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Posts tagged with: Aitzaz Ahsan
Mar 22, 2009    |      1 comment

Flag hoisted at Chief Justice Iftikhar residence

The national flag hoisting ceremony was performed at the residence of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry at Judges’ Enclave Islamabad today. In the ceremony two flags were hoisted outside the residence of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. The two flags unfurled on behalf of the civil society and the lawyers.

Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan announced the names of the persons who would hoist the flag. The names include Shaharyar Awan, the son of Imdad Awan Shaheed, Dr Israr Shah who lost his legs in the bomb blast on July 17, 2007. Civil society activist Tahira Abdullah, minorities leader J. Salik, Jaidev Sharma, Jamal Mir, Muhammad Naveed Mushtaq, mother of student leader Samad Khurram, Ali Asghar Khan, Hasil Bizenjo, representatives from media included Mazhar Abbas, Talat Hussain, Hamid Mir & Asima Shirazi.

Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi, two close aides of People’s Party chairperson Shaheed Benazir Bhutto represented her.
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Mar 21, 2009    |       6 comments

Update: CJP Flag Hoisting by Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi?

It was precisely 505 days since that fateful day on November 3rd 2007 when General Pervaiz Musharraf overthrew a sitting Chief Justice and replaced him with an illegally sworn judge. On Sunday 22nd March the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry will be reinstated and to celebrate the momentous occasion the official flag will be hoisted at his residence at 11:00AM in the morning.

It should have been a momentous occasion to celebrate the activists who helped the reinstatement. Now as the Chief Justice is about to resume his work, it is reported in the press that Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan has taken it upon himself to hold a flag hoisting ceremony at the Chief Justice’s house. Talking to media he has said that political parties have been invited to participate in the ceremony while Naheed Khan, Safdar Abbasi and Shaharyar Awan (son of late lawyer leader Imdad Awan) are to hoist the flag.

One does have to wonder why such individuals have been picked by Aitzaz, to have selected people who have practically done little to help the reinstatement of the CJP Iftikhar. It seems more like a move by Aitzaz for political salvation amongst the potential PPP-breakaway faction, if for nothing else.
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Mar 17, 2009    |       15 comments

The morning after the revolution or was it?

Guest Blog by Zermeen Amira

long-march-2009-pakistanI have to admit I started the day on a fairly jubilant note having woken up after receiving an SMS from an overseas friend that the Chief has been restored (I had gone to bed by mid night having watched the political drama incessantly for the past few days and as a result getting reprimanded by my spouse). Today back to work, I have had enough of sweets to put on a few pounds in the next few days as it all metabolizes. As evening has progressed and the adrenaline rush has subsided I have started to ponder the events of the last 24 hours and all doesn’t seem to add up. Perhaps the merry making and jubilation is premature.

I am cautiously optimistic that all will be all right. However, it is still five days before the Chief is actually restored and that is an eternity in politics. Anything still can happen given that President Zardari still hasn’t been seen in public yet. Is he still wincing like a wounded dragon plotting his next move or has the remorse finally taken the better of his bare knuckled political instincts. No one knows. The news that has started filtering out in the evening of the 16th is not that great. Here is some text directly from TV channel ticker tape.
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Feb 18, 2009    |       7 comments

PPP Suspends Aitizaz Ahsan’s CEC membership

Aitzaz AhsanThe PPP’s Central Executive Committee membership of Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan has been suspended and a show cause notice, over violation of party discipline, has also been issued to him. Secretary Pakistan Peoples Party Jahangir Badar said that the members of PPP’s Central Executive Committee unanimously made this decision as Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan violated party discipline.

Though the official dismissal charge is for ‘violating party discipline’ but its mainly due to his participation in the lawyers movement and his recent surge for the Long March. I personally think Aitzaz Ahsan should have quit from the PPP CEC long before, as it was felt that his on-going participation within the PPP Central Executive Committee may have damaged the lawyers movement from achieving any significant gains. The story still needs time to develop but Aitzaz Ahsan potentially has the following choices

  1. This expulsion can instigate the revival of the long awaited PPP-breakaway faction which can potentially be lead by Aitzaz Ahsan along with the numerous other PPP-leaders who were sidelined after Zardari hijacked the party
  2. Aitizaz Ahsan can possibly use this opportunity to join PML-N and become a force to reckon with
  3. Aitzaz can also use this party expulsion notice to revive the fledgling lawyers movement and maybe muster support for the upcoming Long March

Only time will tell how he alone harness this latest development

Oct 29, 2008    |       16 comments

Ali Ahmed Kurd elected as the SCBA President

Ali Ahmed Kurd yesterday won the elections of the Supreme court Bar Association with a landslide victory uprooting Mohammed Zafar. After the landslide victory Kurd and his entire panel will replace the team of Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, and hopefully continue the aggressive campaign for the independence of judiciary.

