Pakistani court opens hearing on judge's treatment

Islamabad, Mar 19: Pakistan's Supreme Court began a hearing today into reports police manhandled the country's suspended chief justice when he was being taken to a hearing last week.

The suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary on March 9 and his subsequent treatment has outraged lawyers, the opposition and many ordinary Pakistanis, and presented President Pervez Musharraf with his biggest political crisis as elections loom.

Chaudhary's suspension has fuelled suspicion Musharraf feared the independent-minded judge would block any move by the president to retain the role of army chief, which he is due to relinquish this year. Polls are due late this year or early next.

Protesting lawyers and opposition activists clashed with police in the capital, Islamabad, and the city of Lahore last week but there were no street demonstrations on Monday.

While extra police were on duty outside the Supreme Court, where the hearing was being held, life in the capital appeared back to normal.

The Supreme Court ordered a hearing after media reported police manhandled Chaudhary last Tuesday after he refused to get into an official car to be taken to the Supreme Court for a hearing into the vague accusations that led to his suspension.

Newspapers published a picture of Chaudhary apparently being pushed into a car. He has made no public comment on his treatment.

Chaudhary was kept under virtual house arrest with his family for the week after his suspension, with police blocking almost all access to him.

His lawyers say he is now free to meet who he wants although one said he was not giving interviews as he considered it inappropriate for a chief justice to talk to the press.

Complaints:

A senior government official acknowledged yesterday that Chaudhary's treatment in general had angered the public. He blamed ''over-zealous'' lower-level officials.

''With hindsight, things could have been done differently ... it could have been done in a better way,'' said the official, who declined to be identified.

But he said the president had no choice but to refer numerous complaints against Chaudhary to the Supreme Judicial Council to look into. ''A lot of complaints had been received.

This didn't happen overnight,'' the official said.

The council has held two sessions on the accusations against Chaudhary and is due to meet again on Wednesday when protests might again be held. The government official said anyone intent on causing trouble would be stopped.

The United States, a major ally of Pakistan, urged both sides to show restraint.

Lawyers across the country stopped work for an hour on Monday in a protest and a top judge in Punjab province resigned, a judicial official said. Dealers on Pakistan's main stock market said political uncertainty was putting a damper on trade.

Judge Javed Iqbal, who was made acting chief justice after Chaudhary was suspended, told the Supreme Court Monday's hearing was being held to safeguard the ''prestige, honour and dignity'' of the office of chief justice.

He said the hearing would look into the capabilities of the police, if there had been any mishandling and, if so, was it deliberate and who was responsible.

He said the police should not be responsible for investigating the case and he summoned the government's top lawyer to appear on Tuesday to assure the court the investigation would be transparent.

Reuters

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