ISLAMABAD, 20 July 2007 — Lawyer for Pakistan’s chief justice asked the highest court yesterday for a clear victory in the legal battle with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, saying it would spare the violence-hit country further turmoil.
Aitzaz Ahsan, lead counsel for Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said the “reference” — the set of accusations — filed by Musharraf against Chaudhry should be quashed, and the panel of five judges earlier authorized by the president to examine the charges against the chief justice should be scrapped.
“The reference has to be scotched,” Ahsan said. “There is an undenied series of facts which establishes non-application of minds, malice and collateral purpose.”
“I will show you this reference is the mother of evil to come,” Ahsan said, referring to the government’s charge sheet against his client.
If the 13-judge bench lets the tribunal continue its investigation, Chaudhry will summon Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz as witnesses, Ahsan claimed that will prolong the tussle.
There “cannot be a halfway house,” Ahsan said. “There has to be in this case a winner and the loser.”
The Supreme Court is expected to rule today on Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry’s appeal against Musharraf’s decision to suspend him and have a judicial panel investigate him for alleged misconduct.
Chaudhry’s March 9 suspension triggered protests by lawyers and opposition parties that have grown into a powerful pro-democracy movement just as Musharraf faces a rising tide of militancy.
The row over Chaudhry’s ouster, which lawyers say is a struggle for judicial independence, has been described as the biggest challenge to Musharraf since he took over in 1999.
The judicial crisis has, however, been overshadowed by fighting between security forces and militants at Islamabad’s radical Red Mosque and a spate of bombings and attacks that together have killed nearly 300 people so far this month.
Musharraf suspended Chaudhry for allegedly pulling rank to secure a police job for his son and enjoying unwarranted privileges such as the use of government aircraft.
The government insists the case has no political motive and that Musharraf had little choice under the Constitution but to act against Chaudhry.
However, opponents accuse Musharraf of plotting to remove an independent-minded judge to forestall legal challenges to his plan to ask lawmakers for another five-year term this fall.
In court, Ahsan has said Musharraf overstepped his powers when he suspended Chaudhry and made mistakes when filing the case.
Officials have acknowledged that they initially mishandled the case, but insist Musharraf acted lawfully.
Later talking to journalists Ahsan said, “I think the court is either divided or intends to deliver a judgment that will see the chief justice reinstated and also keep the reference intact”.
Despite Tuesday’s attack in Islamabad, lawyers went ahead with their weekly protest yesterday calling for Chaudhry’s reinstatement.
More than 2,000 attorneys and opposition activists marched through the eastern city of Lahore, many chanting anti-Musharraf slogans.
