Restore the Rule of Law in Pakistan: An Open Letter Commentary
Restore the Rule of Law in Pakistan: An Open Letter
Edited by: Jeremiah Lee

JURIST Guest Columnist Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja (Lahore High Court, ret.) and his colleagues at the Lahore University of Management Sciences Department of Law and Policy in Lahore, Pakistan, call on legal colleagues worldwide to raise their voices against the imposition of martial law in Pakistan…


By imposing an unconstitutional state of emergency throughout Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf has attacked the foundations of constitutional governance and rule of law. Claiming to act on behalf of the people, he has further divided and weakened our nation while blackening Pakistan’s image across the world.

For the first time in our history, riot police and plainclothed intelligence agents stormed the apex courthouses and brutalized thousands of lawyers, students, and citizens whose only crime was to exercise their democratic rights. Hundreds remain behind bars on fraudulent, non-bailable “terrorism” charges. There are credible reports that leaders of the bar are being tortured in solitary confinement under the jurisdiction of military intelligence. Currently 55 judges of the higher judiciary, including 15 of 19 Supreme Court justices, are being detained under house arrest for courageously refusing to submit an oath of loyalty to the military regime.

Under a new presidential ordinance, military courts have been authorized to courtmartial civilians on charges ranging from treason to “giving statements conducive to public mischief.” These are not the acts of an enlightened, moderate leader committed to a peaceful democratic transition. What Pakistan faces today is the subordination of every independent organ of state to unchecked and unaccountable military-executive power. These unlawful measures are being given retrospective sanction by the newly-constituted Supreme Court, comprised of those justices who, in submitting to the loyalty oath, have not only compromised their personal integrity but also the independence of the judiciary.

Under these extraordinary circumstances, the forthcoming elections will hold no legitimacy and offer no hope for resolving Pakistan’s grave crisis of governance. We, the undersigned faculty, students, and staff of the Department of Law and Policy, appeal to lawyers, judges, academics, students, and legal associations worldwide to raise your voices against martial law in Pakistan, to demand the release of all political prisoners and the reinstatement of all judges who refused to take the oath, and to urge your governments to press for genuine democracy rather than back-room deal-making.

Finally, we ask that you take a moment to send letters of support to those honorable Supreme Court justices who continue to stand for the rule of law despite threats and detention. Kindly circulate this request to your legal community and copy any such letters to lawfaculty@lums.edu.pk.

Thanking you for your support and solidarity,

Justice (Retd.) Jawwad S. Khawaja
Head of Department

Dr. Parvez Hassan
Advocate Supreme Court
Adjunct Faculty

Roger Normand
Associate Professor

Dr. Joseph Wilson
Associate Professor

Sadaf Aziz
Assistant Professor

Moeen Cheema
Assistant Professor

Sikander Ahmed Shah
Assistant Professor

Kamaluddin R. Ahmed
Visiting Faculty

Shehreen Najam
Teaching Fellow

Abdullah Malik
Adjunct Faculty

The authors of this letter are faculty members at the Lahore University of Management Sciences Department of Law and Policy in Lahore, Pakistan
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