The CJP was addressing participants of a two-day-long international conference on 'Peace Through Law'. According to him, strict adherence to Constitution and law would leave no room for terrorism, hence the government should adopt constitutional ways to cope with terrorist organisations. Stressing the need for peace among "nations, states and institutions", Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary said that respecting national and international laws guarantees peace.
Pakistan, he said, was facing a situation where peace seemed a distant dream because "we are paying the price for our past sins". "It is unfortunate that for a long period of time, we did not treat the Constitution with the sanctity it deservers." "Scholars are unanimous in reaching the conclusion that successive violations of the Constitution and deviation from rule of law led us astray and eroded the rule of law in Pakistan."
The CJP pointed out that the country's leadership should not only be aware of challenges faced by the people, but it should also have the capacity and inclination to take on these challenges and provide workable solutions. He expressed the hope that a combination of factors such as an independent and assertive judiciary, an effective media presence and confident civil society (organisation) could help produce good leadership in the country that commanded people's respect in real. "Media is a keen and independent observer. It makes people aware about the rule of law."
He said that India and Pakistan were facing similar challenges. Terming the fragmentation of humankind unfortunate, the CJP said that the humankind's splintering was without an understanding of the true spirit of such religious thoughts and philosophies.
"Deep-rooted rifts have given rise to terrorism, bloodshed, extra-judicial killings, human right violations and other evils that are perpetuating extremism and radicalism and affecting global peace. The best way to address these issues is through bridging the gaps among individuals and states by common understanding and sharing of knowledge about law, peace and religion," CJP added.
Islam, he said, was a religion of peace and there were historical examples where Islamic institutions and leaders solved national issues through peace. Many judges of the Supreme Court, Lahore High Court (LHC), Islamabad High Court and Sindh High Court and senior bar members also participated in the conference. Lawyers' from India were also among the participants.
President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of India Pravin H Parekh said although Pakistan and India had been involved in a lot of conflicts, there had been incessant efforts on the part of the people, civil society organisations and the judiciary, and recently even governments of both countries. He said India and Pakistan inherited common law legacies from their colonial past and also shared common cultures, cuisines and languages which underpinned the ties between the two countries.
President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan Yasin Azad hailed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary for the verdict on Asghar Khan's petition. He said politicians who received money from secret agencies had no right to take part in politics.
Earlier speaking on 'Regional Peace, Rule of Law and Economic Development', chairperson of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) Rahat Kaunain Hassan said ethnic conflict, communal and political violence, terrorism, inter-state and intra-state conflicts were more visible now than ever before. "If governments of our region are to attract investments, we need to build our economies, pull people out of poverty and provide them education." Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Ata Umar Bandial also addressed the concluding session of the conference. The conference was organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association.