Word: zardari
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...whispers of imminent arrests gathered momentum and local television channels exhibited lengthy lists of intended targets, many prominent lawyers and politicians went into hiding, just as they did during a crackdown operated by former President Pervez Musharraf (who was defeated at the polls by the combined parties of Zardari and his now estranged ally Nawaz Sharif). (See pictures from the historic 2008 election that brought down Musharraf...
Political tensions had been escalating in recent days. After joining forces to oust Musharraf in March 2008, Zardari and Sharif quickly parted ways and revived their decades-old poisonous rivalry. Zardari, who claimed the presidency for himself, reneged on a commitment to Sharif to reinstate the deposed Chief Justice Iftikar Chaudhry, who, along with a raft of other judges, was removed by Musharraf when he imposed emergency rule. Last month, in a controversial ruling, the Supreme Court barred Sharif and his younger brother Shahbaz from standing for elected office. The decision triggered the collapse of the Punjab government...
...Zardari supporters argue that the Sharifs, by summoning tens of thousands of protesters to Islamabad, were intent on toppling the new civilian government and forced its hand. Islamabad officials warned that riots could potentially bring down the government, tip the country into deeper chaos or even invite military intervention. In 1977, a movement led by right-wing and religious forces similar to the opposition parties aligned with Sharif brought down the first PPP government, then run by Zardari's father-in-law, and paved the way for Zia ul-Haq to seize power in a military coup...
...Aitzaz Ahsan, a leading attorney and member of the PPP who opposes Zardari's crackdown, counters that the lawyers are merely fighting for an independent judiciary that will fortify democracy in Pakistan. "We don't want military intervention; we want to strengthen parliament and the democratic system," he told TIME, also speaking by cell phone from an undisclosed location to evade arrest. "Existing examples of democratic government are testament to the fact that you can't have a stable parliament without an independent judiciary - it's a sine qua non. A democratic system will remain weak if there are timorous...
Ahsan added that "it's a tragic irony" that he is now being hunted by policemen on the orders of a government led by his own party. "It's also a joke," he said sourly. "Particularly because I stand the ground on which the late Benazir Bhutto [Zardari's assassinated wife] stood when she promised the reinstatement of the Chief Justice. And I stand on the ground that is sanctified by three signatures on three different occasions by the new President, Asif Ali Zardari. It's ironic that the person who didn't break an agreement should...