قوه قضائيه

. There were also reports that the activists of the pro-government MQM had torched a lawyers' office resulting in the deaths of about seven lawyers burnt alive in the fire. Following the attacks on media offices, the news media strengthened in their resolve to support the chief justice's reinstatement.^[22]

Political opponents in the parliament blamed one another for the May 12 mayhem. Several opposition politicians placed the responsibility of the attacks on pro-government parties like the MQM,^[23] while MQM held the opposition parties responsible for the situation in Karachi.^[24] An editorial in the Daily Times said, "the possibility of any compromise to correct [Musharraf's] original mistake [of removing the chief justice] has vanished now ... the ante has been upped by the government."^[25]

Temporary reinstatement[edit]

Four months into the movement, Musharraf caved under the "pressure of incessant nonviolent civil resistance" and reinstated Chaudhry as the chief justice on 20 July 2007.^[12] The Supreme Court cleared Chaudhry of all charges when restoring him to his earlier position. Nevertheless, the lawyers still continued their movement against Musharraf, declaring his actions and rule "illegal".^[26]

The legal community put pressure on Chaudhry to take up several controversial cases against the Musharraf regime – one such case challenged the army chief's eligibility as a candidate in the upcoming presidential elections on 6 October 2007.^[27]

Judiciary dismissed again under emergency rule[edit]

On 3 November 2007, the reelected president Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan and imposed a provisional constitutional order (PCO). Under the PCO, Musharraf dismissed the chief justice again and removed about sixty other judges. Several opposition politicians and lawyers called the removal of these judges as "illegal and unconstitutional".^[2

In shuffling the functions of the judiciary, several judges to asked to take oath under the 2007 PCO arrangements.