When Will Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan Tell the Truth?

[mujahideen]

Qayyum accepts Ahsan’s open debate challenge on judges restoration

ISLAMABAD, Mar 15 (APP): Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum Saturday accepted the open debate challenge of Supreme Court Bar Association’s president Ch. Aitzaz Ahsan for a public debate on the topic of restoration of deposed judges of supreme and high courts.

It is up to Aitizaz Ahsan to determine the place and time of such debate he said and added he would reach there.

Attorney General told a private television channel that Aitizaz Ahsan can also nominate the participants and judges of his choice to observe the debate.

Associated Press Of Pakistan - Qayyum accepts Ahsan’s open debate challenge on judges restoration

 

[dabong1]

Aitzaz Ahsan was born in Murree, Rawalpindi District, Punjab, he comes from a family background steeped in politics. He received his early education from Aitchison College and the Government College, Lahore. Later he studied law at Cambridge University, UK and was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1967.

Upon his return from Cambridge, Aitzaz Ahsan appeared for and stood first in Pakistan's prestigious Central Superior Services (CSS) examination. Objecting to the rule of General Ayub Khan, however, he refused to join government service during the time of military rule. This act of youthful defiance made him the first, and perhaps only, individual to top the CSS exam yet decline government service.


During the PNA demonstrations against the alleged rigging of elections by the PPP government in 1977, the police opened fire on a lawyers rally in Lahore. Aitzaz, who was a provincial minister in the Punjab Cabinet at the time, resigned in protest. He was subsequently also expelled from the People's Party for this act of insubordination.


After General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's coup, Aitzaz became an active leader of the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD), and rejoined the PPP during the martial law period. During this period he was jailed several times as a political prisoner without trial for active participation in the MRD movement.

He also made legal history of sorts by having defended two Prime Ministers in the court of law. Having previously fought cases in defence of Benazir Bhutto in 2001 he took up a case in defence of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.


Aitzaz Ahsan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Just wanted to know if the above section is true...

 

[mujahideen]

Aitzaz threatens court boycott if SC stays NA resolution

By our correspondent

ISLAMABAD: President Supreme Court Bar Association Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan on Monday threatened countrywide boycott of the courts if the Supreme Court granted stay against the parliament resolution for the restoration of the pre-November 3, 2007 judiciary.

“The legal fraternity across the country will bring out rallies and stage protest demonstrations if the Supreme Court granted stay, restraining the members of parliament from passing a resolution for the restoration of the November 2, 2007 judiciary”, Ahsan told a hurriedly called press conference at his residence here.

He said that if the apex court granted stay against the parliament resolution, they would place photographs of all those judges responsible for the said stay on the notice boards of all the bar associations across the country. However, he said that not a single photo of the judge would be disfigured and if any photo was disfigured it would be replaced with a fresh one.

“A parliament resolution is required not for the restoration of judiciary of November 2, 2007 but to strengthen the hands of the executive that parliament stands behind the judges who declined to take oath under the PCO of 2007”, Aitzaz maintained.

A writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday against the Murree Accord, praying the apex court to restrain the members of both houses of parliament from passing any resolution or enactment through simple majority against the orders passed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Similarly, Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar has called a meeting of the full court of the Supreme Court today (Tuesday) wherein all the judges of the apex court who took oath under the PCO 2007 would participate.

Aitzaz referred to two developments, which took place on Monday, including filing of a petition in the apex court seeking stay against the parliament’s resolution and calling of full court meeting by the PCO court on a short notice.

He wondered why a full court meeting was called in haste. He said that the PCO court had no jurisdiction to interfere in the affairs of parliament, saying judges who took oath under the PCO were not validated by parliament.

“We have been very accommodating and we don’t want any confrontation and had earlier announced that judges who were in the Supreme Court on November 2, 2007 could be restored along with the deposed judges and Justice Dogar should also continue as judge”, he said.

He said that if a stay is granted, they will not ensure flexibility and there will be no space for any judge who took oath under the PCO. “If a stay is granted it will be contrary to the judgments of Supreme Court including the Ahmed Saeed Kirmani case of 1955,the Colnol Farzand Ali case 1970 and the Federal Government Reference of 1973”, he added.

He said that the court has no jurisdiction to interfere in the affairs of parliament and this will be a negation of democratic process. He said the lawyers would wait for 30 days for the new government to restore the deposed judges, and would remain peaceful during this period.

He said they believe in continuing their peaceful movement for the restoration of the judges and the rule of law as they proved earlier when the lawyers remained on roads for hundreds of hour but not a leaf was trampled during their movement.

He said that soon after his release, deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry along with other judges of the superior judiciary would address bar councils across the country as he has been invited to do so.

