International   

Iftikhar Chaudhary meets Asif Ali Zardari

ISLAMABAD: In his first foray out into the world after his release from house arrest two days ago, deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary went to meet Pakistan People’s Party leader Asif Ali Zardari, a move that is bound to be viewed critically by both his detractors and well-wishers.

Mr. Chaudhary went to meet Mr. Zardari at Bilawal House, the PPP leader’s home in the capital on Thursday evening.

The visit was explained by Justice (retd) Tariq Mahmood, one of the leaders of the lawyers’ movement, as a call on Mr. Zardari “purely to express condolences” on his wife Benazir’s death. The former Chief Justice was under house arrest when Benazir was killed on December 27 last year.

But Justice (retd) Saeed-ur-Zaman Siddiqui, an ardent supporter of the movement to reinstate the Chief Justice, told Dawn News television that Mr. Chaudhary should not have met Mr. Zardari, especially as he still considers himself the rightful Chief Justice, and the PPP co-chairman is the leader of the ruling party.

Since his release on Tuesday evening, Mr. Chaudhary has received hundreds of visitors at his home, which has turned into a pilgrimage spot in the capital after the administration bulldozed the barricades blocking it.

Several politicians were among the visitors who greeted him on his release, but Mr. Chaudhary’s visit to Bilawal House to meet Mr. Zardari was the first trip out. Next Monday, Mr. Chaudhary is scheduled to travel to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, to deliver an address to the lawyers of the province.

Supreme Court Bar Association president Aitzaz Ahsan said Mr. Chaudhary would travel to other cities of Pakistan to speak to lawyers as he awaits the 30-day deadline set by the main coalition partners to restore the judiciary to its pre-November 3 position.

In this way, the lawyers hope to keep up the pressure on the new government to fulfil its Murree Declaration pledge to have a resolution passed by the National Assembly demanding the reinstatement of the judges.

With the new PPP-led government taking shape and expected to make his own appointments, Attorney-General Malik Qayyum stepped down on Thursday.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

You cannot talk with irreconcilable elements, says Negroponte
Hu’s firm reply to Bush on Tibet
Iftikhar Chaudhary meets Asif Ali Zardari
“Loyal” Iraqis to be settled in U.K.
Basra fighting hits oil industry
Woman confesses to terrorist attempt on China flight
Requiem for the marriage?
Pranab meets David Miliband
Chidambaram meets IBF team

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu