SC decision imminent for suspended Pak judge

Islamabad, July 20: Pakistan's Supreme Court is due to announce a crucial decision today over President Pervez Musharraf's move to fire the country's top judge.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has emerged as a symbol of resistance to Musharraf's rule, after he defied pressure to resign from the president and intelligence chiefs, who accused him of misconduct.

Chaudhry's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan concluded his arguments in a 13-member court today before the head of the bench announced that a decision would be given later in the day.

''Whosoever feels disturbed at the ruling, should keep fear of Allah in his anger and whosoever benefits should also remember God in his happiness,'' Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, the head of the bench, said before rising for a recess.

A decision in favour of Musharraf could boost his standing at a time when he faces growing militant violence following the army's assault on a radical mosque in Islamabad this month.

However, a decision against him could be seen as a setback in an election year when he plans to seek a second-term in office.

Musharraf suspended Chaudhry on March 9, precipitating the most serious challenge of his eight years in power as a lawyers' movement sprang up to defend the independence of the judiciary and opposition parties seized on the issue in an election year.

The mish-mash of charges against Chaudhry included using influence to get his son a job, fiddling petrol expenses and that he had a penchant for expensive cars.

The government filed a statement in the Supreme Court last month in which it also accused Chaudhry of harrassing judges, showing bias in appointments and intimidating police and civil servants.

Musharraf's real motive for trying to get rid of Chaudhry, many critics suspect, was that the judge could allow constitutional challenges to his plans to get re-elected by current assemblies before they are dissolved for a general election at the end of the year.

Opposition parties may also challenge Musharraf's right to stand for a second term while still army chief, a post he is constitutionally obliged to give up by the end of the year.

Having listened to the arguments for the past two months, the Supreme Court has also to decide whether it is constitutionally empowered to hear the case instead of the five-member panel, known as the Supreme Judicial Council, Musharraf called in the beginning to hear the charges.

The Supreme Court later suspended Council's proceedings after Chaudhry challenged its composition and maintained some its judges were biased against him.

Reuters>