INDEED the practical step of benevolence for the betterment of sacked judges has been taken by Pakistan People's Party's (PPP) Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who paid the salaries of sacked judges from his special fund. The Long March perhaps mobilized the country, but it also showed many drawbacks which weaken the authenticity of the lawyers' movement. The long march that started on June 10 from Karachi came to an abrupt end in Islamabad. The lawyers are now considering a ‘Train March' as a follow-up to their long march. The status of lawyers movement to restore judges has been damaged in the days since; as political parties exploit it to gain their agendas in election campaigns. The long march as well became a political event. It was supposed to be a part of the lawyers' movement, since there are 130 district bars in Pakistan and the total number of lawyers in the country is just over 100,000. But it was forcefully strengthened by support from a clutch of political parties and sections of civil society. It had been overshadowed by the workers and supporters of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which rules in Punjab. The All Pakistani Democratic Movement's (APDM) rejectionist group was there as well with the Jamaat-e-Islami of Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Tehreek Insaf of Imran Khan making their presence felt. However, there were men, women, children and babies present which meant that overwhelming numbers from the local population of Islamabad and Rawalpindi came to support the long march. Nawaz Sharif created doubts in the minds of the lawyers about the future strategy after the culmination of the Long March by advising Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Aitzaz Ahsan and other leaders of the movement that after the long march, all decisions should be taken by mutual consultation. This gave an unexpected twist to the lawyers' struggle and they started shouting slogans against Aitzaz Ahsan without naming him. As a result, a group of young lawyers and political workers felt betrayed who had come to stage a sit-in as a follow-up of the long march. They attempted to cross the barbed wires to enter the Red Zone but, the administration engaged them to prevent any clash. However, angered by the young lawyers' slogans, Aitzaz could not hide his feelings and told them that he was deeply hurt to see them feeling betrayed. He repeatedly said that there will be no closure of this issue until the fearless, independent judges are reinstated. The lawyers' long march finished without any roadmap for future strategy leaving many people stunned and shocked, who wanted the leadership to announce an indefinite sit-in until the reinstatement of the sacked judges. The Long March revealed serious differences and barriers between co–chairman of PPP, Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif of (PML-N). First of all, the largest party, the PPP, was not there. Although “go Musharraf go” was the collective slogan of the evening, but instead of the residence of President Musharraf, the marchers of the Long March stormed their own parliament. Nawaz Sharif held the parliament responsible for not restoring the judges. He indirectly points the finger at Asif Zardari by saying that he doesn't understand despite an agreement, why a resolution is not being tabled in the parliament. Certainly, the movement clearly converged on confrontation with the PPP under the pretext of opposing the parliament. In response, hitting at the lawyers' long march indirectly, Zardari stated that only the PPP knew how to take out a long march, and anyone could pull a small fanfare. He said the PPP will restore democracy in the country through dialogue and knows well when to embark on a long march. In fact, lawyers' long march proved to be based on the desire for change of constitution and policy. The citizens wanted to hear the speeches against the previous regime that had caused those sufferings that were beyond endurance. Most of the people were from the lower middle class who thought the lawyers and the political parties would together bring the prices down to make essential commodities easily available and end load-shedding. Going in a roundabout way, Aitzaz Ahsan spoke out that ‘'the restoration of the judges under the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry would lead to an economic improvement in the short term which would alleviate the people's sufferings.” However, to lead the gathering with a cool and rational head is an appreciable act of Aitazaz Ahsan. Discipline was the unique feature of the lawyers' long march. No doubt, the marchers dispersed peacefully when the event was called off. This set a good example for Pakistani nation which had been generally blamed as the aggressive and extremist. Pakistan is certainly in a state of crisis at various different levels. Economic conditions have played havoc with the lives of ordinary citizens. Relations with the United States have entered a critical stage after the Mohmand air strike. The issues like load-shedding and internal terrorism is taking its toll. Afghanistan is becoming another fresh menace for Pakistani borders. Several external forces want to destabilize the system in Pakistan because of its strategic importance. Along with all those unlimited troubles, long march type of political shows are making the situation more difficult for government which has to work strenuously for the betterment of this country and its people. Failure to resolve problems related to judiciary urgently is bound to sharpen the differences between the government on one side and the lawyers and civil society on the other. This could contribute to misunderstandings among the ruling coalition, ultimately leading to the parting of ways. This would be extremely harmful for the democratic process. PML-N and PPP held talks to restore mutual trust after spitting venom on long march event. This becomes a fashion that both parties reassure each other, but differences occur again and again between them because of the differences in the priorities and methods to solve problems. PPP is claiming to be totally committed to the restoration of judiciary and wants to be going about it in a constitutional manner. It has also announced its own party's ‘real' long march at the right time. Lawyers' train march is coming up soon as well. Probably, there would be a competition for marches in future between PPP and allies, and PML-N, lawyers and civil society. The very idea of undertaking such ventures during scorching summer is problematical. It seems that the summer season is going to become the season of marches, galvanizing people to come together in severe conditions, braving scorching heat, suffer the ordeal of travel and threat of terrorist attacks that hover everywhere currently. It should be seriously considered as to what goal would be achieved after staging marches one after another. The gains and losses of these marches should be properly assessed as a whole. The time, energy and emotions of a depressed nation are more precious and they deserve to be given the right direction to sort out their problems. __
