We will defeat militants: Zardari

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0600

Pakistan's President Asif Zardari has broken with decades of strategic policy by declaring the military will turn its guns on extremist groups it formerly supported as proxy forces in its battles with India. In an announcement that boosts Washington's hopes for a united front against al-Qaeda and related Islamist insurgents, Mr Zardari said in an interview that operations would in future target figures who were the military's "strategic assets". The powerful military had given its backing in recent days to Mr Zardari's shift from seeing India as the foremost threat to the country towards the domestic danger posed by radical Muslim groups that hold sway in large parts of Pakistan. "I don't think anybody in the establishment supports them any more," he said. "I think everybody has become more wise than this." Pakistan has launched simultaneous operations in Swat valley and two neighbouring districts after Taliban militants and foreign trained terrorists mounted a series of audacious attacks in its major cities. The fight has become the defining issue for Mr Zardari since his Pakistan People's Party spearheaded efforts to oust the former military leader, Gen Pervez Musharraf, last year. "Military operations are all across the board against any insurgent whether in Karachi, Lahore or whether he is in any part of Pakistan," said Mr Zardari. "My problem is terror. I have focused myself on terror. The PPP has focused itself against the extremist mindset. Terror is a regional problem, it cuts across borders. "I would love to be remembered for creating a Pakistan where militancy � I know it can't totally be diminished � is defeated." A day earlier Mr Zardari gained important support when Pakistan's army chief, Gen Ashfaq Kiyani, said that the "immediate internal threat" of Taliban militancy was greater than any "external threat" � code for India. Diplomats took comfort that Mr Zardari appeared to speak for the most important power brokers in Pakistan. Civil leaders always operate in the shadow of the military but Mr Zardari appears to have the backing of the high command for some controversial stances. Gestures of goodwill towards India allied to a campaign to end militant influence has attracted criticism but for the moment his opponents are at bay. "It rankles the small mind," he said. "It does not rankle the army, because after India and Pakistan became nuclear powers, that position of being able to take over another state is nullified." Another apparent taboo that Mr Zardari has breached is to disregard the hankering within the Pakistani establishment for a religious-based government in Afghanistan that would be hostile to India and the West. In recent months, he has been one of the few Pakistani leaders to befriend Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai. "Karzai and myself are friends," he said. "Our military chiefs have met, our intelligence chiefs have met." So serious is Pakistan's internal struggles that Mr Zardari disclaimed much interest in America's role in Afghanistan. "What the US does in Afghanistan is its own business. It is a sovereign state," he said. Mr Zardari, is an unlikely president. The widower of Benazir Bhutto, the assassinated former prime minister, was once accused of corruption and high living. He bridled at being reminded that he was known as Mr 10 per cent. "It was a clich� created by the opposition and they tried me for 11 and half years [the time has served in jail without being sentenced]. I think a man should be judged by the fact he has walked the fire and come out without a spot." No details were forthcoming on important parts of his official agenda, such as reform of the madrassahs - religious schools � that are breeding grounds for militancy. At one point, he said that the PPP � of which his son Bilawal is chairman, and he is the co-chairman � had resisted the influence of "extremists from Aung San Suu Kyi to the Taliban", apparently mistakenly referring to the jailed Burmese opposition leader. Since Mr Zardari replaced Mr Musharrif, his opponents have complained of his excessive thrust for control of government. The army, Washington and the opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, ended his destabilising attempt to seize power earlier this year in the pivotal province of the Punjab. Since then, his government has been able to settle down and galvanise unprecedented public support for operations against the Taliban. Mr Zardari has occasionally been willing to take Washington to task for its interventions in Pakistan. He reiterated a call for the US to sell aerial drones to the Pakistan military in place of mounting cross-border attacks. "My position is that I have always asked for possession of the drone; I want the Pakistani flag on it." The legacy for which he aims is wrapped up in the continuing impact of Miss Bhutto's assassination. On that day, he said, he had saved Pakistan. "The people in the street were calling for blood and we went for a democratic offensive." Her death remains a complex factor in Pakistani national life. Mr Zardari appears to blame Mr Musharraf, claiming that she died by a bullet not by the bomb that a Scotland Yard report identified as the cause. "I wish Musharraf had looked after my wife as I can look after myself," he said. (Telegraph)

