KARACHI - FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE VISIT IS CALM

C O N F I D E N T I A L KARACHI 000462 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/30/2018 TAGS: PGOV SOCI PTER PK SUBJECT: KARACHI - FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE VISIT IS CALM REF: ISLAMABAD 2532 Classified By: CLASSIFIED BY CONSUL GENERAL KAY ANSKE, REASONS 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Former Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary arrived in Karachi on July 29 on a tour that also included Multan. Sources told Post that he came to convince former Sindh High Court judges not to take a new oath in order to be restored to the bench. Chaudhary was met at the airport by a smaller than anticipated crowd; unlike his May 12, 2007 visit that resulted in 40 deaths, this trip was peaceful. End summary. ¶2. (U) Deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary arrived in Karachi on July 29 to the beat of drums and dancing supporters. He was accompanied by an entourage that included Aitzaz Ahsan, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Munir Malik, ex-President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and Asmat Ullah Khan, President of the Rawalpindi High Court Bar Association. ¶3. (U) Sindh Bar Association members, deposed judges, and local leaders of political parties such as Pakistan Muslim League ) Nawaz (PML-N),Jamaat-e- Islami (JI), Tehriq-i-Insaaf, Sunnai Tehrik and Anjuman-i-Naujawan-i-Islam were among the several thousand supporters who greeted his early afternoon arrival at Jinnah International Airport (Karachi). ¶4. (C) Aqil Lodhi, a member of the Sindh Bar Association, told Post that Chaudhary came to Karachi specifically to dissuade former judges of the Sindh High Court from accepting a Pakistan People,s Party (PPP) proposal to take a new oath in order to be restored to the bench. Lodhi said that other bar council members feel they have been marginalized by the Supreme Court Bar Association. He predicted a rift in the &lawyers, movement8 if other bar associations are not given more say so. ¶5. (C) Supporters accompanied Chaudhry' caravan to the Pearl Continental Hotel (in near downtown Karachi). The trip, which normally takes 40 minutes, stretched to four hours given the large and slow-moving caravan. Karachi security officials provided police escorts and cleared the road ahead of the motorcade. RSO sources said the local government refused a request by local attorneys to provide a bulletproof vehicle for Chaudhary. ¶6. (C) RSO sources said the turnout on hand to greet Chaudhary was lower than expected due to the short notice given about the event and fears of another outbreak of the violence that occurred during Chaudhary,s last visit to Karachi on May 12, 2007. (Note: On that earlier visit, Chaudhary never left the airport, nearly 40 people were killed, and several buildings burned in the rioting that erupted after his arrival at Karachi,s airport. End note.) ¶7. (U) The death of Imdad Awan, President of the Sukkur High Court Bar Association, who had a heart attack while driving Chaudhary, cast a pall over the event. Chaudhary cancelled his planned evening events and spent time later in the evening at a prayer service held for Awan. He is due to leave Karachi on July 30, after a luncheon meeting with the Sindh Bar Association. Anske