Suspension of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry respondent in the reference. He told reporters that only the courts could determine the authenticity of the affidavits. He said a false assertion on oath was tantamount to perjury, which is a punishable crime with a maximum imprisonment of three years. After Malik Qayyum completed his arguments Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada gave arguments representing the President of Pakistan who was also a party in the case following which Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Khan gave arguments on Court Notice. Pakistan's Minister for Law Muhammad Wasi Zafar has that a new reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was ready and it would
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