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Another Pakistani trial judge resigns

A Pakistani lawyer hurls back a tear gas shell towards riot police during a protest against the removal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry on Saturday in Lahore, Pakistan. PHOTO: AP

A second Pakistani trial court judge resigned yesterday to protest President Pervez Musharraf's controversial removal of the country's chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Musharraf has faced a growing crisis since March 9, when he suspended Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry over unspecified allegations that he had abused his authority. The move has angered lawyers, former judges and opposition leaders.

Opponents consider Musharraf's move a politically motivated ploy to remove a strong-willed judge ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections due within a year.

Attorneys staged protests on Friday in Islamabad, where police attacked the offices of a private TV station that had covered earlier anti-Musharraf demonstrations.

In Karachi, lawyers were to boycott proceedings at courts yesterday in the ongoing protests against Chaudhry's removal and police manhandling of protesting lawyers, said Naeem Qureshi, the secretary-general of Karachi Bar Association, a lawyers' group.

Lawyers planned to stage a rally in Karachi later yesterday, Qureshi said.

In Karachi, 1st Senior Civil Judge Ashraf Yar Khan resigned in protest over the judicial crisis.

"My conscience was not satisfied with the present situation in the country regarding judiciary," Khan told reporters. "There was burden on my conscience. I cannot continue in my job."

A magistrate resigned in the city of Bahawalpur last Wednesday to protest police manhandling of Chaudhry, a court official in Bahawalpur has said.

Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights Wasi Zafar said on Sunday that Chaudhry has been put on leave after the government received complaints against him.

Chaudhry faces proceedings at the Supreme Judicial Council, a top panel of judges that handles complaints of wrongdoing in the higher judiciary.

The government has not specified the alleged complaints against Chaudhry, citing the ongoing proceedings at the council, which is scheduled to resume hearings tomorrow.

Musharraf is likely to seek re-election from the outgoing assembly and has given no indication that he is willing to accept opposition demands that he give up his post as chief of the army. His stance is likely to draw complaints to the Supreme Court.

Musharraf has defended his move against Chaudhry, saying he had no personal differences with the judge and that he will abide by any decision from the judicial council in the Chaudhry case.
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