Is Pakistan Heading into Another Martial Law?

As the political turmoil in the country intensifies, there are speculations that the country might end up under another martial law situation. President Zardari’s constitutional position and the Supreme Court’s verdict on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) are in stark contrast and some legal experts are voicing the possibility of military forcing President Zardari to step down the presidency.

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Lately, the Supreme Court of Pakistan has annulled the NRO and reckoned it unconstitutional, thus necessitating the accountability of dozens of political figures, including President Zardari, who benefitted from the NRO by avoiding trial for corruption. Now the apex court seeks to try the president for the charges of corruption, particularly for his controversial Swiss account assets.

However, the issue becomes complicated due to the constitutional right-cum-immunity of a president that he/she cannot be tried in any court in Pakistan. Thus, the court becomes helpless in bringing the president to a trial. Now, a number of expert lawyers are talking about the possibility that the apex court may seek the assistance of the military to implement NRO and the court’s verdict. Since the president has the constitutional immunity, his side is likely to legally challenge the court’s verdict.

In such a case, if things seem to be coming to a stalemate, a military takeover may be the nearest possibility in Pakistan’s near political future. Discussing the political turmoil in the country, an anchor of a private TV Channel commented last evening that whoever loses the support of the United States, becomes a victim of a plane crash or an NRO controversy – pointing to the foreign influence on the country’s political whirlwind. There was even the mention of Pervez Musharraf returning to Pakistan and running for the country’s political leadership. The current situation in the country is confusing, though it is pretty much clear that ‘what goes around, comes around.’