Adil Najam
In what is clearly a historic development, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani addressed the nation to announce the reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The address, which was supposed to be at 2AM Pakistan Time, was late by many hours but the subtext was true to the rumors that had been circulating in Pakistan all day:
Here is the full text of the Prime Minister’s speech:
My dear countrymen Assalam-o-Alaikum,
I am speaking to you at a time when our country is standing at a critical moment. No country can make progress without political tolerance and the PPP and lawyers have been together in struggle for upholding democracy in Pakistan. Shaheed Mohtrama Benazir Bhutto actively participated in the struggle of restoration of judiciary was launched by lawyers. Benazir Bhutto wanted free judiciary and supremacy of the constitution.
The lawyers’ movement for restoring of judges was their democratic right. The PPP was shoulder to shoulder with the lawyers in the cause for the independent judiciary.
The slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto also wanted to reinstate the deposed chief justice.
I have taken all his coalition partners and the President into confidence about the reinstatement of the deposed chief justice once the current chief justice retires on March 21.
The deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will assume charges on March 21.
Benazir Bhutto wanted free judiciary and supremacy of the constitution.
I order all the provincial government to abolish Section 144 at once.
After consultations with all political forces of the country and President Asif Ali Zardari, we have decided to restore all deposed judges including Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as Chief Justice of Pakistan who will assume charge on March 21. The current Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar retires on March 21. I urge all the political forces and lawyers to work for the solidarity and welfare of the country.
Pakistan Paindabad.
Just over two years after he was first unceremoniously removed by Gen. Pervaiz Musharraf, and having once been restored by the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has now been ‘restored’ yet again as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The road from there has been tumultuous. The movement that gathered around him was always bigger than the CJ and it was bigger than those around him. The vindication today is not simply of Chief Justice Chaudhry, it is a vindication of Pakistan’s civil society.
ATP has covered the ups and down of this story. For some reason one has a sense that this story is not over yet. We have celebrated a reinstatement once before too. And from the PM’s speech it is not clear at all what the terms of the decision really are. But right now one wishes simply to bask in the joyousness of the moment, in the vindication of justice, in the goodness of the news. There is much analysis that is needed, but let us leave that for just a little later.
really an historical move. Beyshak Batil Mitna k liye hay.
Iftikhar was on righteous path thus he won and he defeated Musharraf and Zardari’s dictatorship.
What about Taseer and NRO? no news about it
The question is: Have the two Chaudhry - Iftikhar and Aitzaz – irreparably politicized the noble cause of an independent judiciary? If he is restored, will Chaudhry Iftikhar be in a position to fairly deal with Mr. Sharif and the other political players in the country?
Then there is also this: Pakistan does need an independent judiciary. But this should come as part of wider changes in the entire political system that is falling apart.
At least for the time being the crises is over. It certainly gives time to our Leadership to contemplate and for the others to bow down before Allah Almighty and pray for the Nation
Pandora Box is open. Street might is right. If you have an issue, bring the crowd on the street, block the elected civilian govt., until they agree with you. You are enlightened, you are righteous and you are right, the rest, deserves to be mocked, called names.
Anarchy and chaos is the name of the game.
Even animals have more order in their societies.
From Ejaz Haider’s column in the Daily Times:
“Memory transported me to 1992 when Mian Nawaz Sharif was the prime minister and the PPP had decided to hold a Long March. We were supposed to take a van from the old Press Club in Lahore to Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh. We couldn’t go beyond Data Durbar in Lahore.
I remember the DSP talking to us at one of the barriers. He laughed at our argument that we needed to go to Rawalpindi because our line of work demanded that. “No one is going to Rawalpindi,” he said, “not these protestors, not you. You are here to cover them; they are here and so shall you be.”
He made good on his promise. The jawans of Punjab puls and Punjab Constabulary beat the PPP protestors to a pulp. The difference between then and now: there were no cameras then, except static shots taken by newspaper photographers”.
Go figure!!!
So what’s next for Pakistan ?
The real question is: What is on Iftikhar Chaudhry’s mind?
What kind of Supreme Court are we going to see after his reinstatement on March 21?
Would Chaudhry’s old suo-moto style of judiciary now burgeon, or would it dwindle in favor of pragmatism?
And whatever style the Supreme Court adopts would determine if future candidates for Pakistan’s top government positions would still salivate over the few perks those jobs offer, or would they shiver over the responsibility of looking after the well-being of 170 million mostly impoverished people.
C.
GREETINGS TO THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN ON THE MOMENTOUS AND REVOLUTIONARY OCCASION.
THE LAWYERS AND THE POLITICIANS HAVE FOR ONCE SUCCEEDED IN PUTTING PAKISTAN ON THE RIGHT COURSE.
FOR ANY NATION TO PROGRESS IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO HAVE STRONG PRINCIPLED INSTITUTIONS.
IT WILL REQUIRE THE RIGHTFUL THINKING MEN TO BE EVER VIGILANT
TO SEE THAT THE COUNTRY REMAINS ON RIGHT TRACK, BECAUSE THE REVOLUTIONARIES OF THE DAY MAY TRY TO PROTECT THEIR VESTED INTERESTS TOMORROW.
MAY DEMOCRACY PREVAIL IN PAKISTAN BECAUSE THE SYSTEM FOR THE PEOPLE ,OF THE PEOPLE AND BY THE PEOPLE WILL MAKE PAKISTAN, ITS NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE WORLD PEACEFUL AND UPLIFT THE PEOPLE IN THE REGION.