The Supreme Court of Pakistan made an order yesterday (May 7) suspending the judicial panel hearing into the accusation made by the military regime against the country’s suspended Chief Justice Mr. Iftekhar Chaudhary, pending a decision on a challenge to the panel filed on his behalf.
The Chief Justice has challenged the decision of the military regime to refer him to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). This reference to the SJC is widely seen as a political move on the part of the military regime to attack the independence of the judiciary and to ensure a more compliant Supreme Court which will in the future support the military regime unconditionally (for details about the petition of the Chief Justice please see AA-002-2007).
Meanwhile throughout Pakistan there have been public demonstrations in support of the Chief Justice and the magnitude of these demonstrations is being described by observers as being of a similar nature to some of the great popular protests of the 1970’s in support of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the country’s most popular democratically elected prime minister.
This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that a non political figure, and for that matter a judicial officer, is attracting such large crowds of people from all walks of life. Such groups include Supreme Court judges and other judges of various ranks and also retired judges. One of the most prominent factors is the very large participation of lawyers from all over the country.
The support that the Chief Justice is finding in the streets of the country has been far beyond the imagination of the organisers of the event that the Chief Justice was to attend. The overwhelming numbers that have gathered in support have actually delayed the movements of Chief Justice and his supporters for hours at many places. Such an overflow of popular participation is very rare in Pakistan. In any country such popular demonstrations would be regarded as being the final resort to bring about great change.
The issue involved is the very survival of the independence of the judiciary. If the military regime achieves what it wants by successfully ousting the Chief Justice it will silence the Supreme Court and all other judicial organs for a long time to come. The military regime that has attacked all aspects of democracy in Pakistan is now faced with their final challenge. If the regime wins not only the Supreme Court but the entire legal fabric of the country will suffer.
The courage that the lawyers and people of Pakistan are now showing to stop the military regime is of significant historical importance. Its momentum can stop General Musharraf’s bid for further time in office unhindered by restraints from the judiciary, media or by public intervention.
The Asian Human Rights Commission has repeatedly called on those who care for democracy and human rights in Pakistan and internationally to defend the Chief Justice and to resist the attempt to destroy the independence of the judiciary. Now as this confrontation is gaining pace it is the duty of the international community and the UN agencies to intervene strongly to ensure that the military regime is not allowed to proceed against the people of Pakistan by misuse of emergency laws or by declaring martial law.
