Karachi:
Supreme Court Judge At Har Minallah has complained that the nation has not learned anything from the story if “distorted” version is taught to children in our schools.
“A society where the truth disappears is bound to collapse. Pakistan’s collapse in 1971 was rooted at the time of its creation, and the books are found to prove it,” the pointed court judge said on Thursday.
Justice Minallah talked about a seminar in Karachi, which was arranged by the City Court of Karachi Bar Association on Judicial Independence, Constitutional Government and access to justice.
The seminar participated in the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) former President Munir A Malik, senior lawyers, Karachi Bar officials and a large number of advocates.
The judge claimed that the people of the former East Pakistan did not want separation but “we pushed them away”. He said that the real rulers are the people and their representatives should come to power through free and fair elections. “It’s only a dream today,” he said.
He said that Pakistan’s 77-year-old system has worsened to the point that people hesitate to open the five “hero judgments.” “Had these judges been adopted as role models, dictatorship would never have taken root,” he said.
When he remembered the lawyer’s movement, he said 90 lawyers sacrificed their lives under opposition to former military dictator General Perez Musharraf. “We can’t betray these 90 people,” he said. “Our generation has already done the damage. We can’t blame others; we did this with our own hands.”
When he talked about his oath as a judge, Justice Minallah said, as he has sworn in Allah’s name, no further promises are needed. This oath, he said, bound him to decide cases under the law, without fear and to defend the constitution.
“Because I swore in the name of Allah, I am responsible for him. If there is no constitutional government in the country today and I as a judge do nothing, I violate my oath.” He pointed out that Britain has no written constitution, yet the rule of law prevails there.
He praised Karachi wore association for standing with Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah against the dictatorship of General Ayub Khan.
“The whole basis of the Constitution is that the right to rule belongs only to elected representatives of the people. Yet we deceive ourselves and even God by ignoring this oath. If we only honor our oaths, people’s rights could be protected.”
Munir A Malik also approached the seminar and said that “hybrid systems” essentially mean dictatorship, not constitutional governance. The only way forward, he said, is the Constitution.
He recalled that when East and West Pakistan were to be governed by a constitution, an elected assembly was formed without rigging. When this assembly drafted a constitution, it was dissolved by the civil and military establishment – which lay the basis for Pakistan’s collapse.
He recalled that even General Ziaul Haq admitted to judges sentenced Zulfikar Ali Bhutto under pressure, despite originally denying it.
Malik said Karachi Bar is the same platform where Quaid-E-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah once approached lawyers. “This bar has always been a wall against lawlessness,” he said, praising justice at has Minallah as an important part of the lawyer’s movement.
