THE Pakistan Justice Democratic Critic Party may be more than a mouthful, but it is unlikely to become a handful for the major political parties in the country. Former Supreme Court chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, the founder of the PJDCP, has unveiled an expansive manifesto and made familiar-sounding promises about who would be eligible for induction into the new party, but the newest aspirant to the political pantheon appears to have an interest problem — no one, politician or voter, appears to be interested in joining the Chaudhry mission. That is unsurprising. The former chief justice’s public appeal was rooted, firstly, in what was his willingness to stand up to a dictator and, secondly, the perception that he was fighting on the side of the common man against the politicians. But both those attributes were rooted in Mr Chaudhry’s role as chief justice.

Without his judicial robe, the former chief justice of Pakistan is an ordinary, albeit famous, citizen. A news conference simply cannot compare with the chief justice’s gavel in Courtroom No 1 on Constitution Avenue. So while Pakistan has moved on — there have been several chief justices after Mr Chaudhry — it appears that the former CJP has not. History is replete with instances of what Mr Chaudhry is now trying to do — and each time history has proved it to be an unwise, somewhat embarrassing choice. Once upon a time, a retired Gen Aslam Beg thought he would win the public’s affection and their vote. The Awami Qiyadat Party barely merits a footnote in history. More recently, a deposed Gen Pervez Musharraf thought he knew the pulse of the people better than politicians. Instead, Mr Musharraf has largely been confined to his house, with even his famed Facebook supporters not agitating for his release. The All Pakistan Muslim League has no discernible presence anywhere in the country. At the last election, Abdul Qadeer Khan felt that Pakistan had to be saved and so launched the Tehreek-i-Tahaffuz-i-Pakistan. It was quickly dissolved. Can Iftikhar Chaudhry’s fate be any different?

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2015