ISLAMABAD, 9 June 2007 — Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz should resign if the Supreme Court rejects the government’s accusations of misconduct against the country’s suspended chief justice, a government lawyer said yesterday.

“If the Supreme Court rules that the reference is mala fide, then the prime minister should resign,” said Qayyum, who has been arguing the government’s case in a Supreme Court hearing.

Aziz is a former Citibank executive who is credited with turning around Pakistan’s economic fortunes after Musharraf, who is also army chief, picked him to become prime minister in 2004.

For nearly a month, the Supreme Court has been listening to legal arguments aimed at determining what judicial body should rule on the accusations of misconduct in the reference. A ruling on the reference is not expected for some time.

Chaudhry’s suspension sparked a countrywide campaign by lawyers and opposition parties for the restoration of full democracy, and comes in the run-up to elections.

Although the government has not announced details of the accusations against Chaudhry, some of them were revealed on Thursday in a statement to the Supreme Court by Musharraf’s Chief of Staff, Hamid Javaid.

According to Javaid, the accusations included fiddling expenses, harassing fellow judges, being biased in their appointments and intimidating police and civil servants.

The government also alleged that cars bought with government money were used by Chaudhry’s family and that he obtained a plot of land in Karachi eight years ago that he was not entitled to.

Javaid’s account portrayed Chaudhry as a publicity hungry judge who insisted on full protocol and liked expensive cars.

In another statement to the court, the head of military intelligence said Chaudhry wanted Musharraf to dissolve Parliament and let him oversee elections months before he was suspended.

Chaudhry had earlier accused the intelligence chief of pressuring him to resign.

Chaudhry’s leading lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, dismissed the statements as “fabrication and fairy tales.”

Ahsan pointed out that the affidavit filed by Javaid was part of the affidavit prepared by Maj. Bilal, PRO of the Supreme Court. It was dated March 8.

Aitzaz argued that the presidential reference was sent to the Supreme Judicial Council on March 9, whereas the affidavit seems to have been prepared a day earlier.

Chaudhry’s defense lawyers have also demanded cross examination of the army officials who had submitted their affidavits.

Shaikh Riaz, a retired chief justice of Pakistan, told Arab News, the two sides will have to adopt a middle path. “The case is getting very dangerous,” he said.

The top court will deliver its verdict on Chaudhry’s constitutional petition on Monday, Justice Khalilur Rahman Ramday, head of the 13-member bench hearing the case said yesterday.

Nilofar’s Resignation Accepted

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has accepted the resignation of Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar yesterday.

A prayer leader of the Red Mosque in Islamabad had issued a decree against Nilofar after her pictures appeared in newspapers hugging her paragliding instructor in France.

She was later removed from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League’s women wing by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the party president.