Pakistan’s chief justice returned to his post yesterday after two years of protests over his ouster that aided the downfall of one government and pressured the current administration to yield to the opposition.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani prime minister paid a visit to the home of the opposition chief with what he called a “goodwill message,” hoping to further calm political tensions that have distracted a nation beleaguered by rising al-Qaeda and Taliban violence.
Hundreds of lawyers and activists who have agitated for Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry’s return gathered outside the judge’s home for a ceremonial flag-raising. They carried balloons and threw rose petals, calling the judge’s reinstatement a milestone for democracy.
“It is a day of victory for the people of Pakistan,” lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan said.
The top judge tackled routine duties yesterday, such as approving panels of jurists, a court statement said. He was formally back in office after midnight following Saturday’s retirement of the chief justice who had replaced him.
Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf deposed Chaudhry in 2007 after the independent-minded judge began examining cases that could have embarrassed the military ruler and threatened his claim to office.
The justice’s firing sparked a wave of lawyer-led protests that helped force Musharraf to allow elections that brought his foes to power in early 2007. Musharraf resigned last summer.
His successor, Asif Ali Zardari, promised to restore the chief justice, but kept stalling, apparently over fears that Chaudhry would examine a deal that granted him immunity from prosecution over corruption claims.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, head of the second-biggest party, joined the opposition because of Zardari’s failure to return Chaudhry to his post.
Sharif was further angered after a court ruling last month barred him and his brother Shahbaz from holding elected office. Zardari then dismissed the Punjab provincial government headed by Shahbaz Sharif.
Zardari gave in last week and reinstated the chief justice after activist lawyers and opposition supporters began a march toward the capital, where they planned to stage a sit-in at parliament.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS