Many Pak, world leaders spoke ill of courts after being punished

LAHORE: The incumbent Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah was again witnessed hurling derogatory remarks against the judiciary on Tuesday during a function in Karachi, not only following in the foot-steps of many of his party leaders who have been guilty of routinely scandalising the judges, but also other key national and foreign figures who have been rebuking the courts with utter disdain.

Let us see if Qaim Ali Shah is questioned by judges for his anti-judiciary outburst or not, although the Pakistani and international histories have numerous examples where rulers, army chiefs, chief justices and ministers etc had earned the wrath of courts.

Just to cite a few examples in this context, former US president Bill Clinton, former Pakistani Prime Ministers Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and Yusuf Raza Gillani, former Pakistan army chief Mirza Aslam Beg, former Pakistan chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, ex-Pakistani law minister Babar Awan, ex-British home secretary Kenneth Baker and former Indian minister Swaroop Singh Naik etc. were all charged with contempt of court.

However, a few other US presidents like Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt had all dared courts during their reigns without being punished, as has been the case with numerous other Pakistani and world politicians who have got away with their indecent anti-judiciary remarks.

Research shows that in January 2012, the then Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, Khursheed Shah had joined the long line of parliamentarians to voice their opinions over the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the Memogate case.

He said the court was listening to a case based on a fragment of paper and a lie. The minister’s tirade had not ended there, as he had gone on to say that he did not care whether he was in contempt of court or not.

Earlier in December 2011, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had issued contempt of court notices to another noted PPP stalwart and a former law minister Babar Awan for his outburst against the premiere judicial body of Pakistan.

In June 2012, during the course of a heated argument, Babar Awan had also raised objections over the Supreme Court's proceedings in the contempt of court case against him.

In April 2012, the then Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari had slated the judiciary, saying while the judges had took two decades to take up the hearing of the Asghar Khan case, they were quick to hear the Rental Power Case.

Addressing the 33rd anniversary function of the Pakistan People’s Party founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, Zardari had maintained that the judiciary felt pain over the non-provision of electricity to the people of Garhi Khuda Baksh, but was dumb over the injustices meted out to Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

He said that Yusuf Raza Gillani was not being punished for his loyalty to the president, but for his efforts to emancipate southern Punjab from the clutches of the rulers of Lahore.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was also harsh against the judges in his speech on the occasion.

A week after the anniversary function, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry had directed the relevant section of the Supreme Court to furnish before him records of speeches made by President Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto.

In August 2012, former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani had lashed out against the judiciary by remarking sarcastically that there was no need of elections as the judges wanted to govern the country. 

Media had quoted Gillani as saying: "We have fought against all dictators and were always successful, but today the judiciary has become a dictator. I will surely go for a protest at all levels against the judicial oppression in the country. If Raja Pervaiz Ashraf asks me for advice, I will tell him to reject the court orders."

He had further viewed: "The judiciary has become the third force for which the army was blamed in the past, and today they want a controlled democracy, as the institution has been politicised with clear and determined political intentions. They have frightened away people from investing in Pakistan and you can see, no one is eager any more. They (judges) have direct interference in every affair of the government."

We all know that Gillani was disqualified from his post of prime minister in June 2012 after the Supreme Court had held him in contempt for not obeying the court orders by not writing letter to Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against the then president Asif Ali Zardari. He was disqualified from membership of Parliament from April 26, 2012 or the date of his conviction.

In December 2012, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain was issued a contempt of court notice by the Supreme Court, after he had called the court’s remarks "unconstitutional" and "undemocratic."

He had stated: "The Supreme Court does not have the authority to say that constituencies should be formed in such a way that a single-party majority does not exist." Hussain claimed the observation was a well thought out plan to break the MQM’s majority mandate and speculated that this would spark ethnic discord.

The Supreme Court had called for the delimitation of new constituencies in Karachi. In his telephonic address, Altaf Hussain had viewed that the court judgment actually amounted to contempt for the mandate given by the people of Karachi and presented an "open enmity" for the metropolitan.

