[NYTr] Defeat for Musharraf as rebel judge is reinstated

[nytr at olm.blythe-systems.com]

The Independent - Jul 21, 2007
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2788604.ece

Defeat for Musharraf as rebel judge is reinstated

By Andrew Buncombe, Asia Correspondent

Pakistan's supreme court dealt President Pervez Musharraf a damaging and
embarrassing blow yesterday, ruling that his decision to fire the chief
justice was illegal and ordering that he be reinstated.

In what may be the most direct challenge to the military dictator's
authority since he came to power by means of a coup in 1999, the court
voted 10-3 to quash a case of alleged misconduct against Justice
Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday said that
General Musharraf's order suspending Mr Chaudhry was "set aside as
being illegal".

In a move that backfired, General Musharraf sacked Mr Chaudhry in March
after accusing him of corruption. The move was widely seen as
politically motivated, given the judge's investigations into alleged
human rights abuses by forces in Baluchistan province.

While General Musharraf might have assumed his decision to force out Mr
Chaudhry would have had little impact beyond the legal community, in the
months since his ousting the 59-year-old has become a rallying point
for the disparate elements of Pakistan's political opposition.

Everywhere the judge has gone to deliver lectures to lawyers' groups,
he has been mobbed by people who want to catch a glimpse of the man who
dared to stand up to General Musharraf.

Yesterday's decision triggered celebrations not only outside the Supreme
Court in the capital Islamabad, but elsewhere across the country. Mr
Chaudhry's lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, said: "He has been restored and it is a
victory for the entire nation."

General Musharraf said last month he would accept whatever decision the
court made, something repeated by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who
called for unity as the country heads to elections this year. "I would
like to emphasise that we must all accept the verdict with the grace
and dignity reflective of a mature nation," he said. "This is not the
time to claim victory or defeat. The constitution ... must prevail at
all times."

Some of General Musharraf's opponents believe his decision to remove Mr
Chaudhry was an attempt to pre-empt any legal challenges to his plan to
ask the country's regional and national assemblies to give him another
five-year term.

Since the operation to clear the Red Mosque this month, which left more
than 100 people dead, and the subsequent violent backlash, Pakistan's
deteriorating security situation has overshadowed the judicial crisis.