LAHORE: “That was a beautiful place,” said the 23rd chief justice of Pakistan, Mr Justice (retired) Jawwad S. Khwaja, while referring to Pakistan during the life of his mentor -- Justice Cornelius, who was the CJP from 1960 to 1968.

Speaking at the ‘Christianity and Christians in Pakistan’ conference held at the Forman Christian College (FCC) here on Tuesday, a collaboration between the University of Oxford, IT University and ThinkFest, Justice Khwaja recounted how Justice Cornelius’s time was a more inclusive, open and engaging period in the country’s history.

Justice Khwaja then related incidents from the life of Justice Cornelius, who exuded integrity, judicial acumen and kindness. “Justice Cornelius refused plots, while today’s judges are running after them,” noted Khwaja, who worked with the legendary judge from 1978 till his death in 1993.

He said that he simply ‘absorbed’ certain things from the towering personality of Cornelius, which got reflected in his (Khwaja’s) 16 years as a judge in Pakistan. “There are very few words which can describe my relationship with Judge sahib, it was a lived experience.”

He hoped that the FCC would teach modules on Justice Cornelius. “He is an example for all Pakistanis, especially the Christians, and his thoughts and life must be taught,” he said.

Discussing Cornelius’ legacy, Khwaja noted that while he agreed that Cornelius should not have become the law minister in dictator Gen Yahya Khan’s cabinet, but it is hard for him to ‘judge’ today the decision made by Cornelius in 1969, since “those were different times and considerations”.

“Justice Cornelius’ legacy is simple: a strict adherence to the Constitution of the country and the courage to pen judgments accordingly. Are today’s judges willing to do this?” Justice Khwaja wondered.

Earlier, Joseph Cardinal Coutts, Archbishop Emeritus of Karachi and only the second Pakistani Cardinal, delivered the keynote address at the conference.

Hearkening back to a time when Pakistan was a more open and accepting society, the Cardinal recounted how his elevation to the rank of a bishop in 1988 was celebrated by his Muslim neighbours equally. “I wonder if this would be possible today?,” Cardinal Coutts asked.

Mentioning Identity as the major issue in Pakistan, Cardinal Coutts said: “More than 70 years down the line, Pakistan is still searching for its identity, leading to several problems in the state and society. Only by basing our citizenship on equality can Pakistan find its true identity,” he said.

Speaking about the need for a dialogue, Cardinal Coutts, who has been working on inter-religion dialogue internationally, observed that the word ‘dialogue’ leaves much to be desired. “Like Pope Francis and the Grand Mufti of Al-Azhar, we should call it ‘human fraternity,’ which is deeper and more lasting,” he emphasised.

Talking about the theme of the conference, he said that while the it was about Christianity and Christians ‘in’ Pakistan, time has come to consider the minority community ‘of’ Pakistan, as “only then will Christians find their real place in the Pakistani polity,” he exclaimed.

The first day of the conference also featured a session on Christians and education in Pakistan, where FCC Rector Dr Jonathan Addleton traced several seminal ways in which the college had been tied to the history, development, and the developing future of Pakistan.

Another panel featured Dr Paul Rollier from France and Dr Dominic Esler from LUMS, who spoke about questions of caste and Christian-Muslims relations in urban Pakistan.

The conference will continues at the IT University on December 11 and 12.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2024