Suspended CJ makes veiled attack on Musharraf

ISLAMABAD: In a veiled attack on President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's suspended chief justice has said "absolute power corrupts absolutely" and warned that concentration of power in one hand and institution spelt doom for the country.

"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely," Iftikar Mohammed Chaudhry repeated the famous quote of Lord Acton without taking Musharraf's name at a seminar late last night in the Supreme Court premises.

It was for the first time that Chaudhry was speaking publicly since Musharraf suspended him two months back for alleged abuse of power. The action had triggered protests and clashes that had also led to the violence in Karachi two weeks back leaving 41 persons dead.

Chaudhry said dictatorial rule is devoid of respecting the right of life, liberty and equality and the authoritarian system is anti-thesis of separation of powers and checks and balances. Such a dictatorial system paid no heed to right of expression, speech, movement and religion, he said.

Summing up the mood of the people, he said, "I see a common aspiration amongst the people of my homeland, to stand up and struggle for securing, inter alia, the independence of the judiciary."

"It is a system inclined towards the abuse of power, misuse of authority and devoid of respecting fundamental rights of the citizen like right to life, liberty, equality and prosperity," he said, without mincing words asserting that concentration of power in one hand and institution spelt doom for the country.

The seminar on "Separation of powers and judicial independence" which was attended by thousands of lawyers from different parts of Pakistan besides hundreds of activists of opposition parties.

It was perhaps typical of Chaudhry, who spoke at the last after lawyer after lawyer berated Musharraf and military rule, to begin his speech insisting that no slogans should be shouted during his speech and he would not speak anything about his suspension and presidential reference as his petition was being heard by apex court, which shortly was expected to deliver verdict.

"Courts can not be free if they do not enjoy institutional and decisional independence also ordained in the Holy Quran and, therefore, the courts have to be independent," he said.

It was a familiar pattern of scenes at the Pakistan Supreme Court here last night, which the media now got used to since Chaudhry's suspension on March 9 and his subsequent manhandling, triggering of a wave of protests against the Musharraf government, which many believe now gathering steam powered by well knit grass root lawyers' bodies with assistance from opposition parties.

Over 5,000 lawyers from across Pakistan converged into Islamabad last evening and most of them did not go to the convention hall in the Supreme Court where Chaudhry was due to address a seminar on 'Separation of powers and judicial independence' organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association, (SCBA) but headed directly to Chaudhry's official residence in central Islamabad to bring him in procession to the venue.

Perhaps it was again a most familiar scene to the media here as Chaudhry driven by his defence lawyer Aitezaz Ahesan surrounded by hundreds of men and women wearing black coats, some precariously sitting on the battered top of Ahesan's large jeep. It took nearly three hours for Chaudhry to cover the distance of less than five km which his official convoy would have covered in five minutes before his suspension.

The anti-govt speeches made at the seminar prompted information minister Md Ali Durrani to say that the forum has been misused and politicised by the lawyers' organisation.

Interestingly, Chaudhry's rally passed thorough the dark streets as the local government chose to not switch on the street lights of otherwise very well lit road leading to Parliament and the Supreme Court, a move his lawyers said was aimed at preventing the private channels covering his procession live.

While Chaudhry's procession made its way in slow motion through the darkness, hundreds of supporters of opposition parties like Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), headed respectively by former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, the Islamist Alliance Muthahida Majlis Amal, Tehrik-e-Insaf, (social justice) party of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, Awami National Party (ANP) besides activists of civil rights groups waited endlessly to receive him.

Inside the auditorium of the Supreme Court which was given to the SCBA by the Acting Chief Justice Rana Bhagwandas with a condition that it should not be misused for any political activity, the atmosphere appeared charged as lawyers along with diplomats waited for Chaudhry to arrive.

On his arrival the cramped convention hall housing over a thousand people reverberated with anti-musharraf and anti-government slogans like "Go Musharraf Go" "End Military Rule" and "Restore Democracy and Independent Judiciary".

For the next four hours several top lawyers, some part of Chaudhry's defence team, delivered thundering speeches berating Musharraf, successive military regimes and penchant of Pakistan army to seize power, which the SCBA President Munir A Mallik said, made people to question whether army exists for Pakistan or the country exists for the military.

The speeches were so strong that the local TV channels covering the event live had to cut down the audio with comments of anchors while showing only the visuals.

Most vocal was Chaudhry's defence lawyer Ahesan who was also a frontline parliamentarian of PPP.

Narrating how judiciary was maligned and powerless, from first martial law imposed by Ayub Khan to Musharraf regime, he said Ayub imposed martial law and introduced the doctrine of necessity in judiciary which legalised his martial law.

The successive military rulers like Yahya Khan and Zia-ul-Haq ruled the country with martial law. "Our judiciary has always bowed before martial law regime but on March 9 Chief Justice Chaudhry declined to resign and stood up against the regime earning the respect not only amongst the legal fraternity but also in the masses, he said.

Another defence lawyer Ali Ahmad Kurd said "we warned earlier that this country does not only belong to a specific group. This war is not only against General Musharraf but also against those who destroyed this country in last 60 years".

He said that he does not accept the rule of Musharraf.

Former SCBA President Hamid Ali Khan said, "We are proud of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry who not only denied the orders of a General but also decided to face the reference against him in the Supreme Court".