Zardari to Reinstate Top Pakistan Judge, Dismissed by Predecessor
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Related subjects: Anjika Sridhar, Asia / Pacific, Diplomacy & Politics, Open Government, Pakistan, Rights & Freedoms, Security & Surveillance Comments Off
Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary, the former chief justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court, who was dismissed by extraconstitutional means by then Pres. Pervez Musharraf, during the general’s desperate efforts to retain power in late 2007, will be reinstated by Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan’s current president.
A movement of lawyers protesting the authoritarian measures used by Musharraf and demanding Chaudhary’s reinstatement organized mass demonstrations in late 2007. Musharraf’s crackdown, which included the detention of many activists and lawyers, led to a wave of unrest across the country.
The new president’s decision was reportedly mae after a midnight meeting on Sunday night with the nation’s military chief, Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, and the prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani. Zardari is facing his own opposition uprising, as opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, formerly subject to house arrest, led massive demonstrations in Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city.
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Reports indicate there was “widespread violence” in Lahore, as anger over the prolonged wait in returning Chaudhary to his post inspired the opposition to mount a challenge to the legitimacy of the current government. When protesters planned a massive demonstration for Monday in Islamabad, the government was forced to act, and has reportedly come to this decision in order to maintain peace and security across Pakistan.
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