Once again there is a confrontation between the presidency and the judiciary in Pakistan. The president has refused to accept the recommendations of the chief justice and notified judicial appointments at his discretion.
No matter what legal and constitutional experts say, the basic issue is:
Should individuals who are facing trial for criminal offences decide or even participate in the appointment of superior court judges?
The obvious answer is ‘NO’. So, the incumbent president, law minister and a host of other ministers should be barred from the exercise.
But the constitution requires that the appointments be issued by the president, and this can only happen if there is a new president.
The wise solution is that the president and all governors, ministers, advisors and ambassadors who are ‘subjudice’ should resign and should be replaced, after which the judiciary should respect the decisions of the government.
Mr. Zardari has already brought enough disrepute to the presidency of Pakistan and he should not add to his sins. Let us hope that he will not create a situation in which the civil servants will refuse to obey ministerial orders and friendly countries would declare our ambassadors persona non grata. If the impasse continues, there will have to be midterm elections which the opposition parties would sweep and then impeach him. The procedure has already been perfected by his own party.
