The decision by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League- N (PML-N) to restore all the deposed judges of the superior courts including the chief justice, Mr. Iftekhar M. Choudhry is of monumental importance not only to Pakistan but also to all those who are concerned with post conflict justice after periods of extreme repression by authoritarian rulers. No amount of action to restore justice is complete until the basic consequences of the attacks on the institutions of justice are removed. And in many instances this is a very difficult process, particularly because long years of repression often create extreme forms of frustration and demoralization among the affected population. In Pakistan, however, we see that the affected people themselves have retaliated, fought hard for months, defeated the political power of the military leader and now have ensured that the parties elected by them return the judiciary to its rightful place.
Justice means little until the people themselves appropriate the very processes that are meant to deliver justice. It is the peoples ownership of the institutions of justice that creates the balance in which the state is compelled to respect the independence of the judiciary. The independence of the judiciary is not something that is given from above. It is not a gift from the rulers. The independence of the judiciary is the means by which limitations are brought about in the exercise of power of the executive. It is the people who hold the highest stake in the issue of the existence or otherwise of the independence of the judiciary. When the independence of the judiciary is attacked as it happened over a long period of time in Pakistan, culminating the final attack by President Musharraf that was the greatest blow to the freedoms and liberties and in fact, even the right to a livelihood of the people of the country. At last when the people reacted, they regained their capacity to have justice.
This is undoubtedly a great milestone in the struggle of the people of Pakistan to create a society where justice can be obtained. However, the momentum that has been gained by the decision of the two major political parties to restore the judges must now be utilised to create conditions within which the judiciary can function without fear or favour against anyone. The movement of the lawyers, judges and others, who were the front runners in this great struggle, particularly since the 9th March 2007, the day on which the chief justice was deposed, must keep the light burning all the time. It is the period in which the newly gained ground is consolidated that will matter most in laying a solid foundation for the future.
This is also a time within which the judiciary itself must take a good look at itself and overcome whatever limitations the judiciary might have had in the past. Of particular importance is how the judiciary will dispense justice for the poor and the marginalised in Pakistan. A high priority must be given to find ways to ensure access to justice to all persons who need it. In the past there have also been allegations of corruption and inefficiency against judges. It is time for the judiciary as a whole to demonstrate that they are competent and capable of discharging the high trust that the people of Pakistan have placed in them.
The test of justice is the extent to which the victims of injustice can raise their voices. In Pakistan today there are many such victims. Among them the most prominent problem is the one affecting the families of disappeared persons. The causing of disappearances is a horrendous crime. It is not possible for a system of justice to say that it has no solution for this problem as the executive does not leave any room for the judiciary to interfere. It is for the judiciary to find a way to keep their legitimate powers to protect all victims and also to act as the guardian of human rights. This role must be jealously preserved if justice is to have a meaning.
The coming months are important for any student who is trying to understand the meaning of post conflict justice. While studying the achievements already made through the decision to restore the deposed judiciary in the coming months there are many lessons to be learned about how to recover the ground lost due to extreme forms of violence and the abuse of power used by a dictatorial regime against its own people.
