Dated: December 2, 2004
Shaukat Baloch,
President,
Punjab Democratic Front,
Kaegenhofweg 2,
4153 Reinach, BL
Switzerland
Tel: + 41 79 273 47 53
E-mail: blochch@yahoo.com
Reverend Mr. Lawrence John Saldhana,
President, Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference,
Archbishop of Lahore,
Chairperson, National Commission for Justice and Peace,
Mr. Peter Jacob, Executive Secretary, National Commission for Justice & Peace
I thank you for sending me a copy of your open letter dated November 18, 2004, to President & Prime Minister of Pakistan.
I fully support all the demands put forward in this letter. These demands are just and need an immediate attention of the Government. It is a pity that the Law Ministry of Pakistan has failed to consider the recommendations of the National Commission on the status of women of 1997 & 2003, about the repeal of Hadood, Qisas and Diyat Ordinances.
As an advocate with about 32 years experience in Lahore High Court and District Courts Sargodha, I can say with confidence that the amendments in the Law of Evidence have been a source of injustice to the parties appearing in courts. Hadood, Qisas, Diyat Ordinances and Blasphemy Laws have given a licence to the gangsters to commit violence against the minorities, the women and the weaker sections of the society. Since the enactment of these laws thousands of women and people belonging to minorities have been victimised, persecuted and prosecuted. Therefore, all these draconian laws merit to be repealed immediately. NCJP is playing a very important role in this direction for the last nineteen years.
One reason why these laws are causing havoc in the society is the intimidation of the judges and the lawyers by the extremists. The show of force in front of the courts is possible only with the help of an infrastructure that needs a large amount of funds that are at the disposal of the extremists. Unless the financial supply line of the extremists is discontinued, the repeal of the above laws would not be possible. I would suggest you to ask your cadre belonging to income tax department to do some research work on this aspect of the problem. I can also give some proposals in this regard.
While in Pakistan six and half years back, I personally observed that the junior officers and other ranks of the army were motivated and encouraged, rather pushed by the senior officers to adopt fundamentalist views. Some fundamentalist judges were also involved in this activity and were pushing their subordinates and advocates in doing the same. Instead of doing the court work, for which they were being paid high salaries these judges used to waste time on fundamentalist religious activities during the night, were drowsing in the court in the morning and therefore adjourned the court cases causing a great hardship to the litigants coming from far off places. In fact, I observed this process in all the government offices and departments. As you know, the officers and employees of the armed forces, the police and other government departments have a great influence in the society and in a chain reaction, they further create more fundamentalists. All these factors end up in the opposition to the repeal of the above said laws. I request you to bring this in the notice of the government.
While preparing my cases in the Lahore High Court and before the Service Tribunals, I came across an important reason for the compulsions of the government servants to become fundamentalist. I mean the form introduced by General Zia regarding the Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) of the government servants. The government servants are given promotion and annual increments in their salaries on the basis of these ACRs. Advocates and lawyers appearing before the Service Tribunals know how the government servants can be controlled and pressurised through these ACRs, how these are abused and how government servants can be induced to become fundamentalist through these ACRs. These things may appear to be minor in appearance, but over a long period of time, since the new ACR forms were introduced coupled with some other amendments in service laws during the regime of General Zia, an important part of the society which comprises of the government servants, in the armed forces, the police and the civil services, has been slow-poisoned and turned fundamentalist. Please demand the Government to restore the ACR forms in vogue before General Zia.
In fact, the coercive laws like the Blasphemy & Hadood Laws, are enacted with a sinister purpose i.e. to crush the sentiments of liberty & freedom, and to take away the right of free expression, faith and thought of the people because it is the need of the dictators and the ambitious generals who have no political roots of their own among the people. Because if there is an atmosphere of freedom of faith thought and expression in the society, such a society will never tolerate dictators and military rulers. It is for this reason that one gang of generals led by General Zia enacts above said draconian laws and another led by General Musharaf refuses to repeal them even when he has absolute powers and can repeal these laws without any difficulty.
In the end, please allow me to say that words of praise by a respectful person of your high stature and prestige can give a wrong message to the General who calls himself the President of Pakistan. Kindly remember that our humbleness towards and praise of a dictator or his puppet Prime Minister will not motivate them to repeal the above said draconian laws. The separate electorate was abolished only in consequence of the pressure of the great people like you, your community, the NGOs and the international community and not by humbleness and praise. The same factors would, one day, result in the repeal of the said anti-people laws.
As Mr. Peter Jacob knows, in my speeches during the Sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, I always express my sentiments in favour of the minorities, against the corrupt generals and the authoritarian rule in Pakistan. (If you like, I can send you the copies of my speeches.) I assure you that I will continue to do the same even in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Shaukat Baloch
