Book Review – The Stories from a Lost Homeland

Culture of Sindh

Book Review – Sindh: Stories from a Lost Homeland by Saaz Aggarwal

Sindh is a province with rich traditions, customs and cultural heritage. The people of Sindh take pride of their values which have evolved through centuries. In the year 1947 many Sindhis had to undergo the pain of emigrating from their ancestral homeland to altogether a new location, just like the people from many other parts of sub-continent. Saaz Agarwal has collected some stories from those who were native to Sindh before the partition and has tried to portray the pre-partition culture of Sindh through this book. She has saved the memories of some of those who were affected with the partition but hoped that a time would come when the circumstances would revive and they would get back to their homeland. But the history tells that the time of revival never arrived. The book contains a number of different stories from those people who were the inhabitants of Sindh before the partitioning of sub-continent and the way they have narrated their stories gives a feeling as the reader is walking into the streets of old Sindh. The book provides the good information about the Sindhi lifestyle and the behavioural attitudes of the people at that time. The book states that despite the fact that the Hindus were in minority in Sindh, they lived in accord with each other and expected this lifestyle to continue. The book depicts the stories of this group of minorities and tales that after the partition, the Hindus left the province they grew up in and they set forth from Pakistan and reached India where they slowly began to find a sense of belonging and began trade activities to support their families. The community had to adjust to several cultural changes along the way. In their new, and often resentful, environment, they did not pause to feel sorry for themselves or to contemplate what they had lost. All their energy went into establishing themselves and restoring the lives of dignity and comfort they had been accustomed to. As the Diaspora scattered around the world, they never looked back, never told their stories, intent on adapting to their new lives. Soon they had established themselves and even improved their situation. This book is also a wake-up call to the Sindhi community that says, hey, enough time has passed; now they can look back without those feelings of hostility and betrayal, to see who they are and where they came from. The book serves as a memoir to the grit and determination of a community going through drastic change. The author manages to capture the emotions of the people, and brings the past alive through maps, traditional recipes, newspaper cuttings, photographs, and more. The book is a good contribution to the history literature with a distinct element that its narrator is not any historian but the people who underwent the pain of leaving their homes and undertook the journey to a different land, leaving behind the memories.

Clinical Legal Education

Rana Rizwan Hussain

Clinical legal education is a way to impart legal education with practical approach. It harnesses the capacities of the participants in two manners – First it helps to learn what may remain missing in theoretical form of learning. Second it provides an opportunity to apply what has already been learnt.

Law clinics which are responsible for imparting legal education in clinical manner can be organized in two different ways. First in the form of law moots where the students are given a hypothetical case to prepare and then to present and contest before a moot court. This is mainly the responsibility of the law schools to arrange such training facilities for the students. Let me add emphasis here – when we say that it is a responsibility, it means that it is an essential part of the legal education and cannot be compromised.

Second way of imparting clinical legal education is to associate the students with law practitioners where they are given the chance to prepare and present the real cases before the courts. This form of law clinic is more useful as it helps in the capacity building of the students to handle pressure where valuable rights of the parties directly depend upon their efforts. This type of law clinic is the responsibility of the law firms, which still lacks its initiative.

Moreover, the object of clinical legal education is two-fold. One is to train the students for their prospective legal career and the second is to serve the public interest by offering pro-bono legal services. Fulfillment of second purpose is only possible where the students or the graduates are given a due opportunity to become part of the private practice of a law practitioner.

Clinical legal education is a demanding area to work upon for improving the standards of law practice and reforms in the legal system.

The importance of clinical legal education system is vital and can neither be overlooked nor undermined therefore a due attention should be given at every level for its development.

Writer is a practicing lawyer and a lecturer of law

Imprints of a Patriot

Book Review – A Stranger in my Own Country by Major General (Retd) Khadim Hussain Raja

