Six senior judges, including a high court judge, on Monday submitted their resignations in protest against the attack on judiciary while the legal fraternity all over the country continued to stage rallies, undertook token hunger strikes and token boycott of court proceedings in protest against removal of chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaughry and Saturday’s police operation in Lahore High premises against the lawyers.

Justice Jawad Khawaja of Lahore High Court joined five more senior judged of Karachi to tender resignation expressing solidarity with the legal fraternight currebtly demonstration against removal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. Karachi judges include Sharyar Khan, Asadullah Rashdi, Allah Bachayo, Ashraf yar and Sukkur’s Rajesh Chander Rajput.

Lawyers at Lahore High Court set up hunger strike camps, wore black bands on their arms and hoisted black flags on the buildings of the bar association. They boycotted the courts for one hour and kept seated in their chambers wearing black bands on their arms.

The court proceedings in Karachi on the ninth day of lawyers’ protests were also boycotted, a big rally was taken out and hunger strike was observed. Karachi Bar Association’s over 7000 members in the district courts of all the five districts including the city court boycotted proceedings, while the Bar leaders observed hunger strike.

At Sukkur also the lawyers of Sukkur Bar Association and SHC observed token hunger strike, staged demonstrations and demanded the reinstatement of the Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, while in other areas of the province lawyers stayed away from the courts proceedings and observed token hunger strike.

Quetta lawyers also continued boycotting courts and observing token hunger strike today, while partial strike was observed and demonstrations held in Peshawar by the lawyers in protest against the making of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry non-functional.

Faisalabad lawyers also observed strike. District Bar Convention was held, in which, the lawyers expressed their determination to continue the struggle until the restoration of Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. 

Kohat (Pakistan), March 19
Former law minister Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gilani, counsel for the constitutional interpretation of the reference filed against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary, has expressed doubts about the credibility of the notification barring the Chief Justice from performing his duties and has alleged that it has been tampered with.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Mr Gilani said the notification stating the new stance taken by the federal law department, that the Chief Justice has been sent on forced leave, clearly showed the “ill intentions” of the government.

According to him, the earlier notification number F.1 (2)/2005-A.II dated 9th March, 2007, said: “The President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan does hereby restrain Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary to act as Justice of Pakistan and a judge of the Supreme Court as he is unable to perform the functions of his office due to facts narrated and a reference having been made against him to the Supreme Judicial Council under article 209 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan - signed by Mr Justice (R) Mansoor Ahmed, secretary of law, justice and human rights division.”

He said the second notification, No. F.592 (2) 2007-Secy, regarding the appointment of acting chief justice, Justice Javed Iqbal, and head of the Supreme Judicial Council, was tampered with and a portion of it now read as: “The President of Pakistan in exercise of powers conferred under Article 180 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is pleased to appoint Mr Justice Javed Iqbal, Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan, being most senior judge ‘available’, as acting chief justice of Pakistan with immediate effect.”

Mr Gilani said that in the first place President Gen Pervez Musharraf could not file such a reference, which was a violation of his oath taken as a member of armed forces.

— By arrangement with the Dawn

At a hurriedly convened candid late-night session with ministers, aides and lawmakers yesterday and in an interview with a TV channel, President Pervez Musharraf gave a run down of the circumstances that led to the suspension of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and its aftermath. But observers noted many holes in the narration, adding that the whole episode was not as simple as the President tried to portray it.

Musharraf reiterated that he had received a reference from the Prime Minister and forwarded it to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) after Justice Iftikhar failed to satisfy him when confronted on March 9 in the presence of the Prime Minister. He acknowledged the legal faux pas committed by the government after the meeting and regretted the attack on the Geo TV bureau in Islamabad. He kept mum over the maltreatment of Justice Iftikhar for nearly a week during which the judge was kept virtually under detention and denied all possible contacts with the outside world.

