Dr Ghalib Lodhi (left) with Dr M. Sarwar, London, 2001.
Karachi, Aug 3, 2012: Tahir Wasti in London emailed recently that Dr Ghalib Lodhi expired in Karachi. I contacted some of Dr Ghalib’s old comrades. None of them had heard of his demise…
Former DSF activist Dr Ghalib Lodhi makes a quiet exit.
Filed under: Dr M Sarwar, Progressive politics | Tagged: Dr Ghalib Lodhi, Dr M Sarwar, DSF, Pakistan, Yusuf Ali | Leave a comment »
In his article ‘A judge’s armour‘ (The Friday Times, July 20-26, 2012), advocate Chaudhry Faisal Hussain discusses the issue of contempt of court in the context of the current political system in Pakistan. “The best shield or armour of a judge, he writes, is his reputation of integrity, impartiality and learning. An upright judge will hardly ever need to use the contempt of court power in his judicial career,” he writes, quoting Justice Markandey Katju, the retired Indian Supreme Court judge who currently heads the Press Council of India. Continue reading
Filed under: Pakistan | Tagged: Contempt of Court, Justice Katju, Pakistan | 4 Comments »
Justice Katju: “Pakistan Supreme Court, particularly its Chief Justice, have embarked on a perilous path of confrontation with the political authorities”
Below, Justice Markandey Katju’s unabridged article on the philosophy of judicial restraint – something the courts in Pakistan would do well to observe. (An abridged version of this article has been published by some newspapers).
Excerpt: “It is evident that the Pakistan Supreme Court, particularly its Chief Justice, have for some time embarked on a perilous path of confrontation with the political authorities, for reasons best known to themselves, which can only have disastrous consequences, not only for the judiciary but also for the entire country.”
Filed under: Pakistan | Tagged: judicial restraint, Justice Markandey Katju, Pakistan | 3 Comments »
Nice share on the Aman ki Asha facebook group:
Eye Opener: An Indian-American Visits Pakistan – by Mahanth S. Joishy, Editor of usindiamonitor.com – extract: “…But even these problems can be overcome by bringing Pakistan deeper into the community of nations, and further integrating Pakistan into world markets. India and the United States for their part can do more to help bring this about. I am convinced that instead of the delicate dance the three nations have done around each other since 1947, it is time for all to become closer friends and drop the pretexts for moving backward instead of forward. What I saw in Pakistan more than the perils, is great potential. I plan to do my part, and this piece is only the first step.”
Filed under: Pakistan-India | Tagged: aman ki asha, India, Mahanth S. Joishy, milnedo, Pakistan, US India Monitor | 1 Comment »
Justice Katju: “The Prime Minister holds office as long he has the confidence of Parliament, not confidence of the Supreme Court.”
Justice Markandey Katju, former Justice, Supreme Court of India and presently Chairman, Press Council of India just sent me an article about the recent order of the Pakistan Supreme Court declaring that Mr. Gilani is not the Prime Minister. Justice Katju writes, “In my opinion the Pakistan Supreme Court has gone totally overboard, flouted all canons of Constitutional Jurisprudence, and is only playing to the galleries and not exercising judicial restraint. It is thereby upsetting the delicate balance of power in the Constitutional scheme.”
In his article, Justice Katju explains the concept of immunity and stresses the need for balance between the organs of the state. He writes that it may be published freely in any newspaper: Continue reading
Filed under: Pakistan | Tagged: judicial activism, markandey katju, Pakistan, supreme court | 102 Comments »
The behind-the-scenes footage leaked from Dunya TV’s ‘interview’ of Malik Riaz conducted by Meher Bokhari and Mubashir Lucman on June 13, 2012 has exposed the corruption of these so-called journalists. Their clear connivance with the interviewee in order to make themselves look blameless is a disgrace to the profession. We commend the whistleblower who leaked this footage and exposed their reality, which is all the more shocking given their self-righteous public stands.We demand: Continue reading
Filed under: Media | Tagged: Activism, CFRM, Change.org, Citizens for Free and Responsible Media, Lucman, Media, meher bokhari, Pakistan, whistleblower | 1 Comment »
A 30-second ‘convict’ for ‘contempt of court’: Gilani. Reuters photo.
On Tuesday, June 19, the Supreme Court of Pakistan in an unprecedented judgement disqualified Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani from his membership of Parliament, also barring him from contesting elections for five years (scroll down for a Political Timeline putting the move in context).
The Court had on April 26, 2012, symbolically ‘convicted’ Gillani for contempt of court for less than a minute, due to his failure to ask Switzerland to reopen a corruption case against President Zardari, on the grounds that the president enjoyed immunity as head of state. According to some legal experts, as a ‘convict’ Gilani could no longer hold office. Continue reading
Filed under: Pakistan | Tagged: gillani, judicial activism, Pakistan, supreme court | Leave a comment »
Who says there’s no positive news coming out of Pakistan?
“Looking at the videos really changed my perception of the youth of Balochistan. Such brilliant young men and women, sitting together for a cause, enjoying, eating, singing, dancing and spreading the message of love” – Ali Rahman, on the First Quetta Youth Conference 2012
Filed under: Balochistan | Tagged: Balochistan, Pakistan, Quetta, Quetta Youth Conference, Serena, YLC, youth activism, youth leadership conference | 4 Comments »
In Kathmandu for a meeting, on May 28, 1998 when Pakistan retaliated to India’s nuclear tests with its own, I found my journalist friend Kunda Dixit trying to draw this cartoon, that I re-drew for him. It was published with the commentary “Let them eat grass” in Himal Southasian, June 1998. I’d been trying to find it – thanks Roman Gautam at Himal for emailing the page scan.
Filed under: Pakistan-India | Tagged: Himal, India, Kunda Dixit, nuclear tests, Pakistan | Leave a comment »
Dr Aftab Qureshi: Another life snuffed out
Received via email, a doctor’s heartfelt plea about the tragic death of his colleague, the eminent neurosurgeon Dr Aftab Qureshi who had been kidnapped and was killed during a rescue operation that also claimed the lives of two security personnel, followed by citizen activist Naeem Sadiq’s note about his “Say No to Weapons” campaign. Unless police are properly trained, equipped, empowered, de-politicised and allowed to tackle crime at the local levels, with successful prosecutions, there’s no winning ‘war on terror’.
To: Continue reading
Filed under: Human rights | Tagged: crime, Dr Aftab Qureshi, kidnap, Naeem Sadiq, Pakistan, SayNoToWeapons | 1 Comment »
Journeys to democracy 