Rana Rizwan Hussain
The book ‘A Stranger in My Own Country’ is a recollection of memory of a patriot army officer who served in East Pakistan as Major General from 1969 to 1971. The book reveals number of facts which became a cause of separation of East wing of Pakistan doing an irreparable loss to the country. At the start of the story about East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), Major General (Retd) Khadim Hussain Raja, says that certain opportunists in East Pakistan propagated against West Pakistan and put forth the distorted facts before the public just to disgust the image of West Pakistan in their eyes. A campaign amongst the masses was already on the move with a flawed idea that West Pakistan was usurping all the benefits which were generated out of the resources of East Pakistan wing. According to General (Retd) Raja, the propaganda was completely baseless and was launched in East Pakistan by certain groups with vested interests just to create an environment of hatred there for West Pakistan. General (Retd) Raja sorrowfully points out that the rulers sitting in West Pakistan were aware of the situation aggravating in East Pakistan but they remained silent and negligent to nip the evil into the bud. It is also stated into the manuscript that the then President of Pakistan was continuously apprised of the situation with solid proofs of anti nationalist elements taking strength in East Pakistan and was requested several times to intervene for taking measures against them but nobody sitting in West Pakistan could comprehend the direness of the situation properly, hence no measures on time.

General (Retd) Raja is quite eloquent in his view that in evolving the circumstances leading to the fall of Dhaka, the first responsibility goes to the leadership of East Pakistan who motivated and disgusted the people of East Pakistan against West Pakistan for their personal political interests and the same was coupled with the sluggishness in performing state responsibilities by West Pakistan wing when it came about the East Pakistan. Although, the geographical location of East Pakistan was a big hurdle in the performance of such responsibilities. He says that after the water had already run over, the rulers sitting in West Pakistan got alarmed of the aggravated situation in East Pakistan and they tried to overcome the situation through use of power, which was again a bad decision and resulted into a massacre due to the non-responsible attitude of the army command, there.

It can rightly be collected from various parts of the book that West Pakistanis considered East Pakistanis to be timid people but the same was true about East Pakistanis as well who hated West Pakistanis and thought that they were the usurpers of their national assets.

After reading the book one can easily reach the conclusion that the mutiny of 1971 was a result of lust for power of the political elite of the country in both wings. The final nail in the coffin was fixed when two parties which emerged on the political scene after the general elections, refused to share power with each other. The situation could certainly have been handled, if the politicians and the leaders had kept the national interests supreme and sorted out their political differences on table to find a mid way reconciliatory solution. Unfortunately, no such sincere effort was made throughout the period.

General (Retd) Raja at the end gives the moral of his piece of writing and says that leadership of Pakistan must learn from the past events and should not repeat those in future, as the result of making the same mistakes again would be no different from that of past. This is a message which speaks volumes for the leadership of the country reigning in the present era.

http://splus.nation.com.pk/E-Paper/Lahore/2014-01-12/page-63

Writer is a practicing lawyer based in Lahore, lecturer of commercial law and founding partner at Hussain & Associates; hnachambers@gmail.com

ROAD TO GLORY

Book Review: Akhuwat Ka Safar by Dr. Amjad Saqib

Rana Rizwan Hussain
The book ‘Akhuwat ka Safar’ is not merely a travelogue but it is an inspiration which casts its enchanting effect upon soft hearted people. It is a piece of guidance which leads the noble minds to the way of making an eternal contribution to this mortal world. It is an encouragement for everyone to spare some moments of life for those who are related to them through the relationship of humanity. It provides a unique way of passing life which is devoted for the purpose of helping those who are deprived of the worldly amenities but yet keep the spirit to live with respect. It is a thought pattern, existence of which is an assurance to the survival of human values and virtues in this world. It is a teaching of ‘Akhuwat’ upon which the edifice of Islamic brotherhood stands and a practical way of implementing that part of Islamic ideology.

The book is a wonderful piece of writing and it keeps its readers engaged in its ideas and philosophies which have been discussed by Dr. Amjad Saqib in the simplest of manners and without letting those become burden for its reader. Dr. Saqib conveys all his messages entailing Islamic brotherhood, interest free economic system and rights of financially deprived people with such politeness which eliminates every possibility of displeasure to those who may disagree with his opinions. Besides that the book contains a good deal of information about various cities and popular personalities of America, which can be of particular interest for those who enjoy such information.

Dr. Saqib, somehow, in this book provokes its readers to think about the very aim and object of the creation of this world and demonstrates that how the economic structure adopted by Akhuwat is a better course to the fulfillment of that objective than what has been widely adopted in the world. The world was not created with a purpose to create a permanent imbalance between the poor and the rich by introducing the interest system but the rich were put in charge of the wealth with the duty to pass it on to the deserving during their hours of need. He makes it understand to his readers that the blessing of wealth always comes with the duty to share.

