How General Zia has sabotaged lawyers’ movement from grave

Another excellent piece by our eminent guest contributor (ed. Raza Rumi)

By  Abbas Zaidi

When General Musharraf deposed Ifitikhar Chaudhry, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, on 9 March 2007, he did not realize there would be such an endless and widespread chain of protests all over the country. It was for the first time in Pakistan’s history that a judge had defied a general’s orders by deciding a few cases on merit, i.e., against a dictator’s wish and in the common man’s interest. It was the unprecedented power of the popular protest that led to the restoration of Justice Chaudhry four months later in July 2007. But General Musharraf did not accept the return of the Chief Justice, and on 3 November 2007 he imposed martial law in Pakistan and deposed Justice Chaudhry. It was a unique martial law in the political history of the world because it was directed only against the person of Justice Chaudhry. All the other institutions of Pakistan-e.g., the cabinet and the parliament-remained untouched. . . .

Although General Musharraf has been consigned to the gutter where his predecessors-General Zia being the wickedest and most notorious of the pack-Justice Chaudhry still has not been restored to his rightful office. The present democratically government is reluctant to restore him because it claims that he has become controversial by aligning himself with politicians, and hence his impartiality is suspect. Like millions of Pakistanis, I believe that the restoration of Justice Chaudhry is an act of faith to me. He, I believe, stands for freedom in Pakistan-freedom in the widest sense of the word. If he is not restored, judiciary in Pakistan will continue to remain subservient to generals, bureaucrats, and politicians. So when the leaders of the Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association announced that Justice Chaudhry would deliver a speech at a lawyers’ meeting in Rawalpindi on 3 November to mark the first anniversary of his sacking, I could not wait to hear the man who has been a hero, a savior indeed, to the people of Pakistan.

I cancelled all my engagements in order to sit in front of TV and watch the man who is no less than a prophet in these times. He began his speech by telling people how his refusal to kowtow to General Musharraf led to his sacking. Around fifteen minutes into his speech, there was a little disturbance behind him. He stopped briefly and looked behind. The disturbance continued for a couple of minutes and then two faces emerged and I heard myself say: “O, shit!” At that very moment I found myself agreeing to the government’s claim that the movement for the restoration of Ifitikhar Chaudhry was actually a front for the agenda of some time-serving politicians. Why?