JI wants doctrine of necessity buried

Siraj laments rulers have alienated themselves
from masses; SM Zafar asks nation to trust judiciary

LAHORE

Eminent jurists, former judges and prominent lawyers called upon the Supreme Court to give a bold verdict on the Panama Leaks issue that ensured the supremacy of the constitution.

It was time the learned judges of Supreme Court buried the doctrine of necessity for ever since the nation had high expectations from the apex court regarding the elimination of corruption, they said while addressing the Jurists Conference organised by Jamaat-e-Islami  on Wednesday.

The conference was chaired by JI Ameer Senator Sirajul Haq. It was participated by veteran constitutional lawyer S M Zafar, Justice (r) Abdur Rahman Ansari, Lahore High Court Bar President Rana Ziaur Rahman, Liaqat Baloch, Prof Ibrahim Khan, Asadullah Bhutto and others. Sirajul Haq lamented the 'obstinacy' of the rulers on Panama Leaks issue and said the rulers had confined themselves to the federal capital and completely cut themselves off from the masses.

He said they were not ready to listen to anybody and were not paying heed to any advice. The rulers have gone to the extreme end to escape accountability, he said, adding that after surfacing of Panama Leaks, the prime minister should have shown courage to step down and appoint a judicial commission to probe the matter.

He said loot and plunder had been going on in the country for the last 70 years and there was none to hold accountability. He said the more security walls the rulers were raising around themselves the more insecure they were becoming. The JI chief welcomed Supreme Court orders stopping NAB from using plea bargain to let the corrupt go.  He said NAB and all other such institutions had only been going after the small fish, letting the big fish off the hook.

He said the international establishment was thrusting its agents on the country, and "We had people like Shaukat Aziz and Moeen Qureshi to ensure our economic slavery to the west." These people disappeared after completing their agenda. He said the solution to the problems of the country lay in the enforcement of the Islamic order and a neat and clean political leadership.

SM Zafar said the nation would have to trust the judiciary for the eradication of corruption, and hoped that judiciary would not disappoint the nation. He said the cancer of corruption had paralysed the whole society and if it was not checked even now, the survival of the state would be in danger. He said in his opinion, the Panama Leaks was a blessing in disguise as it had provided the nation with another chance for mending its ways. SM Zafar said in an atmosphere where there was darkness all around, JI was nothing less than a blessing as the honesty and integrity of its leadership was above board and its democratic structure was before everybody.

He said the country at this juncture needed a legislation for the formation of a judicial commission that not only hauled up the plunderers but also recovered the looted wealth from them and handed down exemplary punishment to them. He said the commission should comprise people known for their integrity and competence.