A university professor, Judge Law Degree and Ruling regime
Professor Riaz from Karachi University was abducted and released within hours—a routine occurrence in the context of Karachi and Pakistan. However, this abduction is tied to the very survival of the current Pakistani regime in 2024.
Context
On February 8, despite severe repression and restrictions on PTI/Imran Khan, the people of Pakistan overwhelmingly voted, making IK/PTI and independents the largest political bloc. Alarmed by this, the regime, led by the ECP and controlled by the military establishment, altered the vote count, transferring over 80 seats from PTI to the PDM Alliance. This manipulation occurred in broad daylight, in full view of the world media.
Disappointed PTI candidates appealed to the ECP, but their appeals were swiftly rejected. The next step in the appeal process involved Election Tribunals, presided over by High Court judges. This initiated a new confrontation between the judiciary and the ECP, military establishment, and ruling alliance.
The 6 Judges
Six judges from the Islamabad High Court reported to the Chief Justice that intelligence agencies were interfering and pressuring them to rule in favor of cases connected to Imran Khan and PTI. Despite the Chief Justice's efforts to downplay the case, the Supreme Court was compelled to hear it, and the case remains pending.
One of these six judges, Justice Mehmood Jahangiri, became a central figure in the tribunal battle.
The Stakes
Islamabad holds three National Assembly seats. For the past three elections, PTI has consistently won these seats. Pre-election polls for 2024 strongly favored PTI. Early election night results showed PTI candidates leading by large margins, and even the official Form 45 (the first official result from each polling station) confirmed PTI's victories. However, the ECP altered the final result, declaring the ruling regime's candidates as the winners.
This case, among many others, landed in various tribunals across Pakistan.
The dispute over the three Islamabad seats was assigned to Justice Mahmood Jehangiri's Election Tribunal.
As the case progressed, the fraudulent activities started to surface, making it clear that these three seats would be awarded to PTI.
This could trigger a flood of challenges to other contested seats, potentially leading to the collapse of the ruling regime. even the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Qazi, who initially orchestrated the removal of PTI from the election by taking away its symbol, along with Chief Justice Amer Farooq—both key defenders of the ruling regime—would be powerless to stop it.
If the ruling regime loses these three seats, the entire system could crumble, paving the way for Imran Khan's release from jail. The ruling regime, fearing retaliation, sought to prevent this tribunal from deciding the cases.
The regime attempted to delay proceedings, appealed to the ECP to halt the tribunal, and even transferred the case to a retired judge, violating legal procedures. When these tactics failed, they questioned the authenticity of Justice Jehangiri's law degree.
Justice Jehangiri has been involved in law for nearly 40 years, serving as Attorney General, running his own law practice, and eventually becoming a judge of the Islamabad High Court.
However, the regime's determination to eliminate any obstacles in its path is so intense that it will stop at nothing.
In the earlier letter from the six judges to the Supreme Court, they mentioned how the brother of one judge was abducted and tortured to force compliance with agency demands. In another incident, a judge's father was abducted. The judges' failure to report these cases at the time reveals the harassment they face in their work environment. It was only the collective strength of the six judges that enabled them to come forward with their experiences.
Returning to the fake degree challenge, Karachi University, where Justice Jahangiri earned his law degree, was pressured to declare the degree fake. Some officials resisted, including Professor Riaz.
Yesterday, as the university officials were set to decide on the degree matter, Professor Riaz was abducted to prevent him from interfering in the rejection process.
Upon release, Prof Riaz spoke about his ordeal the potential fraud that University officials were trying to do by declaring Justice Jehangiri’s degree as fake. Due to his stand, this matter has been halted for the moment.
This is just one of many stories circulating about how the regime is attempting to block Imran Khan's return to power.
Ref:
2. https://www.dawn.com/news/1844108/sjc-moved-against-ihc-judge-after-degree-controversy
3. https://www.dawn.com/news/1845274
4. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2471144/ihc-bars-election-tribunals-hearing
