Pakistan Overcomes Major Political Crisis

The main demand of the opposition was to reinstate the Chief Justice Ifthikar Chaudhry who was ousted by former President and army Chief Pervez Musharraf in May ’07. Chaudhry was looking into cases of missing people in Pakistan and also would have looked into the constitutionality of Musharaf holding the posts of President and Army chief. Earlier, lawyers in Pakistan went on a nationwide strike demanding to reinstate the former Chief Justice.

In the national election held after Musharraf resigned, Sardari of Pakistan People‘s Party and Sharif of Muslim League came to an understanding to reinstate the forty dismissed judges. But when Sardari became the President, he refused to reinstate the Chief Justice. Sardari feared that Chaudhry may disqualify him for alleged corrupt practices. A disappointed Sharif withdrew the support for the government. Meanwhile Sardari engineered the move to disqualify Sharif to take part in active politics leading to the current crisis. Sardari’s action made him unpopular and he feared to venture out of the presidential palace for security reasons.

As before, the lawyers association was in the forefront in the current agitation. For them, preserving the integrity of the judiciary became paramount to protect the fledging democracy by the actions of the unscrupulous politicians. Sharif organized a long rally from Lahore to the capital city of Islamabad. This was a mass movement of the people disaffected by the actions of the Sardari government.

The two key players working behind the scene to defuse the political unrest were the Pakistan’s army chief Ashfaq Kayani and the United States government. The U.S which is fighting a war in neighboring Afghanistan was deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating political situation. The government finally agreed to reinstate the Chief Justice and also remove the sanctions against Sharif and his brother.

The new developments have certainly weakened Sardari’s hands. Opponents will try to capitalize on his weakness. With the revival of an independent judiciary, Sardari’s grip on power appears tenuous.

With a battered domestic economy and the Taliban militants waging a war against Pakistan and the United States trying to stabilize the lawless Pakistan - Afghanistan border, Pakistan can ill afford a political crisis. Pakistan is also struggling to improve relations with India after a group of terrorists from Pakistan attacked multiple centers in Mumbai in Nov 08. If the situation had spiraled out of control, the army would have acted to restore the order. But for now the powerful military wants the democratic institutions to function without the machinations that have plagued Pakistan in the past.