Asif Ali Zardari

 

A Shameful Day For the Judiciary – Lamha Fikria

19^th Dec. 2019

 

 

This was not what Quaid-e-Azam envisioned about Pakistan!

This was not how he as a lawyer fought for Pakistan!

This is not how civilized institutions of civilized countries behave!

Shameful day For Pakistan’s Judiciary

Quaid – E – Azam, ‘We Are Sorry!’

 

From the day when the respected lawyers’ mob of Pakistan became sons of satan and rampaged a hospital, setting vehicles on fire, smashing windowpanes and equipment, firing gunshots, hitting policemen with stones and bricks, ultimately killing 3 patients in the hospital’s ICU to today’s verdict of sentencing Musharraf to capital punishment in life and to be hanged on D-Chowk for three days if dead!

 

And what did Pervez Musharraf do to receive a verdict no one has before in the history of the country! He modified practices according to the need of the time and did what in his opinion was good for Pakistan! Pervez Musharraf is being convicted for a crime that was not even included as high treason in Pakistan’s law at the time it was committed. The case was filed in 2013, whereas the law of high treason was passed in 2014 however still it has been levied on an action that was conducted in times prior to its related law imposition on it.

Questions About Trail:

Questions on whether the trial was fair or not still remain at large, as rumors related to the Chief Justice of Peshawar High court, Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth being linked in the family with Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif are still being investigated.

Whether Pervez Musharraf’s subject to such a senseless, lawless and unconventional decision was owed to vengeance on part of Sharif brothers, on part of former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry for firing him from his post or owing to some other power working behind the scenes, Pakistan’s law institution face the biggest criticism in its history and questions the sanity and capability of decision-makers given the power to decide on the fate of people facing trails, whether fair or not.  Let us view how Pakistan’s legal system has treated its high profile cases in the past and how does the Musharraf case fair against them.

 

Nawaz Sharif – Criminal Actions

• A former Pakistani prime minister.
• Elected thrice as constitutional ruler of Pakistan and twice as chief minister of Pakistan’s largest province.
• Official assets soaring from 166 million in 2011 to 1.82 billion in 2013, depicting only a fraction of what he actually hid in his various accounts spread worldwide.
• Trialed and convicted of corruption and money laundering is linked to at least eight offshore companies.
• He ruled the country for more than 9 years and robbed it off all its opportunities and potentials while building up his personal empire.
• He ruled the country for 9 years and couldn’t manage one international level hospital in the country where he can get himself treated and went offshore for medical assistance with the help of Court although he is convicted.

 

Judicial Sentence

Barred from holding any public office for life and sentenced to jail for 10 years as punishment for corruption and money laundering charges.

 

 

Asif Ali Zardari – Criminal Actions

• Former president of Pakistan convicted on several cases including kidnapping and extortion in 1990, the murder of the Murtaza Bhutto, his wife’s brother and political opponent, convicted for fraud, corruption and money laundering after the Swiss government handed over evidence of money laundering associated with Zardari.

 

• According to official figures in 2005 Zardari’s assets were worth $1.8 billion, with more than $60 million transacted in his Swiss account in wake of offshore companies. These figures represent only a fragment of his total wealth spread worldwide.

 

Judicial Sentence

Zardari Convicted 14 years in jail in totality for different cases before gaining power as president of Pakistan, after becoming co-chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

 

Ishaq Dar Criminal Actions

• Former Industries & Investment and Commerce minister of Pakistan and 4-time finance minister of Pakistan along with being a member of the senate from 2003 to 2018.
• Current fugitive since December 2017
• Self-confessed of money laundering for Nawaz Sharif worth of US $18.47 million
• Personal Asset worth Rs 583 million, with a further investment of Rs 325 million in investment bonds. Additionally, he was also found to have further investments of £5.5 million in UAE and further investments in the USA, Pakistan, and UAE.
• Currently present in the UK under political Asylum status

 

Judicial Sentence

Seizing of all accounts of Ishaq Dar, the government takes charge of all his properties in Pakistan and the auction of his assets in the country.

 

Pervez Musharraf Criminal Actions

• Violating Pakistan’s constitution by unlawfully declaring emergency rule in the country during his tenure as president

 

Judicial Sentence

Trialed in absentia, Musharraf was granted capital punishment or the death penalty against the act of high treason. The special court constituted for Musharraf’s trial constituting of Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, Sindh High Court Chief Justice Nazar Akbar, and Lahore High Court Chief Justice Shahid Karim.  The decision was a 2-1 split decision, with Justice Akbar going against it.  The detailed verdict states

“As a necessary corollary to what has been observed, we find the accused guilty as per charge. The convict is, therefore, hanged by his neck till he dies on each count as per charge”.

And the verdict does not end here; the verdict follows to state addressing law enforcement agencies to try their best to bring Musharraf back in the country to be hanged. Further on in the words of the court verdict

“If found dead, his corpse be dragged to the D-Chowk, Islamabad, Pakistan and be hanged for 03 days”

Justice Karim opposed the dragging to D Chowk sentence and opposed it. The particular dragging corpse on D Chowk decision came from Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth alone.

 

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