Justice not pardon
From the Blog PkColumnist.com: Justice not pardon - In recent weeks, there has been a great deal of uproar about the death sentence handed down to Aasia Bibi by the sessions court in Faisalabad. People have been up in arms, demanding that justice be done to the woman, and that she be saved from the infamous blasphemy laws. There can be no two opinions in this regard, because this attitude is an expression of the general desire to have an innocent woman from a religious minority receive justice against trumped up and scandalously ridiculous charges. However, the real element to be analysed is not whether such a thing should happen, but, rather, what modus operandi was adopted to make it happen. Many people believe that the chief justice of Pakistan should take suo moto action to redress this travesty of justice. This is irrespective of the fact that there is already an appeal pending before the competent judicial officers of the Lahore High Court, and the case is therefore in the process of being re-examined at that forum. In addition, most of those who want the chief justice to take a suo moto action in the case justify their request by the saying that if he can take suo moto actions on other matters not strictly within its purview, then why not in this case? Although it is a reasonable question, it ignores the reality that suo moto actions are not a remedy to the problems of our judicial system, but rather the symptom. If the chief justice were to take suo moto action on a case already pending before an appellate judicial forum, it would do nothing but undermine the current legal system. At the same time, it would favour one person, namely Aasia Bibi, over the numerous other Aasias languishing in Pakistani jails. Furthermore, suo moto actions are not a substitute for the normal legal process, but complementary to it. Therefore, a suo moto action may only kick into action where an outright travesty of justice has occurred, and there appears to be no other reasonable or fair mode of remedying it through the normal processes of the judicial system. In all other situations, it serves to undermine the legal system in place, not bolster it. Alternatively, it has also been suggested that the president should pardon Aasia Bibi. However, this in itself is a superficial measure which will lead to an inadequate response to the core issue which gives rise to such instances. The fact of the matter is that a presidential pardon will not vindicate Aasia Bibi's struggle or bring to record the wrongfulness of her conviction. The aspect of whether her conviction is appropriate can only be addressed through the judicial process, as has been outlined in the case of Muhammad Nawaz Sharif vs The State, PLD 2009, SC 814, and any presidential pardon at this stage may very well persuade Aasia Bibi of the futility of following through on any proceedings before an appellate forum. Therefore, her being pardoned while her conviction stands in legal terms would be nothing short of a tragedy of great proportions. This is not to mention the fact that such an action would further weaken the credibility of the judicial institutions and the processes through which a well reasoned final outcome is expected. Neither one of these methods of remedying a perceived wrong would be justified or adequate. The only just and acceptable remedy in the issue of Aasia Bibi, and the countless cases of this nature, would be a two-pronged solution. Firstly, it is imperative that the president and his party actually do something tangible about the blasphemy laws. The pardoning of one woman at the centre of a media blitz, while the many others who are not so fortunate as to receive publicity stay ignored, would be akin to sweeping the fundamental issue under the rug. The president and his party should, instead, have the draconian measures repealed. This will make it impossible, at least in such scenarios, for mischief to be done in the name of religion, as well as rendering a presidential pardon unnecessary in situations like this one from now on. Secondly, in addition to the previous recommendation, the judicial system, and especially the lower judiciary, must be revamped and financially buttressed, in order for it to be guaranteed that competent judges adjudicate on complex matters efficiently and quickly. This will definitely be a long and difficult task, but one which is already manifested in the National Judicial Policy of the chief justice. In a nutshell, it appears that civil society and all the others concerned about the Aasia Bibi case are looking for a quick solution, and a remedy only to the situation at hand. They are ignoring that even if the measures involving the chief justice and the president are adopted, the real issues at stake will remain unaddressed. The solution for the issue, and issues like this that are bound to crop up in the future, do not lie in the use of discretionary powers by the chief justice or the president, but rather in the strengthening and fortifying of the system in place in order to render any such discretion unnecessary and irrelevant. Until the people of Pakistan realise this, the vicious cycle that victimises the Aasias of Pakistan will continue indefinitely. . Read Full Post
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AppSync 4.2 for iOS 4.2.1 Now Available in Cydia
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