Rule of Law, Justice and Constitutionalism: Political Mobilization in the 'Lawyers' Movement for the Restoration of Judiciary and Democracy' in Pakistan

Abstract

In March 2007, lawyers across Pakistan rose up against the eight-year long military rule of General Pervez Musharraf, when he dismissed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. I examine the Lawyers’ Movement by asking what we can learn about the appeal of liberal rights, constitutionalism and rule of law and their role in class-based political mobilizations in Pakistan today. I do so by discussing how the Movement succeeded in making these slogans appealing across professional and educated middle classes and brought together different political interests under the loosely, and often contradictorily, defined banner of rule of law, Justice and constitutionalism.