AITZAZ AHSAN ON HIS LATEST CLIENT: THE CHIEF

C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 001194 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PK PREL SUBJECT: AITZAZ AHSAN ON HIS LATEST CLIENT: THE CHIEF JUSTICE Classified By: Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) On March 13, Aitzaz Ahsan, a lead attorney for now "suspended" Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, told Ambassador that the five-day-old saga of the Chief Justice was "maximum political theater." Seeming to relish his role in the drama (it is hard to turn on the television without seeing Aitzaz these days),Pakistan's top civil rights attorney said the Supreme Judicial Council hearings "would be fun." ¶2. (C) Aitzaz' tactic in the hearings will be to prove that, even if his client is guilty of ethics violations, some of the justices on the SJC are guilty of the same or even worse offenses. On the other hand, the government's prosecutor, the Attorney General, is universally held in high esteem. (Note: During recent Supreme Court cases regarding missing persons in Pakistan, the Attorney General quietly sided with petitioners demanding information from the security services on missing family members. He told us he was obligated to do so as an officer of the court and a supporter of the rule of law. End Note.) ¶3. (C) Aitzaz described the opening session of the Supreme Judicial Council as "bizarre." The "in camera" proceedings took place in a salon, with all participants sitting on sofas. Justice Chaudhry traded accusations with the five justices on the Council, a common one being "If I ever intervened to help my son, you've done it twice over." Aitzaz described the proceedings/sparring as "preliminary," noting the real hearings will begin on Friday, March 16. Aitzaz' first order of business will be to have the proceedings moved into a public setting. He noted that, while the 1970-1971 proceedings against Sheikh Shaukat Aziz had been held in camera, the defendant had requested such an arrangement. Chaudhry wanted public proceedings, and Aitzaz seemed to believe he would prevail on that score. (Note: Opening the hearings to the public is a chief demand of the bar associations that have protested throughout Pakistan this week. End Note.) ¶4. (C) Despite Aitzaz' status as a senior PPP leader, his goal is to prevent the hearings from being hijacked by politicians, particularly from the religious parties. (MMA politicians have been prominent in pro-Chaudhry protests around the country.) Aitzaz said his defense posture would be to attack the judges on the Supreme Judicial Council, not Musharraf. Aitzaz also said it was important not to let this issue be hijacked by the religious parties. ¶5. (C) Comment: While many observers agree with Aitzaz' low opinion of several of the justices on the Supreme Judicial Council, the litigators themselves -- Aitzaz and the Attorney General -- are first rate lawyers, scholars, and supporters of the civil society. Like the rest of Pakistan, we will be watching the Chief Justice's story play out in the Supreme Judicial Council. End Comment. CROCKER