In a flurry of mudslinging just days before the general elections President Pervez Musharraf has called former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry “the scum of the earth — a third-rate man — a corrupt man,” in an interview to Jemima Khan that was published in the Independent, London, on February 17. The President also hinted that the lawyers movement was a personal error on his part in that he allowed the lawyers to go and express their views on the street. President Musharraf stated in the interview that he should have controlled them (the lawyers) from the beginning before it got out of control. The former chief justice has already publically answered the false accusations made against him in an open letter to European heads of state. (Kindly see: An Open Letter from Mr. Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhry, the Chief Justice of Pakistan at
http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2008statements/1360/)
President Musharraf’s repetition of these accusations makes no reference to the detailed explanation of the events as given by the chief justice. His present comments came just as the general elections were about to start. Obviously the president sees that even the general elections will not be able to stabilize his image which has been damaged due to his attack on the independence of the judiciary in Pakistan and the recreation of a subservient judiciary that will support him. He is very much aware that the issue of the deposed judiciary and the arrested lawyers and their movement will remain a haunting issue as long as he remains in power. Whenever he talks in public about the internal politics of the country he vents his anger and frustration about the judiciary and in this state of mind he is no longer fit to rule.
President Musharraf was contesting the elections in October 2007 for the post of president whilst in the capacity of the chief of army staff. Following that election a bench of the Supreme Court, (that did not include Mr. Choudhry), stopped the announcement of the election results and started regular hearings on the permissibility of General Musharraf holding both the presidency and being in control of the army. He decided that the risk of the bench ruling against him was too great and immediately imposed a state of emergency on November 3 and deposed the judges, virtually taking over control of the Supreme Court.
As the election is taking place (February 18), already ten persons have been killed in the country including two opposition candidates. There are allegations of widespread intimidation, violence and the attempt to prevent the voters from going to the polling stations to perform their civic obligations. According to the reports the turnout at the polls is very low. A general lack of belief that the election will be free and fair and a perception that the whole process will be manipulated in favour of the ruling regime may be preventing people from coming to the polls.
Even at this crucial hour of the elections the presidents preoccupation with this issue demonstrates that the challenge posed by the 55 senior judges who have risked their careers to challenge his legitimacy, the lawyers movement in their thousands who have taken to the streets demanding rule of law and the independence of the judiciary and the millions of people who took to the streets seeking justice and a better performance of the legal system are steps that have been taken inside the country that cannot be reversed. Whatever be the outcome of the election President Musharraf cannot create any sense of credibility for himself either locally or internationally as long as the issue of the independence of the judiciary remains unresolved. And there is no way that he can resolve it since this involves the reinstatement of the former chief justice and all the other judges who have been forced into retirement.
What is even more worrying is that President Musharraf has already warned that any resistance to the election results, once announced will be dealt with ruthlessly. This would mean that any protest on the basis of allegations of the manipulation of the elections will not be allowed. However, under the present circumstances President Musharraf will be able to prevail against such protests only be way of causing serious violence and bloodshed. The coming days will prove to be crucial both from the point of view of the stability of Pakistan as well as of the security of the democratically minded people of the country including opposition politicians, protesting lawyers and the judges who do not accept the legitimacy of Musharrafs rule. It is quite possible that the present attack on the chief justice may be a prelude to violence being used against the judges and lawyers in the days to come.
The Asian Human Rights Commission calls upon the international community to watch the situation of the coming days following the elections carefully and to monitor the protection of human rights in Pakistan.