The book is also a food for thought for the economic experts and a splendid topic for the students of economics to research upon the new economic models, which can replace the existing ones in order to bring an economic harmony between the nations and the states. It glaringly points out that the responsibility of non-ending poverty is not upon the poor but upon the system, they are subject to. It guides that there are different modes of doing charity and the best may not necessarily be the one to permanently hand over the valuables to the others but may be the one to create a permanent source of livelihood for them.

A very significant aspect of this book is that despite its having been authored by Dr. Saqib, it seems to have been contributed by all those who have ever been associated with the Akhuwat mission, though, in any manner. Dr. Saqib in this book admires all those individuals and organizations which, at different forums, thrive for the noble purpose of eliminating poverty and helping the poor in their stricken circumstances. This particular aspect of the book makes it a splendor with a message that a noble cause does not involve any competition but only aims at the objective.

The beauty of the writing style of this book is that each and every para of this book speaks for the love of the author for his piece. Every word seems to have been placed in it with care and diligence and every remark pertaining to any individual or organization has been classified in a manner to add up respect and reverence to their self.

The book ‘Akhuwat ka Safar’ is a real demonstration of what Iqbal said,

“Iraday Jinke Pukhta Hon, Nazar Jinki Khuda par Ho

Talatam khez Maujon Se, Vo Ghabraya Nahin karte”

“Those, who aim high with firmest of determinations

No challenges can block their way to their destination”

The book is a must read for people from all walks of life as its lessons are not limited to any particular class but the pleasure of reading it is equal for all virtuous minds.

Writer is a practicing lawyer based in Lahore, lecturer of commercial law and founding partner at Hussain & Associates; hnachambers@gmail.com

Book Review is also available at the following web link.

http://splus.nation.com.pk/E-Paper/Lahore/2013-12-15/page-61

 

Akhuwat Ka Safar

Book Review: Akhuwat Ka Safar

Rana Rizwan Hussain

The book ‘Akhuwat ka Safar’ is not merely a travelogue but it is an inspiration which casts its enchanting effect upon soft hearted people. It is a piece of guidance which leads the noble minds to the way of making an eternal contribution to this mortal world. It is an encouragement for everyone to spare some moments of life for those who are related to them through the relationship of humanity. It provides a unique way of passing life which is devoted for the purpose of helping those who are deprived of the worldly amenities but yet keep the spirit to live with respect. It is a thought pattern, existence of which is an assurance to the survival of human values and virtues in this world. It is a teaching of ‘Akhuwat’ upon which the edifice of Islamic brotherhood stands and a practical way of implementing that part of Islamic ideology.

The book is a wonderful piece of writing and it keeps its readers engaged in its ideas and philosophies which have been discussed by Dr. Amjad Saqib in the simplest of manners and without letting those become burden for its reader. Dr. Saqib conveys all his messages entailing Islamic brotherhood, interest free economic system and rights of financially deprived people with such politeness which eliminates every possibility of displeasure to those who may disagree with his opinions. Besides that the book contains a good deal of information about various cities and popular personalities of America, which can be of particular interest for those who enjoy such information.

Dr. Saqib, somehow, in this book provokes its readers to think about the very aim and object of the creation of this world and demonstrates that how the economic structure adopted by Akhuwat is a better course to the fulfillment of that objective then what has been widely adopted in the world. The world was not created with a purpose to create a permanent imbalance between the poor and the rich by introducing the mark up system but the rich were put in charge of the wealth with the duty to pass it on to the deserving during their hours of need. He makes it understand to his readers that the blessing of wealth always comes with the duty to share.

The book is also a food for thought for the economic experts and a splendid topic for the students of economics to research upon the new economic models, which can replace the existing ones in order to bring an economic harmony between the nations and the states. It glaringly points out that the responsibility of non-ending poverty is not upon the poor but upon the system, they are subject to. It guides that there are different modes of doing charity and the best may not necessarily be the one to permanently hand over the valuables to the others but may be the one to create a permanent source of livelihood for them.

A very significant aspect of this book is that despite its having been authored by Dr. Saqib, it seems to have been contributed by all those who have ever been associated with the Akhuwat mission, though, in any manner. Dr. Saqib in this book admires all those individuals and organizations which, at different forums, thrive for the noble purpose of eliminating poverty and helping the poor in their stricken circumstances. This particular aspect of the book makes it a splendor with a message that a noble cause does not involve any competition but only aims at the objective.

