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Journalism of Courage
Lawyers and judges staged a show of support for Pakistan’s suspended chief justice Iftikar Muhammed Chaudhry today, as he made his first public appearance since President Pervez Musharraf triggered a political storm by suspending him from office.
Buoyed by the support, Chaudhry, accompanied by over 500 lawyers in a cavalcade of cars, drove to the bar council meeting in nearby Rawalpindi town. Addressing the meeting, he called for an independent judiciary and rule of law.
While refraining from making any direct reference to his suspension, Chaudhry said: “It is the duty of the government and the constitution to respect and observe the independence of judiciary.” He said it was the government’s responsibility to give a free hand to the judiciary so that it can take right decisions at the right time. “The country can sustain tyranny but cannot survive without justice,” he said. In the coming days, Chaudhry is scheduled to address bar council meetings other cities including Peshawar. He plans to travel from Islamabad to attend roadside receptions by local lawyers’ associations on the way.
He said he would not talk about the controversy over his suspension or about the trial by the Supreme Judicial Council set up to probe allegations against him. “A civilised society is unthinkable in the absence of fair and impartial system of administration of justice,” he said, in his first formal address since he was suspended on March 9. “The dispensation of justice secures citizens’ liberty, equality and other rights. This is essential for economic growth and socio-political development.”
He said that free and independent judiciary should be guaranteed by the state and enshrined in the constitution or the law of the country.
