Pakistan's Supreme Court yesterday reinstated the country's chief justice and quashed misconduct charges filed against him by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, in a major blow for the military ruler.
The ruling sparked massive celebrations by lawyers who had spent the day waiting outside the court for the verdict on Chaudhry, who has become an icon of opposition to the embattled Musharraf.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government accepted the decision but added it was "not the time to claim victory or defeat."
"The reference of the president dated March 9, 2007, is set aside," presiding judge Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday told the court, announcing a 10-3 verdict.
"As a further consequence the petitioner, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, shall be deemed to be holding the said office and shall always be deemed to have been so holding the same," he said.
Chaudhry has been showered with flower petals at mass rallies against Musharraf, who -- in addition to facing the judicial crisis -- is struggling to curb a wave of militant attacks sparked by last week's raid on the Red Mosque.
The president, who took power in a 1999 coup, suspended Chaudhry in March, following allegations that the judge abused his position, notably to obtain a top police job for his son and other privileges for himself.
Chaudhry's supporters say Musharraf suspended the judge because he could have kept him from maintaining his grip on power and because he took on cases about people allegedly abducted by Pakistan's intelligence agencies.
Security was intense around the court building and government installations in central Islamabad after a suicide blast killed 17 people at a pro-Chaudhry rally in the capital on Tuesday.
Musharraf's action against the independent-minded judge sparked what quickly became the biggest challenge to his eight-year rule, with mass pro-democracy protests and political violence in Karachi that left more than 40 dead.
In a statement issued shortly after the verdict, the country's prime minister said the constitution and the law "have prevailed and must prevail at all times."
"I have just learnt of the Supreme Court decision. I have always maintained that the decision by the honorable court must be accepted by all sections of the people including the government itself," Aziz said. "This is not the time to claim victory or defeat."
Musharraf, the president and army chief, hopes to get himself re-elected in uniform by the outgoing parliament this year, defying the Constitution, which says he should quit as head of the military by the end of this year.
General elections are due no later than early next year.
Musharraf in March sent the misconduct and abuse of power charges against the chief justice to a special panel called the Supreme Judicial Council.
The Supreme Court suspended the panel's inquiry in May, after Chaudhry appealed against both the allegations and the legality of his suspension while the claims were dealt with.
Tensions around the case have soared since Tuesday's blast in Islamabad.
Authorities say a suicide bomber blew himself up at a rally where Chaudhry was due to make the latest in a series of nationwide public appearances.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
RSS