Gunmen attack lawyer of Pakistan's top judge

KARACHI, May 10 (Reuters) Gunmen in Karachi fired more than a dozen shots at the house of a lawyer of Pakistan's suspended top judge today, two days before the judge was due to visit the city, police said.

The government's suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on March 9 angered the judiciary and the opposition and has blown up into the most serious challenge to President Pervez Musharraf's authority since he seized power in 1999.

Chaudhry is due to attend a meeting of lawyers in Karachi on Saturday, but the provincial government has asked him to put off the visit saying it feared terrorists might take advantage of the situation to unleash attacks.

The attack on the home of one of Chaudhry's lawyers, Munir A.

Malik, is bound to stoke tension.

Malik said gunmen fired about 15 shots. No one was hurt but two bullets hit a lounge where he and one of his daughters were sitting.

''It's a miracle that we are safe,'' Malik told Reuters.

Police said they were investigating.

Malik, who is also president of the Pakistan Bar Council, said the attack was aimed at putting pressure on lawyers campaigning for Chaudhry's reinstatement.

''I'm not afraid and this will not deter me from representing the chief justice,'' he said.

This week, the Supreme Court set up a broad panel of judges to consider a legal challenge by Chaudhry against a judicial watchdog considering the government's complaints against him.

While the case makes its way through the courts, Chaudhry has been travelling around the country to speak to lawyers.

''TENSION RISING'' Last weekend, he attracted tens of thousands of supporters on a trip to Lahore, Pakistan's political nerve centre, where he told a rally that states ignoring the rule of law and basic rights faced destruction.

Karachi is the country's business capital, and a stronghold of the pro-Musharraf Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

The MQM, the main party in the provincial government and a partner in the federal government, has called for a rally on the day of Chaudhry's visit to protest over what it calls political tricks ''in the name of the independence of the judiciary''.

The government of Sindh province, of which Karachi is capital, said in a letter to Chaudhry that tension was rising and there could be clashes.

''There are also intelligence reports that terrorist groups may take advantage of the environment to launch terrorist attacks,'' the government said, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters.

Police said they had arrested at least 12 people yesterday night who had been planning to sabotage Chaudhry's rally.

But another of Chaudhry's lawyers said the trip would go on.

The judicial crisis has erupted in the run-up to a general election and an anticipated attempt by Musharraf, an important US ally, to secure another term in office.

Musharraf, who is also army chief, is due to seek re-election in September or October and wants to be re-elected by the national and provincial assemblies before they are dissolved for elections due around the turn of the year.

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

REUTERS RJ ND1410