The beauty of the writing style of this book is that each and every para of this book speaks for the love of the author for his piece. Every word seems to have been placed in it with care and diligence and every remark pertaining to any individual or organization has been classified in a manner to add up respect and reverence to their self.

The book ‘Akhuwat ka Safar’ is a real demonstration of what Iqbal said,

“Iraday Jinke Pukhta Hon, Nazar Jinki Aasman par Ho

Talatam khez Maujon Se, Vo Ghabraya Nahin karte”

“Those, who aim high with firmest of determinations

No challenges can block their way to their destination”

The book is a must read for people from all walks of life as its lessons are not limited to any particular class but the pleasure of reading it is equal for all virtuous minds.

Writer is a practicing lawyer based in Lahore, lecturer of commercial law and founding partner at Hussain & Associates; hnachambers@gmail.com

The Beautiful City

The Beautiful City
 

 
Rana Rizwan Hussain
The city has been beautified. New roads, underpasses and over bridges have been built. Many of the old ones have been renovated. What a pleasant feeling it is to drive on these roads, particularly when these roads have been decorated with the pelmets of green grass and flowers. Although, some parts of the city have been completely neglected but let’s not look at those ugly parts at the moment and give full credit to the government. Yes, I am speaking of Lahore, which has consumed the major portion of the provincial budget, may be it deserved this because of its being the provincial capital, fair enough and let’s not disagree. Even if we do, it won’t make much difference, because we don’t have any say before the authorities. Special TV shows have been done to boast of the development works of Lahore. Pleased of these developments, the heads of the foreign states are also invited to come, visit and appreciate our city and if the reader allows me some courage then let me say that at the end we also expect some gifts or donations. May those be in the form of litter cans or something else (What a shame!). Whatever it is, let us acknowledge that the development work has been done in the city and this fact can’t be denied. Devil should be given its due. The situation of Lahore reminds me of a story “The Beautiful City” which once constituted the part of matriculation course. There is a constraint of space but I would love to share that story as it precisely conveys the purpose of this piece of writing;

“Once upon a time there were three kings who had their kingdoms next to each other. In one of their meetings together they decided to visit each other’s kingdom after a period of one year and see who was able to convert his kingdom into the most beautiful one. When the time for meeting came each one of them was very happy and looked at his city proudly. The three kings along with their judges set off on the tour to see the beauty of the city of the first king. During the tour the kings and the judges noticed that there was not even a single shabby or ugly building left. Roads were clean and wide and city shone with newly-cut stone. Everyone appreciated the construction work done in the city but when they looked at the people who stood or walked about the streets, they looked pale, weak and poor with tired faces and children with thin legs and solemn faces. People were too tired, ill or unhappy to cheer their king as he passed. Next day the kings and the judges went for a tour to the city of the second king. They drove around the city and had number of beautiful sights. Every road was lined by a trim green verge. Flower brushes and trees made splashes of colour and beautiful hedges took the place of fences and walls. Flowers in hundreds and thousands met the visitors’ eyes as they drove around but here again the people did not match the beautiful city. “The children should look like flowers, too,” murmured one judge to another. Next day when the coaches set off for visiting the city of the third king, they noticed that the roads and streets of the king were lined with people, clapping and laughing as they cheered the passing of their king. Everyone was dressed in bright gay colour and their faces were full of joy. All seemed to be strong and healthy with rosy faces and straight and sturdy limbs and the children were the best sight of all. Standing at the roadside in little groups were boys and girls as they had come out of their schools. All wore the prettiest cloths in dozens of different colours. Their faces were bright and smiling as they waved flags or threw flowers to their kings. Their voices were strong and sweet when they sang to him as he passed. Nobody noticed if every building was perfect or if all the waste ground had been tidied up. The three kings and the judges could not take their eyes off the children. At last the tour was over and the three kings and the judges met in the palace of the third king. After some time of silence, one of the judges spoke out and said that the city of the third king was the most beautiful he had ever seen. The second judge added that the buildings and the gardens of the first two cities were indeed the wonderful sights but happiness of people was much better than that. Agreed the third judge, saying that the people were of more importance than buildings and gardens.  The king of that city concluded the conversation with his final remarks that with the people healthy and happy everything is possible and the other two kings also desired to make their kingdoms as that of the third king.”

