Pakistan-India jurists can end impasse: CJP

Pakistan-India jurists can end impasse: CJP | The Nation

ISLAMABAD - The jurists being the most law-knowing and mature people and capable of moulding public opinion, can play a role in creating the environment for peaceful interaction between the two neighbours, but also ensuring that such interaction is translated into real trust and harmony between the two countries.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said that while addressing the delegation of Indian lawyers, who visited the Supreme Court on Monday.

"I believe that the present visit and interaction between the jurists of India and Pakistan will go a long way in understanding each other better and help remove lingering sense of mistrust and apathy towards each other," he added. CJ said that lawyers are among the most active and knowledgeable segment of a society.

“They play a leading role in moulding the public opinion on important issues of public policy. Pakistan and India are among those two nations whose very existence was made possible primarily because of the visionary leadership of their founding fathers who were also distinguished jurists of their times,” he added. The institutions of judiciary both in Pakistan and India have a common cultural, social and legal background, he said.

"We draw inspiration from the same source of jurisprudence and follow the same pluralistic and all encompassing representative democracy based on the twin principles of rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution.”

"Given the peculiar evolution of democratic institutions and commonality in legal principle in our two countries, we can learn form each others' jurisprudence," he added. The Supreme Court of India has rendered benchmark judgments in the field of Public Interest litigation, he said.

Similarly, Supreme Court of Pakistan has also endeavoured to ensure implementation of fundamental rights to the citizens as enshrined in the Constitution by taking suo moto notices in wider public interest, CJ stated.

Even today, the role of lawyers and jurists cannot be under estimated in terms of providing a strong leadership in both the countries, he stressed.

CJ stated:it is a proven fact of history and considered opinion of historians and scholars of law and politics that only those societies thrive and prosper where the twin principles of "rule of law" and "supremacy of Constitution" are practiced.

The present Pakistan has successfully transitioned itself to rule of law based upon complete implementation of Constitutionalism in the country, he said.

“Our law-enforcement agencies are striving hard to check terrorism menace and the court system in the country including the Anti-Terrorism Courts are geared to handle these cases expeditiously and dispense justice in a forthright and transparent manner. Therefore, I do not see any reason why Pakistan should not regain its position as a civilised and progressive country, which is at peace with itself and with countries in the region and beyond, “ he added.