VOA常速英语2007年-Pakistan Court Dismisses Challenges to Musharra

By Barry Newhouse
Islamabad
19 November 2007

Pakistan's Supreme¹ Court has dismissed the main legal challenges to General Pervez Musharraf's presidential re-election on October 6. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad the court struck down the challenges after one of the petitioners² argued that judges appointed by President Musharraf did not have the authority to decide legal challenges against him.

Pakistani Attorney General Malik Qayyum told television interviewers Monday the decision was based on a legal technicality.

He says the petitioners' lawyers explained that they did not have instructions from their clients on how to proceed with the case and so the cases were dismissed.

One of the main petitioners in the case, Wajihuddin Ahmed, says this is not true.

"My lawyer informed them that he did not recognize them as the Supreme Court. There is no Supreme Court now and therefore our case cannot be proceeded with. It is wrong."

General Musharraf replaced the Supreme Court judges with a new panel of justices after he announced emergency law earlier this month.

Pakistani journalists who were in the courtroom reported that when Ahmed's lawyer told the judges that his client did not recognize their authority, they threatened him with contempt of court.

The journalists said the lawyer was then given a choice of proceeding³ with the case and facing contempt charges or informing the court that he could not proceed because he did not have proper instructions from his client.

The other claimants faced similar procedural choices and dropped their challenges.

Journalists said the judges forbid them from reporting that the claimants argued that they did not recognize the court's authority.

Wajihuddin Ahmed is a former Supreme Court judge who resigned after General Musharraf seized power in 1999. He said because the new judges have sworn an oath to uphold General Musharraf's provisional constitutional ordinance⁴, or PCO, he was not surprised at the outcome.

"With the kind of judges we have there, the PCO judges, whom the legal fraternity does not recognize, whom the civil society does not recognize - this result was expected. It couldn't be otherwise," he said.

When he declared emergency rule earlier this month, President Musharraf had complained the former Supreme Court had been taking too long to rule on the challenges to his re-election, undermining the government. Many Pakistanis believe General Musharraf declared emergency rule and suspended the constitution because he thought the justices would rule against him.

Monday's decision appears to end the main legal challenges to his re-election, although at least one more is to be decided⁵ later this week. The president has said that after the high court rules on the challenges, clearing the way for the election commission to validate⁶ the vote, he will step down as army chief and take the presidential oath.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 petitioners   

n.请求人，请愿人( petitioner的名词复数 )；离婚案原告

参考例句：

• Petitioners suggest that anything less than certainty, that any speculation, is irresponsible. 申诉者认为不准确的事或推断都是不负责任的。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The judge awarded the costs of the case to the petitioners. 法官判定由这起案件的上诉人支付诉讼费用。 来自辞典例句

3 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

4 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。