I miss old school days!

Everyone knows that whenever any head of a foreign state travels on the roads of Pakistan, common public is not allowed to show its appearance to him. Signals are closed, traffic is diverted, and the pedestrians’ walk is halted. This is commonly observed here. Therefore, unlike the above narrated story, the foreign guests can hardly notice the pale faces of the poverty stricken masses, especially of those who stand in the city squares and wait whole day long for the labour for earning single time bread for their family. But still they can see that all on TV channels and in the newspapers. After travelling in Pakistan, those rulers may be questioning themselves that why the rulers of this country are neglecting the masses and focusing the construction and beautification works. They may be wondering that the leadership of this country lacks vision and wisdom of governance. They may also be thinking that these rulers have no concept of policy making in which they can set the priorities in fulfilling the public requirement. Certainly, they can also doubt the sincerity of our leadership with the public. They must be standing sure that the parliamentarians of this country go to the parliament houses just for napping and not for raising public issues and for holding of parliamentary debates. Through these debates the elected representatives can highlight the problems of their constituencies and above all they can restrain the misuse of public funds by the functionaries. Those foreigners must be developing a view at the end that despite having a democratic system the masses of this country are the victims of the monarchs who sole handedly make policy decisions and use members of the parliaments as puppets. These rulers fulfill their personal desires out of the public money and that too without any accountability.

Our leaders fail to set the priorities in public welfare projects because they are least interested in resolving public issues. This is because of their lack of passion for the common public. Before spending billions of rupees upon a single project they have to ascertain the real public issues. Having ascertained the issues they must set the correct priorities for redressing those issues and provide them with the best possible solutions in suitability with the economics. Every issue should be dealt with on behest of its priority. Government being the custodian of public money should spend it in a most careful manner and in a way which provides equal opportunity of benefit to everyone. They have to make the cost and benefit analysis before making huge outflows of money. Our leaders must know that providing people with the clean drinking water, food, health, inhabitation and education comes prior to the construction of buildings and roads. If our leaders can so easily be fascinated by the construction projects of the foreign countries, which those countries developed after providing basic facilities to their public, they should also be inspired of the living standard of the people there and work for it too in Pakistan. Our leaders have to prioritize the basic necessities of life of the common public upon any other development project or the reader of this article would understand that they lack the required wisdom of leadership and need to get back to school for learning the lessons which they missed. As there is no shame in late learning and it is yet better than never learning.

Writer is a Lahore based practicing lawyer and a lecturer in laws – Email: –hnachambers@gmail.com

About the Author

The author is a practising lawyer based in Lahore, Pakistan, who along with his professional activities keeps an eye on the social, political and legal changes taking place into the society. Due to his professional engagements this is not possible for the author to pen everything which is under his consideration but time to time he keeps releasing pieces containing his opinions and analysis. The blog only contains the non-copyrighted work of the author and not that which becomes the property of some particular journal.

Those who want to know more about the author, he is a corporate lawyer who has done his LL.M. from Queen Mary, University of London and is running his own law firm under the name and style of Hussain and Associates. The author is also affiliated with a law college, Punjab Law College, Lahore, where he lectures in different areas of law. Moreover, author is a guest lecturer at Management and Professional Development Department (MPDD) of Government of Punjab which is a department of the provincial government responsible for providing training to the civil servants and a guest columnist at a reputed English Daily “The Nation” in Pakistan. Author can be reached at ranarizwanhussain@gmail.com

Book Review: Iqbal and the Western Philosophers

Distinction of Iqbal’s Philosophies

Book Review: Iqbal and the Western Philosophers by Dr. Nazir Qaiser

Rana Rizwan Hussain
Allama Iqbal was a profound philosopher and the boundaries of his philosophy were not constrained by the borders of any region of the world rather his writings portrayed his broad vision and horizon which crossed cultures, civilizations and their traditions. Many foreign critics have attempted to attack the philosophies of Iqbal by calling those as inspiration from the West, while they dramatically ignore certain benchmarks which distinguish Iqbal’s philosophies from those of West and establish that Iqbal’s ideas are only impressed by the Islamic teachings which provide a code of life not only to the Muslim world but also beyond and Iqbal throughout his philosophies has bonded with it firmly. There is no second opinion pertaining to the fact that Iqbal studied the Western culture very deeply but Iqbal distinguished their norms from those of Islamic ones and also enlightened the world where the Western culture developed its practices impressed by the teachings of Islam. All those writers who endeavor to let down Iqbal by calling his philosophies as inspiration from the Western culture are making futile efforts as the Iqbal’s contribution to the international literature of philosophy requires no recommendations and also that some Western universities offer specialized programs in his philosophies. Some of the western authors with whose’ theories Iqbal’s philosophies are mixed up are following;

