Falak Sher (justice) Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, by virtue of being the longest serving justice on the Supreme Court bench at the time, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was appointed as next Chief Justice. Justice Iftikhar was appointed a justice of High Court of Balochistan in 1999 and was elevated to Supreme Court on 4 February 2000. Justice Sher maintained that he was senior to Justice Chaudhry based on their respective elevation to High Courts and should be appointed as Chief Justice of Pakistan. On appointment of Justice Chaudhry as Chief Justice, he petitioned the President of Pakistan on that account for which no
Asif Ali Zardari tried to force his brother Shahbaz Sharif to resign as Chief Minister of Punjab province. Zardari dismissed the Punjab provincial government and only partially reinstated the judiciary by restoring 56 other judges deposed by Musharraf—but not their former leader, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. After Nawaz Sharif defied house arrest and rallied with thousands of his supporters, the Sharif brothers vowed to join forces with the Lawyers' Movement in the "Long March". Zardari's government gave in to popular pressure and Prime Minister Gilani in an early morning speech on 16 March 2009 promised to reinstate Chaudhry by 21 March. Ten judges