Pakistani lawyers seek judges' release

Anti-Musharraf group plans a week of protests

Aitzaz Ahsan (center) demanded yesterday the release of the former chief justice and nine other judges under house arrest. (Anjum Naveed/associated press)

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - Beside racks of meat and barrows of oranges in the alleys of the old town here, Aitzaz Ahsan, leader of the lawyers movement in Pakistan, was back on the campaign trail yesterday, calling for the release of top justices from house arrest.

Newly free after four months in detention, Ahsan said the recent parliamentary elections were not enough proof that President Pervez Musharraf's government was dedicated to democracy.

He said the next step had to be the release of the former chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was fired along with the rest of the Supreme Court during a state of emergency imposed by Musharraf on Nov. 3. Chaudhry and nine other justices remain under house arrest.

"Our struggle is to make Pakistan a state where the judiciary is independent, and what Musharraf did to the chief justice is an example of how under him no judge is ever independent," Ahsan said to a crowd of lawyers who chanted for Musharraf's resignation.

Ahsan received a warm reception, with shoppers and storekeepers smiling in recognition of the lawyer, stepping up to shake his hand, and showering him with pink rose petals.

The lawyers are planning a week of demonstrations on behalf of the justices, called Black Flag Week after the protesters' flags and armbands. But the rallies, which are also a show against Musharraf, are sending another message, too: The lawyers are not willing to take the back seat to their partners in the opposition.

The winners of Pakistan's Feb. 18 parliamentary election are scheduled to meet today to complete a power-sharing deal, amid increasing pressure on Musharraf to quit after the defeat of his political allies at the polls, the Associated Press reported.

The meeting was announced by Sadiq ul-Farooq, a spokesman for the party lead by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He provided no further details.

Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari have been discussing how to form a coalition government since the election.

Zardari's Pakistan People's Party won the most votes, followed by Sharif's party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N. Zardari is the widower of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Ahsan is a senior member of Bhutto's party, but is now at loggerheads with the party over the issue of the release of the chief justice and the restoration of an independent judiciary.

Chaudhry and his family have been stuck inside their home in Islamabad behind barricades of barbed wire and rows of police officers, with only furtive telephone connections to the outside world.

Ahsan said little more is needed to resolve Chaudhry's situation than for the police cordon to be removed from around his home.

Once that is done, the judge has pledged to walk to the Supreme Court building not far from his house. An executive order could then be written reinstating the chief justice, the lawyers said.

But Zardari said the restoration of the judiciary and Chaudhry should be decided by the new Parliament, a far longer process.

Sharif has said a resolution calling for the return of the full bench of judges should be passed by the new Parliament as soon it convenes.

Behind the scenes, the United States is trying to dampen enthusiasm for Chaudhry, whom Washington sees as too much of a Musharraf opponent.