The parents of Justice Javed Iqbal, a judge of the Supreme Court were killed on Tuesday night in a well guarded area of Lahore. Justice Javed Iqbal is heading a three-member bench which is hearing the cases of disappearances of thousands of missing persons in Pakistan. On Monday, January 10, the day before the killings, Justice Iqbal made a statement during a hearing in which he said that the year 2011 will be the year of the recovery of the missing persons. He and this bench promised to take strong action against the disappearances in the country. A large number of the relatives of the persons who are believed to have been forcibly disappeared have been filing cases before the Supreme Court for a long time now. On many occasions the cases have been postponed due to the lack of cooperation by the police, military and the intelligence services.
The killing of the judge’s parents should be shocking, not just to the people of Pakistan but for the whole world. The judiciary cannot function if the judges themselves are threatened with the death of their parents as a consequence of the judicial actions that they are engaged in.
This is one of the rarest events in the history of Pakistan and even the world, where the parents of a judge have been targeted in order to retaliate against the action of the judge, who, in this case is attempting to deal with one of the major problems of the country relating to disappearances. Dealing with the disappearances issue has become a difficult one because of the involvement of senior military cadres and the intelligence services in these activities. The three-member panel said that they would take action, not only to call various police officers relating to disappearances but also the politicians as well as military and intelligence services to answer charges relating to forced disappearances. The deaths of Iqbal’s parents took place one day after this statement was made by this panel of judges in open court. Justice Iqbal said on the last occasion “We tried to summon them and we were sent home for almost 16 months”. Perhaps the judiciary of Pakistan is now dealing with the most difficult problem relating to justice in the country.
It was not long ago that the chief justice was dismissed by the former president, General Musharraf and there was a long period of protests by the country’s lawyers in order to reinstate him. In this process General Musharraf himself lost his position and the Supreme Court was re-installed. The Supreme Court then promised to ensure that justice would be restored in Pakistan.
Now the test of the strength of the Supreme Court is at stake. If the disappearances issue cannot be dealt with by the judiciary then the very possibility of the survival of the judiciary is also at stake. A judiciary that cannot deal with the problems of justice is of no use to the country. Now there is contest on the issue of justice, particularly from the intelligence services and the judiciary. And this contest is likely to continue.
Will the killing of Iqbal’s parents intimidate the judiciary and will the judiciary step backwards? We hope not. We hope that the very daring of the assassins who have carried out this attack will forcibly bring to the attention of the government and the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the threat that the entire society will face if the problem of forced disappearances cannot be dealt with. It was just a few days ago that a governor who was advocating the release of a person convicted under the blasphemy laws was killed. Some sections of the public and the media have portrayed the killer as a hero. Will the killers of Justice Iqbal’s parents also be treated in the same manner? If that is the situation then it is time for everyone to open their eyes to one of the most catastrophic situations in the world which is now taking place in Pakistan.
The Asian Human Rights Commission draws the attention of the government and the people of Pakistan, as well as the international community to the outrageous nature of this murder. This murder needs to be condemned by everyone unequivocally both within Pakistan and internationally. There should be a rally of persons in order to protest the attempt to intimidate the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The Supreme Court of Pakistan needs to be defended. Justice Iqbal deserves the sympathy and support of all the people of Pakistan and outside. People who are calling for justice over the forced disappearances need the support of the world. We hope that the world will respond to this situation with adequate concerned and speedy response.
