Pakistani lawyers to protest as top judge accused

ISLAMABAD, Mar 11 (Reuters) Pakistani police sealed off the residence of the country's top judge today pending an inquiry into what state media said were accusations of misconduct and misuse of authority.

The government said a Supreme Judicial Council would hold an inquiry into ''numerous complaints and serious allegations'' against Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary, state-run APP news agency reported.

Lawyers vowed to boycott courts tomorrow and Tuesday in protest to his treatment, which a legal analyst said may be linked to Chaudhary's efforts to account for hundreds of people who have disappeared after being taken into custody.

''We're protesting because the chief justice of this country is under house arrest, he is detained,'' Qazi Anwar, chairman of the executive committee of the Pakistan Bar Association, told Reuters.

''This is an insult to the entire nation ... Is it a fair that you're levelling allegations against the chief justice of Pakistan and his version is not coming out?'' A police officer at Chaudhary's house told a Reuters reporter no one was allowed in, but the government said Chaudhary was not under house arrest and the action against him was in line with the constitution.

Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan said there were no restrictions on his movements: ''It's up to him who he sees and who he meets, too. It's as simple as that.'' Private lawyer and legal analyst Anees Jillani said Chaudhary had taken up the case of hundreds of people who have gone missing after being taken into custody, many apparently suspected of links with Islamist militants.

Human rights groups have criticised the disappearance of at least 400 people since Pakistan joined the US-led war on terrorism in 2001. Chaudhary had recently called on the government to provide details on them.

''One of the major factors behind this is the case of the missing people because it was getting embarrassing for the government,'' Jillani said.

Khan denied the action against Chaudhary stemmed from his handling of the cases of the disappeared. But relatives of some of the missing people condemned Chaudhary's treatment.

''We had a ray of hope in Mr Iftikhar Chaudhary which we have lost. He was too daring and he was not in the good books of the government,'' Amna Masood Janjua told a news conference.

Janjua's husband has been missing since July 2005.

REUTERS SP RAI1916