President General Pervez Musharraf warned lawyers protesting his removal of Pakistan's top judge to stay out of politics, as critics and opponents seized on the growing judicial crisis to press for an end to his eight-year rule.
In a speech marking Pakistan Day, the general also urged people to help defeat foreign militants, scores of whom have been killed fighting local tribesmen near the Afghan border in the past week.
Lawyers have observed a nationwide strike and held rallies across the country since March 9, when Musharraf suspended Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, Pakistan's chief justice, over allegations that he had abused his authority.
PHOTO: EPA
Hardline Islamist leaders opposed to Musharraf's close alliance with the US quickly joined in the protests, some of which have turned into clashes with police.
Pakistan's main, secular opposition parties are calling for countrywide demonstrations tomorrow, a step that could escalate tensions.
Musharraf, speaking on the anniversary of a 1940 resolution by Islamic leaders in British India that eventually led to the formation of Pakistan, asked the lawyers to let the legal proceedings against Chaudhry run their course.
"Don't make it a political issue. It is a legal issue, and it will be resolved only though legal and constitutional means," he told thousands of people in a sports stadium in the capital, Islamabad.
Opponents say Musharraf, who serves as both army chief and president, is trying to oust a strong-willed judge ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections due later this year. Musharraf is expected to seek re-election for another five-year term from the outgoing legislature -- a move likely to prompt appeals to the Supreme Court against his rule.
The escalating row could erode popular support for Musharraf in a country where many already resent his close alliance with the US in its war on terrorism. He took power in a bloodless coup in 1999 and his political party won a general election in 2002.
Musharraf said ordinary Pakistanis should help him to curb militancy.
The government has seized on continuing fighting near the Afghan frontier as a sign that Musharraf's appeal is being heard.
The fierce battles which broke out on Monday have left up to 160 people dead, including about 130 Uzbek and Chechen fighters and between 25 and 30 Pakistani tribesmen.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was