Pakistan's wildcard justice
Sharif is in exile. But he hopes soon to return to Pakistan in defiance of its beleaguered military ruler, President-General Pervez Musharraf. Whether he does depends on the will of Pakistan's Supreme Court and its "simple but honest" chief justice, Iftikhar Mohamed Chaudhry. Musharraf will also have to abide by the decision.
"The chief justice is the most powerful man in Pakistan today -- he's running the government," says a government source.
Six months ago Musharraf tried to sack him, wary that the chief justice's activism might thwart his political ambitions. He was right. Chaudhry led mass, black-suited ranks of lawyers to resist the move and, in July, was restored. It dealt Musharraf the hardest blow of his rule. But it invigorated Pakistan's political opposition, says analyst Hassan-Askari Rivzi.
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