Pakistan's longest serving chief justice retires

Pakistan's longest serving chief justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, retired on Wednesday. He delivered verdicts in many important cases and had disqualified a sitting prime minister and challenged the country's powerful security agencies and the civilian leadership in some cases. Former military President Pervez Musharraf had sacked Chief Justice Chaudhry in 2007 for allegedly "misusing his office." However, the decision was considered as an attempt to remove a man who never bowed before any pressure and set precedents of giving verdicts without any political pressure. The former government of Pakistan Peoples Party had restored Chaudhry after the then opposition leader Nawaz Sharif started a long-march on Islamabad to press for his restoration. Serving and retired judges, lawyers, members of the civil society and political leaders lauded the role of Chaudhry as laying foundation for an independent judiciary in the country. Chaudhry served for eight years as the chief justice, the longest in the country's history. Judges of the apex court gathered at a special "Full Court Reference" in Islamabad on Wednesday and lauded the services rendered by Chaudhry as chief justice of Pakistan for the dispensation of justice, rule of law and supremacy of constitution in society. Speaking on the occasion, the former chief justice said restoration of judiciary and the role of lawyers and civil society has strengthened judiciary. He hoped the new chief justice will play a vital role in providing justice to the people. The newly appointed Chief Justice Tassaduq Jillani paid rich tributes to his predecessor and said that he has strong muscles. He said the decisions taken by the Supreme Court during the tenure of Iftikhar Chaudhry as chief justice will always be remembered. Addressing the reference, Attorney General Muneer A. Malik said that the period of Iftikhar Chaudhry as chief justice was a historic one, adding the chief justice worked for maintaining prestige of the judiciary and rule of law. The public is also praising the outgoing chief justice as he had taken suo moto notices on issues concerning the people's problems and suspended many government's decisions like increase in prices of essential items and against the police and other law enforcement agencies. Chaudhry delivered several cases against administrative corruption and recovered billions of rupees from the corrupt people. He had summoned at least two sitting prime ministers and disqualified Yusuf Raza Gilani as prime minister in June last year after he had refused to open graft cases against then President Asif Ali Zardari. One of Gilani's ministers, Hamid Saeed Kazmi, was sent behind the bars in the Haj corruption case. Two other ministers, Rehman Malik and Babar Awan, were served contempt notices for defying directives and ridiculing the court rulings. On several occasions he had summoned senior government officials and representatives of the security agencies, which had been rare in the past.