Top lawyer says no to safe passage for President

Islamabad, August 15 : As the Pakistani Government puts the impending impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf in low gear, the leading light of Pakistan’s legal fraternity — Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan — has urged the country to celebrate the day of the President’s exit as the “day of deliverance”. He had earlier vowed to spearhead a civil disobedience movement against the Government after August 14 — Pakistan’s Independence Day — if the Government failed to meet their rehashed promise of restoring the deposed judges.

Ahsan also said that as soon as Musharraf resigns or is impeached, in the spirit of the Bhurban Declaration, the deposed judges, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, should be restored immediately. Ahsan added that in case this does not happen, the lawyers will continue with their struggle against the Government.

August 15 saw a day of hectic political activity and hyperbole in the heavily cordoned off city of Islamabad. The chargesheet drafting committee — comprising Minister for Information and spokesperson for the Government Sherry Rehman, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Raza Rabbani, former finance minister and senior PML(N) member Ishaq Dar and PML(N) Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal — emerged from a five-hour long meeting only to meet again over the same issue, the contents of the chargesheet.

“We have forwarded the rough draft of the chargesheet to Law Minister Farooq Naek... It will be finalised and presented to Parliament next week,” said Rehman.

“Jis din Musharraf jaye, us din har Pakistani ko jashn manana chahiye, aur yaum-e-nijaat bhi (The day Musharraf exits, every Pakistani should rejoice and celebrate it as the day of deliverance),” said Ahsan.

He also strongly opposed the idea of granting safe passage to the beleaguered President. “If the Government does so, it’ll set a bad precedent. We feel, at this juncture the country is very close to getting rid of Musharraf. Hum manzil kay bahot qareeb hain (we are very close to our goal). The sacrifices of the legal fraternity seems to finally yield desired results,” he said.

Ahsan resurfaced on the Pakistani political scene after long. He has just returned from the US where he had gone to look into the matter pertaining to Pakistani Dr Afia Siddiqua, who was picked up by the US Government, on allegedly being being close to al-Qaeda.

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