Deal in Swat

Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Mir Jamilur Rahman

The NWFP government's signing of the agreement with the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi has brought instant peace to the troubled areas of Malakand and Kohistan and a ceasefire in Swat. It has been explained that the main cause of turmoil was the denial of speedy justice to the people. The agreement takes care of that.

The Swat accord is not surrender and capitulation by the government, nor was the violence an insurgency for separation from Pakistan. It is a farfetched supposition that a different judicial system in Swat will lead to disintegration of the country. In fact, President Zardari, for the first time, has acted as a statesman rather than a politician. The insurgency was splitting the nation. It was damaging our newfound democracy. It was hampering our efforts against terrorism. If the agreement puts a stop to the mayhem, it is a substantive victory for the people of Pakistan.

The religious-political leaders do not believe in democracy. Maulana Sufi Muhammad considers democracy against Sharia and thus un-Islamic. The majority of other religious leaders also think the same way. They think that they can never reach power through democracy. Hence, many have come to the conclusion that power could only be won through weapons. The perennial war in Afghanistan and resultant instability has given them an opportunity to test their mettle. However, they can raise turmoil but not sustain insurgency for long. So, they do not hesitate to sign agreements. It gives them time to regroup and start all over again.

Some opinion leaders have expressed the apprehension that by giving a different judicial system to Swat and Malakand, the government is sowing the seeds of division and subsequently separation. They cannot be more wrong. There are quite a few countries in the world where more than one judicial system is working satisfactorily. The UK does not have a single, unified judicial system. – England and Wales have one system, Scotland another and Northern Ireland a third.

Unfortunately, the concept of "speedy justice" is misconceived and cannot be turned into reality in Pakistan for a long time to come. Pakistan just does not have the means to provide speedy justice to people, just as it cannot provide "speedy education" and "speedy healthcare." In comparison to our population, our judicial machinery is too small.

The United Kingdom is three times smaller in population than Pakistan – the UK is 60 million and Pakistan 173 million – but its judicial network is much vaster than ours. In England and Wales (combined population 55 million) there are roughly 30,000 magistrates (Justices of Peace) to dispense justice. They deal with 95 percent of criminal cases. They also settle family disputes. The cases are decided in hours. One cannot get speedier than that.

In Pakistan court hearing could be postponed and a new date given on the most frivolous of excuses, with the result that the case lingers on for ages. This cannot happen in England. Although there is no law that forbids postponement, the party that seeks postponement has to bear the cost of the lost day, including the opponent's legal fee, which is quite substantial. That is how the judiciary in the UK has been able to speed up the legal process.

In Pakistan people are suffering from every sort of shortages – food, education, and healthcare. Schools, universities, hospitals and courts are all overcrowded. There is no short-term solution to the problem of a rising population and diminishing social sector. The government ought to come out with a White Paper to propose ways and means to overcome this gigantic problem, otherwise the story of Swat will be repeated everywhere in Pakistan,

Senate: A thoughtful action by PPP, PML-N and MQM has instantly removed the corruption that engulfs the Senate elections every 3 years. These parties had decided to field candidates as per their numerical strength in the provincial assemblies. Thus the Senators from Sindh and now Punjab have been elected unopposed. It is a day of sorrow for PMLQ. Its 18 Senators had retired and in return it got just one Senator, thanks to the brilliant leadership of Ch Pervaiz Elahi. His party PMLQ is now on the brink of extinction.

The writer is a freelance columnist. Email: mirjrahman@hotmail.com

Source:http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=164232