Almost everybody in Pakistan is delighted with the outcome of this long-drawn struggle to reinstate Chaudhry, with the exception of a few staunch jiyalas (a term popularly used to describe PPP supporters), Pervez Musharraf and some judiciary members. The lawyers achieved what they had been struggling for since the imposition of the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) on November 3, 2007. Everyone else — the business and trading community, the police, who reluctantly had to control the demonstrators, and the relatives of hundreds of missing people allegedly picked up by the intelligence agencies — is heaving a sigh of relief .
Not much may change for the better. But the people of this unfortunate country desperately need a break. Chaudhry is a Punjabi-speaking judge settled in Balochistan. He was brought to the Supreme Court by Musharraf and later elevated to the post of CJ. He was part of the bench that validated the suspension of the Constitution, and its replacement by the PCO. The Supreme Court was boycotted by all the opposition forces, including some lawyers, for taking a pro-Musharraf stance for many years — until Chaudhry started taking suo motu actions on various issues, most notably in cases related to missing persons and misuse of farming plots for residential purposes by generals, including Musharraf and former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. He became a hero after cancelling privatisation of the Steel Mills, the biggest State-owned concern.
On March 9, 2007, Musharraf suspended him extra-constitutionally. This was not the first time in Pakistan’s history that a judge had been removed by a military ruler. However, Chaudhry again became a hero as he had earlier refused to resign despite being pressured by Musharraf, Aziz, the ISI and the Military Intelligence in a joint meeting at Musharraf’s army house. The rest is history.
http://newageislam.com/pakistan--long-march---a-long-view---/islam-and-politics/d/1252
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