Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to the channel, Chaudhry held the interior secretary, the commissioner, the deputy commissioner and the assistant commissioner responsible for his house arrest. He said he was still the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the official residence was his by right. Just after general elections in February, on 24 March 2008, on his first day of premiership the Pakistani PM Yousaf Raza Gillani ordered Chaudhry's release from house arrest. In October 2008, Chaudhry visited the Supreme Court building. The Lawyers' Movement announced a "long march" for the restoration of the judges, especially Chief Justice Iftikhar from 12 to 16 March 2009.
Suspension of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry non-functional chief justice. Aitzaz Ahsan said that he will also discuss the constitutional status of the Supreme Judicial Council and will argue over whether appointment of the Acting Chief Justice is constitutional or not. Large number of lawyers, political leaders and activists of opposition parties were present before the Supreme Court building when Justice Iftikhar reached the court for hearing of the presidential reference. They were chanting slogans against the government. The SJC proceedings began 45 minutes late than the scheduled time. Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan presented his arguments before the council. He argued before the SJC that the non-functional chief