The May 12 deadline ended without the promised restoration of the 60 judges of the superior judiciary, deposed with the promulgation of emergency. Increasing attention will now be on the possible consequences of restoring the democratic process amid fading hopes of the nation for the redressal of their grievances. There can be two probable consequences; first, the situation is likely to damage the brewing consensus among the religious and political parties that was seen for the first time. Some allege that this was an opportunity to create a dent in the status quo. Second, the civil society whose cooperation was necessary for democracy will increasingly distance itself from the political groups.

What will be the possible response of the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) towards an eventuality? The government has already shown its willingness to adopt three old tested methods. Chief Minister Sindh announced an ‘incentive package’ for lawyers during his meeting with the selected members of the Sindh Bar Council for obvious reasons a day before the deadline. The premier reportedly held a meeting with the supposed forward bloc members from the former ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), in order to secure majority for rule as PML-N withdraws its support. This gives rise to suspicions that defections might be encouraged. Besides, reports allege that the leadership of the PML-Q is being changed to make it more acceptable for Asif Zardari. However, the most disturbing is that the government intends to put restrictions on media.

As the deadline coincided with the killings of over 40 people in Karachi during foiled visit of the former chief justice to address lawyers’ gathering at the Sindh High Court last year, legal and civil society supported by political parties held rallies and seminars, criticising the government’s lack of interest in holding inquiry of the incidents. A seminar organised by the Women’s Action Forum (WAF) at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) urged the government to declare Karachi weapons-free city and set up an inquiry commission led by the deposed judges to establish the identities and the motives of the killers, who held the metropolis hostage on that day with a virtual absence of the law enforcement agencies. Lawyers and journalists also held programmes at the KPC, denouncing the government moves towards judiciary and media.

There is a perception that the government’s reluctance to restore the judges was a result of internal and external pressures. The US ambassador has also provided some insight in this regard during her meeting with the corporate sector leaders in the city, when she insisted going beyond the presidency of Pervez Musharraf. The participants also drew attention of the envoy towards her government’s pressure on Pakistan to cancel IPI (India-Pakistan-Iran) gas pipeline, which was urgently required in the wake of the current energy crisis.

Perceived external pressure is also seen on the nuclear programme. The French envoy speaking at a gathering of the English Speaking Union said that they wanted answers of “certain questions” about the Dr. A.Q. Khan network. This issue was also raised during a seminar by the Pakistan Peace Coalition on impacts of the nuclearisation on social development in South Asia where speakers said that the Pentagon is black-mailing the government of Pakistan over nuclear programme to continue support to its war on terror.

However, the French envoy’s observations that the military means can only be used for creating an environment conducive to dialogue with the militants merit comment. Use of military means makes sense only when there is a clear military target. The militants reportedly rely on a small network of people, hiding here or there, which doesn’t require military means. Secondly, the military means often result in tragedies, which are regrettably dismissed as “collateral damage.”

Not only is the judiciary, the government’s performance on other fronts is also less impressive. One such front is the law and order. The city police reportedly launched an ‘operation’ against the gangsters in Lyari, which resulted in the tragic death of a school girl and other innocent people, prompting the police authorities to cancel the same. The police chief’s press conference is welcomed as it sounds like the right prescription for reforming “the police culture” and setting up a special unit to deal with the so-called honour killings with help of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). His promise of disarming political parties in an ‘impartial manner’ needs to be seen. Unfortunately, the past few incidents do not support his words. There is widely held perception that the police were siding with one gang in Lyari against another, who allegedly enjoyed tacit support by the past regime.

Meanwhile, the release of Baloch leader, Akhter Mengal, by the government after one year in Central Jail on ‘terrorism charges’, was a positive occurrence that took place recently. Linking his release with the reconciliation efforts, the former chief minister advocated confidence building measures like release of disappeared persons, withdrawal of the troops and return and rehabilitation of displaced persons for resolving the Balochistan conflict.

As the deposed judges had also taken a suo moto notice of “enforced disappearances” in Balochistan, the chief of Balochistan National Party (BNP) deemed the independence of judiciary necessary to address grievances of the smaller provinces.