This post was scheduled to have been published on 16 March. 16 March because on that day in 2008 the Chief Justice of Pakistan returned to courtroom number one to dispense justice. On that day his personal struggle and the lawyers movement were vindicated for their noble struggle for the rule of law.

Further vindication of the just stand taken by civil society, lawyers and judges after 9 March 2007 and Musharraf’s martial law of 3 November 2007 arrived this March when Justice (Retd) Abdul Hameed Dogar submitted a statement of regret in the Supreme Court of Pakistan here as shared in full below:

STATEMENT OF MR. JUSTICE (RETD) ABDUL HAMEED DOGAR (APPELLANT)

With all humility and humbleness at my command, it is submitted that under abrupt, unexpected changes, confusion, misconception and misunderstanding, the order dated 3.11.2007 could not be complied which is highly regretted with repentance and sorrow. I stood retired on 21.3.2009 and not enjoying good health. It is humbly requested that, in view of my ailment, the explained scenario, for which I am really sorry, my regrets may very kindly be accepted and notice of contempt may please be withdrawn for which I shall highly obliged and place myself at the mercy of Court.

Sd/-

(Abdul Hameed Dogar)

Appellant 02.03.2011

The Supreme Court’s honourable response to Justice Dogar and his Dog(ar) rule is also shared below:

The learned counsel has submitted that Justice (Retd.) Abdul Hameed Dogar has already retired on 21.03.2009, he is no more a Judge of this Court, he is not enjoying good health and while feeling sorry and expressing regrets he has stated that he could not comply with the order dated 03.11.2007 under confusion, misconception and misunderstanding. Besides, he has placed himself at the mercy of the Court, therefore, his regrets may be accepted and his appeal may be disposed of accordingly.

The learned Attorney General for Pakistan, on having gone through the statement noted hereinabove has stated that as Justice (Retd.) Abdul Hameed Dogar has placed himself at the mercy of the Court; therefore, on account of the realization that he ought to have complied with the aforesaid order, the request so made by him may be accepted.

We have considered the request made before us vide statement reproduced hereinabove and have also gone through the judgments of this Court in the cases of Sindh High Court Bar Association and Justice Khurshid Anwar Bhinder.

We are of the opinion that as against the past practice, the order dated 03.11.2007 was passed by a 7 – Member Bench for the first time in the history of this Court whereby Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts including Chief Justices of High Courts were restrained not to take oath under PCO or any other extra-constitutional act with a view to block the imposition of martial law and abrogation of the Constitution as it has already been clarified hereinabove, as the dignity and respect of the institution of Judiciary are to be guarded first of all by its own members. Admittedly, Justice (Retd.) Abdul Hameed Dogar violated the order dated 03.11.2007 as it is evident from the conclusion drawn by this Court in the case of Sindh High Court Bar Association (ibid).

However, in the case of Justice (Retd.) Abdul Hameed Dogar much water has already flown under the bridges, during course whereof all the actions taken by the then Chief of Army Staff had been declared unconstitutional including appointment of Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts. Reference may be made to the case of Justice Khurshid Anwar Bhinder (ibid).

At this stage, Mr. Justice (Retd.) Abdul Hameed Dogar has regretted for his actions and has also thrown himself at the mercy of the Court. In the case in which helplessness has been shown by a person facing contempt proceedings has persuaded us to exercise jurisdiction of contempt sparingly. We accept appeal (ICA No. 9 of 2011) and terminate the contempt proceedings against him too. However, no exception of whatsoever nature shall be claimed by him in respect of observations made in the Sindh High Court Bar Association’s case as well as in Justice Khurshid Anwar Bhinder’s case.

As a supporter of the lawyers movement and the Chief Justice of Pakistan, I personally feel that Justice Dogar’s statement has vindicated all who toiled for the rule of law since 9 March 2007. The Chief Justice of Pakistan and his brother judges, all lawyers and the leaders of the movement, as well as fallen heroes like Ahmed Faraz and Imdad Ali Awan who stood tall against Musharraf’s martial law are proved to have been on the right side. With Justice Dogar’s apology, history has recorded it as so for most of them in their lifetimes.

