Thousands of lawyers have taken to the streets to protest
Musharraf's controversial dismissal of the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
By Mark
Sappenfield | Staff writer of The Christian Science
Monitor
and David Montero | Correspondent of The Christian
Science Monitor LAHORE and KARACHI, PAKISTAN - "“ Never having so
much as attended a protest before, S.M. Shah was not keen to be manhandled,
pelted with rocks, and accused of terrorism for leading rallies against
President Pervez Musharraf.
But he has been, many times. As he sat in his office two weeks ago,
surrounded by the hefty tomes of Pakistani law, the gray-haired president of the
Lahore Bar Association gave a hint of the zeal of a Mohandas Gandhi in leather
loafers.
For three months, he and tens of thousands of lawyers nationwide have mounted
the most serious challenge to Mr. Musharraf's regime during his eight-year
tenure. They have taken to the streets to protest the president's controversial
dismissal of the chief justice of the Supreme Court earlier this year.
For defying Musharraf when political parties and the disgruntled masses did
not dare, Mr. Shah and his colleagues have become inadvertent revolutionaries "“
and the great hope of a nation longing for change. Pakistanis have showered them
with flowers, given them gold rings, and offered them free merchandise in local
shops.
The outpouring is a measure of how dissatisfied many Pakistanis have become
with Musharraf's rule as both president and Army chief. And it is only
appropriate that the challenge should rise from the ranks of bar associations
across Pakistan, experts say, noting that they are one of the last vestiges of
democracy in a country ruled by the military since Musharraf seized power in
1999.
"The bar is the only organization in Pakistan that has consistently held
elections, and we are now reaping the benefits," says Asma Jahangir, a human
rights attorney in Lahore. "It is a very functional democracy." The protesting attorneys appear to have inspired other dissenters. On
Saturday, Musharraf capitulated to a week of massive protests when he rescinded
an anti-media law designed to limit coverage of the lawyers.
For its part, the Pakistani bar was first stirred into action with remarkable
effect on March 9, when Musharraf tried to force Supreme Court Chief Justice
Iftikhar Chaudhry to quit, alleging that he had misused his office for personal
gain. Yet despite reports of a five-hour private showdown, in which Musharraf "“
in full military dress "“ called in generals and politicians to intimidate Mr.
Chaudhry, the chief justice did not buckle.
Musharraf ended up tossing him off the court anyway, but the judge's defiance
rallied a nation. Like most experts here, Pakistan's lawyers were outraged,
arguing that Musharraf wished only to silence a judge who had been ruling
against him.
"This was the first time a person resisted all alone against the
Army," says Iftikhar Qasi, president of the Karachi Bar Association.
At issue, lawyers say, was the independence of the judiciary and the last
check on Musharraf's authority, and their response was immediate. The following
day, bar associations from Karachi to Lahore called emergency meetings, in which
tens of thousands of lawyers chose to fight the only way they knew how. "Lawyers
know the law, and the law says everyone has a right to express themselves," says
Shah.
In doing so, he has led a gathering that was pelted by tear gas. He has also
been roughed up by police and he is now being investigated for terrorist
activities. But Shah remains unbowed. Now, he says, he will not stop until
Musharraf promises that he will abide by the results of elections this autumn
and that the poll will be free and fair.
"In the past, the judiciary has been in collusion with the military," he
says. "There is a chance now "“ if it comes out from under the military, that
some relief will be given to the people of Pakistan."
Since March 9, lawyers have led rallies to coincide with every hearing on the
chief justice's appeal, as well as one nationwide boycott of the courts each
Thursday.
Mr. Qasi of Karachi estimates he has held 46 rallies in 90 days, and
that nationwide, lawyers are collectively losing $170,000 in income a day to
support the protests. In Pakistan, the per capita income per day is about $2.60.
Qasi doesn't calculate how much money he has personally lost, but he does
estimate that he works 18 to 20 hours a day and only eats one meal a week with
his family. Shah of the Lahore Bar Association has dropped legal work entirely
to focus on organizing rallies and mobilizing support, rising at 6:45 a.m. and
returning home at 12:30 a.m.
Such dedication has won the hearts of many Pakistanis, partly because the
lawyers are not part of any political movement "“ and therefore their sacrifice
is seen to be selfless. Qasi says he recently went into a shop to buy a car mat,
only to find that the owner would not allow him to pay. Judges, who normally
sneer at lawyers, say Shah and others, have opened up their chambers to help
lawyers organize protests.
"When people see me in the black coat [of a lawyer], they give me the thumbs
up," Qasi says.
Standing beside a makeshift juice stand near the Lahore Fort, repairman
Shakil Ahmed says the lawyers are "doing a good thing." But for him, the rallies
are about much more than button-down Clark Kents finding their inner Superman.
In a country where the military is perceived as acting as a law unto itself, the
question of justice stirs people deeply "“ and the judiciary is seen as the last
bulwark of fairness.
"If someone like me needs justice, [the court] is the only place I can go,"
Mr. Ahmed says, his tunic stained and dirty.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0611/p01s02-wosc.html
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