Three lawyers from Pakistan had a message for the Bar Association of San Francisco on Wednesday: Gen. Pervez Musharraf may restore the constitution later this month, and hold elections next month. But there still won't be democracy in Pakistan until the 55 judges ousted from Pakistan's courts are returned to the bench.
"The whole purpose of this martial law was to ... get rid of these judges," said Khwaja Ahmad Hosain (left), a partner at Ebrahim Hosain, speaking via teleconference from Lahore to about 40 lawyers and BASF staff at the group's Battery Street offices.
But Hosain and two other Pakistani lawyers sounded skeptical that Musharaff -- or Benazir Bhutto, if she is elected president -- will do that. "For all practical purposes Pakistan does not have a judiciary," said Zahid Ebrahim, an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. "There is not a rule of law -- there is a rule of violence."
Hosain and Ebrahim were arrested in the days following martial law. Hosain was jailed for two days, Ebrahim for 15 hours. A majority of Supreme Court judges were placed under house arrest. At first the lawyers felt confident that international opprobrium would force Musharraf to restore the rule of law. They said they were shocked when, instead, they heard President Bush call Musharraf a man of his word, said Ebrahim. In response to questions from BASF panelists, they said Pakistan's lawyer groups have received no aid or moral support from the Bush administration -- and that Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte did not call on them during his recent visit to the country.
But what about Americans' concern that toppling Musharraf could aid terrorist groups?
"This is the irony," Ebrahim said. "With the court, the judiciary being marginalized, this language of violence ... will lead more and more people to the conclusion that there's no other answer than violence."
Asked what American lawyers can do to help, Ebrahim suggested that a visit from a small delegation of U.S. attorneys, perhaps including a call on some of the ousted judges, would be welcome.
The panel was moderated by Nanci Clarence of Clarence & Dyer, Naomi Rustomjee of Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass and Khurshid Khoja of Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner. Also addressing the group was Salahuddin Ahmed of Karachi's Malik, Chaudhry, Ahmed and Siddiqi.
Audio of the discussion can be accessed here (registration required).
— Scott Graham
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