Choosing the chairmanon May 22, 2019Ruling on a petitoin against the appointment of Ali Arshad Hakeem as chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue in 2013, the Islamabad High Court held it illegal and ordered the government to appoint a more suitable person in his place. The petitioner, Ashfaq Ahmed, was a grade 19 officer of the Board. The court noted that the appointment had been made without a competitive process. This was … [Read more...] about Choosing the chairman
Authentic Islamic law can help global peaceon May 4, 2019Muslims make up a majority of the population in 49 countries of the world. Some form of Sharia law is in force in some of these countries. Even in countries where Sharia law is not nominally in force it has had an influence on the development of laws comparable to that of Judaic law on Western legal tradition.Terrorism and war crimes have been rampant in the Muslim world for quite some time … [Read more...] about Authentic Islamic law can help global peace
Defining terrorism – IIon April 8, 2019A major issue with the definition of terrorism in the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 is its inconvenient inclusiveness. The definition is so broad that a large number of cases end up in the special anti-terrorism courts. The state machinery is thus overburdened and some of the most important terrorism cases are delayed. This has also led to the establishment of military courts that have been hearing … [Read more...] about Defining terrorism – II
Defining terrorism – Ion April 7, 2019The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on the definition of 'terrorism'. The ruling will determine which crimes can be prosecuted under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.It may be helpful to review the meaning assigned to 'terrorism' in international jurisprudence. One can safely assert that while there is no universally agreed definition, a certain meaning can be discerned by looking at how … [Read more...] about Defining terrorism – I
Benami Act 2017; all glitter, no goldon March 27, 2019Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017 was passed with much patronage and endorsement by sections of the bureaucracy, lawyers and the media. The objective of the law is simple; prohibit holding Benami property, restrict the right to transfer Benami properties and provide a mechanism to confiscate Benami properties. What needs to be understood here is the meaning of the word Benami, even … [Read more...] about Benami Act 2017; all glitter, no gold
Who will watch the watchmen?on March 12, 2019It's a constitutional paradox, used over a plethora of events and circumstances.The phrase simply begs the question where accountability would stop? Socrates used it in relation to a guardian class of society, in modern terms it may mean the police. An institution to restrain crime, but who holds them accountable if they engage in criminal acts? Would the creation of another institution help? What … [Read more...] about Who will watch the watchmen?
Can India really stop Pakistan’s water?on February 26, 2019The Modi government has once again started threatening Pakistan, and is simultaneously building up domestic political support by announcing that it will divert the water from the Eastern Rivers from following into Pakistan. This announcement is a façade. Under the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), these three rivers, Sutlej, Beas and Ravi already belong to India and they can be used exclusively by India. … [Read more...] about Can India really stop Pakistan’s water?
Imran’s first constitutional amendmenton February 22, 2019For the past couple of months, the ambivalent debate on the effects of the eighteenth amendment has grasped the attention of the media, fueled in part by allegations from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) cadre that the amendment is in danger of repeal and the diatribes of members of the treasury benches against the damage caused to the federation by the eighteenth amendment. Whatever the merits … [Read more...] about Imran’s first constitutional amendment
How IMF is breaching human rightson January 29, 2019Recently, talks between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistan broke down. The real reason behind the breakdown in talks, at a stage where Pakistan is suffering from a balance of payments crisis, was the attempt of Imran Khan's newly elected government to avoid the unpopular economic decisions that the IMF put up as a condition of lending funds to the country. While many commentators … [Read more...] about How IMF is breaching human rights
The impeachment of Siddiquion October 24, 2018Themis was the Greek God of fairness, law and custom. Carrying a sword in one hand and the ‘Scales of Justice’ in the other, for her there was no middle way. The sword would help her sever fiction from fact, and the scales would allow her to evaluate the strength of arguments. Themis would never die, for she was a phenomenon; the giver of divine laws, an abstract concept that the Greeks placed … [Read more...] about The impeachment of Siddiqui
