Hein G Kiessling notes in Unity, Faith, Discipline: The Inter-Service-Intelligence of Pakistan that in the backdrop of the dispute between the prime minister and the Supreme Court, President Farooq Leghari had to quit in December 1997, even before his five-year term ended, since he was under pressure from Sharif.

Mian Muhammad Sharif, the father of the two Sharif brothers, and Rafiq Tarar had a strong relationship. According to Kiessling, Tarar was regarded as a friend of the Sharif family, having gained their respect and trust.

Justice Mohammed Rafiq Tarar was a Supreme Court judge from January 1991 to November 1994, prior to entering politics with the PML-N. Before that, from 1989 to 1991, he had served as the 28th chief justice of the Lahore High Court. In 1997, he was chosen to represent the Punjab in the Senate on a PML-N ticket.

When Nawaz Sharif assumed prime ministership for the second time in February 1997, the Legislature, the Presidency and the Judiciary had been severely damaged by the recent constitutional crisis.

The chief justice and the president, according to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, were plotting against the government. President Leghari had been impeding Nawaz Sharif’s government. In April 1993, the prime minister had been fired after a tumultuous first term.

Some commentators have said that Justice Tarar contributed to the Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate Nawaz Sharif’s administration in May 1993. It is also believed that Tarar had a role in isolating then-chief justice Sajjad Ali Shah during the dispute between then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Shah.

When Nawaz Sharif, prime minister at the time, put Tarar forth for president, Benazir Bhutto voiced concern, saying that the nomination was alarming since he had a narrow-minded attitude towards women, minorities and children.

Justice Mukhtar Junejo, the election commissioner, rejected Tarar’s nomination on the grounds that he had made disparaging comments about the judiciary in a contentious interview. Tarar then filed an appeal before the Lahore High Court. Justice Qayyum then hurried back from vacation to issue a stay order. When the High Court took up the case, it said that Rafiq Tarar would have to resign if the court ruled against him. Nevertheless, it permitted the election to proceed.

The election for president was won decisively. During an address to a bar association in London, Benazir Bhutto expressed her displeasure that “a judge [Tarar] who dishonestly legitimised the overthrow of my first government has been elected president of Pakistan.”

Subsequently, the Lahore High Court declared that it was illegal to reject Rafiq Tarar’s nomination. The court allowed him to remain in office. Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister, had won yet another battle.

As president, Tarar made a number of important choices. On May 28, 1998, he used the emergency powers granted by the 1973 constitution in response to a perceived Indian attack following Pakistan’s nuclear tests. A Presidential Order suspending the implementation of all essential rights guaranteed in the 1973 constitution was also issued the same day.

Tarar claimed that in his role as president, he steered clear of conflict and worked with the military regime. A senior journalist, however, points out that Tarar is best known for his refusal to support Musharraf’s coup.

The 15th and 16th constitutional amendments were likewise approved by Tarar. Some authors have mistakenly claimed that Rafiq Tarar approved the 13th Constitutional Amendment, which eliminated Article 58-2(b). The amendment was approved in April 1997 when Leghari was president.

After Nawaz Sharif’s government was overthrown by Gen Musharraf in 1999, Musharraf urged Tarar during their first meeting that he should stay on as president for the greater good of the country. He claimed that on significant national matters, the military leadership conferred with him.

Tarar claimed that in his role as president, he steered clear of conflict and worked with the military regime. A senior journalist, however, points out that Tarar is best known for his refusal to support Musharraf’s coup. He also declined to sign a number of documents that the Musharraf government presented.

Tarar claimed to have been approached in 2001 and informed that Musharraf’s elevation to the presidency was essential for the successful execution of the government agenda and the achievement of national objectives. President Tarar received Chief Executive Musharraf, who spoke with him for almost an hour. However, Tarar would not step down.

Musharraf removed him on June 20 with a Provisional Constitutional Order. The Provisional Constitutional Order underwent two revisions in order to remove Tarar from office and install Musharraf as president. With immediate effect, Rafiq Tarar was removed from the presidency, according to an official statement.

It has been claimed that the action was taken to strengthen Musharraf’s hand ahead of the meeting with Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee that was to take place next month.

Tarar persisted in asserting in public that he was Pakistan’s de jure president under Article 44 of the constitution. He also asserted that Musharraf’s 2002 referendum was a sham.

The Supreme Court ruled in constitutional petitions filed separately by Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Syed Zafar Ali Shah that Rafiq Tarar remained president of Pakistan despite the Chief Executive’s Order 3 of 2001, and that the Chief Executive had unlawfully taken over and occupied the position of president in violation of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Syed Zafar Ali Shah’s case.

Javed Hashmi insisted that Justice Irshad Hasan Khan, the chief justice of Pakistan, submit his resignation for supporting Musharraf’s unlawful removal of an elected president.

The writer is associated with the Department of Politics and International Relations, Sargodha University. He has served as a research officer in the National Assembly Secretariat. He can be reached at writetoazam@hotmail.com