Related Resources

By providing a historical and legal overview, Raza Kasuri outlined President Musharraf’s case before the Supreme Court of Pakistan regarding the legality of his re-election on October 6, 2007 while still serving as the Chief of Army Staff. President Musharraf has retained his uniform since he came to power in a bloodless coup d’etat in 1999. The following year, the Supreme Court ordered him to hold national elections by October 12, 2002. Musharraf complied and was elected as President of Pakistan by national referendum on April 30, 2002 and was sworn in on November 15, 2002. After the referendum he introduced the Legal Framework Order of 2002, which allowed for provincial and national assembly elections. After long negotiations, the assemblies passed the 17th amendment, which allowed the assemblies to hold a vote of confidence to elect Musharraf as the President for a period of five years. Kasuri said that the amendment also allowed Musharraf to hold dual roles as Army Chief of Staff and President until December 31, 2004. The day this constitutional clause expired, Kasuri said another similar legal protection was enacted in the constitution so that he could hold two offices after December 31, 2004. According to Kasuri, the 17th amendment acted as a deeming clause so that when he ran for re-election on October 6, 2007, as an incumbent, he was already considered eligible because he passed the process of eligibility once before.

Kasuri was steadfast in his belief that Musharraf’s constitutional and legal position is secure. He pointed out that the only impediment for Musharraf would have been if the national assembly had dissolved, then the election could not have taken place. As Kasuri stated, Musharraf was fortunate that the whole electoral college was intact, which enabled him to be elected with 57% of the total electoral college’s vote. Therefore, according to Kasuri, Musharraf was legally and constitutionally elected as president on October 6, 2007.

Kasuri addressed ongoing criticism that Pakistan has deviated from its course to become a stable democracy. He stated that because Pakistan was built on the foundations of democracy, it is expected for the nation to resume that course. According to Kasuri, Pakistan is capable of upholding the rule of law, of maintaining judicial review, and of delivering independent decisions. However in Kasuri’s view, Pakistan’s judicial branch overstepped its jurisdiction, which necessitated the emergency law. He said that the judges in Pakistan had exercised dangerous judicial activism without judicial restraint when they began to release individuals that the government had arrested because of their connections to the war on terrorism. In addition, he said that the lawyers were being targeted because they had abused judicial activism by going too far in looking out for extremists’ interests. When asked why Pakistan was arresting proponents of human rights and civil society alongside lawyers, Kasuri said that these individuals are under protective custody in their homes and are very comfortable.

Kasuri believed that emergency law would be a temporary measure to deal with the growing threat of instability and terrorism within Pakistan. He cited the lack of protests held by the people as an indication that the people of Pakistan continue to support the government. Moreover, he believed that anyone trying to destabilize Pakistan would play into the hands of Pakistan’s enemies. According to Kasuri, at a time when the greater Middle East is engulfed in turmoil, the region cannot afford to lose Pakistan because it is an island of stability. Therefore, Kasuri reiterated that as Pakistan stabilizes, and respects law and order, the country will resume its democratic course and hold elections in January, as scheduled. He added that Musharraf is expected to remove his uniform because he has sworn an affidavit before the Supreme Court that mandates he will take off his uniform when he takes the presidential oath for his second term.

Kasuri noted that Pakistan has deviated from its course of democracy many times before. He admitted that a military dictatorship is never healthy for emerging democratic states; however he countered that Pakistan has had to implement dictatorships in the past to depose corrupt democratic governments. With regard to Pakistan’s previous military dictatorships that have been in power for the majority of the country’s history, he explained that these dictatorships were not in power for more than ten years at a time; compared to the long rule of dictators in countries like Egypt or Libya. Overall Kasuri was confident that despite the emergency law in place, Pakistan would resume its course towards a democracy soon, as it had done many times before.