PAKISTAN: Crucial ruling expected soon over President Musharraf's attempt to remove country's top judge

A court in Pakistan will rule shortly on whether President Pervez Musharraf was right to try and remove the country's top judge from office. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has emerged as a symbol of resistance to Musharraf's rule, after he defied pressure to resign after being accused of misconduct. Musharraf suspended Chaudhry on March 9, precipitating the most serious challenge of his eight years in power. Lawyers sprang up to defend the independence of the judiciary and opposition parties seized on the issue in an election year. Aitzaz Ahsan, lead counsel for the suspended chief justice, will wrap up his arguments on Friday (July 20) at the Supreme Court, and the 13-member bench is expected to deliver a judgment either later that day or on Saturday. On Thursday (July 19), Ahsan said the "reference" -- the set of accusations -- filed by Musharraf against Chaudhry should be quashed, and the panel of five judges earlier authorised by the president to examine the charges against the chief justice should be scrapped. The mish-mash of charges against Chaudhry included using influence to get his son a job, fiddling petrol expenses and that he had a penchant for expensive cars. Musharraf's real motive for trying to get rid of Chaudhry, many critics suspect, was that the judge could allow constitutional challenges to his plans to get re-elected by current assemblies before they are dissolved for a general election at the end of the year. Chaudhry's case comes as the country was rocked by three suicide bombs that killed 52 people, a little more than a week after an assault on the Lal Masjid or Red Mosque complex in Islamabad, where more than 100 people were killed. Musharraf ruled out declaring an emergency amid the attacks, yet on the streets Pakistanis say they are worried about the recent surge of violence. Elections due by the end of this year are regarded as crucial to Pakistan's future. Musharraf gave assurances that elections would go ahead as planned.

ITN Source | July 21, 2007

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