Battle of survival for Pakistan's judiciary

Letters from a courageous few judges highlight how Pakistan's Supreme Court is fighting a battle for survival, with some judges refusing to go down without a fight, striving to prevent complete capitulation.

- SULTAN MEHMOOD

s letters of a courageous few judges highlight, Pakistan's Supreme Court is fighting a battle of survival, with some judges refusing to go down without a fight, striving to prevent complete capitulation.

The on-going struggle over the judiciary's independence, with most judges remaining passive spectators, echoes the lawyers' movement in Pakistan – a pivotal moment when one chief justice, despite his shortcomings, dared to confront the most powerful people in Pakistan.

The lawyers' movement, a mass mobilisation of lawyers and civil society, catalysed the country's most significant democratic reforms in decades.

By confronting Gen Musharraf's authoritarian interference in the judiciary, the movement spurred not just the restoration of the judiciary but facilitated constitutional milestones like the 18th and 19th Amendments, strengthening judicial independence by taking appointments away from the government and giving them to a panel of senior judges and lawyers.

Ultimately, the movement catalysed the downfall of Gen Musharraf's military regime, paving the way for a democratic transition in Pakistan.

These changes promised a judiciary that could serve as a genuine check on executive power – a judiciary with the teeth to enforce constitutional rights, protect civil liberties, and hold the state and the politically powerful military accountable.

Yet, the history of Pakistan's judiciary tells a more nuanced story, tempered by a commitment to fairness and shaped by assertive, independent rulings.

While moments of subjugation, such as the tragic validation of martial laws or the 1979 execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, cast long shadows, the judiciary's defiance in the face of authoritarianism has ignited a legacy of resilience, with judges and lawyers repeatedly challenging authoritarian overreach.

This legacy of resistance keeps the embers of justice alive.