During the past few days Pakistan witnessed a high drama with top opposition leaders, including the powerful former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, put under house arrest. When the confined leaders broke free and began a big protest march to the capital city of Islamabad, the Pakistani government buckled under and agreed on Monday to reinstate the independent-minded former chief justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
This followed a hectic backroom consultations/diplomacy involving President Asif Ali Zardari, Mr Sharif, and the US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. “The Obama administration’s special envoy to Pakistan, Richard C. Holbrooke, said the United States applauded ‘the statesmanlike act by President Zardari and hope that it will help defuse a dangerous confrontation’,” reports the NYT.
“Nonetheless, the restoration of Justice Chaudhry, who was dismissed two years ago by then-President Pervez Musharraf, appeared to show new weakness by Mr. Zardari. The former chief justice’s fate was a festering unresolved issue between Mr. Zardari and Mr. Sharif while the two men led a coalition government last year.
“Mr. Sharif and Mr. Zardari fought over the future of Mr. Chaudhry until their coalition fell apart last September over what Mr. Sharif said was Mr. Zardari’s refusal to reinstate the chief justice.” More here…
Why is judge Chaudhry so important in Pakistan? Read here…
Meanwhile an AP report says that suspected militants attacked a Pakistani transport terminal from which supplies are sent to NATO troops in Afghanistan, burning dozens of vehicles and shipping containers. “Rising Taliban attacks have raised doubts about the reliability of critical supply routes through Pakistan, prompting the U.S. and NATO to seek alternatives.” More here…
The Pakistan Spectator believes that Pakistan’s chief of army staff, General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, “forced Asif Ali Zardari to part with his ego.” More here…
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.