Pakistani government bends as protests threaten national security

By Imola Unger

Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani President reinstated chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry Monday morning after a day and night of increasingly unpeaceful protests led by opposition party leader Nawaz Sharif, who deterred arrest Sunday morning. Sharif's arrest was meant to thwart the so called long march demonstration that anti-government lawyers planned for the day under his leadership, demanding restoration of the judge sacked in 2007 along with numerous other legal officials.

The government's refusal to approve of the protest provoked strong sentiments from the population and riots broke out nationwide, necessitating the usage of tear gas and leading to violence among police and protesters. In a country dealing with grave economic issues and already on the brink of crisis due to strengthening Islamic violence, the conflict threatened to escalate into revolution. The decision to restore judge Chaudry, announced in the early morning hours in a short televised address, defused a potential violent crisis and channeled the explosive emotions into fervent celebration.

The US government welcomed the statement as a sign of democratic reconciliation in the country. "This is a statesmanlike decision taken to defuse a serious confrontation, and the apparent removal of this long-standing national issue is a substantial step towards national reconciliation," a statement issued by the Islamabad US Embassy said. At the same time, important U.S. ally Zardari's tremendous unpopularity and abrupt capitulation signal his loosening grip on the current Pakistani situation. Instated six months ago, mounting political tension already seems to point towards his stepping down from office. The negative sentiments swelled especially since Zardari recently banned Sharif and his brother from holding elected office. Involving the army in the resistance against the protesters and last week's arrests of hundreds of political workers further deteriorated his popularity index and Chaudhry anticipates that the President will leave office within a matter of days.

Sharif defied arrest in his Lahore home on Sunday and embarked on a day and nightlong rally to recruit a crowd sufficiently big to intimidate the government in Islamabad and exact a favorable decision by way of a sit-in at the parliament. Even though the city center was blockaded to keep marchers out, 10,000 protesters gathered and indeed managed to sway the President's decision, thus marking the historic event of the first success of the middle class in Pakistan.