Justice Bhagwandas, one of the most respected justices in the supreme court, speaks on the current situation and the illegality of his and the other other justices house arrest… This is rare as the Justice never gives statements..
One has to wonder why if Musharaf chamchas and the dictator himself are so secure in their own support among the people, why the insist on keeping the justices in house arrest, not allowing them visitors or calls… This dictator knows full well that if the Justices and Chief Justice in particular were allowed their freedom, they would rouse so many supporters as to leave the Dictator humiliated and shrunken…
God bless Justice Bhagwandas and the other brave justices fighting the dictatorship…
Call to release Pakistan judges
Lawyers have led anti-government protests this year
One of Pakistan’s most senior judges has criticised the international response to the state of emergency.
Rana Bagwan Das was among Supreme Court members sacked when President Musharraf suspended the constitution last month.
The international community was not doing enough to restore democracy in Pakistan, Mr Bagwan Das told the BBC.
He said January general elections could not be free and fair unless he and his colleagues were re-instated and the rule of law restored.
President Musharraf says he will end emergency rule on 15 December.
He stood down as army chief and was sworn in for a new term as civilian president at the end of November.
‘No legal basis’
Mr Bagwan Das made his remarks in a rare interview from his home in Islamabad.
Bhutto and Sharif both say their parties will take part in elections
“The international community seems oblivious to the ground realities and the fundamental human rights of the citizens of Pakistan. Whatever has been said and done is quite insufficient and inadequate,” he told the BBC by mobile phone.
Mr Bagwan Das said he and his colleagues were living under virtual house arrest, with police preventing them from leaving their housing complex.
They were not allowed to receive visitors and their main phone lines had been disconnected, he said.
There was no legal basis for their detention, Mr Bagwan Das said, because no warrant of arrest or detention order had been issued against them.
The BBC’s Jill McGivering in Islamabad, who conducted the interview, says the plight of the former chief justice and these senior judges lies at the heart of the current political crisis.
Their growing opposition was cited by President Musharraf as a main reason for imposing the state of emergency. The other was rising militancy in the country.
Opposition figures Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto are both calling for the sacked judges to be re-instated.
But both now also say their parties will contest the elections anyway, under protest.
Western diplomats, too, seem resigned to the judges’ dismissal. They want stability in Pakistan and more progress in the battle against militants.
Pushing ahead with elections may seem more important than fighting for the return of the judges, our correspondent says.
**