Making a new beginning

A dangerous confrontation pregnant with serious implications for democratic process and national unity has been defused. It may not be the ideal solution but under the circumstances it was the best possible.
Rightly then within minutes of Prime Minister Gilani announcing restoration of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges the long march, which was about to culminate into a dharna, was called off, road-barriers lifted and normalcy began permeating through every thing.
In the game of claim and blame that had come into play in the wake of sacking of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges, silly assertions of all kinds were made from all sides. But as soon as the restoration of deposed judges took place an air of reconciliation returned, confirming that Pakistans fundamentals, as a country and a nation are strong and that it has the requisite promise and potential to stand up to the challenges that may come its way in future.
The biggest challenge, however, is how to stop looking back and to look forward. How to clothe the bare bones of the prime ministers short statement with impartial interpretation and concrete follow-up action - that is the challenge. The two fronts on which focus has to be sharpened now are the make-up of higher judiciary and political co-existence which is prone to disappearance soon after polls in blatant negation of democratic norms.
Without disputing the validity of the lawyers call for burying the doctrine of necessity one dare identify a shade of the same in the present situation also. But that is not the intention. Now is undeniably the right time to put in place an apparatus that should help create a stronger and independent judiciary that should not break under pressures for cover-ups and indemnities. Hats off to the lawyers steadfastness and unity in ranks barring a few exceptions resulting mainly from party affiliation. But all is well that ends well.
Prime Minister Gilanis promise to seek guidance from the Charter of Democracy shall definitely help the government, particularly in making appointments of justices. As of now, there are four categories of judges of the superior courts: One, who did not take oath under the PCO and are being restored; two, who did not take oath but later resumed their positions; three, who took oath under the PCO; and four, the fresh appointees.
The Charter of Democracy envisages establishment of a commission that shall recommend three-name panels against each post to the prime minister who, in turn, will forward one name to a joint parliamentary committee for confirmation "through a transparent public hearing process". And under the condition "no judge shall take oath under any Provisional Constitutional Order that is contradictory to the exact language of the original oath prescribed in the Constitution of 1973".
We expect the recent appointments to higher judiciary would be screened by such a commission and in thus, hopefully, the era of handpicked judges shall be over. Such a move would help dispel the impression in some quarters that the lawyers movement was Chief Justice Chaudhry-specific.
The omission of any reference to the governors rule in Punjab in the prime ministers statement is understandable - in that by promising to file a review petition in Supreme Court seeking reversal of disqualification of Sharif brothers he has indicated revival of Shahbaz Sharif government. Of course, the legal process is likely to take time since the said petition can only be moved on receiving the detailed judgement.
But it is quite likely that in the meanwhile, possibly during this week, the action that had followed the disqualification order will be stayed and the status quo ante thus restored with Shahbaz-headed coalition government back in business in Lahore. In that case it is not unlikely that the PML-Ns ministerial contingent may return to their positions in the Yousuf Raza Gilani cabinet.
The entire saga has the ring of a magic show. But there is no magic to it: all this has happened just because there was no alternative except the unravelling of statehood of Pakistan. As things were coming to a boil there were unmistakable signs that northern Pakistan and southern Pakistan were on a collision path. That the military did not intervene as against previous cases, is a matter of great satisfaction.
Some foreign friends helped in breaking the deadlock that too should be recognised. The Spring Revolution" triggered by lawyers indeed unfolds a new primer before the countrys political leaders. It demands of them to honour their mandates, try at co-existing with political rivals, shun cronyism, enforce rule of law and help build institutions. Meanwhile, the parliament must reassert its authority.
It must draw on the Charter of Democracy for inspiration with a view to cleansing the constitution of the distortions injected by General Musharraf. The Seventeenth Amendment must go in any case; otherwise a strong parliamentary system would remain a dream. A committed civil society and active media too have stakes in the vibrancy of democratic dispensation, a reality that too must be recognised. This is indeed a new beginning harking us to move forward.