In Pakistani Opposition, a Mix of Motivations

Lawyers Watch as Politicians Appropriate Their Movement

LAHORE, Pakistan, March 13 -- On one side of the provincial high court complex, a majestic red-brick monument to British colonial rule, it was business as usual Friday morning. Lawyers in black robes and white bibs rushed to hearings and conferred with clients, while clerks pecked out legal petitions on ancient typewriters.

On the other side of the complex, in a courtyard shaded by a magnificent banyan tree, there was revolution in the air. Dozens of lawyers huddled in strategy sessions and signed a long, white scroll -- often adding impromptu couplets about freedom and justice -- to show their support for Sunday's planned protest march on the capital, Islamabad.

The contrasting scenes -- and the impassioned but contradictory views expressed by lawyers here over the past two days -- illustrated the complex mixture of democratic inspiration and political self-interest that is roiling Pakistan's opposition forces as they prepare for a potentially bloody confrontation with the government of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Despite last-minute pleas for reconciliation by foreign diplomats and a flurry of meetings Friday between government and opposition officials, no breakthrough seemed imminent. Activists continued their plans for the march despite a crackdown by police and an official ban on public gatherings. The government also shut down a major television news channel late Friday.

To some in the legal community, the cause remains straightforward and the upcoming protest is their moment in the sun. These are the stalwarts of the lawyers' movement that sprang up two years ago, when Pakistan's then ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, removed the chief justice of the Supreme Court and other judges who refused to take an oath under his altered constitution. The lawyers are demanding that Zardari reinstate the judges, which he has refused to do.

"This is our American revolution, our struggle for independence," said Shabbir Hussain, 30, a lawyer in the buzzing plaza. Grinning eagerly, he quoted from Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall, a visionary U.S. chief justice in the early 1800s. "For my generation, it is a chance to realize the dreams of democracy that have never been fulfilled since Pakistan was founded" in 1947, he said.

To others, the legal crusade has become intertwined -- for better or worse -- with the murkier business of Pakistani politics. Last month, Zardari's top political rivals, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, took up the legal community's banner and launched their own crusade for the "long march" to Islamabad.

In some ways the Sharifs' demands coincide with those of the lawyers. They, too, claim to have been betrayed by Zardari, who agreed when his party gained power a year ago that they could govern Punjab province in exchange for supporting a central government led by his Pakistan People's Party.

Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that neither brother could hold political office. Zardari immediately sacked Shahbaz Sharif as chief minister of Punjab and imposed central control on the province. Had former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry been restored to power, analysts said, it is highly unlikely the court would have issued the ruling.

"We have no problem with the Sharifs. They have been sincere to our cause from the beginning," said Shahed Saddiqui, 60, a bar association leader and former judge who was removed after refusing to take Musharraf's oath. "Zardari has demolished a pillar of democracy, and it must be restored. This will not benefit the Sharifs, it will benefit all the people of Pakistan."

But others said they resent the intrusion and accuse the Sharifs of hijacking the movement for political aims. In a series of provocative speeches, Nawaz Sharif has called on supporters to take to the streets and bring down the Zardari government, while the lawyers have called for a peaceful march for constitutional goals.

Moreover, the coupling of a bitter partisan fight with the hugely popular lawyers' movement has created a second split among lawyers who belong to the Pakistan People's Party. The party, founded in the 1970s, championed the cause of democracy, rule of law and human rights during repeated periods of dictatorial rule.

Now, the conflict has divided PPP lawyers, some of whom are also legislators, into two camps. Some remain loyal to Zardari, but others have abandoned his government and announced their support for the long march. The renegades say Zardari has betrayed the democratic ideals of his late wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was slain in December 2007.

"Mr. Zardari has squandered the martyrdom of Benazir. The party of democracy has been captured by undemocratic people," declared Safdar Hussain, a white-bearded lawyer whose fingers are crooked from government torture during the 1980s. "A party that crushes democracy cannot call itself the people's party any longer."

In another room of the court complex, a small circle of Zardari supporters sat alone, eating rice and stew. People nodded to them politely, but they were left out of the excitement. They complained that the lawyers' movement had been stolen by the Sharifs, and they said there was no need for street protests with a democratic government in power.

"Two years ago the entire society joined our campaign, and I was proud to be arrested. But now things have changed," said lawyer Rashid Lodhi. "We have an elected government, and we should settle our differences within the system. What Nawaz Sharif wants is to declare civil war against democracy."

Back on the other side of the complex, still another group of lawyers carried on amid the orderly bustle of another day in court. Some said that they felt uncomfortable appearing before judges who had taken Musharraf's oath but that it was their duty to keep the wheels of justice moving.

"We go to court halfheartedly, but people need to be defended," said Awan Munsif, who spent Friday morning appealing the murder conviction of a young laborer. Munsif said he wished the marchers well and recited a few lines of a poem about justice. Then a client entered his office, bringing a gift of sweets because Munsif had just won his case. The lawyer sipped his tea and smiled.