Protests go on as judicial crisis entangles Pakistan

ISLAMABAD – Thousands of lawyers and political activists protested outside Pakistan’s Supreme Court yesterday, during the latest round in a legal battle between President Pervez Musharraf and a top judge he is trying to sack.

Musharraf plunged the country into a judicial crisis on March 9 by suspending Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and ordering a panel of judges to hold an inquiry into misconduct charges against him. Chanting ‘Go Musharraf go’ and burning a photograph of the president, lawyers and activists thronged Chaudhry’s car as the small, moustachioed judge arrived at the court building.”This rally is aimed at sending a message to judiciary that it should not take orders from GHQ (army headquarters),” Imran Khan, an opposition leader and a former Pakistan cricket captain, told reporters outside the Supreme Court.”The judiciary should work for the sake of country and not for a military dictator.”Pakistan’s legal community regards Musharraf’s action as an attack on independence of judiciary, while Chaudhry’s defiance of the president has provided Musharraf’s opponents with a ready-made cause in an election year.The inquiry into the misconduct charges against Chaudhry is being conducted by a panel of five judges on the Supreme Judicial Council, and the hearings are being held behind closed doors.Yesterday’s hearing, the sixth since proceedings began last month, ended inconclusively with an adjournment until May 2.Before adjourning, the Council turned down a request from Chaudhry’s lawyers to suspend proceedings until the Supreme Court decides on a petition from Chaudhry that it should handle the case instead of the judicial council.Chaudhry has challenged the competency of the panel, claiming that three panel members are biased against him.The Supreme Court earlier adjourned a hearing for Chaudhry’s petition after Judge Sardar Mohammad Raza, who was handling the petition, said he was unable to conduct the hearing as he was one of the judges who enforced Chaudhry’s suspension after Musharraf filed the case against him..Nampa-ReutersChanting ‘Go Musharraf go’ and burning a photograph of the president, lawyers and activists thronged Chaudhry’s car as the small, moustachioed judge arrived at the court building.”This rally is aimed at sending a message to judiciary that it should not take orders from GHQ (army headquarters),” Imran Khan, an opposition leader and a former Pakistan cricket captain, told reporters outside the Supreme Court.”The judiciary should work for the sake of country and not for a military dictator.”Pakistan’s legal community regards Musharraf’s action as an attack on independence of judiciary, while Chaudhry’s defiance of the president has provided Musharraf’s opponents with a ready-made cause in an election year.The inquiry into the misconduct charges against Chaudhry is being conducted by a panel of five judges on the Supreme Judicial Council, and the hearings are being held behind closed doors.Yesterday’s hearing, the sixth since proceedings began last month, ended inconclusively with an adjournment until May 2.Before adjourning, the Council turned down a request from Chaudhry’s lawyers to suspend proceedings until the Supreme Court decides on a petition from Chaudhry that it should handle the case instead of the judicial council.Chaudhry has challenged the competency of the panel, claiming that three panel members are biased against him.The Supreme Court earlier adjourned a hearing for Chaudhry’s petition after Judge Sardar Mohammad Raza, who was handling the petition, said he was unable to conduct the hearing as he was one of the judges who enforced Chaudhry’s suspension after Musharraf filed the case against him..Nampa-Reuters