Our varying standards of constitutional due process

A 42-year-old hardworking, honest teacher at a government school in Rabwah was brutally tortured by police. The injuries he sustained led to his untimely demise. His name was Abdul Qudoos. The irony is that this law-abiding citizen for God knows what reason was picked up as a suspect in a murder investigation but was never formally charged. In a blatant violation of the constitutional rights guaranteed to the citizens of Pakistan under Article 10 of the Constitution, which requires production before a magistrate within 24 hours of the arrest beyond which custody is unlawful, Qudoos was tortured for many days and only allowed to go after it looked like he was not going to survive. 

Travel to Israel on Pakistani Passport: Law and Penalties

 By Yasser Latif Hamdani

I was asked to determine whether any penalties existed for a citizen and national of Pakistan carrying a Pakistani passport and travelling to Israel.   The short answer is yes: it is prohibited under law and subject to imprisonment of up to one (01) year or fine or both.   The detailed answer is as follows:

Process of Appointment of Superior Judiciary in Pakistan Part II

By Zeeshan Zafar Hashmi

The primary argument against the procedure of appointment of the superior judiciary as laid out in the Al-Jehad Trust case was that it placed too much power in the hands of the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Since the consultation of the Chief Justice was considered as binding, it was thought that this increased the chances of a Chief Justice exercising his power to appoint judges arbitrarily rather than having accord to qualifications such as seniority.

Furthermore, it was argued that the appointment procedure reduced the role of the executive to that of a rubber stamp, as the President’s reasons for rejecting a nominee of the chief justice could ultimately be struck down by the Court under the aegis of the Chief Justice. This did not seem to be resulting in an “efficient” operation of the constitution, in the words of British economist Walter Bagehot.