Somersaults of Dr. Khalid Ranjha [Pakistan Bar Council].

Dr. Khalid Ranjha Senator - PML (Q) - Former Federal Law Minister under General Pervez Musharraf March 2003 to March 2009, Research Fellow Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. (London University) Ph. D.(Lond), LL. D.(Lond), LL.B.(Punjab), B.A. (Government College Lahore). Achievements: 1. Member Punjab Bar Council (3 Terms) 2. Vice-Chairman Punjab Bar Council, 3. President, Lahore High Court Bar, Association (Twice), 4. Advocate General Punjab (Twice), 5. Judge, Lahore High Court Lahore., 6. Law, Minister, Minorities Govt. of Punjab., 7. Federal, Law minister (Govt. of Pakistan) & Human Rights. Reference: Pakistan Senate http://www.senate.gov.pk/ShowMemberDetail.asp?MemberCode=390&CatCode=0&CatName=

As per 1973 Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan

PART I

6. (1) Any person who abrogates or attempts or conspires to abrogate, subverts or attempts or conspires to subvert the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.

(2) Any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause (1) shall likewise be guilty of high treason.

(3) [Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] shall by law provide for the punishment of persons found guilty of high treason.

An accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offense.

ISLAMABAD, Oct 28: The Pakistan Bar Council nominated on Thursday Dr Khalid Ranjha, a former law minister and PML-Q Senator, as member of the Judicial Commission. The JC is expected to meet for the first time on Saturday. Dr Ranjha’s name was recommended by the PBC after holding a ballot in which he defeated renowned jurist, Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, by four votes. Eighteen members of the PBC’s executive committee took part in the poll. Dr Ranjha bagged 11 votes and Mr Ebrahim seven. With the nomination of Dr Ranjha the composition of the seven-member JC has been completed. After an interim short order by the Supreme Court on challenges to the 18th Amendment, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has formed the JC under Article 175-A of the Constitution. It has replaced the old system of appointment of superior court judges.

Ahsan zia Studio One Khalid Ranjha &Tariq Shabir part 1

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1TBclZ5obs

The chief justice is chairman of the commission. It comprises two senior judges of the Supreme Court, a former chief justice or former judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the chief justice, federal law minister, attorney general and a senior advocate nominated by the PBC for two years. The chief justice has nominated Justice Javed Iqbal and Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan as members of the JC. He also nominated Justice (retd) Ali Hussain Qazilbash, a former judge of the Supreme Court, for a two-year term. Dr Ranjha’s name was proposed by Yasin Azad and seconded by Aziz Akbar Beg at a meeting presided over by PBC vice-chairman Kazim Khan.

Ahsan zia Studio One Khalid Ranjha &Tariq Shabir part 2

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po2B3wZbih4&feature=related

The name of Mr Ebrahim was proposed by Rasheed A. Razvi, president of the Sindh High Court Bar Association, and seconded by Hamid Khan. This is the second defeat for the powerful Hamid Khan group in two days. On Wednesday, Asma Jahangir defeated the group’s candidate, Ahmad Awais, in a hotly-contested election to the presidency of the Supreme Court Bar Association. “Mr Ebrahim called me from Karachi soon after the election results were announced to lament why his name was proposed without seeking his consent first,” claimed Tariq Mehmood while talking to Dawn. It was really an embarrassing situation for a towering personality like Mr Ebrahim, he said. Hamid Khan expressed reservations over the nomination of Dr Ranjha. An impartial member of the bar should have been nominated to the JC as the body would appoint future judges in the higher judiciary, he said. Mr Ebrahim was an appropriate candidate because he was impartial and neutral, Mr Hamid added. SINDH NOMINEE: The Sindh Bar Council has proposed the name of Yasin Khan Babar to represent it in the JC for elevating judges to the Sindh High Court. REFERENCE: Bar council elects Khalid Ranjha as JC member By Nasir Iqbal Friday, 29 Oct, 2010 http://news.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/bar-council-elects-khalid-ranjha-as-jc-member-900

Ahsan zia Studio One Khalid Ranjha &Tariq Shabir part 3

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHEWZr2DLR4&feature=related

LAHORE, Sept 22: Gen Pervez Musharraf needs no ratification by parliament of his election as president by virtue of the April 30 referendum nor is he required to seek a fresh election to retain himself as the head of state for the next five years, Law Minister Dr Khalid Ranjha said. Talking to Dawn, he said if new parliament was of the view that it could not work with Gen Musharraf, it would be free to oust him through impeachment, the procedure for which had been laid down in the Constitution. The minister said that the election of the president through the referendum had been made part of the Legal Framework Order and incorporated in the 1973 Constitution, which was now in abeyance. The day the Constitution was revived, the LFO would be part of it, which would mean that the referendum would enjoy the constitutional cover. In such a situation, he said, the election of Gen Musharraf as president would be fait accompli for new parliament and the general would be under no obligation to seek a fresh election. Asked what would new parliament have to do to oust the president if it was of the opinion that it could not co-exist with him, the minister said impeachment was the only method available to legislators. Under the 1973 Constitution, the president may be impeached by a two-thirds majority of the bicameral legislature. REFERENCE: Musharraf needs no parliament nod: Ranjha By Ashraf Mumtaz DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending : 28 September 2002 Issue:08/39 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/2002/sep282002.html#mush

