of laws, continues in effect (and the Supreme Court therefore retains its authority) even when the written constitution is suspended by the imposition of a military dictablanda. Contempt of court The Constitution empowers the Supreme Court to exercise its powers of contempt of court to punish any person or an authority found of scandalizing, abusing, interfering, and obstructing the procedures of the court or its rulings. In 2001–2002, there were additional amendments made that further empowers the Supreme Court and its institutional powers to struck any federal authority found on the charges of contempt of court. In a much publicized case, the Supreme Court effectively used its constitutional powers when it ceased Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani from running the government when the court found him guilty of contempt of court charges– hench disqualified the prime minister from holding any public offices in the country. Literary criticism of the Supreme Court The Supreme Court has been given literary criticism by historians and authors of history of Pakistan for validating the martial law against the elected governments of Pakistan by the military interventions. Lawyer's movement, long march, and judicial activism In 2007, it was reported widely by the Pakistani news media that the Military Intelligence officials, acting under then-President and army chief General Pervez Musharraf, were using photographs of the justices involved with prostitutes to blackmail and pressurize the supreme court justices to take the oath of allegiance and make rulings favorable to the then-President Musharraf. The Lawyer's movement, allied with the rule of Law movement led by PML(N), eventually called for a successful long march to have to justices of the supreme court restored before the state of emergency imposed in 2007. Led under the direction of PML(N)'s President Nawaz Sharif, now the Prime Minister, the long march effectively restored the supreme court justices when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appeared on national television, only to announce unconditional restoration of the judiciary. With immediate effect on 17 March 2009, Justices Javaid Iqbal, Ijaz Ahmed, K. R. Ramday, and Fayaz Ahmad were restored to their position as of 2 November 2007 with Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry assuming the post of Chief Justice on 22 March 2009. The news media pundits eventually noted that it was General Tariq Majid, then-Chairman joint chiefs, and General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani, then-army chief, had played an ambiguous role in intervening and encouraging a rapprochement between the