ISLAMABAD, 4 May 2007 — Hundreds of lawyers, teachers and activists rallied in Pakistan yesterday to support the country’s top judge as he attended an inquiry into the government’s misconduct charges against him.
Pakistan has been gripped by a judicial crisis ever since President Pervez Musharraf suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on March 9 and ordered a panel of judges to hold an inquiry against him.
Hundreds of lawyers and workers of opposition parties demonstrated outside the Supreme Court in the capital, where Chaudhry is fighting a legal battle against his dismissal.
Chaudhry’s supporters showered him with rose petals yesterday at the hearing on his dismissal — then clashed with police who stopped them from following the judge into the Supreme Court.
Police had used trucks, shipping containers and barbed wire to partially block main roads into the city and set up checkpoints, causing traffic jams. Nevertheless, hundreds of cheered Chaudhry as he arrived yesterday at the Supreme Court to hear the allegations against him.
The lawyers threw rose petals as a sport-utility vehicle brought him to the gate of the court complex. “We are with you! You are our chief justice,” the demonstrators chanted. The judge, who denies any wrongdoing, smiled and waved.
Police swung batons to force back some lawyers who tried to follow Chaudhry through the gate. Some of the lawyers retaliated by kicking at the officers.
Television footage showed at least three lawyers and a police officer nursing injuries after the skirmish. Authorities detained scores of protesters after the clash.
Hundreds of opposition activists waving party flags were also gathering near the court, where members of an alliance of religious parties clashed briefly with police during a hearing on Wednesday.
Chaudhry Nisar Ahmed, a leader of the party of exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, told reporters that police had blocked many roads to discourage supporters from reaching the court.
“It is a shameful act,” Ahmed said.
Chaudhry’s defense team has objected to several of the five judges on a panel hearing his case, which has become bogged down in procedural disputes. They have also complained to the court that the judge’s suspension was illegal.
At the end of Wednesday’s hearing, Aitzaz Ahsan, an attorney for Chaudhry, said he had completed his initial arguments.
He said they had requested the council suspend the hearing against Chaudhry as they want the full Supreme Court to hear the case, but the plea was rejected.
The judicial council adjourned proceedings yesterday until May 9 after Chaudhry’s lawyers concluded arguments about the validity and composition of the council. The case will be heard on May 9 and 10, court officials said.
Rallies have been held regularly, and lawyers in cities and towns have boycotted courts on each day of hearings to demand reinstatement of Chaudhry.
Lawyers in the eastern city of Lahore boycotted courts and staged a protest sit-in outside the provincial parliament. They vowed to give a “historic welcome” to Chaudhry when he visits Lahore tomorrow.
Protest demonstrations were also held in cities and towns in northwestern Peshawar, southwestern Quetta and Pakistani Kashmir. Yesterday, Deputy Advocate General of Peshawar High Court’s Dera Ismail Khan circuit Chaudhry Muhammad Sharif also resigned. Sharif announced his decision during the protest rally in Dera Ismail Khan. His resignation was accepted by the NWFP government.
