Related Post: Pakistan – A Political Deal for a New Coalition?

A week after President Asif Ali Zardari gave way to the demands of the Long March,  Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry (pictured) was formally restored to his position in a flag-raising ceremony at his house.

Now the real contest between the Presidency, other political parties, and the courts begins. The easy case will be last month’s barring of former President Nawaz Sharif from office and the removal of Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz, as chief minister of Punjab. This was always a political, rather than legal, manoeuvre, and the Zardari Government’s concession that it will seek a review of the decision indicates the Sharifs will be “legitimate” politicians very soon.

More intriguing will be the Supreme Court’s position towards Zardari. The judges installed by Zardari’s predecessor, Pervez Musharraf, rubber-stamped an “amnesty” from the corruption charges that had forced Zardari into exile. I suspect that a political deal will trump the law, and the charges will not be reinstated; however, public pressure for a strong, “independent” judiciary may make life troublesome for the President.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 22nd, 2009 at 08:10 and is filed under India & Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.