Aitzaz threatens court boycott if SC stays NA resolution

 

[Interceptor]

1977, the police opened fire on a lawyers rally in Lahore. Aitzaz, who was a provincial minister in the Punjab Cabinet at the time, resigned in protest. He was subsequently also expelled from the People's Party for this act of insubordination.

Aitzaz Ahsan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Just wanted to know if the above section is true...

He did this so deviance something that few politicians have the Police is of the government and if it commits a hideous crime who is to blame, and Aitazaz has always been a man of his words he boycotted the election and told BB about his reasons he was the Supreme court bar President hence he did this in deviance.

 

[Interceptor]

Munir, Aitzaz get Asian HR award



HONG KONG: Two of Pakistan's top lawyers, who led protests against President Pervez Musharraf's attempts to sack the country's chief justice, have won an Asian human rights award, organisers said on Wednesday.

Munir Malik, former president of the Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association, together with his successor, Aitzaz Ahsan, have been awarded the Asian Human Rights Defender Award by the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). The pair were instrumental in leading the vociferous protests against Musharraf's attempt to sack Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry last March. "The two lawyers' leadership, courage and unswerving commitment to their profession, their integrity and their country are strongly symbolic of their cause," the award organisers said in a statement. "In them we acknowledge and award all of the lawyers, judges and others who have refused to bow down to the immoral pressure of military force, including all of those dismissed from their posts and kept in their houses. They stand today as the representatives of civilised society and institutional commonsense in Pakistan."

Chaudhry’s sacking was thwarted after the protests, but he was later removed after refusing to retake an oath of office when Musharraf imposed emergency rule late last year. Since leading the protests, Malik has been arrested and drugged, causing him to suffer renal failure, AHRC said. Ahsan has been detained since the emergency rule was imposed in November. Ambassadors from several countries have been refused access to visit him. Emergency rule was lifted in December.

Munir, Aitzaz get Asian HR award

 

[Interceptor]

Two new Honorary Fellows for Downing College 10 March 2008

Downing College has announced the election of two distinguished alumni, Aitzaz Ahsan and Sir Brian Vickers, to become Honorary Fellows.

The distinguished Pakistani lawyer and politician Aitzaz Ahsan read Law at Downing in the 1960s, and was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 1967.

Returning to Pakistan, he developed an internationally respected legal practice while also pursuing a political career as a member of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which led to his becoming a Minister for Law and Justice, Minister for the Interior and Narcotics Control, and Minister for Education in Federal Governments of the 1980s. He was Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from 1994-1999.

As a lawyer he has been a leading advocate of human rights and the rule of law, defending two former Pakistan Prime Ministers regardless of political affiliations (Benazir Bhutto of the PPP, and Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League).

He was a founder member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. His commitment to the rule of law as a vital protection for democracy has led to his detention under several Presidents of Pakistan. This found clear expression in his successful legal challenge in 2007 on behalf of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Chaudhry, to President Musharraf’s decision to dismiss him.

The reinstatement of the Chief Justice was quickly followed by the President’s decision to dismiss several Justices. Aitzaz Ahsan was elected President of the Supreme Court Bar Association in October 2007. At the time he was arguing a legal challenge to President Musharraf’s eligibility as a General to contest the presidential election in Pakistan.

After the declaration of the State of Emergency in November 2007, Aitzaz Ahsan was imprisoned and then placed under house arrest. He was finally released from detention on 3 March 2008.

His writings have contributed to scholarship on Pakistan and democracy. He is the author of The Indus Saga and the Making of Pakistan, OUP 1996, interpreting the history of Pakistan from the point of view of the catchment of the Indus river—a book that was written while he was imprisoned—and Divided by Democracy, written with Professor Lord Desai of the LSE.

The Master and Fellows of Downing College, in honouring the achievements of Aitzaz Ahsan and his contribution to advancing the rule of law, democracy and human rights in Pakistan, fervently hope that following his recent detention, the Chief Justice and other members of the Bar Association will be reinstated and the rule of law re-established in a democratic Pakistan.

The leading Renaissance scholar Sir Brian Vickers, who was knighted for his services to literature, was a Fellow of Downing from 1966 to 1971, during which time he directed studies in English.

This was a crucial phase for the subject in the College, ushering in a new era of English studies.

From 1975 to 2003 he was Professor of English Literature and Director of the Centre for Renaissance Studies at the University of Zurich. He has been a Visiting Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford (1980-1) and Fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin (1986-7).

From 1977-9 he was President of the International Society for the History of Rhetoric, and, from 2004, Chairman of the Society for Renaissance Studies. In 2003 he was Distinguished Senior Fellow at the School of Advanced Study at the University of London. He has served on the editorial boards of several learned journals.

