Pakistan: Crisis at the Supreme Court | paranoia sets in

To be sure, given recent history and the personal price many of the judges of the SC have paid to create an independent judiciary, to some extent it is understandable the justices may feel a heightened sense of pressure and threat to their position.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: Daily Dawn | Pakistan
By Dawn Editorial | October 16, 2010

Befuddling, bemusing, bizarre — however you described it, it may still not do full justice to what transpired between Thursday evening and Friday afternoon.

An alleged ‘plot’ by the government to send the Supreme Court packing was breathlessly released into the 24-hour TV-news cycle Thursday evening. The report rapidly metastasised and within hours the SC swung into late-night action and announced a full-court hearing for Friday morning. The government has now been ordered to conduct an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the news reports and to affix responsibility — the court having made clear it believes there is some truth to the allegations.


Three players are involved in this sordid tale of rumour and intrigue, and all need to reflect on their behaviour. First, the media. That there are tensions between the government and the superior judiciary is undeniable, and if a news organisation has a story of public interest regarding the perceived judiciary-executive ‘clash’ then it has a right, even a duty, to broadcast or publish the story. But there are journalistic responsibilities, too, and those include needing to be reasonably sure of the veracity of allegations that are to be made public. And when the allegations have the potential to irreparably rupture relations between two institutions of the state, the journalistic responsibilities increase manifold. Were the appropriate and necessary steps taken to ensure the reports aired on Thursday night reflected the factual position? Was the manner of the coverage in keeping with the ethics of a profession that is supposed to strive to report the news, not make the news?

Next, the judiciary. To be sure, given recent history and the personal price many of the judges of the SC have paid to create an independent judiciary, to some extent it is understandable the justices may feel a heightened sense of pressure and threat to their position. However, a judiciary is supposed to add to the dignity and poise of the state, not add to a sense of national political crisis. Setting aside the matter of intention for a moment, it seems fairly obvious the chances of a government-sponsored move to disband the entire SC succeeding are quite remote. So middle-of-the-night meetings and full-court emergency benches are perhaps unnecessary, there being less disruptive ways and means available to the court to ensure its independence.

Finally, the government. Would it harm the government to once in a while take the high road? With emotions running high in the SC yesterday, the responsible, stability-enhancing thing to have done was reassure the court. Alas, common sense appears to be in short supply in Islamabad.



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