LONDON, Sept 16: In what appears to be a rare interview published in Sunday Telegraph, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry’s elder son Arslan, 28, has said that his father has resolved to go down in history as the best judge Pakistan has ever had, “and he is ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to impart justice to everyone”.
“He is prepared to even risk his life for the purpose,” Arslan said.
Arslan was speaking to the paper at the home just outside Islamabad that Mr Chaudhry shares with his wife Faiqa, 46, two sons – Arslan and six-year-old Balaach – and three daughters, Ayesha, 28, Afra, 20, and Palwasha, 16.
The house is immaculate, built of white marble, with views of the green Margalla hills from its lush lawns. Inside, rugs are spread over the wooden floor of the drawing room, while the walls are adorned with Quranic inscriptions. The armed guards strike the only discordant note.
Quoting Mr Chaudhry’s friends the Telegraph said he credits God with ensuring his survival and eventual reinstatement as chief justice after a four-month battle earlier this year.
”They say he seems to have been strengthened, rather than cowed, by the experience,” the report said.
His son said that after his father was restored to his post by the courts, the government had halved the security around their home and bugged their telephones.
In the wake of threats to his life, Justice Chaudhry’s family leaves their house only rarely, to the chief justice’s regret. “Daddy used to love long walks… but he doesn’t go any more because of security concerns,” said Arslan.
Yet the family says that their ordeal, especially when Justice Chaudhry was dismissed, has only brought them closer together.
Television pictures of policemen manhandling him and of protesting lawyers being baton-charged by police drew tens of thousands of demonstrators on to the streets. “Our morale heightened when we saw the general public behind us,” Arslan said.
His sister Ayesha said her father had strong nerves and would never share any kind of fear with them. “He is more concerned about the public who stood behind him and about how to deliver justice to the public,” she said.
