Suspended Pak judge warns against dictatorship

Lahore (Pakistan), May 6: Pakistan's suspended chief judge told thousands of cheering supporters today that dictatorship was a thing of the past and states that ignored the rule of law and basic rights got destroyed.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry arrived in the eastern city of Lahore today after tens of thousands of supporters turned out to greet him as he travelled by road from Islamabad.

The trip normally takes four hours but took him more than 20.

Speaking in the compound of the Lahore High Court to thousands of lawyers, 17 of Punjab province's 23 judges, and opposition activists outside on the street, Chaudhry made no direct reference to President Pervez Musharraf or his government.

But his message was clear.

''Nations and states which are based on dictatorship instead of the supremacy of the constitution, the rule of law and protection of basic rights get destroyed,'' Chaudhry said.

The government moved to sack Chaudhry on March 9 but the legal community and opposition saw Musharraf's move as an attack on the independence of the judiciary.

The authorities' heavy-handed ways and Chaudhry's refusal to resign transformed a judge who was unpopular with many lawyers into a cause celebre.

The crisis has blown up into the most serious challenge to Musharraf's authority since the army chief seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999.

Huge crowds waving flags of opposition groups and chanting anti-Musharraf slogans took to the streets as Chaudhry and his entourage arrived in Lahore.

Well-wishers clambered over his four-wheel-drive car, a familiar sight throughout the judge's journey from the capital.

An exhausted-looking Chaudhry, 58, made an open-air address in the compound of the provincial high court. His speech was carried live on private television stations.

''The idea of dictatorship and collective responsibility are over,'' he said. ''They are chapters from the past and those nations which don't learn lessons from the past and repeat those mistakes, they have to pay a price.'' ''Basic human rights are a backbone in the formation of a civilised society,'' said Chaudhry, who added that he had never been involved in politics.

POLITICAL CITY

Lahore is capital of Punjab, the country's richest and most populous province and a traditional establishment stronghold.

The city is considered Pakistan's political nerve centre and Chaudhry's tumultuous reception there will be seen as evidence of his backing and a clear sign to authorities that their efforts to contain the crisis were failing, observers said.

''I haven't seen anything like this since 1986 when Benazir returned,'' said Fakhr Imam, a former National Assembly speaker and a leader of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's party.

He was referring to the crowds that turned out when Bhutto returned from exile, seven years after the military executed her father, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Musharraf, speaking at a rally in Sindh province yesterday, accused lawyers of politicising a judicial matter, and called on them to shun politics.

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

Controversially, he wants to be re-elected by the national and provincial assemblies before they are dissolved for elections expected to be held at the end of the year.

Analysts say his main motive in seeking the removal of the independent-minded chief justice is to have a more pliable man in place in case of a constitutional challenge to his plans.

REUTERS

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