A final point that must be made is that Justice Dogar’s apology shows Pakistan’s judiciary has come of age. The evolution of the Supreme Court and the wider judiciary from the rubber stamp of the executive to an independent judiciary since 9 March is nothing short of a miracle and it should be lauded by all.

With Justice Dogar’s apology, Pakistan as a nation and as a people stands taller as a people and as a nation that honours the rule of law and the Constitution. In doing so we reaffirm our faith that the Quaid’s Pakistan is the Pakistan we all desire, a Pakistan founded by a lawyer who believed in the rule of law, in fair play and justice for all.

Today’s post is the first of a series of posts that will be published over many weeks. The posts will chart the journey of the lawyers movement  from 9 March 2007 and its  milestones until the historic judgement of the Supreme Court of Pakistan as delivered on 31 July 2009.

This post has been a long time coming. On March 24 2009,  I wrote a post titled 507 days of martial law end on the day the Chief Justice of Pakistan was restored as he sat again in court room number one. 129 days later on July 31 2009, the Chief Justice and his brother judges have reversed the illegal acts of November 3rd in full and put down the Dog sorry Dog(gar) and said good riddance to martial law.

Adding up the days we arrive at the conclusion that after 636 long and painful days,  Pakistan has returned to its natural state of constitutionalism and the rule of law. And what a journey of sacrifice, thanks above all go to the Lord of all Lords ALLAH, for divine intervention has played a key part in reminding all Pakistanis that this nation was created for a divine purpose and to serve as the second Madina.

The Chief as I fondly call him, Chief Justice Ifthikhar Muhammed Chaudhry has remained steadfast and principled throughout the struggle along with his brother judges and they deserve the highest praise. In fact no words are good enough and I cannot do better other than to praise them all as true sons of the Quaid.

The ordinary lawyer is equally deserving of such praise and are sons of the Quaid too as they were and are the true change agents of Pakistan. From Swat to Sukkur the ordinary black coated lawyer sacrificied their livelihoods and for many their lives too in what history will record for the most noble of causes -the rule of law.

The lawyers movement and its leadership too are deserving of equal praise and are true sons of the Quaid. I begin by lauding lesser known household names such as Sardar Asmatullah, Mehmood-ul Hasan, Justice Rasheed A Rizvi, Naeem Qureshi, Manzoor Qadir, Anwar Kamal, Baz Muhammed Kakar, Lala Latif Afridi to name only a few of the principled office holders of the Bar Associations across Pakistan. The stellar leadership of the super six of  Athar Minallah, Muneer A Malik, Ali Ahmed Kurd, Justice Tariq Mehmood, Hamid Khan and Aitzaz Ahsan need no introduction  and again no words of praise are enough and yes at the risk of boredom they too are true sons of the Quaid.

Last but not least I wish to praise departed friends whose sacrifices have led us to see this momentous day. I begin with the great Ahmed Faraz saab who was a leading light in this movement and a hero of Pakistan for all time.  I believe Faraz saab is with us all today in our victory and that he will be smiling today, content and happy in Paradise to see that justice has won the day in his Pakistan.

Imdad Ali Awan is another hero of Pakistan who was the President of the Sukkur Bar Association that first invited the Chief Justice to address it. The captain of the lawyers movement, Muneer A Malik  said that ‘ barash ka pehla katra Sukkur mein gira’ translated as Sukkur was responsible for the first raindrop of rain that became a torrent that swept aside Musharraf and his goons. Thus Imdad Ali Awan and his Sukkur Bar Association wrote the first chapter of this victory and we celebtrate and salute him today.

Civil society, the passionate and proud Pakistani awaam are too deserving of praise as are students and bloggers including the Emergency List of Samad Khurram and my friends Awab Alvi, Kruman and others who stood tall and raised their voice for the rule of law.

At a personal level I am proud of the role Other Pakistan played throughout the struggle and hope that this is a new Pakistan that is taking shape right here and right now.