Ahsan zia Studio One Khalid Ranjha &Tariq Shabir part 4

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmLsJhVWZ30&feature=related

"Is somebody appearing on behalf of General (retired) Musharraf," asked the chief justice to a deathly silence in the courtroom. Later, Khalid Ranjha, a member of the former military ruler's legal team, told reporters that Musharraf did not need to personally appear in the court as he was not an 'accused or a respondent or a party' to the matter being heard by the court. "I don't know where the idea that he (Musharraf) is supposed to appear (in court) came from," the lawyer argued. He explained that only once a person is an accused or a party, he is to be represented (by his counsel). The lawyer claimed that "the case being heard by the Supreme Court related to certain judges of the Sindh High Court and there is no question of Pervez Musharraf either appearing or representing himself". Ranjha also claimed that the notice issued by the apex court made it clear that Musharraf "may or may not give his views". REFERENCE: Musharraf fails to respond to Pak SC's summons July 29, 2009 15:52 IST http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/jul/29/musharraf-fails-to-respond-to-pak-sc-summons.htm

Ahsan zia Studio One Khalid Ranjha &Tariq Shabir part 5

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYLJy457L2E&feature=related

ISLAMABAD, Aug 30: Federal Law Minister Dr Khalid Ranjha rejected the notion that checks in the constitutional amendments were aimed only for the prime minister. He was responding to a question from audience at a special program on the amendments on BBC World's current affairs weekly program, Question Time Pakistan. Former information minister and Millat Party Senior Vice-President Javed Jabbar, prominent lawyers, ex-federal law minister Barrister Khalid Anwar, constitutional experts and former Sindh governor Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim were other panelists. Ranjha said: "Though the president has checks on prime minister, Parliament and the Supreme Court have checks on the president." He said that under the Constitution, the prime minister was going to be the chief executive of the country. "Everything which is to be done is to be done by him", he noted. The minister said the president had no power whatsoever apart from two things: He could appoint the army chief and he was chief of the army. Referring to the checks on the president, the minister pointed out that the parliament could impeach him. Ranjha said the Supreme Court could overturn the presidential order when he would exercise 58(2) B to sack prime minister or the government. This was another check on the president, he added. To another question, Dr Ranjha said the amendments were aimed at peaceful transition, and this was the mechanism of reverting back to civil government under the Constitution of 1973. REFERENCE: Parliament can impeach president, says Ranjha DAWN WIRE SERVICE Week Ending: 31 August 2002 Issue:08/35 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/2002/aug312002.html#parl

ISLAMABAD, Nov 7: Sources confirm that a proposal to amend the Constitution for removing the restriction of defection was mooted by Dr Khalid Ranjha to help the PML-Q muster the required support to form a government. They say the federal law minister, an applicant for the PML-Q ticket to Senate, had proposed the president to amend Article 63 (A), which provides that the floor-crossing would not be an offence. The proposal, however, was shot down by the president after soliciting opinion from his other legal advisers, out of the law ministry, who were of the view that the amendmend would earn a bad name for the government, which after thorough discussions had amended the Article 63 (A). If it was again amended, especially at a time when the efforts to form the next government, were afoot, the move would be criticised nationally and internationally, they warned Mr Musharraf. The PML-Q, after mooting the idea for removing the defection clause, was so much confident of its approval that it leaked the story to a private channel before its formal endorsement. Dr Ranjha, who was brought to Islamabad to fill the position which fell vacant after the removal of Shahida Jameel in March this year, has already got a law passed to help himself and some other sitting ministers. He has had approved the law which barred the politicians defeated in the Oct 10 polls to vie for the Senate election. Mian Azhar, Fakhr Imam, Begum Abida Hussain and some other leaders would be affected by this law. It was amended on the pretext that those who have been rejected by the people should not be allowed to enter the corridors of power through any other channel. But, on the other hand, this would help at least four sitting ministers — Javed Ashraf Qazi, Shaukat Aziz, Dr Khalid Ranjha and Moinuddin Haider — who have applied for the PML-Q ticket to contest the Senate polls. REFERENCE: Law minister’s move fails By Rafaqat Ali November 8, 2002 Friday Ramazan 2,1423 http://www.dawn.com/2002/11/08/top4.htm

ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday signed the nomination papers as a candidate for the presidential election with Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro and the Speaker of the National Assembly Chaudhry Amir Hussain as his covering candidates. “Yes, the president has signed the nomination papers with his covering candidates,” said Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Senator Tariq Azeem while talking to The News on Tuesday. The president signed the nomination papers during a meeting held at the President Camp Office. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, PML Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed, both the covering candidates of the president, besides his legal aides, attended the meeting. Tariq Azeem also confirmed that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the chief ministers of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, the PML NWFP President Amir Muqam and all the parliamentary leaders of the allied parties of the ruling coalition were among those who proposed and seconded the nomination papers of the president. Senior Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal, Minister for Environment Faisal Saleh Hayat, Interior Minster Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afgan Niazi, Communication Minister Shamim Siddiqui, Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri, State Minister for Education Anisa Zaib Tahir Kheli, former president Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari, Senator Nisar Memon, Ahsan-ul-Haq, MNA Shahbaz Hussain, Senator Dr Khalid Ranjha, Justice (retd) Razzaq Thaheem and Zubaida Jalal were also among the proposers and seconders of the nomination papers of the president. According to sources, the nomination papers of the president would be submitted by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Islamabad at the office of the Election Commission of Pakistan while at the provincial headquarters, the chief ministers of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan will submit the nomination papers of the president. In the NWFP, PML President, NWFP, Amir Muqam will submit the nomination papers of the president.

