Ali Malik's blog

There is so much to write about the absurdities apparent in the NRO decision, on the issue of appointment of judges, and overall anti-democratic and anti-system posture of a JI/Deoband inspired judiciary that one post might not be enough for it all. However, I will try to tackle all of them one by one here. First and foremost of course is NRO issue. I would not delve into the apparent political bias in the judgment or lacuna in it as is pointed out by eminent lawyers like Asma Jahangir and Ali Ahmad Kurd and many others. I would not even talk about the timing of release of detailed judgment late into the night in retaliation to the news that the President using his discretion has stalled the appointment of Justice Ramthey's appointment as an ad hoc judge of the apex court. My concern is much bigger and overlooked in the heated political discourse around the judgment and the concern stems from continuous reference to the era of Aurangzeb and other such strictly Deobandi/ JI referen...

On January 4th, while talking to the reporters in Quetta, Mr. Nawaz Sharif said that he will not pick democracy at the cost of the country. If this was not enough, on January 6 th , three member bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan, headed by his Lordship Justice Javed Iqbal ruled that the system is on the verge of collapse and someone needs to intervene. It is obvious that the underlying theme of both the statements is dissatisfaction with the system and a deep desire to change it. These statements coming from two powerful quarters raise serious concerns. But more than being a cause of concern in a country as volatile as Pakistan, they raise serious questions for both Mr. Sharif and honorable institute of Judiciary. Mian sahib has been more explicit in his definition of the system and has not shied away from stating that he will prefer country over democracy. Now that raises the foremost question that is it not the same Mian sahib who said it time and again in Musharraf ...