Pakistan’s top judge makes veiled attack on Musharraf

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s suspended top judge has launched a veiled attack on the military rule of President Pervez Musharraf, analysts said Sunday.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was suspended from his job by Musharraf in March, has become a magnet for a burgeoning opposition movement marked by large protests and violent street clashes.

In a much-anticipated speech to Islamabad lawyers late on Saturday, Chaudhry stressed the dangers of power being concentrated in one person and of courts being controlled by the government.

He stopped short of naming Musharraf, but called judicial independence a ‘bulwark against abuse of power’ and quoted the adage that ‘power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.’

‘Abuse of power often occurs in a system of governance where there is centralisation of all power in one person,’ he said in the speech held in an auditorium next to the Supreme Court.

Chaudhry’s address, which he said was unrelated to his ongoing battle against his removal, was closely watched by fellow lawyers, thousands of opposition supporters rallying outside the venue, and the government itself.

‘The chief justice wants to make it clear that the rule of law must prevail,’ said retired general Talaat Masood, a political analyst, on Sunday.

‘He is getting more and more emphatic, and people are getting more and more enthusiastic in their support.

‘One can see people rallying around him and expressing their feelings against one-man rule.

‘It has become a direct confrontation between him and the general. He is building up pressure on Musharraf.’

Dense crowds chanting anti-Musharraf slogans slowed Chaudhry’s journey from his Islamabad home to the event, where he finally started his speech five hours late amid chaotic scenes.

His appearance was broadcast live on satellite news channels and to crowds outside via large screens.

Hundreds of police surrounded the court, but no violence was reported.

Chaudhry’s last planned speech -- in Karachi two weeks ago -- was cancelled after his arrival at the local airport sparked savage fighting involving opposing political factions and ethnic groups that left 42 dead.

The government brushed off Chaudhry’s words.

‘There was nothing extraordinary in his speech,’ Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani told AFP.

‘Everybody is talking about the supremacy of the judiciary, not only the lawyers and opposition parties but the government also believes in it.’

However Durrani’s deputy, Tariq Azeem, added: ‘There is no doubt that this is clearly and squarely being turned into a political campaign.

‘Parties are trying to gain position by politicising a legal issue because it is an election year in Pakistan.’

Musharraf says Chaudhry was suspended for misconduct. The president’s critics say he wants to weaken the courts ahead of any legal challenges to his bid to remain army chief past the constitutional time limit of the end of 2007.

A general election is also due this year or early next, and Musharraf is planning to seek re-election as president from the outgoing parliament, which is stacked with his supporters.