Pakistan’s new chief justice takes oath of office

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif looks on as Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain (centre) administers the oath of office to Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani as Chief Justice of Pakistan at the oath taking ceremony in Islamabad.

AFP/Islamabad

Pakistan’s new chief justice took his oath of office yesterday after his outspoken predecessor retired, ending an eight-year turbulent and at times controversial era.

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain swore in Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani after Iftikhar Mohamed Chaudhry stepped down a day earlier.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chaudhry and other top government officials including ministers attended the ceremony.

Chaudhry, originally appointed in 2005 during the military rule of Pervez Musharraf and who came to be one of the architects of the former general’s downfall, has divided opinion.

Some have praised him for fearlessly taking on politicians and security agencies, while others have criticised him for exceeding the proper authority of the chief justice and interfering in political matters.

In June last year he chaired a Supreme Court bench that sacked the then-prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani after convicting him of contempt of court.

The move, likened by some observers to a “judicial coup”, marked the culmination of a long-running tussle between the judiciary and the government led by the Pakistan People’s Party over corruption allegations against the then-president Asif Ali Zardari.

Chaudhry has also taken on Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies, which are often seen as untouchable, demanding they explain the fate of missing persons believed to have disappeared into their custody.

Legal circles see the 64-year-old Jillani to be a far quieter presence.

Jillani has been a Supreme Court judge since 2004 and, like Chaudhry, was sacked when Musharraf imposed emergency rule in November 2007.

Faced with growing protests led by lawyers furious at the treatment of the judges, Musharraf stepped down as army chief later the same month and lost a general election in February 2008.

Newly appointed Chief Justice Tassaduq Jillani paid rich tributes to his predecessor and said the decisions taken by the Supreme Court during the tenure of Iftikhar Chaudhry would always be remembered.

Attorney General Muneer A Malik said that the period of Iftikhar Chaudhry as chief justice was a historic one, adding that the chief justice worked for maintaining the prestige of the judiciary and the rule of law.

Chaudhry is also liked by the people as he had issued suo moto notices on issues related to people’s problems and suspended government decisions like increase in prices of essential items and also ruled against the police and other law enforcement agencies.