ISLAMABAD: I am no student of law; just a simple uneducated soldier; even though I belong to a family of lawyers closely affiliated with Aitzaz Ahsan’s family. Aitzaz is amongst our most eminent lawyers and a hero of the restoration of the judiciary movement.
For the moment, let’s just forget about what Aitzaz said a couple of years ago on the matter of the PPP-led government writing to the Swiss government to reconsider opening of corruption cases against our President, Asif Ali Zardari and focus only on his claim of the president’s immunity.
Merely as a layman, I wish to raise two points: a) that constitutional immunity is applicable only to a person holding office to which immunity is granted. Therefore, that immunity is applicable only for acts committed during the period of holding that office, neither before nor after.
For example, for the sake of argument, if the president were to be found guilty of involvement in the death of his brother-in-law, Murtaza Bhutto — a case that he has been acquitted of — he cannot claim immunity, even if he is the sitting president, unless Aitzaz can teach me differently. And far more importantly, b) immunity to an office holder is granted only for acts committed ‘in good faith’. For example, if the sitting head of state walks out of his house one evening and because of an argument opens fire to kill ‘X’ number of people, will my learned friend claim immunity for him?
Brigadier (retd) Shaukat Qadir
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2012.
