Mustafa Qadri

The former president has hinted at a return to Pakistani politics. Worryingly, it could be more than just a pipe dream.

Mustafa Qadri
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 18 February 2010 18.30 GMT

At no point do world leaders look more diminished than after leaving office, and Pakistan’s former president and military dictator Pervez Musharraf is no exception. So when he addressed a London audience this week, it was perhaps ironic that much of what he said was a reminder that little has changed in the way the west relates to the “AfPak” region.

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Faced with terrorism, a flagging economy and a raft of potential lawsuits, how long can Pakistan’s president survive?

Mustafa Qadri
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 27 January 2010 15.10 GMT

With his chequered past and unlikely rise to the top, it is understandable that Asif Ali Zardari has faced constant calls to resign ever since becoming president of Pakistan two years ago. The central focus of the grievances has been Pakistan’s supreme court where a raft of charges have been submitted against Zardari and most of the senior leaders of the ruling Pakistan Peoples party by a motley mix of political parties, private citizens, and the court itself.

But in the glasshouse that is Pakistani politics the risk is that perceptions of judicial independence will be shattered by all the stone throwing. To understand the fracas it is necessary to consider recent history. After public pressure forced the Zardari government to reinstate Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, there was widespread celebration that at last Pakistan had found one institution that was above the cronyism that has plagued political life here.

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Now that an amnesty providing immunity to thousands has expired, Pakistan’s supreme court has the chance to showcase its merits

· Mustafa Qadri
· guardian.co.uk, Saturday 5 December 2009 18.00 GMT

It may be more a matter of wits than weapons, but the battle for control of Pakistan’s executive branch of government is as significant for the country as the war against the Taliban. Resolving this latest crisis, the fiercest tussle over the stewardship of the country since Pervez Musharraf was ousted from the presidency in August 2008, will determine the future of Pakistan’s parliamentary democracy for many years to come.

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The Diplomat’s Pakistan correspondent, Mustafa Qadri, meets refugees from the conflict in Pakistan’s Swat Valley and finds anger, trepidation and hope as they return home after this summer’s counter-Taliban military offensive.

Travelling along the road leading to the Swat valley is a memorable experience. As the narrow dual carriageway snakes around impossibly steep mountain ranges, the breathtaking vista of snow-capped peaks come into view as they loom over an emerald green valley pierced by the Swat River. It looks too perfect to be natural.

‘The beauty of Swat is unmatched in the world,’ says Ashraf, a Swati villager and journalist who agreed to take me to the region. When I ask if anyone maintains the near perfectly manicured grasslands and pine forests he laughs and shakes his head. Described in local poetry as heaven on earth, for centuries Swat has been home to saints and soothsayers–first those hailing from Hindu and Buddhist traditions, and in more recent centuries mystical Sufi Islam.

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by Mustafa Qadri

29 October 2009

Karachi, Pakistan – Access to justice is a major concern in Pakistan. Pakistan was ranked 134 in the world, lower than Rwanda and Libya, in the 2008 annual Corruption Perception Index released by Transparency International. In fact, one reason some communities in the North West Frontier Province cautiously welcomed the Taliban was the promise of a more efficient, less corrupt justice system.

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The knives are out when dictators fall from power, but the politics of retribution is rarely clean or cathartic

Mustafa Qadri
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 30 August 2009 17,00 BST

The tables turn quickly in politics, but for dictators the shift from all-powerful to powerless can be rather sudden. Over a period of 12 months, the last Shah of Iran went from feared dictator to refugee who struggled to find asylum in three different continents (including the US, his one-time staunchest supporter).

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Interviews with Pakistan’s “disappeared persons” for Amnesty International’s Human Rights Defender Magazine – June/July/August edition 2009.

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Mumbai bombing suspect’s release raises many concerns

Mustafa Qadri 10-Jun-2009

Has South Asia really only brought us grief, Madhav? I don’t think that’s entirely fair, though I admit I’ve increasingly found myself asking that very same question while travelling through the southern mega city of Karachi last week.

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Here is my analysis of the Obama Administration’s new ‘AfPak’ policy for newmatilda.com:

Not All Terrorists Are The Same

Obama’s new strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan is much more nuanced than Bush’s “war on terror”, writes Mustafa Qadri. As a starting point, it recognises that al Qaeda and the Taliban are distinct groups

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The matter came before the Supreme Court, The petitioners, Jews and Arabs, argued that this measure contradicts our Basic Laws (our substitute for a nonexistent constitution) which guarantee the equality of all citizens. The answer of the Ministry of Justice lawyers let the cat out of the bag. It asserts, for the first time, in [...]

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There’s nothing new in Barack Obama’s foreign policy – but the way it is knitted together offers hope… See also TIME magazine’s appraisal: Did George Bush leave one of his old speeches in the Resolute Desk? As President Obama unveiled his Afghanistan-Pakistan policy Friday, it was hard to miss the echoes of his predecessor’s “surge” [...]

