LAHORE: Justice Retired Wajihuddin said on Saturday that article 248 of the Constitution of Pakistan did not provide complete immunity to President of Pakistan.
Addressing the Aiwan-e-Adl, he said that the President only had immunity for criminal cases in Pakistan, but not in foreign courts. He added that had the government acted upon the rulings of the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani would not have had to face a contempt case.
Justice Wajih criticised the Supreme Court of Pakistan, that had it dealt with contempt of court matters of Taj Haider, Sharjeel Memon, and Babar Awan early, the situation today would have been quite different.
He said that the Supreme Court of Pakistan had been disappointing in the case of those parliamentarians, who had been elected in absence of the election commission constituted under 18th amendment. The case had been brought before the Supreme Court, which, however, then directed the matter to be resolved at the election commission and government level. Justice Wajih was of the opinion that the Supreme Court should have decided the matter in accordance with law.
Justice Wajih also demanded the judiciary to decide cases as early as possible. He said that problems were not as complicated as they had been deemed and could be resolved early in accordance with law.
He also alleged that the judiciary and the government had connived in the Raymond Davis case, leading to his swift release and repatriation.
He also invited the lawyers community to contest upcoming general elections, the best platform being Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, whose doors were always open for them. He said that Quaid-e-Azam, Gandhi, were also lawyers who chose to reform their country. He said that it was an uphill task to steer the country out of the prevailing imbroglio.
He said that the political parties should be welfare oriented. People were dying everywhere, and institutions like WAPDA, PIA, Railway and others had been destroyed owing to negligence of the incumbent government. He suggested that the massive Punjab Governor House should be converted into an Aitchison School for the masses.
Chaudhry Zolifqar Ali president of the Lahore Bar Association also warned the government of another lawyers movement if the country did not start moving in the right direction.
Vice Presidents Malik Faiz Khokhar, Agha Shazib and other bar representatives were also present at the occasion.
COMMENTS (2)
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I agree with the M.A. Malik comments and this article is required to be amended or changed.
Justice Wajhiuddin Sir, you are too kind. Presidential immunity is limited to acts performed in the exercise of functions of the office, that too examinable by the Supreme Court, and not to acts committed prior to coming to office. Even if there is (claimed) immunity under the Vienna Convention if the State concerned waives it, as the urged letter would imply, it no longer applies.
PM Gillani's conduct in defying the Court is clearly malfide, or he would have come to Court with his claimed constraint long ago. The Bench requiring the letter to be written is well aware of Article 248 (2), and the CJ had long remarked that immunity has to be claimed. Post review is not the junture to discuss the provisions and limits of the Article, particularly when the party concerned has not come to Court.
The Court should not drag it feet further, spare the nation agony, and avert economic decline.
MUKHTAR A. MALIK, London