MOSABJA
Junior Member
Pakistan, July 20 — The ground beneath Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s feet unsettled considerably today, as the Supreme Court ruled that his suspension of the country’s chief justice earlier this year was “illegal.”
The seemingly abstruse constitutional case over the fate of the chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, is a watershed for the nation. Mr. Chaudhry’s very challenge to the president, who summoned him to Army headquarters on March 9 and pressed him to resign, had come to be seen as a proxy protest against nearly seven and a half years of military rule.
The case also bears on the fate of General Musharraf, one of Washington’s most enduring allies in the war on terror. The general, who took power in a coup in 1999, is likely to be challenged in the Supreme Court if he seeks re-election as president while continuing to hold the title of army chief of staff. He is also likely to face a legal challenge if he insists on being re-elected by the sitting parliament before his term expires this year.
"The reference has been set aside and the chief justice has been reinstated," Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, the head of the 13-member bench, said. The decision to reinstate the chief justice was unanimous, but the one to quash the charges against him was carried by a 10-3 majority.
Chief Justice after his reinstatement could cause severe problems for MUSHARRAF regime
Missing People
Many people in Pakistan had "disappeared", allegedly kidnapped by the American agencies (FBI, CIA) and Pakistani agencies (ISI, MI, IB) in pursuance of the "War on Terror". These actions were challenged in the Supreme Court and a bench under the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had directed the Ministry of Interior and the representatives of the military agencies to appear in the court and answer the raised issues.
[edit] Cases for 2007
It is thought that some very important cases were to be heard in the supreme court in the coming months:
* The case inquiring the dual nationality of the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his eligibility to be Prime Minister.
* The case on whether or not the President Pervez Musharraf could run the election for the next Presidency term.
* The Uniform Issue of President Pervez Musharraf, i.e. whether the President may continue in office without relinquishing his role as the head of the military.
The seemingly abstruse constitutional case over the fate of the chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, is a watershed for the nation. Mr. Chaudhry’s very challenge to the president, who summoned him to Army headquarters on March 9 and pressed him to resign, had come to be seen as a proxy protest against nearly seven and a half years of military rule.
The case also bears on the fate of General Musharraf, one of Washington’s most enduring allies in the war on terror. The general, who took power in a coup in 1999, is likely to be challenged in the Supreme Court if he seeks re-election as president while continuing to hold the title of army chief of staff. He is also likely to face a legal challenge if he insists on being re-elected by the sitting parliament before his term expires this year.
"The reference has been set aside and the chief justice has been reinstated," Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, the head of the 13-member bench, said. The decision to reinstate the chief justice was unanimous, but the one to quash the charges against him was carried by a 10-3 majority.
Chief Justice after his reinstatement could cause severe problems for MUSHARRAF regime
Missing People
Many people in Pakistan had "disappeared", allegedly kidnapped by the American agencies (FBI, CIA) and Pakistani agencies (ISI, MI, IB) in pursuance of the "War on Terror". These actions were challenged in the Supreme Court and a bench under the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had directed the Ministry of Interior and the representatives of the military agencies to appear in the court and answer the raised issues.
[edit] Cases for 2007
It is thought that some very important cases were to be heard in the supreme court in the coming months:
* The case inquiring the dual nationality of the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his eligibility to be Prime Minister.
* The case on whether or not the President Pervez Musharraf could run the election for the next Presidency term.
* The Uniform Issue of President Pervez Musharraf, i.e. whether the President may continue in office without relinquishing his role as the head of the military.