If an act of the Establishment were to be taken to a court dominated by the judges appointed by President Musharraf under his controversial Presidential Constitutional Order (PC) we can easily tell in whose favor they would vote.
In short, Zardari has become the "B team" of the Establishment which does not want an independent judiciary that will not bow down to pressure, sticks or carrots. Historically, many verdicts of the courts were not independent but extorted by threats and intimidation. Judges had regularly fallen victim to blackmail and "sex tapes" and received dictations from the Establishment. Judges who were bold enough not to obey the whims of the Establishment were conveniently removed.
As he became a growing threat to the Establishment, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was summoned to General Musharraf's camp office in the presence of serving military officers and the infamous Brig (r) Ejaz Shah on March 9, 2007. When he refused to resign, the nation stood up in his defense. This was unprecedented in the history of Pakistan and soon Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry became a national hero, arguably the most popular Pakistani alive today.
The two greatest administrative reversals that the regime had faced in eight plus years of rule - the Steel Mill privatization case and the ongoing missing persons case - have come from the Supreme Court led by Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. There was also the cancellation of plots allotted to army officers in Gawadar in addition to cases involving disposal of nuclear waste, NWFP Hasba bill, petroleum prices, and net hydel profits.
Invoking the non-existent powers of the Army Chief on November 3, under a declaration of emergency rule, General Musharraf dismissed more than sixty high court judges and implanted the dismissal order in the Constitution as an amendment. The order/amendment reads: "A Judge including the Chief Justice, of the Supreme Court, a High Court or Federal Shariat Court who had, not been given or taken oath under the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007, had ceased to hold office on and with effect from the 3rd day of November, 2007."
With the failure of the newly elected government to solve the crisis facing the judiciary and the restoration of the 60 deposed judges including 17 judges of the Supreme Court, the systems of the rule of law and justice have become a mockery. It will severely damage the rule of law, supremacy of the judiciary and even the civilian rule of the country. It will, in fact, work to strengthen the designs of the military generals who do not want a free and independent judiciary.
At the same time, Nawaz Sharif's move to quit the coalition government and support lawyers struggle for the restoration of judges is a threat to the fig leaf of democracy in Pakistan.
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