Saleem Shahzad Commission: Govt commissions another controversy

Supreme Court judge refuses to lead investigations on the plea that the chief justice was not consulted.

ISLAMABAD:

The government appears to not only have missed the nail but also created another controversy for itself.

Its nominee to head a commission to probe journalist Saleem Shahzad’s murder, Supreme Court judge Mian Saqib Nisar, refused to lead investigations shortly after his nomination on Thursday.

Nisar said he would not undertake the job because Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani did not consult Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry prior to nominating him, in violation of established judicial norms.

Meanwhile, justifying the government’s action, Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said that consultation with the chief justice was not required for setting up the probe commission. She cited the example of Abbottabad probe commission, where a sitting Supreme Court judge, Justice Javed Iqbal, was appointed head of the commission without prior permission from the chief justice.

The Abbottabad commission was slammed by the opposition and legal fraternity which raised questions over its composition and the procedure adopted by the government to constitute it.

Righting its wrong

Critics say the government is attempting to right its previous wrong, hand-picking a sitting Supreme Court judge without consulting the chief justice, through the present commission. Speaking to the media, President Asma Jahangir criticised the way the government made the nomination, arguing that an apex court judge’s appointment without consulting the chief justice was tantamount to violating the judiciary’s independence.

Hand-picking sitting judges at whim is interference in judiciary’s affairs, said Jahangir, adding that the chief justice would have had no issues over the nomination had he been consulted.

The main opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also blamed the government for mishandling the issue by dealing with it casually.

“The government is not serious … the way the whole thing is being handled shows how callous it is,” said PML-N Senator Pervaiz Rasheed in a statement issued to media.

Attempt to defuse tension

The government had agreed to appoint a judge from the country’s top court after an overnight sit-in by journalists on Constitution Avenue, right across the parliament.

Earlier this week, Gilani nominated Federal Shariat Court Chief Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan to lead the probe commission but the move was slammed by associations of media persons.

They demanded that a judge from the Supreme Court must be assigned to lead the investigations of the murder that is widely interpreted as a threat to journalists covering the complex and covert ties between militant groups and Pakistani security establishment.

The media fraternity ended its protest after an assurance by Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Thursday morning that their demand had been met.  According to a notification issued from Prime Minister Secretariat earlier on Thursday, Justice Nisar was assigned to lead a five-member commission to investigate Shahzad’s murder, if he accepted the nomination.

The notification did not, however, mention who would be assigned the job in case Nisar refused.

Nisar, however, said he might accept the nomination if the chief justice endorsed it.

Commission terms

Other members of the commission include Federal Shariat Court Chief Justice Agha Rafique, Islamabad deputy inspector-general, additional inspector-general investigation Punjab and Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists’ president.

The commission will set up its office in the information ministry and submit a report within six weeks, the notification read.

It would inquire into the background and circumstances of abduction and subsequent murder of Shahzad. It would also be mandated to identify the culprits involved in the kidnapping and killing, the notification added.

The commission was also asked to recommend measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the future.

SC agrees to hear petition

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on Thursday approved a petition for hearing filed by Jahangir on behalf of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, calling for formation of an independent commission to probe Shahzad’s murder.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by the chief justice will commence hearing on the petition on Friday (today).

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2011.