Army coups borne out of injustice, says Altaf

History tells us that in every corrupt and unjust society someone from the armed forces rises to bring about a revolution against tyranny and suppression, said Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain. In his telephonic address at MQM headquarters Nine-Zero, he said he stood by his recent statements about the army, insisting that he had not said anything unconstitutional. He maintained that his comments were misconstrued by political opponents and he had only cited an example from history. He insisted that he had not invited the army to interfere in politics. “I had said that if the government gives orders to authorities or institutions that go against the country’s constitution and national interest, then those orders should not be obeyed,” he said. “Exploiters can neither appreciate nor understand my views, but the poor, the downtrodden and the patriotic can.” Many precedents can be found in the law, stated Altaf. He gave the example of Zahid Akhtar v/s Government of Punjab, where the Supreme Court in its judgment said that the basic principle of law is that the authorities should not obey unlawful orders of the government. In Asghar Khan v/s Gen Aslam Beg, the Supreme Court clearly accepts that the chief of the army staff and the ISI chief should have accepted lawful orders only. They should not accept the unlawful orders of the president, despite the fact that he is the supreme commander of the armed forces, the MQM chief maintained. Altaf said that when governor’s rule was imposed in Punjab during the previous government, Nawaz Sharif had asked the police and the security forces of Punjab not to accept the illegal orders. Published in The Express Tribune, March 21st, 2014.