Let us pray that it will be a Pakistan of constitutionalism and the rule of law, one of hope and of equal rights for all its citizens and is exactly that Pakistan envisioned by the Quaid-e-Azam as that is our aim and thus our struggle continues to create an ‘other’ Pakistan, the Quaid’s Pakistan.

Today I have been reflecting on the rise and fall of such false gods. It goes without saying that the lawyers movement destroyed both men. The central issue throughout has been the rule of law and the constitution and with this in mind I cannot move on without making reference to Habib Jalib’s Dastoor.

Habib Jalib like Faiz and Faraz needs no introduction. He is alive today in all of us and his poem ‘Dastoor’ is as relevant today and has become the unofficial anthem of the long march. Indeed was this long march not Habib Jalib’s long march too.

‘Dastoor’ was originally written in 1962 against Ayub’s bogus constitution.  Today the words of the poem are as relevant as they were over forty years ago. Indeed I would go further any say that Jalib’s ‘dastoor’ is even more relevant today than even before against the false ‘dastoor’ of Dogar and Musharraf.  Hence I repeat the iconic words of Habib Jalib’s ‘Dastoor’  with English translation thanks to Sana Saleem’s blog Mystified Justice.

Deep jis ka sirf mehellaat hi main jalay,
Chand logon ki khushyon ko lay ker chalay,
Wo jo saye main har maslihat kay palay;
Aisay dastoor ko,
Subh e bay noor ko,
Main naheen maanta,
Main naheen jaanta.

The light which shines only in palaces
Burns up the joy of the people in the shadows
Derives its strength from others’ weakness
That kind of system,
like dawn without light
I refuse to acknowledge,
I refuse to accept

Main bhee kha’if naheen takhta e daar say,
Main bhee Mansoor hoon, keh do aghyaar say,
Kyun daraatay ho zindaan ki divar say,
Zulm ki baat ko,
Jehel ki raat ko,
Main naheen maanta,
Main naheen jaanta.

I am not afraid of execution,
Tell the world that I am the martyr
How can you frighten me with prison walls?
This overhanging doom,
this night of ignorance,
I refuse to acknowledge,
I refuse to accept

Phool shaakhon pay khilnay lagay tum kaho,
Jaam rindon ko milnay lagay tum kaho,
Chak seenon kay silnay lagay tum kaho,
Iss khulay jhoot ko,
Zehan ki loot ko,
Main naheen maanta,
Main naheen jaanta.

“Flowers are budding on branches”, that’s what you say,
“Every cup overflows”, that’s what you say,
“Wounds are healing themselves”, that’s what you say,
These bare-faces lies,
this insult to the intelligence,
I refuse to acknowledge,
I refuse to accept

Tum nay loota hai sadyon hamara sakoon,
Ab na hum per chalay ga tumhara fasoon,
Chara gar main tumhain kiss tara say kahoon?
Tum naheen charaagar,
Koi maanay magar,
Main naheen maanta,
Main naheen jaanta.

For centuries you have all stolen our peace of mind
But your power over us is coming to an end
Why do you pretend you can cure pain?
Even if some claim that you’ve healed them,
I refuse to acknowledge,
I refuse to accept.

You have read the words now see the video with Habib Jalib singing ‘Dastoor’ below:

I also add Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s brilliant singing of Dastoor too which proves he is talented in many a field!

And yes its still martial law until the Chief Justice is restored  and sitting in room number one of the Supreme Court  hence my end comment as below:

- WRITTEN UNDER MARTIAL LAW (My thanks to cowards Tariq Pervez. Sabihuddin, Sardar Raza & Co for selling out)

The success of the lawyers movement and the long march has got us this far however today’s post is not a review of the journey so far though a post on this topic is forthcoming.