The President said Justice Iftikhar called his office at about 11.30 am on Friday and requested for a meeting, which he granted. He said he asked Justice Chaudhry to resign, whichthe latter declined. There was, however, no explanation on the fact that all was already set for the installation of an acting Chief Justice.

A Cabinet minister giving first-hand account of the Sunday night’s meeting at the Prime Minister’s house over dinner said President Musharraf could not hide his unhappiness over the silence maintained by almost the entire Cabinet, barring a couple of ministers who failed to defend him at a difficult moment. In an apparent retort to the Prime Minister, who told the audience that “we all are sailing in the same boat and must unite to confront the situation,” the President warned: “I must remind you that I can out row and swim faster than all of you.”

Railway minister Shaikh Rashid cautioned the President about the adverse impact of his reference to conspiracies against him on the morale of his supporters and suggested that he should term it as conspiracy against the country. — A.K.

At a time when political parties and the Government of Nepal are hell bent on holding the Constituent Assembly elections by mid-June, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Bhoj Raj Pokharel today indirectly expressed inability to conduct the poll on time.

Speaking at an interaction program with top-brass leaders in the interim legislature at his office today, CEC Pokharel said, “Since the government and political parties in the legislature have not cooperated with the EC by providing necessary Acts related to the poll, a credible election is impossible.” According to the EC, five major Acts related to the poll are under discussion in the legislature. As per the newly promulgated interim constitution, the EC needs more than two months to complete party registration procedures. “Without receiving these Acts on time, the EC alone cannot hold the elections,” Pokharel said.

Even the political parties have not decided on a possible electoral system and use of single or double-ballot box during the poll.

The government has also not been able to convince the EC for holding the Assembly poll in a free and fair manner by maintaining law and order. At present the government has no capacity to mobilise more than 45,000 securitymen from the Nepal police and armed police force at 17,500 polling and sub-polling stations across the country. Similarly, the EC needs more than 1,40,000 polling officers for the poll but the government has no strength to mobilise more than 90,000 civil servants and staffs from semi-state owned corporations.

However, Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has directed the EC to expedite preparations for the elections by mid-June at any cost. “It is our responsibility to hold the election on time at any cost for the sake of the nation,” Koirala said, adding that “ if we work on war-footing then there is no question of the elections not being held on time.” Otherwise, it could lead the nation towards a serious accident and people would raise questions against the efficiency of the eight political parties and the EC, he said.

Koirala has asked the EC to shorten the election schedule to meet the national agenda of holding the poll on time.

Kabul, March 19
A suicide attacker drove an explosives-filled car into a US embassy convoy in the Afghan capital Kabul today, wounding some embassy staff and at least one child, officials said.

The attack on the road to the eastern city of Jalalabad was the first suicide bombing inside Kabul this year, after several deadly blasts last year blamed on Taliban insurgents.

“There was a vehicle-borne IED (improvised explosive device) that struck a US embassy convoy on Jalalabad Road,” embassy spokesman Joe Mellot told AFP.

“There were some injuries, including one seriously injured who has been evacuated for treatment. One child was being taken to the hospital by the ambulance.”

Sources confirmed that US Ambassador Ronald Neumann was not in the convoy.

Foreign troops sealed off the road, often used by the US troops travelling to the main US coalition base at Bagram outside the capital and also the route to various military bases on the outskirts of Kabul. — AFP

Beijing, March 19
Emergency crew have found eight bodies of the 29 sailors of a ship that sank off East China after its collision with another ship, according to the latest reports.

The local maritime safety administration of Zhejiang Province said that 12 sailors have been rescued and the other nine are still missing.

The collision occurred on Saturday night on the sea near the Langgang islands, northeast of Zhoushan Island, Zhejiang Province, when a cargo ship belonging to a transport company in Shenzhen in southern China collided with another one registered in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong ship, ‘Huirong’, sank immediately and all its 29 sailors on board were marooned on the sea. The other ship, ‘Pengyan’ was from Shenzhen Ocean Shipping Co. Ltd. — PTI