Topic of the day:-“Recent disqualifications”
It is not only Mr. Sharif who has been removed from the Prime Minister’s Office by the Supreme Court in recent years — in 2012 so was Yousuf Raza Gilani of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who had been elected following Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, when the PPP formed the government in 2008. Moreover, following Mr. Sharif’s ouster in July 2017 and his diatribe against the judiciary, in the last few days, one Senator of his party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), has also been disqualified for making statements against Supreme Court judges. And two ministers have been issued notices for contempt of court, and asked to present themselves at the Supreme Court to explain themselves, also for making statements against the Supreme Court judges. For the moment, selective judicial activism has replaced military interference and adventurism as the dominant force against democratic voice and representation on the political map of Pakistan.
With Pakistan dominated by the military for many decades, all conspiracy theories regarding changes in government, or the dismissal of Prime Ministers, naturally land on the military’s door. Hence, many retired generals and analysts stated, without offering any proof that Mr. Sharif’s dismissal by the Supreme Court was on the behest of the military, rather than a decision made independently by the court. While the military may not have been unhappy with the decision, such speculation takes away all independent agencies being exercised by a Supreme Court which has found a new life and mission over the last decade.
In the past when the military has rightly been seen as Pakistan’s main anti-democratic institution, it had always been the Supreme Court which provided constitutional cover to military regimes. Under a notion of the ‘Doctrine of Necessity’, the Supreme Court legitimised the three military takeovers — in 1958, 1977 and 1999. Each time, while the military regime differed as did its actions, the Court came to support such anti-democratic intervention, allowing ample space for military rule in Pakistan. For almost all of Pakistan’s history, the Supreme Court has been complicit in military rule in Pakistan. Some lawyers, who have analysed the role of the judiciary since 1947, have made the argument that this support has not been simply on account of military pressure, but because the judges of the superior court themselves, and independently, shared the same world view as the military and were happy to articulate their position when called upon.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
- Deposed
Meaning: Remove from office suddenly and forcefully.
Example: He had been deposed by a military coup.
Synonyms: overthrow, overturn
- Debarred
Meaning: Exclude or prohibit (someone) officially from doing something.
Example: First-round candidates were debarred from standing.
Synonyms: Exclude, Ban
Antonyms: Admit, Allow
- Reinvigorated
Meaning: Give new energy or strength to.
Example: We are fully committed to reinvigorating the economy of the area.
Synonyms: Re- energize, Strengthen
Antonyms: Tire
- Stipulated
Meaning: Demanded or specified, typically as part of an agreement.
Example: The stipulated time has elapsed.
- Posit
Meaning: Put forward as fact or as a basis for argument.
Example: The Confucian view posits a perfectible human nature.
Synonyms: Postulate, Put forward
- Affront
Meaning: An action or remark that causes outrage or offence.
Example: He took his sons desertion as a personal affront.
Synonyms: Insult, Offence
Antonyms: Compliment
- Delegitimized
Meaning: Withdraw legitimate status or authority from.
Example: The country has been delegitimized by the world community.
- Ouster
Meaning: Removal from the jurisdiction of the courts.
Example: He stated that there is a presumption against the ouster of the jurisdiction of courts.
Synonyms: Overthrow, Removal
- Diatribe
Meaning: A forceful and bitter verbal attack against someone or something.
Example: A diatribe against consumerism.
Synonyms: Condemnation, Criticism
- Contempt
Meaning: (Contempt of Court) The crime of refusing to obey an order made by a court; not showing respect for a court or judge
Example: When he was found to have lied to the House this was a contempt.
Synonyms: Disrespect, Disregard
Antonyms: Respect
- Activism
Meaning: The policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change.
Example: Growing activism on the abortion issue.
Synonyms: Fanaticism, Radicalism
- Adventurism
Meaning: The willingness to take risks in business or politics; actions or attitudes regarded as reckless or potentially hazardous.
Example: To make such a claim is nothing but reckless adventurism.
- Conspiracy
Meaning: A secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.
Example: A conspiracy to destroy the government.
Synonyms: Plot, Scheme
- On the military’s door
Meaning: Regard someone as responsible for something.
Example: The failure is laid at the door of the government.
Synonyms: Blame something on, Attribute something to
- Behest
Meaning: A person’s orders or command.
Example: They had assembled at his behest.
Synonyms: Instruction, Bidding
- Speculation
Meaning: The forming of a theory or conjecture without firm evidence.
Example: This is pure speculation on my part.
Synonyms: Conjecture, Theorizing
- Exercised
Meaning: Use or apply (a faculty, right, or process)
Example: Control is exercised by the Board.
Synonyms: Use, Employ
- Regimes
Meaning: A government, especially an authoritarian one.
Example: Ideological opponents of the regime
Synonyms: Government, Authorities
- Notion
Meaning: A conception of or belief about something.
Example: Children have different notions about the roles of their parents.
Synonyms: Idea, Belief, Concept
- Legitimised
Meaning: (Make legitimate); Conforming to the law or to rules.
Example: Voters legitimize the government through the election of public officials.
Synonyms: Validate, Legitimate, Permit
Antonyms: illegal, illegitimate
