Pakistan's suspended judge sets off on crucial rally

JHELUM, Pakistan, May 5 (Reuters) Thousands of supporters cheered Pakistan's suspended top judge today as he drove from Islamabad to Lahore to gather support for his fight against President Pervez Musharraf's attempt to sack him.

Police rounded up hundreds of opposition activists and ransacked their offices in a bid to undermine the visit by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to Pakistan's most politically influential city.

Flag-waving activists from a range of opposition parties chanted ''Go, Musharraf, Go'' and jostled with television cameramen for positions as Chaudhry left his home in the capital for his journey down the historic Grand Trunk Road.

In each town that the motor procession passed through, boisterous crowds numbering between a few hundreds to a couple of thousands greeted Chaudhry with fireworks and drums.

''This rally is for the judge,'' a 23-year-old student Abdullah Ikram in Deena town said, adding,''whereas a judge can give a decision against the president, a president cannot remove a judge like this''.

Thousands are expected to greet Chaudhry in Lahore, whose lawyers have led a movement to defend the judiciary, and the number of the city's high court judges that turn up for his address will be a measure of his support.

''The mood of the lawyers in Lahore will determine the strength of the movement in the country,'' said Hamid Khan, a member of Chaudhry's legal team.

''We want a clear stand against military rule,'' said Khan, a former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

Musharraf's move to sack Chaudhry on March 9 is seen by the lawyers community and opposition groups as an attack on the independence of the judiciary.

''GIVE UP POLITICS'' But Musharraf accused lawyers of ''politicising'' a judicial matter by holding protests.

''I warn (the lawyers) that they would not succeed in their designs,'' he told a rally in a far-off town in southern province of Sindh. ''I ask lawyers to shun politics.'' Chaudhry's refusal to resign in the face of charges of misconduct and the widespread sympathy for his stand created the most serious challenge to Musharraf's authority since he came to power in a military coup 7-{ years ago.

Musharraf is due to seek re-election in September or October.

Controversially, he aims to be re-elected by the current national and provincial assemblies before they are dissolved for elections the president says could take place around November.

Analysts speculate Musharraf's main motive for seeking the independent-minded Chaudhry's removal is to have a more pliable chief justice in place in case of constitutional challenges to his plans.

Chaudhry has already travelled to Sindh and North West Frontier Province, where he was well received by a large number of judges.

Punjab is more important, however, as its most senior judge sits on the Supreme Judicial Council, a five-member panel holding an inquiry into the misconduct charges against the chief justice.

Chaudhry has objected to his presence, saying he is biased, and wants his case to be switched to the Supreme Court for an open hearing.

REUTERS SBC PM1630