Suspended Pak CJ praises Indian judiciary

ISLAMABAD: Indian judiciary's pursuit of public interest litigations came in for praise by Pakistan's suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry, who was greeted by a large number of supporters during his road travel to Faisalabad in Punjab province.

Chaudhry travelled to Faisalabad city of Punjab province from Islamabad and took over 24 hours to cover a distance of 290 kilometres as he was accorded massive roadside receptions.

"In a more comprehensive way, public interest litigation was adopted in the courts in India. Early in 1980s the courts in India were poised to entertain cases of public interest litigation and issued appropriate directions to redress grievances and grant relief to the poor and underprivileged groups and section of the society. Pakistan's courts soon caught up," Chaudhry said addressing lawyers' meetings in Chakwal and Faisalabad.

The suspended Chief Justice's convoy carrying several hundred cars rolled into the industrial city of Faisalabad this morning, a day after setting off from Islamabad. Throughout the day and last night, his convoy was showered with massive public receptions on the way by lawyers' bodies and opposition parties.

Earlier in April, his convoy took over 24 hours while travelling from Islamabad to Lahore which set off alarm bells in the government. He took around the same time to go to Faisalabad, which motorists normally cover in less then two and half hours.

Though devoid of the live coverage by TV channels due to fears of reprisals from the government, his travel apparently evoked heavy public response in urban centres on the way in towns like Chakwal.

Cautious in not telecasting Chaudhry's defence lawyers' speeches castigating President Pervez Musharraf and the military for their continuation in power, private TV channels, however, aired the recording of Chaudhry's speech made at Faisalabad on the importance of public interest litigation.

For the first time since his suspension in March, Chaudhry mentioned the name of former Premier Beanzir Bhutto in his speech. He mentioned the case in 1988 in which she successfully contested a rule brought in by the Zia-ul Haq regime that all voters should carry identity cards. She won the case and the election after Zia's death in a plane crash.

The reference to Bhutto was considered significant as Chaudhry is believed to have entertained plans to enter politics to cash in on his popularity if he is not successful in winning back the Chief Justice post. Incidentally, his lead defence lawyer is Aetezaz Ahesan, also the leading parliamentarian of Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Ahesan, who was most critical of Musharraf and military in his speech at the lawyers' meeting at Chakwal last night, said that Bhutto would become Prime Minister for the third time. He also said that reinstatement of Chaudhry was not far away, though it was not the only goal of lawyers' struggle.

"Our struggle is aimed at restoration of the basic rights of the people, including the provision of justice, which have been denied to them for the past 60 years because of interference of military dictators in the affairs of the judiciary, which was never allowed to be fully independent."

Another defence lawyer of Chaudhry Munir A Malik asked if Musharraf indulged in politics in uniform, why others could not do the same? He said the present judicial crisis was a political issue because it was related to the Constitution.

Ali Ahmed Kurd, also one of the defence counsels of Chaudhry, criticised military dictators and said they were a real threat to the Federation of Pakistan.