prime Minister slogans. Surely in a show of his neutrality and wisdom, the Chief Justice wants to rise above all divides. In the post-2007 Pakistan, the institutions’ intrinsic authority and muscle must be made operational and the populist muscle that became imperative because of the military ruler’s violation of the constitution and of the SC is no longer needed. For now, the incumbents, including the chief executive, are appearing before the Supreme Court as laid down in the constitution. And undoubtedly in the coming days, the government is also going to be more obedient in the implementation of the NRO judgment, barring the letter to the Swiss authorities, which will be argued by the government’s lawyer. Pakistan is very gradually but definitely moving towards constitutional rule. While the lawyers and the media must remained vigilant that due process is followed by all the parties, the forum for ensuring this is the media and other public forums, but certainly not the SC premises.
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No intention to sack Kayani, Pasha: Govt Islamabad, January 20 Attorney General Anwar-ul-Haq informed a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry of the government’s position while responding to a petition that had asked the apex court to restrain the civilian administration from taking any action against army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) head Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha. Lawyer FK Butt, who filed the petition, had asked the court to direct the government not to take any steps against the army and ISI chiefs like the recent sacking of Defence Secretary (retired) Lt Gen Khalid Naeem Lodhi by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Butt contended that according to media reports, the government could sack the army and ISI chiefs over the memo issue. The Attorney General drew the court’s attention to a statement on the issue by the Prime Minister and said Butt certainly had information about this statement. He said the court should not rely on media reports as the petition was based on mere speculation. The Chief Justice directed the Attorney General to seek instructions from the government and to file a detailed reply on the matter in two weeks. The top judge further observed that the situation should “move towards an improvement”. Tensions between the government and the military reached a peak last week after Gilani said the army and intelligence chiefs had acted in an “unconstitutional and illegal” manner by filing affidavits on the memo issue in the apex court without getting the government’s approval. The Prime Minister sacked Lodhi, a confidant of the army chief, on charges of gross misconduct and creating misunderstandings between the government and the military. Lodhi has challenged his dismissal in court, saying he was given no opportunity to explain his position. Lodhi earned the premier’s ire by filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court that contended the government had no operational control of the army and ISI. The affidavit was filed in a case related to the memo scandal that has triggered a simmering row between the government and the military. The alleged memo had sought US help to stave off a feared military takeover in Pakistan after the killing of Osama bin Laden in May last year. — PTI
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US shuts down popular file sharing website Washington, January 20 The Department of Justice announced the indictment and arrests of four company executives on Thursday as debate in Washington reaches a fever pitch over online piracy. Lawmakers are trying to craft legislation that balances cracking down on violators while avoiding censorship of the Internet. The movie and music industries want Congress to crack down on Internet piracy and content theft. Major Internet companies like Google and Facebook have complained that current drafts of the legislation would lead to censorship. A Justice Department official said the timing of the arrests was not related to the battle in Congress. Yet some of the most vocal critics of the bills, known as the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, and Protect IP Act (PIPA), quickly moved to show their opposition to the shutdown of Megaupload.com. Hackers attacked the public websites of the Justice Department, the world’s largest music company Universal Music, and the two big trade groups that represent the music and film industries. “The government takes down Megaupload? 15 minutes later Anonymous takes down government & record label sites,” a member of Anonymous said via Twitter. Representatives with the Justice Department and Recording Industry Association of America declined comment on the attacks. Officials with Universal Music could not immediately be reached. Motion Picture Association of America spokesman Howard Gantman said his group was working with law enforcement to identify the attackers. The group, dubbed by prosecutors as “Mega Conspiracy,” was accused of engaging in a scheme that took more than $500 million away from copyright holders and generated over $175 million in proceeds from subscriptions and advertising, according to the indictment unsealed on Thursday. — Reuters
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Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership, the government today told the Supreme Court that it has no intention to sack the army and intelligence chiefs who were accused of acting in an “unconstitutional and illegal” manner in the memo scandal.
The US government shut down the Megaupload.com content sharing website, charging its founders and several employees with massive copyright infringement, the latest skirmish in a high-profile battle against piracy of movies and music.
