Pakistan court overturns judge suspension

Pakistan's supreme court reinstated the country's top judge on July 20, ruling that his suspension by the president, Pervez Musharraf, was "illegal." In a damaging blow for Musharraf, the presiding Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday said the order suspending the chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was "set aside as being illegal." Chaudhry was asked to stand down in March after Musharraf claimed he was guilty of corruption and nepotism. He refused to resign, drawing support from many who believed the president wanted to sideline an independent-minded judge who could scupper his plans for holding on to power. Led by lawyers, a protest movement swelled around Chaudhry, an eccentric and stubborn figure who has become an unlikely national hero. Musharraf wants to be re-elected for a second five-year term by parliament this year, a move almost certain to be challenged in court. The supreme court allowed Chaudhry to contest his suspension and in closing arguments his counsel demanded his reinstatement and the quashing of a case brought against him by Musharraf for alleged misconduct. "Had a dispassionate and fair mind been applied to the reference, it would never have been filed in the first place," said Chaudhry's chief counsel, Aitzaz Ahsan. He also demanded to know why Chaudhry was placed under house arrest and why the government had acted in "desperate haste" by appointing an acting chief justice within hours of his dismissal. The government has tried soft and harsh tactics to quell the Chaudhry movement. All have failed. Images of bloodied lawyers being beaten by police won initial public sympathy. Then authorities made it worse by smashing into the premises of a popular TV station. The chief justice's "legal seminars" started to attract giant crowds, culminating in a marathon 25-hour procession into Lahore in May. Supporters of the president instigated a day of shooting in Karachi that left 42 people dead and 150 injured, and Musharraf 's frantic efforts to shore up support -- by banning public rallies and restricting the media -- only reduced his popularity. The defeat for Musharraf will further undermine his standing, which has been crumbling both among voters and his political allies. However, the growing violence between security forces and militants -- which culminated in the fighting at Islamabad's Red Mosque, has also engulfed the protest movement. On July 18, a suicide bomber killed 18 people at a rally of Chaudhry's supporters in the capital.