LONDON: Recent worldwide developments, according to a Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa, have “diminished the ardour of the advocates of authoritarian government.”.
On Tuesday, he paid tribute to Asma Jahangir at a lecture at London’s SOAS University on “Pakistani judiciary and its role in upholding rights and processes.”
While paying tribute to rights activist Asma Jahangir, “It reminded us that it’s so important to have checks and balances and uphold the human rights of everyone; if we do not do so, our political order may crumble after an onslaught,” he said.
“Women like Asma Jahangir deserve our respect,”. Supreme Court Justice Isa said he was “afraid” of her because she was a “big trouble-maker” and “the justices were terrified.”
“When tyranny is cleared away, a bright future may be guaranteed.” It is possible as long as sexism and violence against women are punished by the law. “Asma Jahangir showed that tyranny is not insurmountable,” he remarked, bringing attention to Pakistan’s appalling record of female equality. “She set an example”.
To protect the basic rights of everybody, the court “serves as a vehicle like our voting system.” Persecution and despotism are the only things he can envision ending in the future.”
The SOAS Pakistan Society and Bloomsbury Pakistan, a London-based research centre, co-hosted the event.
As a lawyer and board member of AGHS, Sulema Jahangir recalled Justice Isa’s journey to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Asma Jahangir, according to Ms Jahangir, stood for “principles, not persons”.
Her right to freedom of speech was violated when MQM leader Altaf Hussain’s face was blacked out from television stations.
Absconders and people we may not like or vote for, do not have the freedom to express themselves in any way that is prohibited by law. “Once-elected Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif is now barred from being shown on the media. “
Justice Isa stated he was returning to SOAS for the first time in 14 years, having last been during his daughter’s undergraduate legal studies at SOAS. Later, she became the first Baloch barrister.
Laughs came from the crowd when he revealed that after passing the bar exam, he persuaded his wife to marry an unemployed guy.
There were several questions from the crowd during the Q&A session. When asked if he had trust in Pakistan’s democratic system, the judge said, “That is an unusually loaded question with many inferences”. He asked if military dictatorships have lower levels of corruption.
Simply making assumptions and demeaning the Constitution will not cut it. “We must abide by the will of the Pakistani people, who have made their own decisions on how their country will be governed”.
“Let us rule ourselves for the next 20 or 30 years by the decisions we’ve made.”
To a question about judges being inferior to dictators, Justice Isa said: “I have pointed out instances where the judiciary’s role leaves much to be desired. The judiciary is not a monolith or a building, individuals make the judiciary.
“Yes, there are judges who have left a mark that makes me pleased and some who have done opposite. It has been a mixed bag, I agree.”
Works at The Truth International Magazine. My area of interest includes international relations, peace & conflict studies, qualitative & quantitative research in social sciences, and world politics. Reach@ aimen.bukhari@tti.org.pk
