Pakistan's suspended chief justice was cheered by thousands of supporters as he traveled through eastern Pakistan yesterday ahead of another rally to demand the ouster of the country's embattled president.
About 3,000 lawyers, students and opposition party supporters lined the streets of Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province, as a cavalcade motored through the city led by chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry -- who was suspended on March 9 by Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf.
They chanted "Go, Musharraf Go," and "No to dictatorship," as Chaudhry drove by, headed toward Multan, a major city in Punjab, where he was expected to address a large rally later yesterday, his lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan said.
"We are fighting a legal battle through peaceful means to ensure the rule of law," he told reporters. "We are confident that we will get justice" and prove that the allegations against Chaudhry were false, he said.
Musharraf has been confronted with the worst political crisis of his presidency since he suspended Chaudhry, accusing him of abusing his office to get a prized job for his son.
Chaudhry denies the charges, and has been fighting a legal battle to be reinstated as chief justice. He has addressed several rallies across the country, drawing the support of tens of thousands of people.
Most of Pakistan's political parties that oppose Musharraf's military rule have also joined Chaudhry's rallies.
Musharraf says he acted against the judge after examining evidence, critics, however, accuse the general of trying to remove an independent-minded judge who could block his plan to ask lawmakers for a new five-year term this fall.
Although the Supreme Court has not indicated when it will make a ruling, political observers expect a verdict next month.
Musharraf has said he would accept any court decision, but it was not clear what Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's response would be. Aziz recommended to the president that Chaudhry be suspended.
Aziz's term as premier expires later this year, as does the presidency of Musharraf who has said he would seek approval from lawmakers for another five-year term.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the