Johann Gottlieb Fichte, a western writer has given his theories on ego, while a considerable portion of Iqbal’s poetry also brings into discussion the ego. The critics are of the view that Iqbal has copied his idea of ego from that of Fichte. The writer of the instant book has beautifully set the ideas of both the philosophers in their real perspective which differentiates both the concepts.  Similarly, Schopenhauer has given the idea of universal will and says that universe is through and through will and also that an individual man is phenomenal presentation or a copy of the idea of man as species, while, Iqbal does not consider man as the copy of eternal ideas. He considers the human ego as ‘Amr’ of God. The writing also explains that how Schopenhauer’s will is purposeless, blind and impulsive and how Iqbal’s human ego is purposive.

The book also distinguishes a fundamental principle of Nietzsche’s theory of will to power from Iqbal’s concept of power which comprises of Jalal (Divine Majesty) and Jamal (Divine Beauty). The instant writing elaborates that the Iqbal’s concept is combined with elegance, tenderness and kindness.

It also brings into discussion William James’ belief in determination, which maintains that some volitional decisions are uncaused and unmotivated and the writer compares it with Iqbal’s belief of self-determination. A beautiful comparison is also made between Bergson’s theory upon Duration and Self with Iqbal’s point of view which is contrary to that of Bergson.

McTaggart, who is considered to be an atheist, believes in Absolute, which is society of individuals. He does not believe in god of religion. On the other hand Iqbal takes God as ultimate Reality who is Ego or Personality, Omnipotent, Omniscient and Infinite. He has definite relationship with the society of selves, but he is not the society of selves Himself.

The book also includes the comparison of many other western scholars with Iqbal who have given similar ideas as those of Iqbal and draws a clear distinction between their philosophies. That is how the writer achieves his objective of absolving Iqbal from the allegation of plagiarism leveled against him by many foreign critics. The book establishes that Iqbal occupies a distinctive position among the philosophers of the world and a great deal of work is being done in many parts of the world on his philosophies. The distinction drawn by the writer between the philosophers of the world and those of Iqbal also prove that the critics of Iqbal have neither conducted a thorough study of Iqbal’s philosophies nor have they read the western philosophers properly. Indirectly, the book also gives a general message that every philosopher should be recognized in his true perspective and the theories of different philosophers should not be mixed up with each other in a manner to give impression of plagiarism by any of them.

The book is a fantastic reading and a must read for all those inquisitive minds who are conducting research on Iqbal’s philosophies or they want to know Iqbal more closely.