The then chief justice had said that Altaf's speech was not only contemptuous but also held a note of threat. The MQM chief has been ordered to appear before the court in person on January 7, 2013.

In August 2010, the then leader of opposition in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, had held the judiciary responsible for the state of 'confusion' on the issue of fake degrees.

Chaudhry Nisar had asked: "Why did the Supreme Court allow Mr Dasti to resign and get himself re-elected?"  Addressing a press conference, Nisar had also challenged the judiciary to take cognizance of the statement of MQM chief Altaf Hussain urging Army generals to take "martial law-like action" against corrupt politicians. 

He was quoted as saying: "You always remain in search of issues to take suo motu notices. Now take action because a person has openly talked about abrogation of the Constitution in broad daylight."

During July 2015, the legal fraternity had urged the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership to stop their supporters from maligning the judiciary on social media.

Senior leaders of superior bars had expressed concerns over PTI's smear campaign against judiciary on social media, after the inquiry commission probing the alleged rigging in 2013 general elections had released its report had rejected allegations levelled by Imran Khan and his loyalists.

Research conducted by the "Jang Group and Geo Television Network" reveals that many world rulers have also blamed judges after they were convicted for committing different crimes, or were unhappy with the court arbiters owing to one reason or the other.

Quite recently in November 2015, the sitting Filipino President, Benigno Aquino III, had blamed his country's courts, dubbing them "slow and lethargic" on the corruption cases pending with them.

Aquino, whose mother was the late democracy icon and president, Corazon Aquino, and whose father was a slain senator who had fought dictator Ferdinand Marcos; won the presidency in 2010 on a promise to battle corruption and poverty following two corruption-tainted predecessors.

He said the Philippines government’s anti-corruption efforts would be more effective if the courts acted more swiftly in sending wrongdoers to jail.

Aquino had cited the Constitution and said once a case was submitted for resolution; the Supreme Court had a maximum of two years to decide on that particular case.

He said the slow courts were also affecting the government’s infrastructure projects as those were being delayed by the long litigation process.

Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain, accused of mass murders, had also hit out at a judge hearing his case.

Saddam said he was exhausted and did not intend returning to the trial. While the judges on the bench looked at him, the former Iraqi president had even said: "Go to hell."

On June 27, 2006, Ramsey Clark, a former US Attorney General and one of Saddam’s lawyers, had said in a press conference in Washington DC that the trial was unfair and was being conducted by the American authorities using Iraqis as their front men. He had alleged that the United States was intentionally ensuring an unfair trial.

When Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death on November 5, 2006, he had shouted, "Long live the people. Long live the Arab nation. Down with the spies! God is great."

Italy’s notorious former three-time prime minister and leader of the People of Freedom Political Movement, Silvio Berlusconi (born 1936), has been one of the most vocal critics of the judges hearing his cases. 

According to a "Reuters" report (June 25, 2008), prime minister Silvio Berlusconi had called the Italian judiciary a "cancerous growth."

Blaming that biased prosecutors had pursued him since he entered politics 14 years ago, the then Italian premier had often accused the courts of "subverting" his government via "crazy and unfounded accusations."

By the way, Silvio Berlusconi had been hitting hard at his country’s courts since July 1998, when he had received his second conviction for corruption.

Renowned international news agency "Reuters" had further quoted Berlusconi as saying in its June 2008 report: "Critics of the conservative billionaire accuse him of being "obsessed" with a hatred of the courts. His latest attack on the judiciary, in a speech to a shopkeepers’ conference, was met with boos and whistles. Berlusconi won a third term in May promising to crack down on crime. But he has spent much of his time since battling with prosecutors and judges."

According to "Reuters," Berlusconi had claimed that 789 prosecutors and magistrates had taken an interest in his affairs from 1994 to 2006 "with the aim of subverting the votes of the Italian nation," asserting that while the police had visited him 577 times.