Ali Ahmed Kurd clinched a thumping majority of Kurd bagged 1,052 votes out of a total of 1,724 votes. His rival Muhammad Zafar, the nominee of the Peoples Lawyers Forum (PLF) and openly backed by Attorney General Sardar Mohammad Latif Khan Khosa, former attorney general Malik Mohammad Qayyum and Ashraf Wahla group, could secure only 220 votes in Lahore

For the people supporting the rule of law and the independence of Judiciary over the last two years this is definitely a moment of hope to witness that many lawyers still support the movement despite all the negativity over the last years and attempts by many smaller faction to create a rift within the SCBA.

Sep 29, 2008    |       2 comments

American Lawyers conference on rule of law in Pakistan & my brief visit to Europe

Guest Blog by Amjad Malik

I was invited by British Law Society of England to visit Brussels as part of their delegation to attend a rule of law conference on ‘Pakistan and beyond’ organised by American Bar Association (ABA) on 25th September at Hilton (Brussels). Reaching Brussels airport in the morning, I caught a cab and reached Hilton at the time of the conference and met Cricketing legend Imran Khan in the lift with his party entourage which was a pleasant beginning. When we all reached the designated room for conference at 25th Floor, the room was more or less occupied. A lot of people were keen have a glimpse of Imran Khan and a few specially came to listen to Supreme Court Bar President Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan who could not join us at the conference due to lack of in time delivery of his teams visas, though I feel he missed a great opportunity to talk on the subject where various old guns of American law industry were present.
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Sep 19, 2008    |       30 comments

Aitzaz Ahsan explains his decisions

Guest Post by Samad Khurram

Friends and concerned citizens,

I am making public a few of my communications with Aitzaz Ahsan and his consolidated response to help put things in perspective. There have been a few questions that had been lingering in every one’s minds regarding decisions made at crucial junctions of the movement, Aitzaz’s decision to remain in the PPP – even when the party is the only hindrance in the restoration of the judges -, the end of the Long March and the lawyers silence on the casualties in the War on Terror and I hope this can address all of them. Many other answers are not part of these long emails but will be answered in due time.

I have been a part of this struggle only because I rationally believe in it. The decision is an informed, educated one so I have been constantly giving the leadership my input, criticizing whenever I think is appropriate but otherwise supporting them throughout. The decisions taken by the leadership itself have been very informed and well thought out and I would like to make some of the reasoning public as many people have had raised questions.

To start of I am making public my infamous, rather harsh email – that was even picked up in Off the Record by Kashif. It was written after talking to people following the end of the Long March and how things seemed very abysmal.It appeared unlikely that we would ever recover from the aftermath. Many of the things in the email were based on the collective sentiment of our activists who had come for a siege

However I become extremely occupied with things after the Ambassador incident and Aitzaz later wrote an article for me in the Newsweek to ensure I am not labelled into something I am not.
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Jun 11, 2008    |       3 comments

Dawn Op-Ed: Marching into History by Cyril Almeida

Published today in the DAWN Op-Ed section by Cyril Almeida

Cyril does well to decipher the Constitutional mess being created these days by various individuals in Islamabad, the chaos of the Double A’s, Double B’s, Triple A’s and what not have been deliberately designed to perpetually confuse Pakistanis of their real implication. This article helps explain the overt and covert implications if these were to be made part of our constitution. At times it seems this constitutional package is just another form of constitutional rape to cater to the whims of the status quo. While the nation starves from food and hunger these politicians are fighting over crumbs simply help pave their way into a safer corrupt future

DAWN: 11th June 2008: THE summer blockbuster is here. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and Aitzaz Ahsan are on a mission to bring President Musharraf to justice. Barnstorming the country, the dynamic duo wants a climactic showdown in the shadow of parliament. Over in his fortress Musharraf is defiant, ready to grind out a Pyrrhic victory if that’s what it takes. It’s all very exciting. But must we hew so closely to Bollywood-length epics?

Asif Zardari could have cut this saga short. Instead, he gave a kid a box of crayons and asked him to re-write the constitution. Forget the spirit of the draft — given its progenitors it was never going to be a panacea — but need it have been drafted so shoddily? Ambition isn’t one of the defects it suffers from though: eighty changes proposed to a constitution with two hundred and eighty sections. All worked out in secret, away from the supervision of parliament. If Asif had been around to guide the Constituent Assembly perhaps it wouldn’t have taken nine years to draft the first constitution.
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May 31, 2008    |       7 comments

You deserve what you get

For sometime I contemplated if this article may best be simply linked too in the collection of Decidous Links [mini-links] we have running on the blog but then it would not have opened an opportunity for comments and reactions and I suspect this heart felt article by Ghazala Minallah might evoke some comments from our readers here on Teeth Maestro

Published in The News on Saturday, May 31, 2008
By Ghazala Minallah

It appears that whoever comes into power in this God-forsaken country of ours, shuts themselves in a shell, oblivious of the cries outside. My head is bursting with questions, and I want my cries to be heard and answered. Firstly, why is Farooq Naek suddenly the biggest authority on the Constitution? Why is there a conspicuous absence of veterans like Justice Fakhruddin G Ibrahim, Justice Wajiuddin, former Chief Justices and judges of the Supreme Court and Aitzaz Ahsan? Is he the next Sharifuddin Pirzada in the making?

