Pak CJ orders Army protection

But the Prime Minister turned down the demand of the President to provide security to the judges.

In a letter written by the Prime Minister to the President the Government said there was no justification for the “extreme request”.

Meanwhile, Sharif tonight attacked President Farooq Ahmed Leghari and the CJ and vowed to fight “conspiracies” against his Government. In a broadcast to the nation, Sharif said, “I will not let the people of Pakistan become a victim of such conspiracies… and will face every difficulty.”

In his address, Sharif criticised Leghari for not signing the Contempt of Court Amendment Bill, duly passed by Parliament, and said Leghari, during the regime of Benazir Bhutto, had issued 300 ordinances “without any hesitation and delay”.

“But here he is refusing to sign a legislation which has been passed by both Houses of Parliament,” he said.

Terming the plethora of cases involving him as “irrelevant,” he said while all these were being pursued vigorously, a number of contempt cases against his opponents, including those who used terms like “kangaroo courts”, were pending for over six years.

“The victory will be of the people and of democracy,” said Sharif, as recounted his version of what transpired in the two month tussle that his government has been engaged in with the judiciary and with the president of late.

Sharif commented “There s a limit to everything,” and said that he feared only Allah, in whom sovereignty lies. The hard hitting speech by the Prime Minister only worsens the situation as the judiciary meets tomorrow to resume hearings on the contempt of court cases against the Prime Minister.

By accusing the judiciary and the President of plotting against him, the Prime Minister is seen to have drawn the battlelines irrespective of any legal problems he may face by accusing the conduct of judges — a crime under the constitution and for which he is already standing trial.

Tomorrow two Benches are listed to hear cases. One is the original five-member Bench headed by the Chief Justice and the other is a full court Bench comprising 15 judges.

In a related move, the Chief Justice cancelled the full court session convened by his rival judge to decide whether his appointment as Chief Justice was improper.

Cancelling the order passed by justice Saiduzzaman Siddiqui through an administrative order, the CJ said, “I expect and trust that the honourable judges would follow the roster issued by me on November 28 for the week commencing December 1. This is the only way in which the institution of the Supreme Court can be saved from damage and erosion and if this institution is intact and functions independently, then there is no danger to the system of governance, which is envisaged in the Constitution,” the CJ said in his order.

“No judge, senior to me felt aggrieved, resigned or opted to retire as a mark of protest when I was appointed as the Chief Justice of Pakistan on 5th June 1994,” he observed. Justice Siddiqui, who sits on the Peshawar Bench of the SC, has admitted a constitutional petition challenging the appointment of Justice Shah on grounds of seniority and issued an order constituting a 15-member Bench to hear the petition here tomorrow.