Imran Khan urges new Chief Justice to hold President Asif Zardari to account
Imran Khan, the former cricketer turned politician, is urging Pakistan's new Chief Justice to keep up pressure on President Asif Zardari.
Otherwise, Mr Khan warned, Iftikhar Chaudhry would be blamed for "the biggest let-down in history".
Mr Chaudhry is to take office on Sunday, following a week of nationwide marches and protests by supporters, two years after he was ousted by Pervez Musharraf, the country's former military ruler.
Mr Khan, who was among those calling for Mr Chaudhry's reappointment, said his restoration was "a slap in the face" for Gen Musharraf. But he urged Mr Chaudhry not to compromise in dispensing justice, even to the rich and powerful - including Gen Musharraf's elected successor, President Asif Zardari.
"There can be no compromise now and if there is one, what is the point of reinstating the chief justice?" he told The Sunday Telegraph. "The reason the people rallied behind him is because they wanted an independent judge who should seek no orders from the government."
In particular he urged Mr Chaudhry to review the immunity deal protecting Mr Zardari from prosecution over long-standing corruption charges. Mr Zardari was elected president after his wife Benazir Bhutto - originally the candidate - was assassinated on the campaign trail.
"If he doesn't take up that case, I'd say it would be the biggest let-down in history," said Mr Khan.
Pakistan's outgoing Supreme Court chief justice has now formally stepped aside, making way for Mr Chaudhry. Abdul Hameed Dogar, who is 65 on Sunday, was officially said to be retiring.
Mr Zardari had balked at bringing back the independent-minded Mr Chaudhry until it became clear that otherwise he faced mass protests in the capital in what Mr Khan said would have been a Pakistani version of the "Orange Revolution" which displaced a government in Ukraine.
At a farewell dinner for the retiring chief justice, Mr Zardari said the past should now be forgotten. "It is time to look forward and build on what has been achieved," he said, according to an official transcript of his remarks. He added: "Our vision may not have been shared by all. Some were even critical. This is the price leaders have to pay."
Mr Khan, who heads the Justice Movement political party, said if Mr Chaudhry used his authority to check the excesses of the government, he would be following the same path as the West many years ago. "Right from Magna Carta to the French revolution to the US constitution, they have brought checks on the executive," he said.
"But unfortunately in Pakistan we one law for the rich and another for the poor. The jails are today full of poor, while the powerful who have committed major sins, but they are allowed to sit inside the parliaments."
He warned that if the country's courts failed to deliver justice for all, it would speed the spread of the Taliban, who are already encroaching on a growing area of Pakistan. "When the Taliban started in Afghanistan, it had offered people justice and protection from the tyranny of the war lord," he said.
"I can honestly tell you that if we fail to react, the 'quick justice at the barrel of a gun' - in other words, the Taliban - will be only a matter of time."
Mr Khan said that his party would watch Mr Chaudhry closely over the next few weeks to see if he lived up to his job.
Imran Khan, the former cricketer turned politician, is urging Pakistan's new Chief Justice to keep up pressure on President Asif Zardari.
Otherwise, Mr Khan warned, Iftikhar Chaudhry would be blamed for "the biggest let-down in history".
Mr Chaudhry is to take office on Sunday, following a week of nationwide marches and protests by supporters, two years after he was ousted by Pervez Musharraf, the country's former military ruler.
Mr Khan, who was among those calling for Mr Chaudhry's reappointment, said his restoration was "a slap in the face" for Gen Musharraf. But he urged Mr Chaudhry not to compromise in dispensing justice, even to the rich and powerful - including Gen Musharraf's elected successor, President Asif Zardari.
"There can be no compromise now and if there is one, what is the point of reinstating the chief justice?" he told The Sunday Telegraph. "The reason the people rallied behind him is because they wanted an independent judge who should seek no orders from the government."
In particular he urged Mr Chaudhry to review the immunity deal protecting Mr Zardari from prosecution over long-standing corruption charges. Mr Zardari was elected president after his wife Benazir Bhutto - originally the candidate - was assassinated on the campaign trail.
"If he doesn't take up that case, I'd say it would be the biggest let-down in history," said Mr Khan.
Pakistan's outgoing Supreme Court chief justice has now formally stepped aside, making way for Mr Chaudhry. Abdul Hameed Dogar, who is 65 on Sunday, was officially said to be retiring.
Mr Zardari had balked at bringing back the independent-minded Mr Chaudhry until it became clear that otherwise he faced mass protests in the capital in what Mr Khan said would have been a Pakistani version of the "Orange Revolution" which displaced a government in Ukraine.
At a farewell dinner for the retiring chief justice, Mr Zardari said the past should now be forgotten. "It is time to look forward and build on what has been achieved," he said, according to an official transcript of his remarks. He added: "Our vision may not have been shared by all. Some were even critical. This is the price leaders have to pay."
Mr Khan, who heads the Justice Movement political party, said if Mr Chaudhry used his authority to check the excesses of the government, he would be following the same path as the West many years ago. "Right from Magna Carta to the French revolution to the US constitution, they have brought checks on the executive," he said.
"But unfortunately in Pakistan we one law for the rich and another for the poor. The jails are today full of poor, while the powerful who have committed major sins, but they are allowed to sit inside the parliaments."
He warned that if the country's courts failed to deliver justice for all, it would speed the spread of the Taliban, who are already encroaching on a growing area of Pakistan. "When the Taliban started in Afghanistan, it had offered people justice and protection from the tyranny of the war lord," he said.
"I can honestly tell you that if we fail to react, the 'quick justice at the barrel of a gun' - in other words, the Taliban - will be only a matter of time."
Mr Khan said that his party would watch Mr Chaudhry closely over the next few weeks to see if he lived up to his job.