Importance of Fairness and Due Process: A Tribute to Lahore High Court

Importance of Fairness and Due Process: A Tribute to Lahore High Court

“In a country governed by laws and not men where rule of law reigns supreme, no public functionary, who is a trustee on behalf of the people, has the power or the authority to bestow personal favours or largesse at the expense of the institution. Higher the office of the public functionary, higher the responsibility in discharging the sacred trusteeship. All the judges of this Court are public functionaries and hold their post as trustee on behalf of the people of Pakistan in terms of the oath under Article 194 of the Constitution which provides that they will not allow their personal interest to influence their official conduct or official decisions and in all circumstances will do right to all manner of people according to law without fear, favour, affection or ill-will. …”
[Emphasis Supplied]
These remarks have been passed by his Lordship, Mr. Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah in a division bench comprised with his Lordship Mr. Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan in a case Tanveer Ahmad Khan vs. Registrar Lahore High Court and others, PLD 2013 Lahore 386, while setting aside the appointment order of an employee passed by the Honourable Chief Justice of Lahore High Court in 2009. A distinct element of this decision is that it relates to an administrative order and not to a judicial order of a member of the judiciary. The Honourable Chief Justice while passing this order was acting as the competent authority to make appointments under High Court (Lahore) Establishment (Appointment and Conditions of Service) Rules. This is an admirable decision which is likely to set new foundations of justice, equity and fairplay in the society and will be torchbearer for many administrative and judicial authorities for deciding matters on merits. This decision is also significant as there have not been many decisions in the legal history of Pakistan in which the bench of two judges passed a decision against the order of the Chief Justice of the High Court. Although, there have been decisions in which vires of the orders passed by the Chief Justices of various High Courts have been discussed but none of the decisions effectively gave a relief to the party as against the order of the Chief Justice. In the case, Manzoor Hussain and others vs. Muhammad Ashraf and another, 1999 PLC (C.S.) 279, the bench of two judges of High Court gave the following remarks while dealing with the powers of the Chief Justice of the Provincial High Court;
“It is well settled principle of law that all authorities, executive or judicial, should exercise discretion conferred upon them through law, in most reasonable, fair, judicious and equitable manner. The power to exercise discretion does not authorise them to act arbitrarily, discriminately and with mala fide. This principle is equally applicable to the Chief Justice of a Provincial High Court upon whom the law laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court is equally binding. But this is not the case of the appellants. … Unless it is shown that the exercise of discretion by the Chief Justice is colourable exercise, motivated with mala fide, it will not be fair and just to interfere with the same. … However, for the present, we would not like to touch the merits of the case as we are inclined to dispose of these appeals on the short ground that the impugned orders are not appealable.”
[Emphasis Supplied]
The Honourable High Court while passing these remarks, dismissed the appeals on the ground of lack of any substantive right of appeal available in the rules but before parting with the judgment the Court directed the office of the Registrar to place the rules before the Honourable Chief Justice of the High Court for the inclusion of the provision relating to the right of appeal into the rules. Likewise in another case, Shahnawaz Baloch and others vs. Kazi Muhammad Taqi and another, 2011 PLC (C.S.) 723, a similar matter came up for hearing before a bench of two judges of the Provincial High Court and that appeal was also dismissed with the following remarks;
“Since the decision was taken by the honourable Chief Justice in exercise of his power under Rule 7 read with section 26 of the said Rules, the appeals being not maintainable are dismissed.
Before parting with this order we feel that to appreciate the proper working of the employees and to avoid heart burning which may cause inefficiency amongst the employees it will be proper to direct the Registrar of this Court that, in future whenever any post is required to be filled by promotion all the employees of High Court Establishment who are eligible for promotion be considered for selection/promotion and then matter be submitted to the honourable Chief Justice for his decision.”
[Emphasis Supplied]
Keeping in view the findings given in the past judgments another distinct element of the recent judgment which manifestly comes before is that the Honourable Court while passing this decision kept the obligation under oath of a judge prior to the powers enjoyed by him under the High Court Rules.
In addition, this decision is also significant in various other respects. First of all it is a warning to all the competent authorities functioning in the civil services to take their decisions strictly in accordance with law and comply with the due process, as there is no authority which enjoys non-justiceable powers. Moreover, it also eliminates every iota of doubt pertaining to the judicial bias or lack of impartiality and independence of judges as towards each other. It further establishes that the judiciary is a venerable organ of the state with most solemn and esteemed functions to perform. Therefore, the members of the judiciary are obliged to be free from any type of bias, partiality or nepotism. The time of reporting this decision in negation of institutional bias also happens to be significant as in this crucial time a debate in various circles of society pertaining to institutional bias is already going on. In these circumstances the decision of the Lahore High Court is commendable and is warmly welcomed as it promotes the administration of justice and strengths the rule of law.
It is important to add to the discussion that every society which has achieved welfare and prosperity has achieved it through a strong and independent judicial system. No society can progress until its Munsifs render decisions which not only are just but also look to be just. In order to achieve this goal an intense responsibility lies on the shoulders of the members of the judiciary to keep themselves impartial in all their judicial as well as administrative matters. The judges undertake a divine duty of providing justice to the people who knock at the doors of the courts in stricken circumstances. The duty of providing justice comes directly from the attributes of Allah Almighty, therefore, any deviation from the honest use of powers conferred through it, amounts to the abuse and misuse of the position, which contravenes the injunctions of Islam. The image of a judge in the eyes of public is that of a savior who is kind and passionate to the oppressed and wronged and deals iron handedly with the culprits. In this very image lies the godliness which distinguishes judiciary from other organs of the state. Also this image carries the features which make this institution dignified and prestigious in the eyes of public and that is sustainable only by the performance of functions in a most truthful and revered manner by the judges.
At the end a tribute must be paid to the Lahore High Court, a division bench of which has set an example of impartiality, independence and has encouraged those who are in pursuit of justice. By passing this decision the Lahore High Court has also demonstrated the lack of existence of any speck of institutional bias in the minds of the judges. The office of Honourable Chief Justice of Lahore High Court deserves regards insofar as this decision relates to, and has upheld the principle of supremacy of law. This is an example to follow for the officials of all other institutions in the country to set themselves free from any type of bias and take all their decisions strictly in accordance with law, as the supremacy of law is the only road to welfare and betterment of the society.
Writer is a practicing lawyer based in Lahore, lecturer of commercial law and founding partner at Hussain & Associates. hnachambers@gmail.com