The premier news agency had reported that Berlusconi had attended 2,500 court hearings and had paid 174 million Euros in lawyers’ bills.

Media tycoon and owner of AC Milan Football Club, Silvio Berlusconi, had been facing charges ranging from links with mafia, attempts to bribe tax investigators, corruption and his widely-known relationships with actresses and party girls during his reign.

Berlusconi, ranked as one of the richest Italians by the prestigious Forbes magazine of America, had then managed to get a few laws passed by the Italian parliament.

Besides granting him absolute immunity from prosecution, the laws had also shortened the time limit for court trials in various offences.

According to a BBC report of July 8, 1998, Berlusconi was sentenced various times, but had managed to shield himself under the immunity law till October 2009, when the country’s Constitutional Court had lifted the immunity after heated debates and vociferous public calls.

Thaksin Shinawatra (born 1949), a former Thai premier between 2001 and 2006, had also criticised his country’s judiciary publicly after the Thailand Supreme Court had found him guilty of a conflict of interest in the purchase of land in Bangkok and had sentenced him in absentia to two years imprisonment in October 2008. He was the country’s first head of government to serve a full term. 

The New York Times (October 21, 2008) edition had quoted him saying: "The case is politically motivated and you know what politics in Thailand is like." 

"Reuters" had also quoted his post-verdict views: "I have been informed of the result. I had long anticipated that it would turn out this way. This case is politically motivated."

The judges had ruled that since Thaksin was prime minister, he was "supposed to work for the benefit of the public."

Prosecutors had argued that the amount his wife had paid, about $22 million, was well below market value of the land she had bought by using her influence.

Prime Minister Thaksin, who had once unsuccessfully sought to buy the English Premier League football clubs Fulham and later Liverpool, had finally managed to buy the Manchester City Club, before selling it to investors from Abu Dhabi in September 2008 for a reported £200 million. 

Joseph Estrada (born 1937), a former president of the Philippines, is also among the of world rulers who have condemned the court judgments against them.

In September 2007, after he was sentenced by the court on charges of plundering $86 million, Estrada had claimed that the anti-graft court had admitted inadmissible hearsay evidence, surmises, inferences and speculative proofs, which violated his right to confront the witnesses against him.

Convicted premier Estrada had then repeatedly maintained the decision against him was a product of political manipulation and insisted on his innocence.

Former Liberian president, Charles Taylor (born 1948), was yet another ruler who had refused to accept the court decision against him.

He was found guilty by the International Court of Justice (Hague) in April 2012 in all the 11 charges of terror, murder and rape. In May, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison. 

At his trial, Taylor claimed that he was a victim, denied the charges and compared his actions of torture and crimes against humanity to the actions of former US President George W Bush in the War on Terror.

CNN had quoted him opining: "President George W Bush ordered torture and admitted to doing so. Torture is a crime against humanity. The United States has refused to prosecute him. Is he above the law? Where is the fairness?"

A CNN report of May 16, 2012 said Taylor had blamed money for an unfair trial, quoting him as saying: "Money played a corrupting, influential, significant and dominant role in this trial. Money, in this case, prejudiced my rights and interests in an irrevocable way." Taylor further alleged prosecutors had received millions of dollars from the United States government and witnesses were paid off. He warned that other African leaders could receive similar unjust fates.

Former Tunisian President, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali (born 1936) and his wife Laila Ali were sentenced in absentia to 35 years in prison on June 20, 2011, after being found guilty of theft and unlawful possession of cash and jewellery.

The dethroned president and his wife were also fined 45.5 million Euros. Earlier, he was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in absentia for inciting violence and murder. The ousted Tunisian leader Ben Ali also spared no stone unturned in slating his country’s judiciary.

According to an AFP report of June 21, 2011, he had termed his 35-year jail sentence "insane." 

He had also dubbed his conviction a "parody of justice" and "political liquidation."