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Sindh High Court has summoned Pervez Musharraf and top lawyers from his regime to answer a treason charge.

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This is how the Taliban deals with its opponents: At least 10 people have been killed in a suicide bombing in north-western Pakistan, local officials say.

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The Supreme Court ordered on Wednesday that the Punjab government regularise 97 ad hoc lecturers within three day…

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An advocate on Tuesday filed a petition with the Supreme Court charging former president Pervez Musharraf with ‘high treason’ and seeking his trial under Article 6 of the Constitution.

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A threefold increase in civilian aid would come on top of more than $10 billion in mostly military assistance since 2001. In addition to the aid, the administration will seek similar contributions from other nations, the officials said, describing the conclusions of a strategy review on condition of anonymity because it has not been made [...]

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First, Sufi Muhammad, the TNSM leader who negotiated the deal on behalf of the Taliban, warned all lawyers and courts in Swat to pack up and leave as the shariat courts with qazis approved by the Taliban leadership will start functioning soon. Now, the Taliban have asked all NGOs in Swat to leave as well. [...]

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My latest piece on the situation in Pakistan for The Guardian was published today:

Rough Justice in Swat

The growing influence of the Taliban in the North-West Frontier Province is a direct threat to Pakistan’s fragile democracy…

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Registrar Office of Supreme Court of Pakistan has raised the objections on all the four review petitions filed by Federation early on Thursday against court’s verdict in Sharif brothers’ eligibility case. According to the SC registrar, the petitions miss necessary documents, including surety bonds, court fees, paper books and copy of the court’s earlier verdict [...]

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My analysis of the grassroots democracy movement that led to the reinstatement of Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as Chief Justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court was published in the Los Angeles Times today:

Pakistan’s clear message to the West

It’s not all fanaticism and violence. A grass-roots democratic movement is making strides.

By Mustafa Qadri

March 21, 2009

Writing From Islamabad, Pakistan — Politics is never dull in Pakistan. This week, it was inspirational too.

On Monday, I watched people flock to the home of Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. A tense standoff between the government and a coalition of opposition groups over Chaudhry’s reinstatement as chief justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court had finally been resolved. After two years of government-enforced “retirement,” Chaudhry would return to the bench…

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Kudos to Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani for honouring his repeated pledge, unlike his four predecessors, to keep the Army out of politics despite having been persuaded by a section of the establishment to pack up the present political dispensation and take over the reins of power at the time [...]

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My analysis of the reinstatment of Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry as Pakistan’s Chief Justice was published in Crikey.com.au today:

Democracy revitalised by Pakistan’s Chief Justice

By demonstrating the importance of functioning and accountable institutions, Pakistan’s lawyers may well have paved the road upon which the long road from its present hell may be charted, writes Mustafa Qadri.

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The Tehrik-e-Nifaaz Shariat Muhammadi, a militant group, ordered government judges not to show up for work “because we are establishing a true Islamic justice system,” said Amir Izzat Khan, a spokesman. The group is introducing Sharia law in the region as part of a government truce with Taliban fighters.

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Here is my report for NewMatilda.com from the lawn of the Chief Justice’s residence in Islamabad the day of his reinstatement.

Long March ends in triumph

Instead of violent confrontation there was jubilation in Islamabad yesterday as the Government bowed to protestors’ demands and reinstated the sacked Chief Justice. Mustafa Qadri reports

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My report for The Guardian from Islamabad the day of the Chief Justice’s reinstatement has just been published here:

Democracy has been revitalised by Pakistan’s Chief Justice

President Zardari’s decision to reinstate Chief Justice Chaudhry has stabilised the country – and saved his political career

Mustafa Qadri

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Here’s a list of breaking developments on the lawyers’ Long March to Islamabd (to restore the deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry): Allegations of torture of lawyers arrested by Police, from Imran Schah in Islamabad. With the US and UK’s blessing, have Prime Minister Gilani and Army Chief Kayani given President Zardari an ultimatum to [...]

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My report for NewMatilda.com from the start of the lawyers’ Long March in Karachi for NewMatilda.com was published today:

The Long March Begins

Protestors in Pakistan’s lawyers’ movement set out yesterday on their long march to the capital. Mustafa Qadri reports from Karachi on what has become a street-level vote of no-confidence in the Government

From across the country they took to the streets, re-enacting scenes from the darkest days of the Musharraf regime over a year earlier.

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Mustafa Qadri: History Repeats Itself In Pakistan

Guardian: Comment Is Free

By invoking a Raj-era law against public protest, the government demonstrates its inability to handle the country’s real problems…

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The crackdown began late Tuesday night, with the government invoking Section 144 of the 1860 Penal Code, a law from the British colonial era that forbids public gatherings of four or more people.

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Pakistan has arrested hundreds of opposition political activists in an overnight sweep ahead of a planned protest rally, as a looming political showdown presents the most serious challenge yet to the year-old government.

