Pakistan's Judicial crises and lawyers movement

Thomas Houlahan Report

An American Washigton based expert Thomas Houlahan has made his assessment on Pakistan's Judicial crises and lawyers movement. He says 'In listening to a lot of the commentary on the recent showdown between President Pervez Musharraf and the Supreme Court of Pakistan, I've noticed that much of the "analysis" has been pretty hysterical and that many of those offering the opinions on the situation seem grossly ill-informed. It therefore struck me that it might be a good idea for someone to inquire as to what exactly has transpired between President Musharraf and the Supreme Court. At least it would provide a set of facts for commentators to work off'.

Houlahan in his 47 pages report has not offered his opinion on whether or not it was right or wrong in moral terms to allow Pervez Musharraf to run for president while still a serving Army general, or whether or not his running for president while in uniform was a good idea. This is simply an examination of President Musharraf's relations with the Supreme Court. The focus is therefore on the legality of Musharraf's actions and those of the Supreme Court. The latter is important as judges are just as capable of doing illegal things as heads of state. In his report Thomas Houlahan has also made interesting comparison between US and Pakistan Constitution, Military take over in 1999, Return of Nawaz Sharif , Reference against Justice Iftihar Muhammad Chaudhry , his restoration and subsequent events leading to his dismissal and imposition of State of Emergency.

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Thanks--interesting update!