Instead I want to lighten up, to relax a little and to laugh a little too. Hence this post carries a humourous article on the long march written by Masood Hasan in The News , its a must read as it includes a desi take on Nike’s world famous tag line and its links to Farooq Naek our new Chairman of the Senate which will make you smile, not Zardari-style  I hope but a smirk at least if not a burst of laughter. So sit comfortably readers, take a chilll pill and smile Pakistan and enjoy, have a  read of the article below:

Long March: Brand ‘failure’ by Masood Hasan

I am afraid I am not bowled over by this long march thing. It’s got just about as much buzz as damp squib pretending to be the life and soul of the party. For one thing, the whole purpose of this long march defeats me. I mean why go for such an ordeal to start with? Why not a short march instead? What is the purpose of walking and riding rickety old vans for days and days only to get way laid by a rusting container? What does that prove except that on a good day a container past its prime can still get you where it matters? It is like asking the derailed Rawalpindi Express to hurtle full speed from one end of Islamabad only to gently toss a lolly pop arriving in Rawalpindi. Makes no sense at all. And then if all that the long march is finally offering is a visit to Islamabad, the most dull and dreary city in the world, what’s the big deal? I’d rather go to Gojra.

And that’s not all. For an event of its much touted size, it has no corporate sponsors worth the name. It’s at the end of the day just another dreary long march and since it is taking place in March, it loses any unique appeal it may have had to start with. It would have been much better that someone like Zong had picked up the event and called it Zong’s Long March at unbelievably low rates. For starters it could have promised customers that they could call the president at half the rate any time of the day or night, but obviously Zong has better things to do than sponsor a daft event like this. I would have thought that since communications is going to a bit of a dodgy thing on the day itself, a Telco supporting the march would have meant something, but there were no takers. That’s sad and shows that the event didn’t have the pull that it should have had.

Personally I think Zong missed a good opportunity. They could have had a picture of Mao alongside that of Zardari and had a slogan like, ‘from the folks who gave you THE long march, here’s a cheap version at an unbelievably low price.’ Imagine the priceless advertising mileage with close up shots of Shahbaz and Nawaz Sharif at either end of the billboard holding mobiles close to their ears saying, ‘Aur sunao?’ Instead of that, all we have is a long march without any sponsorship worth talking about. Either the chaps selling the concept didn’t really understand it or the advertisers are more badly hit than we all think, the final result has been the same.

In terms of picking up sponsors, a sure sign of a winner is the amount of parties that sign up on the dotted line and fork out obscene amounts of cash. Nothing like that has so far been seen. Unless you think Hamid Mir is secretly selling Glaxo Baby Food on the side, since he looks like one of those babies who has knocked out the entire competition in showdown after showdown and now reigns supreme with a perpetual satisfied smile often associated with cats that have had a few unsuspecting canaries for an early breakfast.

There cannot be a long march without gallons of water to consume. Beating lawyers is not an easy matter as the cops have learned over the years. For one thing they are all in black and white and look the same so any good baton-swinging cop could be forgiven for shaking his head in disbelief seeing a black coat appearing looking just the same as the one the cop had minutes back dispatched to the floor. However at the time of sending this in, no worthwhile water sponsor has come forward. I simply cannot understand how they can pass up the opportunity. Slogans like ‘Purity you can trust,’ which in normal times usually send consumers into frothing demons, could so easily be accepted were the visual to show Mr Zardari embracing Mr Sharif or both sharing a paper cup of the pure stuff. Imagine masses of black coats raising clenched fists at some border or the other with the line, ‘We want Sufi.’ No one would know that the last thing they want is Sufi but who can tell what they are saying and let’s face it, thirst being thirst, the slogan would be most believable.

Yet amazingly, none of the water brands has shown the least inclination in supporting the long march, neither with a campaign nor simply product placement. If I was a yogurt maker, I would have had Mr Kurd’s pure white countenance on every poster, his mane of white hair so artistically blending into the open pack shot of white yogurt and some immortal line like, ‘Kurd’s favourite curd,’ blazing across the landscape. Even a shot of him getting hauled into a police van could have had a pack shot placed next to the scene of the action with an inspiring line like, ‘Stay cool with your favourite Curd.’