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Mustafa Qadri: Long March To Nowhere

As bickering politicians bring paralysis to Pakistan, will Washington give the army its backing?

It seems with each new week a fresh crisis is thrust upon the people of Pakistan. This year, in a little over two months, the nation has faced more traumas than most countries face in a generation. Last month authorities in the north-western Swat valley reached a peace deal with a religious group closely aligned to the Taliban. This week another peace deal was signed directly with the Taliban in the neighbouring Bajaur tribal agency after a series of successful if devastating operations by the Pakistani army.

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Nawaz announced that his party would extend full support to the long march of the lawyers’ community on March 9 for restoration of judges, expressing the hope that masses would give enthusiastic response to the event like they had done to the last long march. He, however, said they had not talked to the lawyers’ [...]

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He went on to say if the government would not ensure the supremacy of the constitution, then there would be no difference between the present government and previous government of Pervez Musharraf.

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The following interview of Philippe Sands QC regarding his book ‘Torture Team’ appeared in Dawn newspaper (Pakistan) on 12 October 2008.

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The following review of ‘Torture Team’ by Philippe Sands QC appeared in Dawn Newspaper (Pakistan) on 12 October 2008.

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“Will Musharraf finally fall?” NewMatilda.com 11 August 2008
(On the increasing speculation on Pervez Musharraf’s future as Pakistan President)

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Mr. Zardari has made it known that he would like to be president, according to Pakistani and Western officials. As leader of the majority party, he could seek the nomination for president. The appointment of the president is decided by a vote of the national legislature and the provincial assemblies.

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The most recent footage, taken in the village of Naalin in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, sparked particular outrage because it involved a clear abuse. It shows an Israeli officer holding a young Palestinian man by the arm while a soldier standing a few feet away aims his gun at the Palestinian’s foot and fires. [...]

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ISLAMABAD – The elders of the legal fraternity are displeased with the ruling coalition for placing the demand of restoration of deposed judges on the back-burner and linking the same with the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf.

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President Pervez Musharraf will have to face impeachment under Article 47 of the Constitution if he fails to take vote of confidence from the assemblies immediately. This was announced by Co-chairman PPP, Asif Ali Zardari at a joint press conference with PML(N) Chief, Nawaz Sharif, here at Zardari House on Thursday. The announcement came after [...]

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A military jury’s verdict on Wednesday in the first U.S. war crimes trial since World War II — that Yemeni Guantanamo prisoner Salim Hamdan is guilty of material support for terrorism, but not guilty of terrorism itself — was the culmination of two weeks of proceedings that provided some extraordinary insights into the United States’ [...]

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“A long wait for justice” NewMatilda.com 4 August 2008
(On the state of Pakistan’s lawyers’ movement)

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I wasn’t able to get to Hyderabad so I went to a public rally by the deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhry, in Karachi. It was a hot, humid day owing to the rain the previous evening. It got even hotter and more humid inside the hall where Chaudhry and other senior [...]

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The Occupation permeates every aspect of Palestinian life. Invariably, this makes the population acutely political in a way that is quite different from our blissfully apolitical Australian society.

Even in Ramallah, a liberal bastion for foreign aid workers and bureaucrats in the West Bank, you can see the ubiquitous sight of Israeli military outposts with their signature red and white communications towers. In Nablus, one of the centres of Palestinian militancy, several streets bear the imprint of Israeli tank treads. Not even the roads in Palestine have escaped the Occupation.

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That is a question I ask in my most recent piece on Pakistan, published today in NewMatilda.com:

On the afternoon of Tuesday 25 March, Yousaf Raza Gilani was sworn in as Pakistan’s 26th Prime Minister.

The ceremony was noteworthy for a number of reasons. For one, Gilani took his oath from President Musharraf, the same man who had him jailed on corruption charges seven years earlier. Gilani spent the next five years in prison for his troubles. Now Gilani’s coalition government is very publicly seeking to remove Musharraf from office.

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My latest piece, on Musharraf’s clamp down on dissent in Pakistan, has been published in this week’s New Matilda:

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Musharraf’s dismissal of the Pakistani Chief Justice reveals the true face of the War on Terror.

Friday, or ‘Jumma’ as it is known to Muslims, is the holiest day of the week. It is usually a day of rest and reflection. It was on a Friday, 9 March 2007, that President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan told the country’s senior most judge, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry of the Supreme Court, that he was being dismissed due to allegations of misconduct. Little detail of the alleged misconduct was made public by the Government. What information is known of the allegations came from an open letter to the Chief Justice from a noted pro-Government lawyer and television presenter, Naeem Bokhari.

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On 3 February 2007, the United States brought new draft charges against David Hicks for his alleged involvement in terrorist activities. The charges are still draft because they have still to be ‘approved’ by the authority overseeing the Military Commission established to prosecute him.

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