VZCZCXRO9682
PP RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHKP #0456 2121755
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 301755Z JUL 08
FM AMCONSUL KARACHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0559
INFO RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0028
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY 0164
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 2544
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 4427
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L KARACHI 000456 
 
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