ISLAMABAD  After much a do, deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry entered the Supreme Court premises here Monday for the first time since his sacking on November 3 last year when former President Pervez Musharraf proclaimed emergency. Justice Iftikhar also announced to disclose many things on the first anniversary of the emergency.

The deposed chief justice was speaking at the Supreme Court Bar Association where he had gone on the invitation of association's President Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan to attend their meeting and to avail a picture opportunity with the outgoing executive committee members.

After scheduled elections on October 28, a new SCBA team will replace the incumbents who are headed by Ahsan. Since the government is apprehensive about the upcoming elections as it could give the lawyers' movement a hurricane force if the leader turns out to be the firebrand front-runner from Balochistan Ali Ahmed Kurd, it is putting its weight behind Ex-Senator Muhammad Zafar, another contender from the same province.

Justice Iftikhar is also planning to attend a lawyer's convention on November 3 on the invitation of the Rawalpindi High Court Bar Association, where he said he would take the nation into confidence about the demands he was asked to fulfill and will disclose many things.

While imposing emergency, the former president as the then army chief had sent home senior judges of the superior court and kept all of them under house arrest until Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani ordered the administration to free all judges soon after his election to the prestigious post.

On Monday the panicky administration had laid a virtual siege around the Supreme Court by deploying heavy contingent of police while the corridors leading towards the judge's chambers inside the building were sealed. Similarly all the roads leading towards the Constitution Avenue and the Supreme Court from all sides were barricaded and the vehicles were allowed to inch towards the court after through search.

Except lawyers, that too after lot of pleading, no one including the media was allowed to enter the premises though some lucky ones managed to sneak into.
It took the deposed chief justice over four hours to cover three kilometers stretch to reach the Supreme Court from his official residence in the judge's colony and was stopped repeatedly by the police to make a request to think over his plans of reaching the venue.

However Justice Iftikhar was adamant on insisting that not only he will go but he will also take along all the lawyers. That is why he had to wait patiently inside his car at the first picket on the Margalla road near the Punjab House till the time all the vehicles of the lawyers were cleared by the police on the identification of President Rawalpindi High Court Bar Sardar Asmatullah.

Long queues of motorists keep on inching on the Margalla road and many children returning from their schools and college students were seen walking towards their homes by foot.

Spokesperson for the deposed chief justice Athar Minallah, meanwhile told Dawn that Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah had approached him both through a letter as well as by calling him and pleaded either to change the programme or seek prior permission from the Supreme Court as the secretary was apprehending that the assembly would hurt the sanctity of the apex court.

However he was told to approach the office bearers of the SCBA, Minallah said.

Soon after reaching the premises of the apex court amidst applause, the deposed chief justice observed that he was the host and all the lawyers at the premises were his guests.

Justice Iftikhar said the Constitution of the country should not be considered restored till the time the parliament either indemnify or reject all the actions taken on Nov 3 by the former president at the time of proclaiming state of emergency rule.

Justice Iftikhar accused that he was deposed on Nov 3 as he had to take up a contempt of the court case against top government functionaries for deporting former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif back to Jeddah in violation of the court order.

The success of lawyer's movement, he said, was at hand as no one power on earth could stop them from achieving their cherished goals since they all believe in the rule of law and the constitution.

Earlier Aitzaz Ahsan thanked the members of the executive committee and said his team would endeavour for the success of the new office bearers led by Kurd and explained that he was not expecting such a storm in the city rather he intended to organize the occasion in a simple and brief way.