With another obstacle to his re-election removed by the Supreme Court, Pervez Musharraf looks all set to run for, and win another term as President of Pakistan. All is not well though- recently 86 opposition MPs resigned in protest of Saturday's proposed election, an election many claim will
be 'unconstitutional and illegal', due to the fact that Musharraf is the head of the armed forces and therefore cannot legitimately run for the post under the country's constitution. Many legal sticking points exist here, and although the Supreme Court has agreed with Musharraf, there still remains widespread dissent among parlimentarians and the judiciary. Buoyed by the reversion of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's suspension by Musharraf in August (due to immense pressure from members of the legal profession taking part in on and off riots for 3 months), members of Musharraf's administration can expect to see further action from m'learned friends of the Pakistan judiciary.

Let's hope so too.The uprisings up until Chaudhry's reinstatement in August were often violent, with several deaths in Karachi and riot police resorting to tear gas,rubber bullets and batons But they were angry, noisy and heard by the international community, the scrutiny of whom is needed now more than ever. An independent judiciary is essential in any country and one could argue even more so
in Pakistan, to counterbalance the military-leaning decisions taken by its President and the shady, largely unaccountable actions of the Inter-Service Intelligence (the former head of which will take
over the position vacated by Musharraf ''if'' he wins Saturday's election). Pictures of the disturbances
in Lahore, Karachi and other major cities back in the spring and summer showed the rest of the
world an angry, loud and sometimes violent group of lawyers and judges. Not something often seen
in the West, and likely condemmed by some. But surely a country such as Pakistan (others in South Asia, too)
needs a vocal and active legal system-its lawmakers after all are the people who
translate the will of the government, however corrupt it may be, into funtioning laws of a state. Once a
judiciary looses a certain amount of independence from it's government, a descent into a murky swirl
of shady laws and unaccountability will ensue. Last year in the US the Attorney General, Alberto
Gonzales became embroiled in a bitter row, lasting for months over his supposedly politically motivated
sackings of eight federal attorneys, a row he never recovered from and a possible contribution to his
step down in August 2007.

So many human rights and civil liberties groups scrutinise new laws and regulations in the West
(although so far failing to solve the farce of Guantanamo Bay), and we must remember that in Pakistan
the situation is rather different, with fewer groups operating and access to victims of abuse frequently
blocked by the authorities. When such a situation exists, it is up to the the law makers
to either prevent abuses from happening or to bring those responsible for perpatrating them to account.
Not specific only to Pakistan, but countries across South Asia, a legal system free from governmental
interference and corruption is a must, (especially in the absence of international monitoring groups) for
providing a fair, open and accountable form of government.

Whoever wins the upcoming presidential election in Pakistan, and especially if Musharraf does, the
judiciary must strive to remain independent. The decision recently taken by the Supreme Court allowing
Musharraf to run for President recently, worryingly shows that he may have made his made first
move against Pakistan's legal system. In Iftikhar Chaudhry the outspoken elements of the legal profession
have found a charismatic and upstanding leader. Yes, further unrest and protests may lead to deaths but
too will they provoke needed scrutiny of Musharraf's regime, both from within the country and from it's
neighbours. So m'learned friends, keep it up.

Tags: south asia
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