Opinion From the bench

One says “supposedly” at this time because the interpretation of the pertinent constitutional clauses protecting the presidency against litigation has become a mooting point between lawyers belonging to pro- and anti-Zardari camps. Never before this political drama unfolding has Pakistan seen such a vigorous legal debate on TV and generated such great public interest. This,while ethnic nationalist,including Sindhi nationalist,opposition,rightist parties as well as the public at large have all welcomed the SC judgment. This makes it a popular verdict to be handed down by an apex court which,in the past,has been known to act as a sitting government’s or a dictator’s surrogate.

The verdict also derives its strength from its unanimity by a 17-member full court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry,whose restoration to the coveted office came only on the back of the lawyers’ movement and popular support last March after Zardari had refused to reinstate him. By contrast,Zardari’s and his top aides’ popularity has seen a steady decline since their inception in government after General Musharraf was forced to step down in August 2008. Speculation is now rife across the board on what will become of the president and his close associates,sullied once again as they stand under the burden of corruption and criminal cases.

The court has directed the government to approach the Swiss authorities for the revival of money laundering cases filed in Swiss courts by the Musharraf regime against the former first couple; Bhutto was convicted in one such case by a Swiss court and had gone into appeal at the time when Musharraf withdrew the cases in October 2007 after promulgation of the NRO under a power-sharing deal with the late PPP leader. The court has also ordered the government to proceed against the former attorney general,Malik Qayyum,for illegally withdrawing the Swiss cases.

The fact remains that post-Bhutto’s assassination,Zardari’s has been a somewhat dubious entry into politics. Here is the man Bhutto had struggled all her married life to keep out of politics,for he had been a key factor in muddying her own reputation whilst she was in power. His

sudden ascent to the most powerful office in the land,thanks to Musharraf’s tinkering with the constitution making the president the pivot of all authority,has ruffled many feathers within the PPP old guard. It was the two PPP stalwarts,Mubashir Hasan and Abdul Hafiz Peerzada,both former ministers in Z.A. Bhutto’s ’70s cabinet,who had petitioned the SC against the legality of the NRO.

Following the SC verdict,even though the presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar was quick to assert that Zardari would continue in office despite the NRO verdict,his holding on to office has at least morally become untenable. Moreover,what’s now to stop another petitioner from going to the court for the kill? This can start by simply calling into question Zardari’s credentials as on October 5,2007 when the NRO was proclaimed,illegally,as the court has now determined. At that point in time Zardari was a proclaimed offender evading court cases and living in self-imposed exile. Could such a

person be held eligible to contest for a public office,let aside the highest office in the land?

It is such and other disturbing questions that have now come back to hound the erstwhile beneficiaries of the NRO,a bad law that stands abolished ab initio for its being in contradiction with the constitution of Pakistan. The cases against such beneficiaries not only stand revived now but the government has been directed by the court to pursue them vigorously under the higher judiciary’s direct supervision.

Wednesday’s judgment against them aside,what Zardari and Co lack in their defence is public support,given the bad governance they have given the country since coming to power. This puts them at the mercy of a dispassionate court which,in turn,is under public pressure to show that justice is being done.

The writer is an editor with ‘Dawn’,Karachi

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