Editor's note: Click here to listen to our podcast featuring audio excerpts of the Hudson Institute's March 16 conference on Pakistan.When lawyers in the United States are dissatisfied with government actions, they launch lawsuits and lobby for changes in procedures, policy, and legislation. In Pakistan, they stage street protests. The decision by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to dismiss Chief Supreme Court justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on March 9 has created the most serious domestic political crisis in the history of Musharraf's government. The president claimed he acted after learning of unspecified misconduct on Chaudhry's behalf. Most observers view the move as an attempt to eliminate a potential impediment to Musharraf's tenure in power. Although Musharraf appointed Chaudhry to the court in 2005, the justice has developed a reputation for independence that made his influential position a potential problem for the president.
U.S. Policy Toward Pakistan: Misunderstandings Abound