These days all the talk is about brand activation. No one quite understands what it is but that does not mean they cannot push it forward. Basically it means making sure your brand is out there, visible and preferably in action. If you are a fruit juice, happy kids and even happier adults are sucking it up in long swoops. With cops outnumbering the protestors ten to one as a steel manufacturer I would have made a bee line and sold the steel-ends of the staves to the police, of course ensuring that the branding of the ends would be clearly visible to the cameras. Imagine a shot of a stave landing smack across the bald pate of a protestor with the line, ‘Mughal Steel. Dependable to the very end.’ Or if so inclined, ‘Seal the deal with Mughal Steel.’ Why the steel makers haven’t thought of this opportunity or the police force haven’t understood the potential of their product, I am not qualified to comment on, except that both have missed the bus.

This reminds me about the missing bus companies. What better chance would come their way than to show millions of people crammed into their vehicles heading this way or that and some line like, ‘We get you there when you need to get there,’ with the maker’s name right next to it? I can assure the makers that people of Pakistan who have again and again demonstrated that they are ready to buy the most worthless products, would have happily endorsed this brand knowing that for once they had the real thing.

Zardari drinking glasses of Energile, Gilani popping pills with fortified iron, Salmaan Taseer with a black T Shirt and the line ‘Good to the last drop,’ Rehman Malik with a greasy rubber ball in his hand and the line, ‘Sleaze ball,’ Farooq A Naek with running shoes and the line, ‘Naek. Just do it,’ are all visuals that come flooding to the mind but the long march has sadly fallen short of inspiring any of the above. Instead we have dull and boring coverage from all over the countryside saying why this group or that are unable to get past the containers the police have strewn everywhere. What beats me is that they all apparently want to get to Islamabad. I thought it was a city everyone wanted to get away from. As usual I got that wrong too.

The writer is a Lahore-based columnist. Email: masoodhasan66@gmail.com

- WRITTEN UNDER MARTIAL LAW (My thanks to cowards Tariq Pervez. Sabihuddin, Sardar Raza & Co for selling out)

The Chief Justice and his brother judges have been restored. The lawyers movement have achieved their goals for the restoration of judges as per the November 2nd position. This is a historic day and the culmination of a great struggle and the first chapter of a new Pakistan.

As a passionate supporter of the Chief Justice I cannot put it in words how happy I am now that the Chief Justice and more importantly justice has been restored. Above all I pay tribute to the lawyers, every single lawyer who took on the mantle of saving a country that was created by a great lawyer. You are the true sons of the Quaid and Pakistan salutes you.

I pay special tribute to the leaders of the lawyers movement Munir A Malik, Justice Tariq Mehmood, Aitzaz Ahsan, Hamid Khan,  Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed and Ali Ahmed Kurd.  Pakistan salutes these sons of the Quaid.  I also pay tribute to the political leaders who supported the restoration of the Chief Justice from day one namely Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Rasul Bux Palijo, Abdul Haye Baloch and Qadir Magsi.

For civil society I dont have enough words of praise and a more detailed post listing our heroes is needed if not essential as a record of our new history. Let us not forget that this is an achievement borne of many sacrifices  notably the blood of  innocents of May 12th as well as heroes departed such as Imdad Ali Awan and Ahmed Faraz who will both be smiling today.

I remain cautious as to the mechanics of the restoration as I do not trust Mr 10% and do smell a rat. I wonder if he will insist on an ego triip and  will only restore the Chief Justice if he takes a ‘new oath’ under him as President.  Other concerns include whether the Chief Justice will be curtailed by a new law especially his suo moto powers that bought relief to many poor citizens. Above all the acts of November 3 need to be reversed and I hope the Chief Justice is allowed to do this and that the politicians and establishment have not set up a ‘deal’ as per the best interests of the nation.

That said this is a defining moment in Pakistan’s history as the Chief Justice has been restored due to people power. This is a lesson for all past, present and future military and civilian governments alike that the power of the people is real power and that they must govern only in their interests.

