(22 Nov 2007)
1. Imran Khan, leader of Pakistan opposition party Tehreek-e Insaf, arriving at party offices by car, supporters throw petals to welcome him
2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Imran Khan, Leader of Pakistan Opposition Party Tehreek-e Insaf:
“All we want the international community is to ask one thing from General Musharraf, to restore the judges of the Supreme Court. Everything else they ask is useless if the Supreme Court judges are not restored because that means that General Musharraf would have got away with violating the constitution.”
3. Cutaway of poster of Khan
4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Imran Khan, Leader of Pakistan Opposition Party Tehreek-e Insaf:
“What, not the West but what George Bush is doing, is he is alienating 160 (m) million people just to back one man to do his dirty work here and what he is doing is he’s creating anti-Americanism in this country. It’s exactly what the Americans did when they backed the Shah of Iran against the popular democratic movement in the country and what was a democratic movement turned out to be in the end an anti-American movement and this is exactly what the Americans are doing now.”
5. Cutaway of exterior of Khan’s political party office
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Imran Khan, leader of Tehreek-e Insaf, former cricketer:
“We do not recognise these judges, these are Musharraf’s cronies, these judges are his pocket judges. Even if he wants to have himself declared as the king, these judges will declare him the king. That’s the whole reason for the emergency because he got rid of the genuine judiciary. The real judges are under house arrest while these pocket judges are sitting there just to endorse every illegal act of his.”
7. Various of Khan during party meeting
STORYLINE:
A Pakistani Supreme Court stacked with judges loyal to Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf cleared the way for him to rule as a civilian president, deciding on Thursday against a final challenge blocking ratification of his election last month.
Former cricket star and opposition party leader Imran Khan, who has become a firebrand in the opposition to Musharraf’s rule, blasted the Supreme Court decision as a cynical power play.
“These are Musharraf’s cronies, these judges are his pocket judges. Even if he wants to have himself declared as the king, these judges will declare him the king,” Khan told journalists in Islamabad on Thursday.
“The real judges are under house arrest while these pocket judges are sitting there just to endorse every illegal act of his,” he added.
The government claims to have freed former Supreme Court justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, his family and five other judges purged from the high court when Musharraf suspended the constitution.
But those judges have not been seen in public, and their supporters claim they remain under house arrest.
The Supreme Court’s decision, which was widely expected after Musharraf purged the court of independent-minded judges, means that Pakistan’s Election Commission can put a stamp of approval on the October vote that won Musharraf a five-year-term.
The general has said that once he got a court decision in his favour, he would quickly step down as army chief and take the oath as president.
Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum has said such a move could come as early as Saturday.
Khan, who was freed along with other jailed political activists on Wednesday, condemned the court’s decision and called on the international community to put pressure on Musharraf to restore the independent-minded judges.

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