Accountability is a phenomenon which if done with all honesty and veracity can eliminate all the ills from the society and can pull the nation towards prosperity and progress. If we see the history of our country we would find a number of times when political leaders of this country chants the slogans of Accountability to others for polishing their own selves, but till now none called for an across the board Accountability for all, regardless of his affiliation and status. This is why we are still standing not too far away where we were standing 55years back.
Now a day we are again witnessing these songs of Accountability in our country and this time this not only from politicians but these chants are coming from the “respected” supreme court of the country. Who all are committed and set for the accountability of Former President of the Country Gen. Ret. Parvez Musharraf over what he did on 3rd of November 2007 which according to them was Un Constitutional and can be trialed under Article 6 of the constitution of Pakistan (1973) which states that:
6. High treason.
1. Any person who abrogates or attempts or conspires to abrogate, subverts or attempts or conspires to subvert the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.
2. Any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause (1) shall likewise be guilty of high treason.
3. Parliament shall by law provide for the punishment of persons found guilty of high treason.
Before going over my main point I would like to discuss one more important thing i.e. why Supreme Court is only just concerned about the act of 3rd November 2007? However similar kind of act was done by same person on 12th October 1999? Why no one wants to mention that and impeach that act also? Well may be because that October ’99 act was a fruitful one for “respected” Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as it elevated him to the Supreme Court from Baluchistan High Court after he took oath under the P.C.O. of that time presented by Gen. Parvez Musharraf, but on November 2007 same person, same act and his P.C.O. becomes bad as it took away the seat of “respected” Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
Coming back to the point, let for the sake of argument if we consider Gen Ret. Parvez Musharraf guilty of Article 6 clause (1) of constitution of Pakistan, then there is another clause in Article 6 after this which says:
Article (6) Clause 2:
Any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause (1) shall likewise be guilty of high treason.
So according to this clause “respected” Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is also equally culpable and guilty of Article 6 i.e. of high treason and should be impeached and set accountable in front of the nation. Because:
- C. J. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was among the first judges who took oath under the P.C.O. of Gen. Parvez Musharraf in January 2000 and got promotion to Supreme Court from Baluchistan High Court to fill the vacancies left by those judges who refused to take oath under the P.C.O.
- April, 2005 C. J. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was among the 5 judges who dismissed all the petitions against Gen. Parvez Musharraf’s constitutional amendments including 17th Amendment, his Uniform and Legal Framework Order hence Validating Gen. Parvez Musharraf’s acts of suspending the constitution, allowing him to keep two offices (i.e. of President and Chief of Army Staff).
So, according to the constitution of Pakistan (1973) C. J. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is also guilty of Article 6 as he abetted the acts of Gen. Parvez Musharraf which he and his companions now calls “unconstitutional”. And honest demand of Accountability is that if Gen. Parvez Musharraf is going to be asked for his acts then C. J. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry should also be.
And not only are these two personalities’, acts done by an illegal or unconstitutional person also illegal and unconstitutional so all the acts by these two are also illegal including:
- National Reconciliation Order (N.R.O.) by Gen. Ret. Pervez Musharraf, and
- Cases handled by C. J. Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry including “plane hijacking case” and “Sharifs ineligibility case”.
Respect Constitution, Respect Accountability
Accountability for All!