LAHORE/ISLAMABAD, 7 May 2007 — Pakistan’s suspended chief judge told tens of thousands of cheering supporters yesterday that dictatorship was a thing of the past and states that ignored the rule of law and basic rights faced destruction.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry arrived in Lahore yesterday morning from Islamabad amid tumultuous welcome by tens of thousands of people after a 27-hour journey that normally takes four hours. Another report put the number of crowd at around 100,000.
Speaking in the compound of the Lahore High Court to lawyers, 17 of Punjab province’s 23 judges, and opposition activists outside on the street, Chaudhry made no direct reference to President Pervez Musharraf or his government. At the outset of his speech Chaudhry made it clear he was not going to make any political speech. “My speech will not touch on the reference filed against me by the government. I will confine myself to constitution and the rule of law,” he said.
“Nations and states which are based on dictatorship instead of the supremacy of the constitution, the rule of law and protection of basic rights get destroyed,” Chaudhry said.
Chaudhry, who was sacked by President Musharraf over misconduct charges that he denies, said: “It is the responsibility of the courts to defend human rights of the people and protect the constitution. Rule of law and supremacy of the constitution is inevitable for a civilized society and the nations that do not believe in it cannot survive and face a collapse.”
The government suspended Chaudhry on March 9 a move that the legal community and the opposition saw as an attack on the independence of the judiciary.
“I was among the many people who welcomed Musharraf when he took over but he wants no checks. He wants a free hand for everything but that’s not fair,” said Abdullah, 70, a farmer who waited in the town of Kharian to greet Chaudhry.
As the Supreme Court chief justice, the independent-minded Chaudhry took on rights and environmental cases and last year blocked the sale of Pakistan’s biggest steel producer because of irregularities.
In his speech broadcast live on private television, an exhausted-looking Chaudhry, 58, said the Supreme Court had the right to take up basic human rights, which he said were the backbone of a civilized society.
Lahore is capital of Punjab, the country’s richest and most populous province and a traditional establishment stronghold. The city is considered Pakistan’s political nerve center and Chaudhry’s tumultuous reception will be seen as a clear sign to authorities that their efforts to contain the crisis were failing, observers said.
“Chaudhry’s massive mobilization of the people of Punjab will make the government rethink its decision. The president is left with no sensible option but to withdraw the reference he had sent to the Supreme Judicial Council on March 9,” commented one of the leading editors of Pakistan, Najam Sethi.
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi said the judge’s campaign seemed to have turned political with his speech in Lahore. “This is clear that this campaign has become political,” Elahi told a local channel. The ruling party would respond with a “much bigger rally” on May 12, he said.
