Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim Comments about the Present Judicial Crisis

by Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim
We are again faced with a judicial crisis – not a bonafide crisis but a crisis created for ulterior reasons.
Ostensibly the crisis is the elevation of chief justice for the Lahore High Court in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the elevation of the next senior most judge Justice Saquib [...]


My Judges or the Highway

In a frenzy of political maneuvering in Islamabad today, Pakistan is yet again precariously positioned in yet again another stand off. Today the President of Pakistan chose to elevate the chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Khwaja Sharif as a judge of the Supreme Court. The decision was taken and official [...]


NRO declared Null and Void – What Now?

After a lapse of over two years, today a full bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan came through with a historic judgment declaring the 2007 National Reconciliatory Ordinance null and void. It must be recalled that the NRO was the mastermind of the then President of Pakistan General Pervaiz Musharraf who in October 2007 [...]


From Dogar to Iftikhar Chaudhry — what a difference!

Sohail Khan, a journalist from The News writes an explosive artcile sharing the remarkable proceedings at the Supreme Court of Pakistan where Sheikh Afzal owner of Haris Steel Mills names big bribe takers Agrees to settle Rs9 billion Bank of Punjab claim, the main accused in the Rs9 billion financial scam at the Bank of [...]


Gen. Musharraf’s re-launch from Britain, a Challenge to Democrats

General Musharraf , no doubt is counting on the follies of the signatories of ‘Charter of democracy’ which is the core reason of his re launch from UK. He could not successfully achieve any one item of his 7 points agenda when he came in power on 12 October 1999 and he is [...]


The Carbon Tax Fiasco

Cyril Almeida a columnist in Dawn has penned an excellent article on the recent controversy regarding the petroleum carbon tax. It is a fact that in March 2009 the government had imposed a Petroleum Developmental Levy which resulted in an increase in the price of petroleum goods by a few rupees. The then, [...]


Judicial Taliban

Lawyers have emerged as a great force in Pakistan who carries weight in the future law making and day to day running of the judiciary as well as executive in the country. Pakistan’s short history is full of lawyer’s contributions and in particular judges who never bow before a dictator to take oath under any [...]


Dorab Patel on Judicial Aloofness – CJP’s meeting Richard Holbrooke

Mr Shakil Jafri editor of The Financial Daily asked me to reproduce as an article what I had written on CJ meeting Richard Holbrooke. With the intention to expand on these few paragraphs I chanced upon some reflections of a past judge which I added to my statement and am reproducing it below.
Members of [...]


CJP Iftikhar meets Holbrooke?

There is a news item which may go unnoticed that the Chief Justice of Pakistan had a meeting with Mr Richard Holbrooke in his chambers on Friday.
We as members of the civil society have struggled long and hard for his restoration and we continue to respect the Supreme Court, but for matters of dignity and [...]


The Lawyers’ win is only Partially Legal

Guest blog by Abira Ashfaq via her Note on Facebook
I just returned from a wedding and I got an icky feeling about the lawyer leaders. I saw some there. I caught a glimpse of Aitzaz, but before I could get my glamor shot with him, he had shot off to another function. I support the [...]


Flag hoisted at Chief Justice Iftikhar residence

The national flag hoisting ceremony was performed at the residence of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry at Judges’ Enclave Islamabad today. In the ceremony two flags were hoisted outside the residence of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. The two flags unfurled on behalf of the civil society and the lawyers.
Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan announced the [...]


Supreme Court website reinstates CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry

As of midnight 12:00AM 22nd March 2009 the Supreme Court of Pakistan website had officially updated its service to reflect the newly reappointed Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. The most important fact to note is that the record stands precisely as “Appointed as Chief Justice Pakistan on 30th June 2005″.
Reinstatement [...]


Update: CJP Flag Hoisting by Naheed Khan & Safdar Abbasi?

It was precisely 505 days since that fateful day on November 3rd 2007 when General Pervaiz Musharraf overthrew a sitting Chief Justice and replaced him with an illegally sworn judge. On Sunday 22nd March the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry will be reinstated and to celebrate the momentous occasion the official flag will be [...]


16 March, a new dawn in Pakistan

Guest Blog by Amjad Malik
Yousaf Raza Gillani’s early in the morning address to the nation restoring the remaining including the Chief justice of Pakistan Mr. Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chowdhary was a sigh of relief to the nation. Alas, President Zardari’s advisors could not foresee the repercussions of his decisions not to restore CJ [...]


Declaration by the National Conference for the restoration of Independent Judiciary

Declaration adopted at the National Conference for the restoration of independent judiciary held at Islamabad on 4th March, 2009
This National Conference having deliberated upon the need for the restoration of the independent judiciary in the country and for that purpose it was necessary to undertake a peaceful and non-violent Long March to Islamabad and [...]