Note: An edited version of the above article was published in JURIST (jurist.org), a publication of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Original source is available at http://jurist.org/hotline/2013/07/rizwan-hussain-challenged-order.php.

The Child Democracy

The Child Democracy

The Child Democracy

Rana Rizwan Hussain
Alas, the child democracy which reached the age of five years for the first time in Pakistan has been stabbed again. It is said that it is a human tendency to swallow the sweet and spit the bitter but in Pakistan it has been proved to be otherwise. The people of Pakistan swallowed the bitterness of system for last five years and when they came to taste the sweet, it was already taken away from them. What a misery it is for a nation to not to be able to decide its own fate. It was a very healthy gesture on the part of all those external forces who could derail but did not derail democracy from its evolutionary process, particularly when there came many opportunities for that in the last five years. The statements in favour of democracy from all those quarters were very encouraging and it sounded that for the first time all the big guns were determined to support the democratic system for the sake of betterment of Pakistan.

The elections 2013 have brought before us number of novel aspects which were never observed before in the history of Pakistan. The zeal which the youth showed for the preparations of the elections and 60% voters turn out all over the country which never happened before. The overseas Pakistanis traveling back to Pakistan in groups only for casting their votes and the sight of elderly people standing in the long queues to make their contribution in the democratic process are the events which have never come to scene before. In these elections the nation was all ready to do a good to themselves by choosing honest leadership and bring a positive and favourable change in the country. After all, this was the time for them to taste the sweet after undergoing five years of terrible governance. The masses trusted the co-operation of those quarters who supported democracy during those five years when it went below its minimum standards and expected that with the same co-operation they would be able to choose the next representative of their choice. The nation had every right to feel the relief after passing through the toughest economic conditions. Unlike that what has happened is that the masses are out on roads, media is speaking of the record election rigging in large number of constituencies where voting turn out has been much larger than the registered voters there. The proofs of rigging are not what should be discussed in this article but it is abundantly clear that the type of rigging which has taken place cannot occur without a freehand from those quarters about whom the masses believed that they would play a supportive role for the upbringing of democracy. Those quarters should have respected the public mandate if not for the sake of people of Pakistan but for the sake of the same child democracy whom they nourished for five years and let that bad child hound the people throughout the period. Those who kept aback from interfering into the democratic process at that time should have reserved themselves from interfering into the electoral process as well, as that was the day for the people of Pakistan to decide their destiny. A fake public mandate is no better than a dictatorship rather it can be worse for many reasons. It is a question which remains unanswered to me that why the child democracy should be killed just after five years when it was brought up with a determination to grow it old into a strong and sturdy man. This is an intervention not only into the democratic process but also into the public opinion and the will and desire of the people to improve the system they live in. This unfortunate interjection is likely to have serious repercussions upon the short and long term politics of Pakistan.

For people of Pakistan, there is an advice. Democracy is not a system which rests in the hands of powerful people for protecting their vested interests but it is a tool which exists with the common people and can be used through public opinion all the time. It is said that where there is a wrong, there is a remedy. The wrong which has been done to the nation through rigging the elections can be remedied through standing against the ill intentions of those who have done it and of those who have caused it. The biggest cure of the illness which we have got as a result of elections 2013 is to keep showing our determination to have a Naya Pakistan and by standing against those who obstruct its way. For all other who are concerned the advice is to let the democracy groom and become strong enough to defend itself against its enemies, as this is in interest of all.

Writer is a practicing lawyer based in Lahore, lecturer of commercial law and founding partner at Hussain & Associates; hnachambers@gmail.com