ISLAMABAD, Dec 12: Admirers and supporters brought flowers to celebrate the birthday of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry who turned 60 on Friday. The brief birthday party was arranged at Justice Iftikhar’s official residence nestled at the foot of Margalla Hills.

“By celebrating the 60th birthday of the chief justice (deposed) we have sent a clear message to the government that it should end all efforts to keep him out of the loop since he still has five more years to go,” participants attending the birthday celebration said while talking to reporters.

As the days go by, the government would find it extremely difficult to keep Justice Iftikhar at home, they warned. Born on December 12, 1948 in Faisalabad, Justice Iftikhar was elevated as the 20th chief justice of Pakistan on May 7, 2005.

Amidst festivity, Justice Iftikhar sliced the cake at one corner of his lawn and was instantly stuffed with the rich creamy chocolate cake by his supporters comprising people from the legal fraternity, civil society organisations and students.

“I am eating the cake and you people are braving batons on the streets for me,” Justice Iftikhar said while appreciating the courage people showed for the cause of independence of judiciary and democracy. The participants of the birthday praised Justice Iftikhar for bringing respect to the country by saying no to a military dictator and winning accolades internationally by becoming an icon of resistance.

Justice Iftikhar became the first Pakistani to win the most prestigious award ‘Medal of Freedom’ by the Harvard Law School, US. Among others, the birthday party was also attended by Rawalpindi High Court Bar Association President Sardar Asmatullah and Islamabad Bar Association President Haroon Rashid.