KARACHI, 11 May 2007 — Gunmen in Karachi fired 16 shots at the house of a lawyer of Pakistan’s suspended top judge yesterday, two days before the judge was due to visit the city, an official said.

The government’s suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on March 9 angered the judiciary and the opposition and has blown up into the most serious challenge to President Pervez Musharraf’s authority since he seized power in 1999.

Chaudhry is due to attend a meeting of lawyers in Karachi tomorrow, but the provincial government has asked him to put off the visit saying it feared terrorists might take advantage of the situation to unleash attacks.

The attack on the home of one of Chaudhry’s lawyers, Munir A. Malik, is bound to stoke tension. Malik said no one was hurt but two bullets hit a lounge where he and one of his daughters were sitting.

“It’s a miracle that we are safe,” Malik said. Deputy Interior Minister Zafar Warriach told Parliament 16 shots were fired. Police were investigating and would catch the culprits soon, he said.

Malik, who is also president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said the attack was aimed at putting pressure on lawyers campaigning for Chaudhry’s reinstatement. “I’m not afraid and this will not deter me from representing the chief justice,” he said. Lawyers in Karachi boycotted courts in protest against the attack.

Chaudhry denies wrongdoing and has refused to resign. Lawyers and opposition activists have held sporadic protests against the move to sack him.

This week, the Supreme Court set up a broad panel of judges to consider a legal challenge by Chaudhry against a judicial watchdog considering the government’s complaints against him.

While the case makes its way through the courts, Chaudhry has been traveling around the country to speak to lawyers.

Last weekend, he attracted tens of thousands of supporters on a trip to Lahore, Pakistan’s political nerve center, where he told a rally that states ignoring the rule of law and basic rights faced destruction.

Karachi is the country’s business capital, and a stronghold of the pro-Musharraf Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

The MQM, the main party in the provincial government and a partner in the federal government, has called for a rally on the day of Chaudhry’s visit to protest over what it calls political tricks “in the name of the independence of the judiciary.”

The government of Sindh province, of which Karachi is capital, said in a letter to Chaudhry that tension was rising and there could be could be clashes.

“There are also intelligence reports that terrorist groups may take advantage of the environment to launch terrorist attacks,” the government said. Police said they had arrested at least 12 people on Wednesday night who had been planning to sabotage Chaudhry’s rally.

“Police have arrested 12 suspects who were planning trouble during the visit of the chief justice of Pakistan on May 12,” Interior Secretary of Sindh Brig. Ghulam Muhammad Muhtaram said.

But another of Chaudhry’s lawyers said the trip would go on. The judicial crisis has erupted in the run-up to a general election and an anticipated attempt by Musharraf, an important US ally, to secure another term in office. Musharraf, who is also army chief, is due to seek re-election in September or October and wants to be re-elected by the national and provincial assemblies before they are dissolved for elections due around the turn of the year.

Analysts say his main motive in seeking the removal of the independent-minded Chaudhry is to have a more pliable man in place in case of a constitutional challenge to his plans.