I received an email from Jayne Bigelsen of the New York City Bar Association announcing that Aitzaz Ahsan, a prominent leader of the Pakistani lawyers who have played a significant role in ensuring the life of democratic institutions in the recent past, was to speak at the NYCBA.

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I received an email from Jayne Bigelsen of the New York City Bar Association announcing that Aitzaz Ahsan, a prominent leader of the Pakistani Lawyers who have played a significant role in ensuring the life of democratic institutions in the recent past, was to speak at the NYCBA.

The NYCBA announcement
Aitzaz Ahsan, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and the leader of the “Lawyers’ Movement” in that country, will speak at the New York City Bar on Tuesday, July 1^st, 2008, at 9:00 a.m. Mr. Ahsan will discuss the latest developments regarding the legal system and judicial independence in Pakistan.

Last November, members of the New York City Bar, along with the New York State Bar, the New York County Lawyers’ Association and other organizations, rallied in support of the lawyers and judges affected by the imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan and the deposing of  Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Mr. Ahsan will provide an update on efforts to achieve, as he phrased it in a recent article in Newsweek, “Justice for our Justice,” and the reinstatement of other members of the judiciary.

“We have been very supportive of the efforts of Pakistan’s legal community to promote judicial independence and the rule of law, and are delighted that Mr. Ahsan is here to inform the New York City Bar of the progress on those fronts,” said Patricia M. Hynes, President of the New York City Bar.

A Summary of the Presentation (Greenfield notes)
At the request of the New York City Bar, I announced the relatively impromptu talk by Aitzaz Ahsan, leader of the Pakistani lawyers revolt stemming from the ouster of the Chief Justice of their Supreme Court.  I figure the least I could do is close the loop.

While lawyers around the country protested for a day after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf put an end to the rule of law in our ally, most of us went back to work afterward and didn't give it a second thought.  After all, it's so much more interesting to talk about going to war for "freedom" than getting one's hands dirty in the actual nitty-gritty of  it, especially when it's our own ally who's taking it away, America's silence.

This was Ahsan's point, as related in this New York Lawyer article.

In a breakfast talk yesterday at the New York City Bar Association, Aitzaz Ahsan, the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan, criticized the White House for not speaking "a word, a syllable" to protest the five-month house arrest of Pakistan's chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

Mr. Ahsan said the administration had been silent because it "does not want to embarrass" Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Mr. Ahsan added that the silence is "noticed in Pakistan" and is "a tragedy in the larger context and canvas of Pakistan's place in the world."

Without the reinstatement of the ousted judges and the return of the rule of law, Mr. Ahsan said, the "broad masses" in Pakistan are without "enforceable rights."

In that environment, he asserted, "extremists will encroach upon the middle ground," leaving as vulnerable a front-line state in the war against terror.

Kinda makes you feel all warm and fuzzy about the loss of American lives so far away for the cause of freedom.

Ahsan said that the lawyers of Pakistan recognized the protests by American lawyers and appreciated their efforts. 

To keep up the pressure to reinstate the judges, Mr. Ahsan told the 120 lawyers who attended yesterday's 70-minute session that lawyer groups in Pakistan are calling for an international convention in September.

He said he hoped "distinguished attorneys" from around the world and the "elected representatives" of bar associations would attend to hear first-hand accounts of Chief Justice Chaudhry and other ousted judges.

This is the flat world of the law, and while we espouse civil rights and freedoms for ourselves, will we care as much when it's about it in Pakistan?  Bear in mind, there may come a day when we need the favor returned.