Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Wall Street Journal
March 25, 2008
Pg. 8
Government Signals Intent to Unwind Musharraf Actions
By Zahid Hussain
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's new prime minister ordered the release of the deposed chief justice and dozens of other judges detained by the government of President Pervez Musharraf, setting up a possible showdown with the president.
The order, one of Yousuf Raza Gilani's first measures as the nation returns to democracy after more than eight years of military rule, signaled the determination of the incoming government to try to unwind some of Mr. Musharraf's more unpopular measures.
"I order all the detained judges to be released immediately," Mr. Gilani told lawmakers after the national assembly voted him in as premier Monday.
Shortly after the announcement, security personnel stepped aside and hundreds of people chanting "Go, Musharraf, go" moved aside security barricades and barbed wire around the Islamabad residence of Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, the deposed chief justice, ending his detention.
Mr. Chaudhry and 60 other independent judges were sacked and Mr. Chaudhry placed under house arrest after Mr. Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in November. The court at the time was in a position to overturn his re-election in October, when he was also army chief.
As chief executive and head of government, Mr. Gilani had the authority to order the judges' release.
The government is expected to try to reinstate the judges in their former positions, but exactly how that would work remains unclear. "I am grateful to the nation," Mr. Chaudhry, 55 years old, told supporters who had gathered outside his residence.
The freeing of the judges was seen as a direct challenge to Mr. Musharraf. Their reinstatement could lead to the reopening of challenges against Mr. Musharraf's re-election.
"We will defend democracy and uphold independence of judiciary," Mr. Gilani declared.
The four-party alliance that will form a new government -- led by Mr. Gilani's Pakistan People's Party -- has vowed to reinstate the sacked judges and to strip Mr. Musharraf of his powers to dismiss the elected Parliament.
Mr. Gilani also called on the United Nations to investigate the Dec. 27 assassination of Benazir Bhutto. The former prime minister was killed in a suicide bomb attack after she had addressed an election campaign rally in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.
Leaders of the PPP, as Mr. Gilani's party is known, have rejected the claim by Mr. Musharraf's government that the attack was masterminded by Baitullah Mehsud, an extremist militant commander who is operating from the South Waziristan tribal region. The demand for a U.N. inquiry has been rejected by Mr. Musharraf.
Mr. Gilani, a Bhutto loyalist, was elected as Pakistan's new leader by the recently installed lower house of Parliament with the support of almost three-quarters of the members. He will be sworn in Tuesday by Mr. Musharraf. Mr. Gilani, 55, is the scion of an influential landowning family and a former speaker of the National Assembly. Asked by reporters whether he would work with Mr. Musharraf or seek to push him from office, Mr. Gilani said he would follow the constitution.
Mr. Gilani faces a daunting task of holding together a large coalition while tackling rising Islamic militancy and severe economic problems. More than 250 people have been killed in more than a dozen militant attacks this year. Militants have targeted mainly military personnel and security agencies involved in antiterror efforts.
The new ruling-coalition leaders said the enforcement of law and order was their top priority. But they also have said they would use political means to bring peace and stability, as military operations have largely proved unsuccessful.
March 25, 2008
Pg. 8
Government Signals Intent to Unwind Musharraf Actions
By Zahid Hussain
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's new prime minister ordered the release of the deposed chief justice and dozens of other judges detained by the government of President Pervez Musharraf, setting up a possible showdown with the president.
The order, one of Yousuf Raza Gilani's first measures as the nation returns to democracy after more than eight years of military rule, signaled the determination of the incoming government to try to unwind some of Mr. Musharraf's more unpopular measures.
"I order all the detained judges to be released immediately," Mr. Gilani told lawmakers after the national assembly voted him in as premier Monday.
Shortly after the announcement, security personnel stepped aside and hundreds of people chanting "Go, Musharraf, go" moved aside security barricades and barbed wire around the Islamabad residence of Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, the deposed chief justice, ending his detention.
Mr. Chaudhry and 60 other independent judges were sacked and Mr. Chaudhry placed under house arrest after Mr. Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in November. The court at the time was in a position to overturn his re-election in October, when he was also army chief.
As chief executive and head of government, Mr. Gilani had the authority to order the judges' release.
The government is expected to try to reinstate the judges in their former positions, but exactly how that would work remains unclear. "I am grateful to the nation," Mr. Chaudhry, 55 years old, told supporters who had gathered outside his residence.
The freeing of the judges was seen as a direct challenge to Mr. Musharraf. Their reinstatement could lead to the reopening of challenges against Mr. Musharraf's re-election.
"We will defend democracy and uphold independence of judiciary," Mr. Gilani declared.
The four-party alliance that will form a new government -- led by Mr. Gilani's Pakistan People's Party -- has vowed to reinstate the sacked judges and to strip Mr. Musharraf of his powers to dismiss the elected Parliament.
Mr. Gilani also called on the United Nations to investigate the Dec. 27 assassination of Benazir Bhutto. The former prime minister was killed in a suicide bomb attack after she had addressed an election campaign rally in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.
Leaders of the PPP, as Mr. Gilani's party is known, have rejected the claim by Mr. Musharraf's government that the attack was masterminded by Baitullah Mehsud, an extremist militant commander who is operating from the South Waziristan tribal region. The demand for a U.N. inquiry has been rejected by Mr. Musharraf.
Mr. Gilani, a Bhutto loyalist, was elected as Pakistan's new leader by the recently installed lower house of Parliament with the support of almost three-quarters of the members. He will be sworn in Tuesday by Mr. Musharraf. Mr. Gilani, 55, is the scion of an influential landowning family and a former speaker of the National Assembly. Asked by reporters whether he would work with Mr. Musharraf or seek to push him from office, Mr. Gilani said he would follow the constitution.
Mr. Gilani faces a daunting task of holding together a large coalition while tackling rising Islamic militancy and severe economic problems. More than 250 people have been killed in more than a dozen militant attacks this year. Militants have targeted mainly military personnel and security agencies involved in antiterror efforts.
The new ruling-coalition leaders said the enforcement of law and order was their top priority. But they also have said they would use political means to bring peace and stability, as military operations have largely proved unsuccessful.