China, Pakistan vow to take strategic partnership to new high
Islamabad, Sep 8 : China and Pakistan pledged here on Saturday to push forward the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between them to a new high.
While meeting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi hailed the smooth and successful general elections in Pakistan in July, saying that China respects the choice made by the Pakistani people on their own will.
As Pakistan's good friend, good partner and good neighbour, China will stand firmly with the Pakistani side, Wang said, according to Xinhua news agency.
Wang is on a three-day visit to Pakistan. This is the first official visit by a Chinese dignitary since the new government was formed in Pakistan.
Stressing ties between China and Pakistan as an all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, Wang said relations between the two countries were established on the basis of long-term mutual understanding, mutual support and trust beyond party differences and government changes.
China and Pakistan are "iron brothers" who have forged a time-tested friendship, Wang said.
Beijing will help Islamabad in its efforts to realize new development targets, consolidate strategic mutual trust and strategic coordination and expedite the construction of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to elevate the level of all-round cooperation, he said.
For his part, Qureshi said the two countries were most reliable partners and the new government will always view its relations with Beijing as the cornerstone of Pakistan's foreign policy. Pakistan is also willing to work with China to strengthen anti-terrorism and defence, he said.
The new government is now pushing forward an ambitious reform agenda and is willing to learn from China's experiences on economic development, poverty relief, disaster reduction, anti-corruption and environmental protection, among which the promotion of CPEC is the priority, Qureshi said.
At a joint press conference after their meeting, Wang said the two sides also agreed to enhance cooperation on defence and security.
He also extended an invitation to Prime Minister Imran Khan to be the guest of honour at the International Import Expo in China. "The Chinese Foreign Minister has invited the Prime Minister to visit the country in November," Qureshi said.
Wang will also meet Khan, outgoing President Mamnoon Hussain, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa. He is also likely to meet President-elect Arif Alvi.
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36 ex-judges slam Opposition move to impeach Justice Swaminathan
New Delhi (PTI): Thirty-six former judges on Saturday gave a call to people, including parliamentarians, to denounce opposition leaders' move to impeach Madras High Court judge Justice G R Swaminathan, saying such an attempt, if allowed to proceed, would cut at the very roots of democracy and independence of the judiciary.
On December 1, Justice Swaminathan held that the Arulmighu Subramania Swamy Temple was duty-bound to light the lamp at the Deepathoon, in addition to the customary lighting near the Uchi Pillaiyar Mandapam.
The single-judge bench said that doing so would not encroach upon the rights of the adjacent dargah or the Muslim community.
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The order sparked a row, and on December 9, several opposition MPs, led by the DMK, submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to move a motion for the removal of the judge.
Taking serious exception to the move, the former judges in a joint statement said this is a "brazen attempt to browbeat judges who do not fall in line with the ideological and political expectations of a particular section of society".
"If such an attempt is permitted to proceed, it would cut at the very roots of our democracy and the independence of the judiciary," they said.
"We therefore call upon all stakeholders -- Members of Parliament across party lines, members of the Bar, civil society, and citizens at large -- to unequivocally denounce this move and ensure that it is nipped in the bud at the very inception," they added.
The statement emphasised that the judges must remain answerable to their oath and to the Constitution of India, not to "partisan political pressures or ideological intimidation".
"The message from all constitutional stakeholders must be clear and firm: in a republic governed by the rule of law, judgments are tested by appeals and legal critique, and not by threats of impeachment for political nonconformity," it said.
The statement was signed by former Supreme Court judge Krishn Murari J as well as ex-chief justices and former judges of different high courts.
The statement said the opposition party's move is not an "isolated aberration". It fits into a "clear and deeply troubling pattern" in India's recent constitutional history, where sections of the political class have sought to discredit and intimidate the higher judiciary whenever outcomes do not align with their interests, it added.
"The unprecedented bid in 2018 to initiate impeachment proceedings against then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, the sustained campaigns of vilification directed at Chief Justices Ranjan Gogoi, S A Bobde and D Y Chandrachud while they were in office," the statement noted.
"The targeted attacks now being mounted against the incumbent CJI, Justice Surya Kant, whenever a judgment/remark displeases a political constituency, are all manifestations of the same trend," it said.
"This is not principled, reasoned criticism of judicial decisions; it is an attempt to weaponise impeachment and public calumny as instruments of pressure -- a practice that strikes at the heart of judicial independence and the basic norms of constitutional democracy," the statement added.
