Killing the Nation with Impunity

A short while ago, a family friend of ours, settled in the Scandinavian state of Sweden for last many years, paid a brief visit to us. In the course of discussion, she narrated a couple of distinctive laws of the Swedish Criminal Code. Having checked the veracity of her description through independent channels, and allowing myself convenience of [extreme] simplification, I would like to impart those inspiring features over here.

First, in Sweden commerce of goods that are palpably stolen (or where there are strong reasons to suspect the rightful ownership) is a bigger, more serious offense than that of criminal acts of stealing. Swedes contend that by trading the stolen goods [at lower prices] bargain hunters contribute to perpetuate the vicious cycle of larceny. Arguably, few, if any, would steal if there were no customers, demand, and/or market for the booty.

Second, Sweden is the only country in the world [now New Zeeland and Finland are about to join the league of nations adopting this approach] where obtaining – observe, not selling or offering -- casual sexual relations in exchange for payment is a punishable crime. The penalty is a fine or imprisonment for up to six months. Even attempted purchase is also liable to punishment. The offense comprises all forms of sexual services, whether they are purchased on the street, in brothels, or in so-called massage-institutes. This unique piece of legislation came into force on January 1, 1999, and is part of the Government’s Bill ‘Violence Against Women’ (1997/1998:55), a comprehensive program of measures aimed at combating violence against women.

In plain words, working as a prostitute is not a cognizable crime rather to buy their “services”. Justification is that the women (and in some cases men) selling their bodies are already victims, due to one reason or the other, incapable of making rational decisions and/or differentiating between wrong and right. Penalizing them further would serve no purpose. It is the pimps and “johns” (purchasers) who bear the ultimate responsibility of exploiting these vulnerable individuals and should be taken to task. Obviously, in the majority of cases, the “seller” is a weaker partner who is abused by those who only want to satisfy their lust and sexual drives. Truly a novel and humane way of looking at and tackling the social problems, isn’t it?

Analysis of the ongoing auction of “conscience” in Pakistan under the cover of “patriotism”, “pragmatism”, “supreme national interest” and “state necessity” through the prism of the aforementioned noble legal tenets leads to some really unpleasant conclusions. I, however, opt to leave the inevitably macabre deductions in this regard for good judgment of the readers, and instead like to avail the given space for discussing [and debunking] another related subject: the fairy tale of the phenomenon Sharifuddin Pirzada.

A critical review of the legal expertise as well as moral credentials of this Pirzada is long overdue. Besides scrutinizing his vocational brilliance, it’s time to raise some straightforward questions and quash certain fallacious myths. Lets start by asking the following very relevant questions:

(a) What good, if any, has he done for the country in general and to the national legal system in particular during his [all too] long professional life?
(b) Has he ever contributed, in any sense or in any form, towards the welfare, stability and well being of the nation?
(c) His nefarious role in crippling the entire politico-judicial set-up of the country.

A few years back, Pakistan filed a case against India in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the main judicial organ of the United Nations, with reference to the aerial incident of August 10, 1999, in which 16 Pakistan naval personnel were killed in the air-to-air Indian missile attack on unarmed Pakistan naval reconnaissance aircraft ‘Atlantique’.

The so-called legal wizard, Sharifuddin Pirzada, represented Pakistan in the ICJ. The ICJ through 14-2 split decision ruled that the Court lacked jurisdiction and had no authority to adjudicate a dispute between Pakistan and India over the shooting down of a Pakistani naval plane and threw the case out.

According to the petition filed by advocate M D Tahir in the Lahore High Court, PRs. 25 million was spent on the preparation and presentation of an ’untenable’ case. Not surprisingly, Justice Malik Muhammad Qayyum (yeah, the same Qayyum of audio-tapes fame) dismissed the petition in July 2000 while praising the professional competence of Mr Pirzada.

Strangely, there are many people around who are unduly impressed by the legal acumen of Mr Sharifuddin Pirzada. I have never understood reasons for it. See, in the above-mentioned case, the much-feared constitutional guru was not even aware of the jurisdiction of the ICJ. Of course, some people would now say in his defense that the verdict of ICJ was politically motivated and was not according to the legal merit.

Well, very possible. But then you have to give me the liberty to employ the same benchmark for evaluating his performance in national courts as well where he did manage to secure verdicts as per demands of his solicitors every now and then. Would it be wrong to aver that the [positive] outcome, from Pirzada’s and his [usurper] clients’ perspective, in those instances couldn’t always term as fair or impartial either. Particularly, when co-incidentally almost all such cases happened to be adjudged while Pirzada was representing the people in power, i.e., either generals or their stooges in mufti. Hence, it wouldn’t be erroneous to assert that those favorable rulings were always delivered through corrupt judges under coercion and intimidation. Please, help me to recall any case he has so far undertaken during “adverse” circumstances, i.e., against official line and/or not on the behalf of the sitting government and had prevailed? In Pakistan we do bidding of the powerful. Army being the most powerful is obeyed everywhere. Simple.

