Holy cow!
What is good is that we seem to be heading towards a reality where there will not be any holy cows in the country.
The scandal that has already enveloped Dr Arsalan Iftikhar, the son of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, reached a crescendo on June 12 as business tycoon Malik Riaz submitted a written statement to the Supreme Court and then addressed an explosive press conference later in the day laced with very serious allegations. In his statement before the apex court, he alleged that he had given Arsalan nearly Rs350 million in the form of foreign trips and cash payments over a period of three years in exchange for the latter promising to help settle cases related to Bahria Town pending in the apex court. At the press conference, Riaz (who said he had come with a copy of the Holy Quran) told journalists that the CJ should answer whether he had met Riaz in the “dark of the night” and that in such meetings a “sitting registrar” of the apex court as well as “a sitting Supreme Court judge” would also be present. He also alleged that he didn’t give the money voluntarily and was compelled to do so under duress. Not only has Malik Riaz tried to incriminate Arsalan Iftikhar, he has also attempted to implicate the CJ by suggesting that he knew what was going on. The CJ has been widely praised for initiating a suo motu case against his own son before withdrawing himself from it and also for hearing cases on very important national issues such as missing persons and Balochistan involving some of Pakistan’s holy cows. However, now people may wonder how he was not aware of his son’s lavish lifestyle. Also, perhaps answers to some of the questions that Riaz raised at his press conference may be necessary to clear up the air. Arsalan has claimed that he earned his money through his telecommunication company, which got lucrative contracts from major telecommunication companies. That explanation itself raises more questions than it tries to answer.
This is also a scandal that is not limited to just the judiciary. Malik Riaz’s sphere of influence seemingly encompasses every politically-connected entity in Pakistan. Everyone seems to have a dog in this fight, and though the outcome may be uncertain, what is good is that we seem to be heading — albeit tottering in the eyes of some — towards a reality where there will not be any holy cows in the country. That is a good development from the point of view of establishing rule of law.
Published In The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2012.
How could CJ not knew that his son and wife were shopping in London. How could he not know that his son started driving Mercedes from Corolla, tripled his bank balance, went to Monte Carlo for vacation. The live in the same house for God’s sake. I am not stupid enough to believe that he did not know. I like the CJ but this case is just too obvious. The verdict of this case proved that chief justice is part and parcel of the same corrupt bureaucracy that we have in Pakistan. It is just that whoever has the upper hand prevails. Right now there is a cat and mouse game going around, and if it is CJ’s turn now, well and good. He needs to be held accountable, as he is holding all others. Not just select suo motos where he pleases, but must take suo moto against all ills.
@Ali: One must agree with you, he should either resign himself or made to go. His seperation from the SC is very important and necessary for fairness and justice.
@Mirza: It must also be noted that this Arsalan revelations had started appearing only after progress in DG FC case ie., his press briefings and subsequent suggestion for summoning Army chief. Right?
CJ should resign to pave the way for proper inquirey. And if his son found innocent, he should join back. Good luck CJ. We pity you.
Malik Riaz is now playing in the hand of illuminati. When you see the pictures of his project (Bahria Town) then only you got to know. Now he is on the job to destabilize the country.
I know people will laugh after reading this, but before laugh do some research work.
CJ-please resign and leave the nation to move forward. Everybody become sick with an politicized judiciary and PCO judges & their suo-moto.
You can see RADIO PAKISTAN microphone next to Malik in the pic. Radio pakistan is state run and government is behind this game
Malik Riaz is answerable for bribing people - he should be jailed for life
Few steps from the judiciary will solve this problem. First put Malik Riaz behind bars for publicly admitting of giving bribe to influece the CJ & for publicly challenging the rule of law of the country. Secondly appoint an independant enquiry commission with sufficient powers to question anybody attached with this case. Fix a time limit for the enquiry. Punish Arsalan or whoever is involved in this case if found guilty
@Sunil Kumar: an Indian business man had to bribe a custom official because he needed desperately to import raw material so that his factory could run. This was allowed on the intervention of the Indian Supreme court as a business expense. I think there is corruption all over the world but in India and Pakistan state and judicial functionaries sometimes practice extortion. The supreme court has to decide based on reason if this was the case here .
A Businessman does a hatchet job on HH to land him in deep trouble. Another one is doing the same to CJ.
Most probably both HH & CJ were guilty to some degree, if not completely complicit. Sad state of affairs.
I have lost confidence in the person of Mr Iftikhar Chaudry. Like all other ordinary government officers he too will pass away in December 2013 leaving nothing great for posterity. After all Nixon too was a great man before Watergate.
@Ali: why should a competent and righteous person reign because of a plot is hatched just so to make him? the CJ has taken up serious maters and is a thorn in almost every influential persons eye. we need such people like that in the service who set an example for the rest of the pakistani's serving in government sector. your suggestion of him resigning is no appropriate and justifiable seems to remind me of the same situation under mushees rule when such conditions were engineered to remove the CJ
When God wants to test a person "God awards him/her with wealth and honor among people". Then he/she shows his/her inner instinct. This is what is happening with Malik Riaz and his hidden supporters. We are a nation when times come we use Holy books for our benefits. We never read and practice the inside message of Holy books. Holy books are now only to impress others and to use for swearing and emotional blackmailing.
This Riaz ought to be jailed for life with his financial assets frozen
He is a fraud
judiciary have been politicised...Even if Arsalan and co are found guilty. the groups that have been relying on CJ for their politics would never accept the fall from grace of CJ.
Don is out the only institution left in the country. He has the backing of the powerful, be it military, civil bureaucracy or the corrupt politicians. They are in unholy alliance to maintain the status quo and retain their monopolistic control.
"That is a good development from the point of view of establishing rule of law."
WHAT? This is good development from the point of view of establishing rule of jungle-law; survival of the fittest: total failure of all the institutions, in every possible way, all the time.
His claim against the CJ may just as well be ignored. The only way it could make a legal difference is if that "sitting registrar" was to back it up. Not to mention the CJ could just as easily say that it was Riaz that called upon them both attempting to blackmail them about the guy's son and when they wouldn't go through with it, he made good on a threat causing this stuff to be leaked. It would have exactly the same amount of credibility and value towards one side or the others case.
(You can speculate all you want or weigh the worth of coincidences but in a court of law those things are supposed to be irrelevant and not factored in)
A great editorial from ET, very balanced and pragmatic. The funny thing is on one hand the CJ talked about his son not having much money on the other the son talks about making a lot of money! The point is govt servants allowed to do other jobs and make that kind of money while still on the govt payroll? What is corruption then? From his admission in medical school to swift progress in govt jobs to hundreds of millions and the poor CJ thought his son could not even afford a home!
Grill him in the real sense of the term. No easy out this time. The guy is a crooked person and thinks everything can be bought with money. As a follow up, inquiries should be conducted against all those on his payroll (civilian or military, retired or serving). I heard that some high-ups also got free plots from him. He will again say it was extortion and not bribe and let him bring all holy books and biblical prophets as witnesses to prove his innocence. Also check his taxation record and income tax officials on his payroll. People do not have enough to live a decent life and the guy owns a private jet, and rose from a MES clerk? Something is just not wrong, something is seriously wrong.
Chief Justice ka ab kia hoga? I think he should also resign. We have lost almost everything because of this CJ.
Probably Zardari got a tip from his Best Friend Musharaf to copy the 2008 situation.
Forget about Arsalan, Mr Riaz Malik is openly accepting in front of the entire world that he indeed bribed someone, isn't that a crime in the first place?