This distinguished scholarly career has been punctuated by the publication of influential books and articles on an impressive range of subjects, extending from Greek tragedy to Jonathan Swift, including major studies of Shakespeare, Bacon, Hooker, and the art of rhetoric.

His books have been translated into several languages. Sir Brian regularly reviews in the literary journals and is in demand as a speaker on the radio, with particular reference to Shakespearean studies.

Downing College has flourished since its foundation 200 years ago. Downing is a friendly and informal community which encourages all students who study here to strive for academic excellence. Downing provides all the essential features which enable students who study here to get the best from their time at Cambridge.

For further information, please contact the University of Cambridge Office of Communications on 01223 332300

Two new Honorary Fellows for Downing College

 

[mujahideen]

Aitzaz may be joint PPP-PML-N candidate from NA-55

Sheikh Rashid to jump in NA-55 foray again

Wednesday, March 19, 2008
By Mumtaz Alvi

ISLAMABAD: Aitzaz Ahsan is most likely to be the joint candidate of the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) from NA-55 by-election.

This seat was vacated by PML leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi.

Sources in both the parties told The News here on Tuesday that the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) had decided to field joint candidates wherever it would be considered necessary in order to scuttle any chances of the PML-Q contestants.

A tough and interesting contest in this constituency is on the cards.

However, it may become a one-sided affair in case both the parties jointly field Aitzaz, as the PPP veteran is equally acceptable to the PML-N. A formal decision will be taken shortly, the sources pointed out.

Another proposal being discussed in the party ranks is that Aitzaz should run in the by-polls from NA-123 (Lahore-VI).

This seat has also been vacated by Javed Hashmi.

In a big upset, former federal minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, who has been winning since 1985 from Rawalpindi, received a crushing defeat in both the constituencies -- NA-55 and from NA-56, Rawalpindi.

In NA-55, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi from the PML-N inflicted defeat on him with a margin of 61,200 votes while in NA-56, he was trounced by Mohammad Hanif Abbasi – also from the PML-N – with a margin of 73,433 votes.

"I shall not leave the field open for my rivals. Though, the party is yet to take a decision, but I am determined to take part in the by-elections at all costs," asserted Sheikh Rashid, who is also a senior-vice-president of the PML-Q.

Sources close to him told this correspondent that if the party did not award ticket to him, he could participate in the electoral fight as an independent candidate.

Immediately after the general elections, Sheikh Rashid had hinted at forming his own party, if his demands were not met by his party.

Commenting on the situation, PML Information Secretary Senator Tariq Azeem told The News that the party was in the process of consultations and a decision in this matter was yet to be taken.

When asked about speculations that Sheikh Rashid could be the party candidate once again, the senator said that he had also heard about this, but speculations were speculations!

Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad, Secretary Election Commission of Pakistan, said that the Commission would consider the possible date of by-elections after receiving a list of the vacated seats of the National Assembly from the NA speaker.

Asked what could be the likely date of the by-elections, he said that it was premature to speculate about the date, as the Election Commission would also wait for the seats vacated by the speakers of all the four provincial assemblies.

Aitzaz may be joint PPP-PML-N candidate from NA-55

 

[mujahideen]

Asif ticks off Aitzaz

NAUDERO: PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari is reported to have ticked off Aitzaz Ahsan in an after-dinner gathering of the PPP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) members in Naudero on the subject of the restoration of the judges, independence of the judiciary and the threatened long march by Aitzaz and his supporters. According to sources present on the occasion, Zardari took Aitzaz to task for constantly threatening to launch a long march to force parliament to restore Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the other deposed judges. Zardari advised Aitzaz to go ahead with his long march if he was so keen on it instead of constantly threatening the PPP about it. He told Aitzaz that he was wrong to think that the lawyers movement had forced General Pervez Musharraf to take off his uniform or hold the elections. He said that honour belonged to Benazir Bhutto who had compelled Musharraf to do so and paid for it with her life. He said the entire credit for restoration of democracy went to Ms Bhutto and Aitzaz and the judges and lawyers could not rob her of her victory. Zardari also reminded Aitzaz that while he was incarcerated for eight long years none of these heroic judges had given him justice, even when he had asked for one day’s reprieve to attend a funeral of a close relative. Zardari is reported to have said that Justice Chaudhry had politicised himself overtly and ruined his case as an advocate for an independent judiciary. He also cited other instances when some of these judges had not conducted themselves with any degree of integrity or independence in the past. Aitzaz tried a feeble defence but could not deflect Zardari’s irritation. “I thought Aitzaz would get up and leave but he just sat there,” said the source.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan