Leghari quits in protest

But almost immediately after Justice Shah8217;s ruling, 10 other justices sitting in a nearby courtroom overturned it. These justices have been opposed to Justice Shah on the grounds that he was wrongly promoted as Chief Justice, ahead of other senior judges.

Addressing a crowded press conference at the President House in Islamabad, the President said following the SC decision, the Sharif Government had issued a summary that stipulated that the Chief Justice be denotified and the President administer oath to the next senior judge of the SC.

Leghari said, 8220;The President has no option but to sign that summary. He has to. I will not exercise that option since I hold certain principles. Instead, I have decided to resign.8221;

Under the latest decision passed by the Chief Justice on Tuesday morning, the President also had the option to dismiss the Government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and call for fresh elections. But, Leghari, who used this option once to dismiss the Government of Benazir Bhutto in November 1996, commented 8220;I never wanted to use this option again. In fact, I did not want the 13th amendment repealed.8221; Leghari accused both Bhutto and Sharif of wanting total power. 8220;One felt insecure despite having a friend and former party member as President and the other felt insecure despite having repealed the power of the President to dismiss an elected Government.8221; The Pakistan President accused Sharif of dishonouring the judiciary and leaving the SC 8220;in tatters.8221; He said he had not been given a chance to present his point of view despite the fact that the Prime Minister had attacked his conduct on the national television.

He said there were four occasions when his pledge to uphold the Constitution had been challenged. The first time, said the President, was when the then Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had asked him to remove the Chief Justice, which he refused. He said the second time was when the caretaker Government had asked him to delay elections and hold an accountability process. Third time was when Sharif asked him to get rid of the Chief Justice. And the fourth occasion was on Tuesday when the PMr issued a summary for the removal of the Chief Justice and the swearing in of a new one.

Under the Constitution, the chairman of the Senate, Wasim Sajjad, takes over as interim President. This is the second time Sajjad has been given this charge. And he will swear in the new Chief Justice, say officials.

Political analysts say that Sharif has managed to prevail in the current situation but the implications of this crisis will be far reaching and may keep the political situation unsettled for some months to come.

The contempt case against the Premier will continue and will now be held by a full-member Bench comprising 10 judges instead of the five-member Bench that Justice Shah has set up.