The recent unexpected verbal attack on Musharraf was eyewash meant to distract us and pave the way for the constitutional package. The package intends to reduce the chief justice’s tenure. It is ironic that such a ludicrous idea can even be considered by a party which claims to have its roots people’s hearts.
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Apr 8, 2008    |       18 comments

Ansar Burney (Singh): The Human Rights Minister for Indians

Ansar Burney completed his tenure as the first ever caretaker minister of human rights. During his four months stint in the Ministry of Law, Burney worked hard tirelessly for providing a safe passage for suspected and convicted enemies of Pakistan while completely disregarding Pakistanis. He even went a step further by actively trying to dissuade Pakistanis from fighting for their own rights. As this article will show, Burney’s work would make any Indian proud of him and hence he will be referred more appropriately as Burney (Singh). Continue Reading

Mar 25, 2008    |       9 comments

PPP proposing “Minus-One-Formula”

Iftikhar Chaudhry releasedThe top PPP leadership has recently approached the legal community proposing a “Minus-One-Formula” which opens the door for a full restoration of the judiciary without the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. It is in some way living up to the Murree Declaration albeit with a few political compromises but basically a face saving package for the PML-N and its full uncompromising commitment to the restoration of Pre-Nov 3rd judges. PPP being in the driving seat will undoubtedly bull doze its own agenda while the Sharif brothers will be left biting the dust and quite literally taken for a ride (willingly or unwillingly? – time will only tell). PML in turn may accept these compromise, claiming to fulfilled part of the promise as it was a minority partner in the PPP-led parliament

It has been a fact that the present PCO-adorned CJP Justice Dogar is a PPP leaning judge and surely Asif Zardari would definitely not sacrifice this top slot to accept Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry a PML-N leaning judge, paramount to shooting himself in the foot.

It seems that for now the leading lawyer activists are claiming that none of the judges will take office without the full and uncompromisable restoration of the entire pre-Nov 3rd Judiciary, but internally there are significant rifts within the legal cadre and the instant a partial restoration (minus-one-formula) is announced most of the ‘sidelined judges’ will snap into attention abandoning the rank and file and take oath for office, with or without Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry.
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Mar 25, 2008    |      Comments Off on Aitzaz Ahsan vs Malik Qayyum debate

Aitzaz Ahsan vs Malik Qayyum debate

This debate between Aitzaz Ahsan and Malik Qayyum was featured on Hamid Mir’s show Capital Talk on 19th March. Its an hour long discussion divided into nine parts but a definite must watch

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdU1C1r1_RI[/youtube]
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Mar 10, 2008    |      Comments Off on March 10th: Black Flag Week Events

March 10th: Black Flag Week Events

Karachi

  1. Complete BOYCOTT OF ALL THE COURTS.
  2. 3:00 pm >> Flag Hoisting: Hotel Jabees, Saddar
    Islamic Lawyers Movement (ILM)
    People’s Resistance and all other friends are invited to join
  3. 5:00 pm >> Flag Hoisting: Iqbal Haider’s House
    D-25, Block 4, KDA 5, Clifton
    Just after Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s Mazar, off 26th Street
    Behind Designers.

Lahore

  1. Black Flag will be hoisted 10:30 A.M.
  2. Complete BOYCOTT OF ALL THE COURTS.
  3. G.H. Meeting of L.H.C. 10:30 A.M.
  4. Address of Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan (President SCBA ) 11:00 A.M.
  5. Rally of LBA 11:30 A.M.
  6. Black Flag Rally at Liberty Roundabout – 5.00 -5.45 pm

Islamabad:

  1. Complete BOYCOTT OF ALL THE COURTS.
  2. Car Rally with nearly 50 cars with black flags, taking a round of almost all of the busiest areas of Islamabad, honking all the way, starting from Suharwardy Road at Fire Brigade (4 pm), and going through Aabpara,then welcoming Ali Kurd’s arrival at the Rawalpindi International Airport at 5 15-5 30 pm and then going around Islamabad again. The rally will have a public address system to also address public at busy intersections
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