ISLAMABAD, 2 October 2007 — Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry yesterday ordered the suspension of the inspector general of police, the senior superintendent of police and the deputy commissioner of Islamabad capital territory for using excessive force against journalists and lawyers outside the Election Commission building on Saturday.
The chief justice had taken suo moto action on Sunday despite it being a holiday and summoned Secretary Interior Sayed Kamal Shah, Inspector General Sayed Marwat Shah, Senior Superintendent Taimur and Deputy Commissioner of ICT Muhammad Ali. He also ordered the footage of private TV channels which was used as evidence against the senior officials who had ordered the use of brute force against print and electronic journalists, lawyers, and politicians opposed to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.
The order, quickly executed by the government, came amid rising tensions ahead of Saturday’s presidential ballot, when Musharraf is expected to secure another five-year term.
The opposition plans more protests and legal challenges against the candidacy of Musharraf, who also faces rising militancy.
To keep up the pressure on Musharraf, about 2,500 lawyers rallied yesterday in the eastern city of Lahore. The protesters burned an effigy of Musharraf and chanted slogans denouncing him.
In the southern port of Karachi, some 300 journalists marched to the governor’s house. Both events ended peacefully.
Rival presidential candidates were expected to submit new legal challenges to Musharraf’s candidacy in the Supreme Court, even though it has already dismissed several complaints.
Opposition parties have said their lawmakers will quit the federal and provincial assemblies, which together elect the president, today to undermine the credibility of the vote.
Leaders in North West Frontier Province, where the administration is headed by Islamists, are also vowing to dissolve the provincial assembly.
However, pro-Musharraf lawmakers yesterday submitted a no-confidence motion against the province’s top elected official in an attempt to stall the dissolution.
Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup and has become a key US ally in its war on terrorism, wants to be re-elected while he is still army chief. Opponents claim that would violate the constitution, although Musharraf has pledged to give up his powerful military post if he wins the election.
Despite dwindling popularity and increasingly bitter opposition, Musharraf seems set to win the election. The ruling coalition says it has the numbers it needs, and even the general’s main challenger, retired Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed, has admitted he does not have much of a chance.
— With input from agencies