Steps proposed to cut caseload

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:00:00 +0600

ISLAMABAD - The participants of the two-day national conference on implementation of National Judicial Policy Sunday adopted �Islamabad Declaration� which stressed that competence and integrity should be the foremost criteria for appointment of judges and that all the vacant posts of judges should be filled in on priority basis to achieve the goals set in the NJP.
The unanimously adopted declaration further stressed that judicial officers and courts� staff should be offered competitive salaries and innovative training modules should be developed and implemented for their capacity building. The declaration also emphasised upon the need of implementing Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism to lower the burden of pending cases before the courts. It also called upon judges and lawyers to be punctual to avoid delays and unnecessary adjournments.
Both lawyers and judges should keep a close vigil over their support staff to avoid them from indulging in corruption. Public perceptions about the courts and katcheries needed to be changed through efficient performance and corruption-free environment, the declaration stressed.
The declaration also stressed the need for an integrated strategy for closer cooperation on a sustainable basis amongst the judiciary, bar and ancillary justice sector institutions to meet the goals of the NJP. It encountered the shortage of manpower, loadshedding and the scattered locations of courts and tribunals as the major difficulties in implementation of the NJP. The declaration urged the government to allocate adequate funds to strengthen the capacity of subordinate courts to handle the caseload within the time frame fixed by the NJP.
Earlier, the participants were divided into four groups to discuss the issues like the backlog, delay reduction, role of superior judiciary in implementation of the NJP and eradication of corruption from the judiciary. The groups discussed their respective topics at length and drew conclusions and recommendations, which were later presented in the concluding session, presided over by the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Based on the recommendations of each group, the participants of the conference drafted the declaration, which was unanimously adopted.
Prior to the adoption of the declaration, the Chief Justice delivered his concluding speech and said that the events occurred during the past two years suggested that a fair and effective system of justice was the utmost priority of the people of the country. �The nation has sent us a message that we can�t choose to ignore,� he said.
The Chief Justice said, �Let the people know that we are committed to the aspirations of the people and want to tell those people who resort to violent means to resolve their disputes that we are dedicated to improve the justice system up to the satisfaction of the nation.� �The National Judicial Policy is the first step in that direction,� he added.
He said that both the criminal and civil justice systems of the country suffered from unacceptable delays, mismanagement and varying degrees of corruption. He said all the stakeholders should accept their responsibility in that regard, adding he was glad to see that they were committed to eradicate those problems through effective implementation of the NJP.
The Chief Justice called for cooperation from the law enforcing agencies, as, he said, it was needed for eradication of the present ills and achievement of the future strategic goals.
The recommendations forwarded by the discussion groups included increase in salary of judicial officials at par with the Punjab, making changes in Police Order-2002, simplification of Criminal and Civil Procedural Codes and avoiding the cross-examination of evidences for clearing the backlog and reducing delays.
Changes in syllabi of law colleges and judicial academies, up-to-date refresher courses for judicial officers, formation of commissions for recording evidences, appointment of ad hoc judges to fill the vacant posts were also urged. Judges of the sub-ordinate judiciary were urged to fix reasonable number of cases in their courts so that no person called in the court might go out unheard and unnoticed.
The discussion group under the chair of General Secretary Supreme Court Bar Association Shaukat Umar Pirzada also stressed in its recommendations that the superior judiciary should be purged of the PCO judges, who, he said, were incompetent and corrupt.
APP adds: The CJP also mentioned July 5 saying that the day marked a sad event in the nation�s constitutional history. � This day, thirty-two years ago, the country�s fundamental law, namely the Constitution, was suspended and the democratic process thwarted.�

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We will defeat militants: Zardari

Steps proposed to cut caseload