NEW YORK: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Pakistan's first Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy have been named by Time magazine as among the 100 most influential people of the world.
As Time puts it, Chaudhry and Sharmeen have made it to a list of people who "inspire us, entertain us, challenge us and change our world".
According to a write-up for the Time's list by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, "Chaudhry has become the first head of Pakistan's Supreme Court to attempt to bring the powerful to justice. He has taken on the Prime Minister and the President in an effort to hold them to account. It's not just the politicians either. Chaudhry, 63, is also seeking to take Pakistan's intelligence agencies to task for their human-rights abuses."
Khan continues: "The Supreme Court faces incredible odds. The venal political class is doing its best to thwart the judiciary. In recent weeks, we have seen Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani - who is accused of contempt of court for refusing to obey its order to write to Swiss authorities and ask them to reopen a corruption case against his ally, President Asif Ali Zardari - flaunting his defiance of the court. Will Chaudhry hold firm and find the Prime Minister guilty of contempt? A nation long deprived of justice now anxiously awaits it."
Sharmeen was praised in the list by Hollywood actor and director Angelina Jolie who said "[Sharmeen] belongs to a monumental campaign that is changing the legal, social and political fate of survivors of acid-related violence. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's documentary Saving Face brought Pakistan's acid-violence problem to the world stage. Today she is bringing the film's message to towns and villages in Pakistan through an educational-awareness campaign."
The Time's list of 100 most influential people include Salman Khan of the Khan Academy, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei and Manal al-Sharif - a Saudi protestor against country's ban on female drivers, amongst others.