Congratulations to the people of Pakistan, I am so proud of you today. I must stop here as I am in the mood to celebrate and perform a bhangra or two as is happening all over Pakistan today from Lahore to Lakki Marwat. The Holy Quran says ‘with hardship goeth ease’, I pray to ALLAH that the restoration of the Chief Justice will usher in a golden era of justice for all, and above all ease for all.

We are witnessing the dawn of a new Pakistan, let us celebrate that together as we have had too many bad days and too many tragedies. Let us stand tall as one and rise to our challenges too as one, let us build a new Pakistan, an ‘other’ Pakistan that is the Quaid’s Pakistan.

So friends and comrades its not dharna time its BHANGRA TIME. Let us smile today, hug your loved ones and celebrate as this is a victory for Pakistan and her passionate people.

And yes its still martial law until the Chief Justice is restored  and sitting in room number one of the Supreme Court  hence my end comment as below:

- WRITTEN UNDER MARTIAL LAW (My thanks to cowards Tariq Pervez. Sabihuddin, Sardar Raza & Co for selling out)

On the 9th of March 2007 Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry stood tall against a military dictator. Two years on from that day I feel somewhat nostalgic and want to state what has been achieved since that fateful day.

The stand taken by ‘The Chief’ as I fondly call him and the principled lawyers movement have brought about wholesale changes even if the PPP lie factory continues to say otherwise. The following set of truths list the milestones achieved by the lawyers movement and show how far we have come since March 9, 2007. The text below says it all:

• General Musharraf falls in popularity and cuts a ‘deal’ with Benazir Bhutto to save his first and second skin and how both went!

• The exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto returns to Pakistan as Musharraf is reduced to a shadow of the strongman he was and is forced to allow her return as per the US-UK scripted NRO deal.

• The Chief Justice accepts Benazir Bhutto’s petition regarding 28 million missing voters and orders the Election Commission to register the missing voters and prepare a new electoral register.

• The Chief Justice orders the release of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi.

• The Chief Justice orders the Musharraf regime to allow the return of Mian Nawaz Sharif, however he is deported back to London.

• An eleven-member Supreme Court full bench headed by Justice Javed Iqbal is on the verge of deciding against General Musharraf’s claim for presidential office. The judgement is pre-empted by Gen Musharraf as he imposes martial law.

• General Musharraf imposes martial law on 2 November which is struck down by the Chief Justice heading a 7-member bench declaring the PCO illegal, the first time in the history of Pakistan.

• The Chief Justice and his brother judges are arrested and put under house arrest as are leaders of the lawyers movement and political leaders.

• Mian Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan as General Musharraf is forced to allow his return under Saudi pressure.

• Story So Far- Political leaders returning to Pakistan are a slap in the face on Musharraf’s mug and are a direct consequence of a weakened Musharraf hanging on for power due to his fall since 9 March 2007.

• Chief of Army Pervez Musharraf is forced to shed his second skin and hand over to Pervez Kayani.

• Benazir Bhutto is assasinated in Rawalpindi as Mr 10% takes over.

• Elections are held on February 18 that bring about the rejection of Musharraf’s Q League and coalition governments are formed in the Centre and the Provinces with Yousef Raza Gillani as Prime Minister.

• A spirit of reconcilation and mature politics sweeps the nation bringing about hope of a new dawn as Mr 10% and Nawaz Sharif agree to work together and restore the judges not once or twice but three times (each time due to Mr 10% never ending u-turns)

• ‘President’ Musharraf is threatened with impeachment and is forced to resign! whilst Mr 10% deceives Nawaz Sharif again and  refuses to restore the Chief Justice and his brother judges.

• Mr 10% is elected President and smiles! (but I wonder who will have the last laugh!)

I trust Farzana Raja and her ilk will concur entirely!

Let me finish with a note that the second long march with dharna or a sit-in is just around the corner. Like millions, I too will be in that long march in blood, sweat and tears,. Let us pray that neither of the three are not needed.

- WRITTEN UNDER MARTIAL LAW (My thanks to cowards Tariq Pervez. Sabihuddin, Sardar Raza & Co for selling out)