Judge milks anti-Musharraf support in central Pak

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Chichawatni (Pakistan), June 24: Pakistan's suspended chief justice carried his fight for reinstatement and the independence of the judiciary deep into the south of Punjab province today, milking support from towns along the way.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has become a symbol of resistance to President Pervez Musharraf, since he refused to quit in the face of pressure from the country's military leader and intelligence chiefs in March.

''Chaudhry's refusal, not bow to five generals who threatened him of dire consequences is the real lifeline of this movement,'' Aitzaz Ahsan, the leader of the legal team fighting misconduct charges against the judge, told some 1,500 lawyers in Sahiwal in the city's courthouse.

Opposition party workers and ordinary people watched speeches by the judge and senior lawyers on a big screen set up outside.

A lawyers movement has spread through out the country in support of the judge, and opposition parties and the independent media have rallied to his cause, unnerving the government in a crucial election year.

US ally Musharraf, who came to power in a coup almost eight years ago, is believed to be considering calling a snap election, although polls are not due until the end of the year.

Washington and other Western governments with troops fighting in neighbouring Afghanistan and India, are closely watching the unfolding political drama in nuclear-armed Pakistan.

The army's top brass issued a statement of support for President Musharraf this month, and the United States also offered broad backing, while encouraging the general to hold free and fair elections.

Former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, the premier ousted by Musharraf, have vowed to return from exile as the general's position deteriorates.

The lawyers' movement has tapped some disillusion with Gen Musharraf, and many ordinary people believe Justice Chaudhry is the victim of an injustice, but it has still to unleash people power in a country that has been ruled by generals for more than half the time since it was founded 60 years ago.

The government has stopped live television coverage of the Chaudhry's trips around the country to garner support, partly out of fear it was fueling criticism of the army - Musharraf's main support base.

For all the fervour around him, the judge himself has avoided overt attacks on the government.

''I believe lawyers today have taken responsibility to enforce rule of law and to make judiciary superior,'' Chaudhry told the Bar Council in Sahiwal, a city 170 km southwest of the provincial capital, Lahore.

The judge's trips into the provinces have taken on all the characteristics of an election campaign.

In the nearby Chichawatni town, a stage was set up in the city's main square, while a song that has become a theme tune of the lawyers movement, blared out from giant speakers - ''Uncle, why don't you take off your uniform''.

A dozen dancers clad in red and yellow traditional dress performed in front of Chaudhry's car as he entered the city while a pipe band played, and anti-Musharraf slogans rang out through a cacophony of drumbeats and firecrackers.

The final destination for the cavalcade of cars travelling with the judge was the city of Multan, normally less than a four hour drive from Lahore.

But having set off yesterday morning the trip had turned into a marathon, similar to others undertaken by Justice Chaudhry in the past few months to whip up support.


Reuters

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