Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry blockade in Lahore en route to Islamabad in the night between 15 and 16 March 2009. A few hours later, on the morning of 16 March 2009, the prime minister of Pakistan restored Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as chief justice of Pakistan through an executive order, after which the opposition agreed to stop the "long march". Chaudhry surprised the whole country when he suspended the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) on the plea of the PSM workers' union. It did not merely embarrass the government but jeopardised the whole privatisation process. Chaudhry, who was heading the bench, observed that the
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