Pakistan SC snubs the General, makes his PM talk of emergency

Pakistan’s SC suspended a judicial panel’s hearing into accusations against the country’s top judge while Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz raised the possibility of declaring an emergency over the judicial crisis.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court today suspended a judicial panel’s hearing into accusations against the country’s top judge while Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz raised the possibility of declaring an emergency over the judicial crisis.

The government’s move to sack Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on March 9, which outraged the legal community and galvanised opposition to President Pervez Musharraf in the run-up to elections, has blown up into the most serious challenge to Musharraf’s authority since he seized power in 1999.

Chaudhry had challenged the competency of the Supreme Judicial Council to hear the government’s accusations of misconduct against him and had asked the Supreme Court to take up the case.

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“The Supreme Court has stayed the proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council,” one of Chaudhry’s lawyers, Tariq Mehmood, told Reuters, adding that the court had recommended a broader panel of judges take up Chaudhry’s challenge to the council. “This is of great importance for us and our legal fight,” Mehmood said.

Chaudhry attracted tens of thousands of supporters on a weekend trip from Islamabad to Lahore where he told a big rally states that ignored the rule of law and basic rights faced destruction.

Hours after Chaudhry’s rally, Prime Minister Aziz said the government had the option of imposing a state of emergency and a decision would depend on the situation. Musharraf had previously ruled out an emergency but analysts said the government might be considering that as a way out.

Musharraf 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. He is also due to step down as army chief by December but is believed to be reluctant to do so.