ISLAMABAD, 27 March 2007 — Thousands of opposition supporters held rallies across the country yesterday to protest against President Pervez Musharraf’s move to suspend the country’s top judge.
The suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on March 9 has sparked angry protests by lawyers and opposition groups who consider it an attack on the independence of the judiciary.
Yesterday’s protests were called by two exiled former prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, who met in London last week and agreed on the rallies.
Authorities picked up hundreds of their supporters on Sunday in a bid to thwart the rallies, opposition leader said.
Nevertheless, protests went ahead in all big cities.
In Karachi, which is the stronghold of Muttaheda Qaumi Movement, a partner in the ruling coalition, the Pakistan People’s Party and Jamaat-e-Islami staged rallies that began from M.A. Jinnah Road and ended at Regal Chowk. Sindh PPP President Nisar Khuhro addressing the rally said the protests would continue.
About 2,500 opposition activists and lawyers marched in the southwestern city of Quetta shouting “Go Musharraf go,” witnesses said.
About 1,500 lawyers and political activists staged a protest in the eastern city of Multan. Similar protests were held in Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and other cities.
