President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Qazi Muhammad Anwar has said mutual respect is a good thing, but 'corruption' cannot be respected, adding that Supreme Court and High Courts should further judicial activism, as it is the only means to give swift justice to masses. Addressing a crowded press conference here after presiding over a meeting of the SCBA on Saturday, he maintained that rulers have adopted collision's course.
He regretted that few individuals were trying to pit institutions against each other for their petty ego. He termed NRO an agreement amongst few 'crooks ' for safeguarding their vested interests and hide their crimes. He said though Supreme Court had declared the NRO null and void, but the ruling junta was not yet ready to reopen the cases of NRO beneficiaries, including graft-related Swiss cases.
Qazi Muhammad Anwar said he had opposed NRO from the day one and quit Pakistan People's Party, despite his 38 years long association with the party. He said negative and contemptuous attitude of rulers might lead to clash between institutions for which the rulers would be responsible. Qazi Anwar condemned the attitude of rulers towards the verdicts of courts. He said if anyone really wants 'respect', he should have to obey the rule of law and accept that no one is above the law.
He said the cure to all our 'diseases' is the rule of law and supremacy of constitution. He harshly condemned the sentence by a US court to Dr Aafia Siddiqui, adding every Pakistani is offended due to this anti-human decision. He said why our individual and collective conscience as a nation is silent on the maltreatment of Dr Aafia, whom he termed the daughter of nation. He said SCBA has already offered Dr Fauzia that it is ready to defend Dr Aafia in the US on its own expenses. He said SCBA delegation would meet Dr Fauzia and her family to express solidarity with them.
General Secretary SCBA, Raja Zulqarnain said Pakistan is virtually in a state of war. He alleged agents of US agencies and Blackwater were involved in bomb blasts, target killings and violence in Balochistan, as they wanted to destabilise the country. Convenor Human Rights and Legal Aid Committee of SCBA Zia Ahmed Awan, senior leaders of Sindh High Court, Karachi, and Malir Bar associations were also present on the occasion. They announced lawyers would fully back judiciary if the rulers tried to repeat the mistake of the former military dictator Pervez Musharraf.