Nepal's judiciary is still maintaining its independence:Pak lawyer

Kathmandu, December 12- Chairman of the Pakistani Human Rights Commission and UN Rapporteur on human rights in Pakistan, Asma Jahangir, said here sunday that Nepal’s judiciary is still maintaining its independence despite the political situation here being as crucial as in Pakistan. “I appreciate the judges and the lawyers in this country as the Supreme Court here is still playing an independent role,” Jahangir said. She added that in terms of judicial independence, Nepal’s judiciary was far ahead of Pakistan’s judiciary. Jahangir also said Nepal’s Supreme Court is playing an appreciable role in the present situation. She was speaking on human rights situation in Nepal at a programme organised by the Nepal Bar Association.

Citing instances of interference in the judiciary in her country, she said Pakistan’s and its army always want to influence the courts that and judges cannot work independently for a long time if there is no democratic political system. “Judges cannot resist for a long time, they have to surrender to the army’s and executive’s diktats because there is no strong opposition to them,” she added. “The starkest example is that our Supreme Court had to uphold the amendment of the Constitution, allowing military rule,” she said. “The executive and army always want to legitimise their role through the judiciary.” She said Nepal’s political situation was nearly identical to that in Pakistan and that the political parties and society of Nepal should learn from political developments in Pakistan. She also urged them to learn from the election conducted by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Speaking on the occasion, senior advocate and coordinator of the Human Rights and People’s Concern Committee of Nepal Bar Association, Bishwo Kanta Mainali, said the apex court of Nepal has been playing an important role in protecting the rights of the people.