oh the chattering classes, you never dissapoint

Zardari has accused Chaudhry (the deposed CJ) of "playing politics" and called for sweeping judicial reforms expected to crimp the ability of the court to check the activities of the government.

Pakistan restores SOME judges ousted by Musharraf
From the Associated Press
2:33 PM PDT, September 5, 2008
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN -- Pakistan's Supreme Court today reinstated three judges ousted by former President Pervez Musharraf in another victory for the man set to succeed him as head of state.

Musharraf's purge of the court last year deepened his unpopularity and helped the party of assassinated former leader Benazir Bhutto to victory in February elections.

Bhutto's widower and political heir, Asif Ali Zardari, marshaled a coalition that forced Musharraf to quit last month. Zardari is expected to win easily when lawmakers elect a new president on Saturday.

However, the second-largest party has quit the ruling alliance because of Zardari's refusal to restore the judges en masse -- including the ousted chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.

Tassadiq Hussain Jillani, Shakirullah Jan and Syed Jamshed Ali were sworn back into the court in a solemn ceremony today.

Law Minister Farooq Naek said Chaudhry was also welcome to take a fresh oath, but said he could not return as chief justice because removing the judge who replaced him could trigger a "constitutional impasse."

"There cannot be two chief justices," Naek told reporters at the court.

The move deepens the rift between Zardari's Pakistan People's Party and that of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, now the most powerful group in the opposition.

Zardari had refused calls for the government to restore the judges by arguing that it required constitutional amendments to untangle a legal mess bequeathed by Musharraf.

Naek, a People's Party member, said the government still wanted to discuss that approach.

But Zardari has been highly critical of Chaudhry, who stood up to Musharraf and questioned a pact that he signed to quash long-standing corruption charges against Zardari and his slain wife, Benazir Bhutto.

Zardari has accused Chaudhry of "playing politics" and called for sweeping judicial reforms expected to crimp the ability of the court to check the activities of the government.

Zardari is poised to become one of the most powerful civilian leaders in Pakistan's 61-year history.

On Saturday, he faces off against a senator from the pro-Musharraf party routed in February and a former judge put forward by Sharif.

"It will be an easy victory for Asif Ali Zardari as we have the support of more than 400 lawmakers out of about 700," People's Party spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.

Zardari, generally considered pro-West, isn't expected to change Pakistan's commitment as an ally in the U.S. war on terrorism, despite a bold cross-border U.S.-led raid Wednesday that left at least 15 people dead in the country's largely lawless tribal belt along the Afghan frontier. The raid sparked widespread condemnation of what was seen as an attack on the country's sovereignty.

In news likely to stoke more anger, a missile strike was suspected in a blast Thursday that killed at least four people in North Waziristan, part of the tribal belt where Osama bin Laden and his deputy are thought to be hiding. Previous similar strikes have been blamed on the U.S.

Pakistani officials also were checking the cause of an explosion today in North Waziristan that reportedly killed several suspected foreign militants. The army said it was investigating the cause.

The government and army have slammed Wednesday's raid, the first known U.S. ground assault inside Pakistan against a suspected militant haven. But he also expressed sympathy for the U.S. and other countries that have been hit by terrorist attacks, saying Pakistan also is suffering from extremist violence.

His reaction underscores the fine line that Pakistani leaders must walk amid dependence on U.S. financial aid: Crack down on beds of Islamic extremism even as many Pakistanis blame the strategic alliance for fueling violence by Islamic militants in their country.

Zardari has also won plaudits in the West for easing Musharraf out of office without triggering a debilitating political crisis.

Today's maneuver in the Supreme Court diminished the prospect of Musharraf being dragged through the courts on treason charges or forced into exile.

Musharraf imposed emergency rule last November in order to purge the court and halt legal challenges to his plan to stay on for another five years as president.

The judges he installed after the crackdown issued orders giving Musharraf legal protections for actions the ex-general himself admitted were unconstitutional.

The government already changed a law lifting the maximum number of judges in the Supreme Court from 16 to 29 -- meaning none of the judges who granted those protections will have to make way for any who return.

viqar bhai,

just change the [ to the "less than" angled bracket, and the ] to the greater than angeled bracket.

TS pai,
Methinks you think too much.

This is patently anti-Sufi, and not good for ur health...[img src="http://chowk.com/img/smilies/nono.gif"/]

As you would say yoursef:"sudhar jaa'o".

"yeh kyaa ke har DhaTaa'ee ke asbaab jaan lo?
behtar yehi hae jo kahe KHalQat vo maan lo
sach aur kaji meiN farQ na mehsoos ho jahaaN
tum KHud ko oos maQaam pe laanay ki Thaan lo"

Ravi saab,

thanks ;)

ts,
no guile
not all pakistanis, only some- kuch- pakistanis!

"tum kuch bakwaasi pakistani"

Kaal bhai,

I'm just a seeker. Prophets have followers, and agendas. They sacrifice, and appear to "take a few" for the team. I have no such aspirations...Kaal bhai :)

Ravi sahib,

You are a sly one. You managed to generalize the "chattering classes" to "all pakistanis", in a fashion that only you can do :)

ts
bravo!

"tum bakwaasi pakistani
tum kabhi meri aasaiN nahin toRtay
tum jhoothay azaad khyaal waalay
kursi pe baithay bakwaas karnay waalay
tooti-phooti angrezi main baat karnay waalay
tum mauqay main faaida uthaanay waalay
tum sub bey suraagh, kham aql, maskhrah karnay waalay ghadhay ho
tum logon ki g...d ko choomtay ho..."

Meira, ts is being too modest. He is chowk's prophet. :)

MeiraJ08,

thanks. It's just an angry "stream of consciousness" rambling, is all :).

" just educated idiots. That degree, that piece of paper, does not automatically impart wisdom."

-- I agree, it is not just paper alone that makes anything, not even a poem, if you'd so believe me.

"Armchair Analysts" -- interesting, brings to mind what Carl Jung says about his work: that there is no easy way to it, you cannot learn from a textbook what happens to the psyches of people in utter devastation, you gotta live on the streets with them, to really find out. you've got to risk all you've got.

Interesting essay, the style reminds me of Khalil Gibran though -a little like "The Prophet" ?