Pakistan's Public Hero Number One

By Farhan Bokhari
March 30, 2008

In less than a week since Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the deposed chief justice of the supreme court, was released from effective house arrest, Pakistan's political landscape has changed rapidly.

The bottom line is apparently that as long as Chaudhry's future remains uncertain, Pakistan's future, too, would remain uncertain.

There are many in Pakistan who go a step further, and argue convincingly that President Pervez Musharraf's decision to sack Chaudhry last year was ill-advised to the extent that Musharraf's own future is now in doubt - unless the Chaudhry issue is resolved amicably.

Public move

Against this background, Chaudhry will make his first significant public move since his release when he travels to Quetta - his hometown - tomorrow, to speak to a gathering of lawyers, who have specially invited him to a public forum. More than what he says in public, Chaudhry's mere appearance before a gathering of lawyers will give momentum to his cause. It will remind many of the way his travels from one bar association to another just last year emboldened the lawyers' protest movement, and made a large number of Pakistanis deeply sceptical of their president.

Just over a year ago, Chaudhry burst on to the national and global stage by refusing to go out quietly after the president moved to sack him. Chaudhry's decision to come back fighting and eventually be restored to his position as chief justice, in a landmark decision by his peers at the supreme court last July, made him public hero number one.

Left without any constitutional or legal ways of getting rid of the former chief justice, Musharraf moved to depose him through a controversial state of emergency in November. Chaudhry's recent release says much about Musharraf's failure to appreciate the controversy unleashed by his actions.

Going forward, Chaudhry is set to take Pakistan by storm. Irrespective of whether he makes a comeback as chief justice or not, the mere fact that he is out in public makes a huge difference to his cause.

On the day of his release following an order from the newly elected Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Chaudhry dominated the scene across Pakistan's TV channels and the next day's newspapers, in a powerful reminder of his centrality to the country's recent past and present- day trends.

Backed by a large community of defiant lawyers and a largely supportive public, Chaudhry's activism entails two equally important outcomes for the future of Pakistan.

Changed for the better

On the one hand, the nature of politics has clearly changed for the better. In today's Pakistan, it is virtually impossible for any political party to ignore the cause initiated by Chaudhry. A new beginning has indeed been made.

In brief, it is impossible for any of Pakistan's mainstream politicians today to ignore the significance of at least recognising, if not immediately restoring, the judges sacked along with Chaudhry. Given the way the issue of judicial independence continues today, it may be impossible to predict Chaudhry's future. But it is possible to argue very convincingly that he has indeed changed Pakistanis' perception about the way their country is being run.

On the other hand, Chaudhry's activism has dented the ability of rulers like Musharraf to remain the absolute arbiters of events and circumstances in Pakistan.

There is no way Pakistan as a country will ever see a ruler like Musharraf behave as irresponsibly as he did when he tried to sack Chaudhry for the first time in March last year.

Today, there are many Pakistanis - from the country's powerful families and the corridors of power to the humblest man on the street - who openly acknowledge their absolute amazement at the way Chaudhry has endured what must have been his most difficult moments. During his months in captivity, the deposed chief justice had to face numerous ordeals, ranging from denial of adequate medical treatment for ailing family members to his children being forced to stay away from school and college and even having to take their exams at home.

Given Chaudhry's sacrifice this past year, he deserves major acknowledgement from the global community. He is, after all, the man who played a key role in turning Pakistan's destiny.

*Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.

Source: Gulf News