Meanwhile, welcoming the PPP decision to nominate Makhdoom Amin Fahim as a party candidate for the presidential election, Minister of State for Information Tariq Azeem said it was a good sign for the democratic traditions in the country. “Rather than threatening to block the legal issue, it is better to become a part of the legal and constitutional process,” he added. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has summoned the meeting of all the proposers and seconders of the nomination papers of President General Pervez Musharraf at the Prime Minister House today (Wednesday) to devise a strategy for all the phases of the presidential election. President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday left for Quetta from where he will kick off his election campaign. PML sources told The News that President Musharraf might not file his nomination papers, which would be submitted to the Election Commission Secretariat here and its four stations in the provincial capitals on September 27.

The Supreme Court’s nine-member bench judgment in various petitions, challenging President Musharraf’s holding of dual offices, is expected on the day of the filing of nomination papers. Sources in the Election Commission of Pakistan told this correspondent that about 20 nomination papers were obtained from the head office here. Maulvi Iqbal Haider, the Chairman of Awami Himayat Tehrik, was among those who secured the papers. He told The News that he would be challenging the lawyers’ presidential candidate and maintained that he had a reason to do that. Senior Election Commission officials reviewed the preparations for the presidential election, slated for October 06, sources said. According to Secretary Election Commission Kanwar Muhammad Dilshad, a presidential candidate was not required to personally file the nomination papers. He can authorise any person to do the needful. REFERENCE: President signs nomination papers Wednesday, September 26, 2007 http://www.thenews.com.pk/print3.asp?id=10312

ISLAMABAD: Dr. Khalid Ranjha, who has been nominated as the Pakistan Bar Council’s representative in the Judicial Commission, says partisanship is his religion, a statement which raises many questions about his role in the Commission. Ranjha has a history of serving as the devil’s advocate, a fact that he doesn’t repent. He rather proudly told The News “dhara dharm hota hey” (partisanship is his religion). Ranjha’s own admission of practising partisanship at such a high level raises questions about his future conduct as a member of the Commission, especially when his past is also not enviable. Khalid Ranjha was the righthand man of Gen. Pervez Musharraf in the latter’s heydays and had appeared as the leading lawyer in the presidential reference filed against the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Now he will again be sitting in the Commission supporting or opposing nominations of the CJ with respect to the appointment of new judges. “I would be looking for an independent judiciary through the right process of appointments,” Ranjha told The News. He does not have any regret for defending the villains of his time, the likes of Gen. Pervez Musharraf, former Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Ch. Muhammad Iftikhar, former Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and others. He did not object when this correspondent called him the devil’s advocate.

Dr. Ranjha was first considered close to the PML-N leadership in the last decade, who had him appointed as an additional judge of the Lahore High Court but did not confirm him after the prescribed probation period of one-year. “Mian Nawaz Sharif thought I’m not a competent man,” Ranjha said when asked the reason of his removal. Later, it was Sharif’s bitter opponent, Gen. Pervez Musharraf whom Ranjha would serve as the law minister. He was also at the forefront defending Musharraf’s folly of removing Iftikhar Chaudhry as the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Ranjha remained the law minister before the general elections of 2002, faced rebukes from bar associations for serving a dictator and had his bar membership cancelled but this exercise of pressuring him into submission of democratic values failed to yield results. As the general elections were held, he was rewarded by the PML-Q, a party formed by the military establishment. Ranjha was made a senator on the party ticket and received government cases in return of hefty fees.

He decided to defend Musharraf when even the PML-Q leadership was feeling shy from supporting the presidential reference. Ranjha then emerged as the leading lawyer defending the reference against the chief justice and during this course, he also faced condemnation and physical assault from the legal fraternity. However, he was a man with determination and a great defender of Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar. When asked, Ranjha said he was actually the defender of Justice Ch. Iftikhar. Hearing this from him caught this correspondent offguard and hence he was asked again and he gave the same reply. Ranjha said he was an ardent supporter of the then Lahore High Court Chief Justice Ch. Iftikhar, not of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the Chief Justice of Pakistan. The LHC CJ was instrumental in hatching conspiracies against Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. REFERENCES: Villains’ defender, CJ’s opponent proud of being partisan By Umar Cheema Friday, October 29, 2010 Zi Qad 20, 1431 A.H. http://www.thenews.com.pk/29-10-2010/Top-Story/1664.htm