Justice Chaudhry attends Supreme Judicial Council meeting

Islamabad, May 2 (UNI) Lawyers, Islamists and activists of leading political parties today rallied in front of the Supreme Court as the suspended Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry attended the seventh meeting of Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

The Council is hearing a reference sent to it by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf against Chief Justice Chaudhry after sacking him on March 9 for misuse of powers.

The former CJ, who denies the charges, took his case to the Supreme Court, where a larger Bench will hear his petition, challenging his suspension and competence of the SJC on May 7.

Flag waving protestors representing the Islamic alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League of former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif condemned Gen Musharraf as an ''American stooge'' and demanded him to step down.

''The time is not far off when Chaudhry will be restored and Gen Musharraf will have to go,'' senior MMA leader Liaqat Baloch said at the rally.

General Musharraf's opponents describe his move to remove Justice Chaudhry as an attempt to weaken the judiciary to ensure his re-election for the second term.

''We stand by Justice Chaudhry and continue our struggle to make judiciary vibrant,'' Secretary General PPP Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said.

Opposition supporters also torched copies of the presidential reference, as the SJC rose to meet again tomorrow.

''The council rejected our written plea today, which sought to stay proceedings of the body in the wake of constitution of a larger Bench for hearing of Justice Chaudhry's petition,'' a lawyer for Justice Chaudhry told reporters after the meeting.

''We told the council that it was illegal to restrain the functioning of the CJ and to appoint an acting chief justice,'' Munir A Malik said adding, an acting CJ could not be appointed until his predecessor suffered from mental or physical incapacity.

UNI