Look at the notorious LFO: A hotchpotch of “self-validating” amendments he helped concoct, and a military mugger by the virtue of his firepower insists on its validity. Who could disagree that any impartial, independent judge in the world wouldn’t take many minutes of his precious time before flushing this piece of rubbish down the closest WC in the very first hearing? Still many people naively call hogwash of the sort jado-garri (magic power) of Pirzada. So should his “extraordinary intelligence” in the cyclic rape of the Constitution be condemned or admired?

By this obnoxious standard, Saddam Hussein, Muammar Qaddafi, Fidel Castro and Brothers, they all must have had batteries of outstanding constitutional “experts” and advisors. See, none of them had ever lost any case in the courts of their respective country. In fact, anyone backed by 10 heavily armed thugs is the world best lawyer if and when pitched against powerless judiciary. Every majha gamma is a legal genius, if working for a dozen or so corps commanders and principal staff officers, commanding half a million strong brainwashed fighting force. What is commendable in that?

Though I am only an ordinary layperson but I think there is something profoundly wrong with our priorities as a nation state and our grades of excellence. Observe. For more than last forty years, Pirzada has been abetting despots to tear apart the Constitution, ironically even also those parts which he himself once drafted (to serve the interests of yet another dictator). The extensive services he has rendered to Pakistan can be summarized in a single phrase: institutional rape of the superior courts and murder of the constitutional soul of the nation. And we have yet to gather courage to send him to gallows. Most appropriate venues for performing this pious job [consigning Pirzada to hell] would be with a lamppost either along the Constitutional Avenue or in front of the Supreme Court.

If truth be told, not Pirzada alone, each and every person who in any capacity facilitates the despots (elected and imposed ones alike) to build legal castles around them through the drama of phony amendments under deceptive nomenclature ought to be considered as criminals and thereafter treated accordingly. They are the ones who bear the ultimate responsibility for reinforcing a culture of lawlessness where lawbreaking garners more respect than law-abiding.

Thus question arises: Why shouldn’t Sharifuddin Pirzada’s membership of the Bar Council be annulled and he be banned to set his foot in courts premises (like the disgraced General tiger Niazi who is not allowed to enter military garrisons) than to eulogize his dirty schemes? This vile individual, devising ways for all military dictators to ridicule the Constitution and actively destroying the most important organ of the state – judiciary, cannot be pardoned.

We proceed on. The government committed Rs. 4 million as fee to the defense team it has engaged to defend the assumption of Office of President by Gen Pervez Musharraf and holding of referendum to cement it for five years. No wonder, as expected the smart Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada was once again leading the squad to extract a decision written and agreed upon by the GHQ-walas. For a man who has kept a roaring private practice going even when in the service of the public deserves neither any respect nor praise.

Disgustingly, the mastermind behind Zia’s PCS was the same loathsome “encyclopedia” Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada. It is interesting to mention here that Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada was also active in General Ayub Khan’s service when many of us were not even born. Today, he has raised a monument to longevity by serving the 3rd military General (Musharraf) for providing the legal stratagems (to retain power) as being Musharraf’s principal legal adviser with a seat in the National Security Council and the freedom to continue with his legal practice.

Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada who has the dubious distinction of having advised successive military rulers including General Musharraf on how to seek legitimacy and stifle the Supreme Court, is now serving as Prime Minister Jamali’s ’’senior adviser’’ (which denotes a rank senior to even cabinet ministers) and given charge of foreign affairs, law, justice and human rights.

To my poor understanding of the affairs and legal intricacies, Pirzada is at best adept at draping burglary in legal robes, presenting the capital offense of high treason in judicial jargon. Yes, you can trust Pirzada to come up with the perfect quibble to defeat the purposes of law. The man is totally devoid of all moral principles and really stinks -- fond of administering miscarriage of justice. He is at the most in the midst of the web of deceit and deception every dictator needs to weave around his illegitimacy and illegality.

Can you imagine a more reprehensible surgeon who steals body organs out of those patients he operates upon; a senior police officer who is colluding member of criminal gang(s); a lawyer who plays around with the most sacred document of the nation? So, dear readers this man should be reviled not admired; cursed not praised. He ought to be socially boycotted, his name used as an abuse in daily life. Sharifuddin Pirzada is an ugly blot on the face of entire legal fraternity, by any standard.

Actually, we should erect a handful of statues depicting our assorted military messiahs, chief justices holding the dishonor to validate the military coups, along with Pirzada at the entrance of all superior courts. So that people can spit on them while passing by to show their contempt. There is no other way to smash the vicious cycle that has taken over Pakistan. In order to establish a decent society worth its name we have to uphold the Constitution of Pakistan.

It is people like Hamid Khan, president Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the forefront figure of the campaign being mounted by the legal community, and many of his colleagues, upright judges who refuse to budge on their oaths, who should be role models for us. Lawyers working, and working hard for the supremacy of the Constitution and the Parliament, protesting against the one-man show and his shenanigans should be thoroughly appreciated. The key to our survival as a nation rests with these great men of honor and dignity. We are duty bound to duly acknowledge their efforts.