Pakistan Chief Justice Reinstated
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
The NY Times
The ground beneath Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s feet unsettled considerably today, as the Supreme Court ruled that his suspension of the country’s chief justice earlier this year was “illegal.”
The seemingly abstruse constitutional case over the fate of the chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, is a watershed for the nation. Mr. Chaudhry’s very challenge to the president, who summoned him to Army headquarters on March 9 and pressed him to resign, had come to be seen as a proxy protest against nearly seven and a half years of military rule.
The case also bears on the fate of General Musharraf, one of Washington’s most enduring allies in the war on terror. The general, who took power in a coup in 1999, is likely to be challenged in the Supreme Court if he seeks re-election as president while continuing to hold the title of army chief of staff. He is also likely to face a legal challenge if he insists on being re-elected by the sitting parliament before his term expires this year.
General Musharraf’s critics had accused him of sidelining Mr. Chaudhry so he could install a judge who would be more likely to bend to his authority.
The case, or reference, as it is known, against Mr. Chaudhry centered around charges of misconduct, including demanding a later-model Mercedes as his official car. Mr. Chaudhry refused to resign, insisting that he was innocent. He then challenged his suspension in the Supreme Court, arguing that the Pakistani constitution gave neither the president nor the military chief the power to remove the chief justice. His supporters seized on the case as a battle for judicial independence. Even more, the judge became an emblem of mounting discontent against military rule.
Immediately after the verdict was read out, around 4:15 p.m. today, and the 13-member bench filed out, courtroom No. 1, packed full, exploded into revelry. Supporters fell upon Mr. Chaudhry’s chief counsel, Aitzaz Ahsan, all crushing each other in a joyous scrum that is a rare sight in modern-day Pakistan. They poured out of the courtroom, quivering with delight. “Mubarak,” they said, Urdu for congratulations. “Pakistan is saved,” one man shouted.
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