The Judge's issue

Pakistan, since its independence in 1947, has been faced with 'extra-constitutional' or even 'supra-constitutional' situations. The army has seized power from the politicians accusing them of all the ills in the book ranging from minor misdemeanors to treason. Unfortunately the judiciary has always legitimized such military take-overs, albeit with a lot of arm-twisting behind the scenes. On the 9th of March , 2007 the Chief justice of the Supreme Court Mr. Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said enough is enough and refused to bow to the wishes of the Army Chief and President General Pervez Musharraf. He refused to resign in the face of tremendous pressure and some very lucrative offers. And thus started what has become one of the most glorious chapters in Pakistan's troubled history. The struggle continued despite massive repression by the regime-the beating and intimidation of lawyers, the media and the civil society at large. Finally the people of Pakistan in the elections held on the 18th of February spoke with an inprecedented mandate in favour of a change in the status quo. However the powers that be are still reluctant to read the writing on the wall. Hurdles are being created for the mandate to take effect. However the people shall prevail and the judges will be restored soon. This would go down as one of the most glorious chapter in the history of our nation.