Lawyers warn Pakistan army they won't be cowed

HARIPUR, Pakistan, June 2 (Reuters) Thousands turned out to greet Pakistan's suspended chief justice as he travelled to a northwestern town today to muster support for his legal battle against President Pervez Musharraf's attempt to sack him.

Chants of ''Go Musharraf Go'', that have become a signature of the three-month-old judicial crisis, were raised as Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry passed through towns and villages on his way to address the legal fraternity in Abbottabad.

Along the way, Aitzaz Ahsan, the leader of the legal team defending Chaudhry against charges of misconduct, delivered a sharp riposte to a statement of support for General Musharraf issued by the army's top brass a day earlier.

''Our movement cannot be stopped through barrels of guns, or through the threat of tanks and army. We will continue our struggle,'' Ahsan said to applause from a crowd of over 3,000 in the town of Haripur.

Lawyers and the opposition see the March 9 suspension of Chaudhry as an attack on the independence of the judiciary and their protest has turned into a broad campaign for the restoration of full democracy in the country.

''The constitution gives the people of Pakistan the right to rule the country. We will no longer allow any army general to rule the country,'' Ali Ahmed Kurd, another member of Chaudhry's legal team, told opposition activists in Taxila.

Analysts suspect Musharraf's motive for seeking to oust the judge stems from fears of an adverse ruling should the opposition raise constitutional challenges against the president's plans to seek a second five-year term in the next few months.

MEDIA COVERAGE MUFFLED ''I have come to show my support to the chief justice, I want supremacy of law. We want democracy in our country,'' Raja Ayaz, 62, told Reuters in Haripur.

After nine hours of driving for a journey that usually takes around two hours, the convoy of cars carrying Chaudhry and his supporters had still to reach the garrison town of Abbottabad some 60 km (38 miles) north east of Islamabad.

Around 15,000 people had come out to cheer the suspended chief justice and shower his vehicle with rose petals, and posters of Chaudhry and Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister ousted by Musharraf in a coup nearly eight years ago, festooned the roadsides.

The caravan of cars travelling with Chaudhry began to swell as he approached Abbottabad.

There were no live broadcasts of Chaudhry's journey, as the authorities have clamped down, partly out of nervousness over the increasingly bold criticism of the powerful military.

Earlier, television channels had followed Chaudhry on his travels to address the legal community in various cities, and broadcast live pictures of rousing receptions given to the judge.

Musharraf has accused lawyers and opposition parties of politicising a judicial matter.

The controversy has already led to the most serious political violence in Pakistan for decades.

About 40 people were killed in Karachi when supporters from a party in the ruling coalition clashed with opposition activists during a visit by Chaudhry on May 12.

An inquiry into the misconduct allegations against Chaudhry has been halted, pending a decision by the Supreme Court over which legal body should have jurisdiction over the case.

REUTERS ABM RK2053