The only long lasting achievement that can come out of the recent electoral victories of the people against the military lead regime of President Musharraf would be the restoration of the chief justice and the other 55 judges who were ousted from the judiciary due to the presidentÂ’s political moves. If this does not happen the recent victories will sound hollow to the people and in the course of time arbitrary forms of repression, deprivation of liberties and enslavement of people will once again visit Pakistan. The only real historical achievement that can make a significant contribution for not returning to the past is the physical act of the restoration of the judges. If the people of Pakistan see this happening they will know that their agonizing history has begun to change in some significant way for the better.
It is in this light that arguments which have been put forward by some in order to relegate the importance of the restoration of the judges and calls to emphasize constitutional changes creating obstructions for arbitrary interference of appointments, promotions, transfer and the dismissal of judges, need to be seen. While these are important none of these things will bind any future coup leader who grabs power as president Musharraf and others before him have done. They are not bound by any constitutions, laws or rules. They will make their own rules, whatever be the position of the constitution. Such changes including the suspension of the constitution have happened over and over again in Pakistan.
While the constitutional changes are useful it is a real act, a political act at this stage that is needed to dramatically express that things have changed and that no one however powerful will be allowed to remove the judges, particularly the judges of the higher courts. People learn from actual events and not by what can be written in books. An arbitrary act that has so fundamentally violated the principle of the independence of the judiciary in such a dramatic manner needs now to be reversed in the same dramatic way and the people of Pakistan deserve to see this. It is when this happens that they will believe that the judiciary is their ultimate protector and that no general or anyone else can be more powerful than then the courts.
Those who are opposing this move try to portray that the issue of the restoration of the judges may cause some split among the coalition of political parties which are expected to form the new government. What this would imply is that among the coalition parties there may not be an agreement on the place that the independence of the judiciary is going to have in the country. If this be the case those who take up such a position among the coalition parties are already manifesting a tendency that will go to undermine the democracy of the country. While it is natural to have differences within a coalition government there should be no room for disagreements on fundamental issues of democracy and the independence of the judiciary is one such fundamental issue.
Great sacrifices have been made by the judges, thousands of lawyers and the people to defeat the authoritarianism of President Musharraf. That authoritarianism should be relegated to the past. An example should be set to demonstrate that if at any future date there will be any attempt to oust judges the people will intervene to save the judges and return them to their places. If this feeling is made manifest by a demonstrative act within the coming days it will be a lesson which will be written indelibly in the minds of all the people. When the Supreme Court of Pakistan restored the chief justice in 20th July 2007 after he was ousted by Musharraf it was a gold letter day in the history of Pakistan. It is this same spirit that needs now to be reasserted, this time by the parliament by speedily restoring all the judges, including the chief justice to the positions that they rightly deserve to hold.
